modifier

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paes: Legendary Member; Posts: 995; Joined: Tue Apr 13, 2010 11:56 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 31 times

by paes » Sat May 15, 2010 7:34 pm

Erasmus's tomb lies inside the Basel Munster, located in Switzerland, an architectural monument which having survived medieval earthquakes, and remains one of Switzerland's most well-known buildings to this day.

a) Erasmus's tomb lies inside the Basel Munster, located in Switzerland, an architectural monument which having survived medieval earthquakes, and
b) Erasmus's tomb lies inside Switzerland's Basel Munster, an architectural monument which survived medieval earthquakes and
c) Switzerland's Basel Munster, a monument of architecture which survived medieval earthquakes, houses Erasmus's tomb
d) The Basel Munster, in Switzerland, an architectural monument which, having survived medieval earthquakes, is now home to the tomb of Erasmus
e) The tomb of Erasmus, being housed inside Switzerland's Basel Munster, is an architectural monument which survived medieval earthquakes and

[spoiler]OA : B
Please clarify that 'an architectural monument..' is modifying to Erasmus's tomb(X) or Switzerland's Basel Munster(Y).
It is close to Y, so it should modify to Y. But according to the meaning of the sentence, it is modifying to X.[/spoiler]

Last edited by paes on Sat May 15, 2010 8:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Sat May 15, 2010 7:34 pm

iamtensai: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 13; Joined: Sun Mar 21, 2010 2:49 pm; Thanked: 2 times

by iamtensai » Sat May 15, 2010 8:09 pm

Since a noun modifier should touch the noun it modifies, 'an architectural monument..' is modifying "Switzerland's Basel Munster"

This is also what the author intends to say here, since the tomb is inside the Basel Munster (and the tomb isn't an architectural monument).

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mohit11: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 293; Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2010 9:08 amFollowed by: 5 members; Location: India; Thanked: 36 times; GMAT Score:730

by mohit11 » Sat May 15, 2010 10:24 pm

iamtensai wrote:Since a noun modifier should touch the noun it modifies, 'an architectural monument..' is modifying "Switzerland's Basel Munster"

This is also what the author intends to say here, since the tomb is inside the Basel Munster (and the tomb isn't an architectural monument).

Perfect explanation. B is our winner.

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muralithe1: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 56; Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 9:50 pm; Thanked: 1 times

by muralithe1 » Sun May 23, 2010 2:28 pm

HI,
But i still have a doubt with 'B'.

Erasmus's tomb lies inside Switzerland's Basel Munster, an architectural monument which survived medieval earthquakes and

I doubt if "an" is going for ambiguous reference. Whether it is referring to Erasmus's tomb or Switzerland's Basel Munster.

Please correct me..???

Thanks..

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iamtensai: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 13; Joined: Sun Mar 21, 2010 2:49 pm; Thanked: 2 times

by iamtensai » Sun May 23, 2010 3:00 pm

muralithe1 wrote:HI,
But i still have a doubt with 'B'.

Erasmus's tomb lies inside Switzerland's Basel Munster, an architectural monument which survived medieval earthquakes and

I doubt if "an" is going for ambiguous reference. Whether it is referring to Erasmus's tomb or Switzerland's Basel Munster.

Please correct me..???

Thanks..

The entire noun phrase "an architectural monument" is an appositive, fancy way for saying a noun or noun phrase that renames the closest noun.
In this case, Basel Munster is the closest noun, and hence is being modified.

For more on appositive, see the page below.
https://www.chompchomp.com/terms/appositive.htm

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neerajbansal: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 61; Joined: Fri Feb 19, 2010 10:12 am; Thanked: 3 times

by neerajbansal » Sun May 23, 2010 4:42 pm

Erasmus's tomb lies inside the Basel Munster, located in Switzerland, an architectural monument which having survived medieval earthquakes, and remains one of Switzerland's most well-known buildings to this day.

a) Erasmus's tomb lies inside the Basel Munster, located in Switzerland, an architectural monument which having survived medieval earthquakes, and
I don't know the reason for this but the sentence just does not look correct...( The which having part )

b) Erasmus's tomb lies inside Switzerland's Basel Munster, an architectural monument which survived medieval earthquakes and
Cream of the crap...This looks good..

c) Switzerland's Basel Munster, a monument of architecture which survived medieval earthquakes, houses Erasmus's tomb
Modifier issue ï�Œ

d) The Basel Munster, in Switzerland, an architectural monument which, having survived medieval earthquakes, is now home to the tomb of Erasmus
Screwed up Meaning.. ï�Œ

e) The tomb of Erasmus, being housed inside Switzerland's Basel Munster, is an architectural monument which survived medieval earthquakes an
being is almost always wrong ï�Œ

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