Sentence Correction

As advertised on the main page of Beat the GMAT, Ashley, David, and I will be posting some original questions today and tomorrow with prizes for the first five students to respond with correct answers that show your work!

Here's a Sentence Correction question to kick things off.


While being a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome as to become a distraction that overshadowed his all-pro performance level and ultimately forced the team to release him.


A) While being a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome as to become

B) In his tenure as a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude that was so tiresome as to become

C) While playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome that it became

D) Terrell Owens, while playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, had his me-first attitude being so tiresome that it became

E) Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude, while being a Philadelphia Eagle, that was so tiresome that it became



(For more information on the contest, please visit https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/07/ ... g-tomorrow, and note that the "tomorrow" in the URL was posted yesterday, making the date in question "today"!)

[spoiler]C) Correct Answer[/spoiler]

Incorrect grammatical construction.

Answer: (E)

While being a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome as to become a distraction that overshadowed his all-pro performance level and ultimately forced the team to release him.


A) While being a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome as to become
--> The opening modifier incorrectly modifies Terrell Owens' attitude. It is supposed to modify Terrell Owen.

B) In his tenure as a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude that was so tiresome as to become
--> The opening modifier correctly modifies Terrell Owens but incorrect idiom usage - so X as to Y

C) While playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome that it became
--> The opening modifier incorrectly modifies Terrell Owens' attitude. It is supposed to modify Terrell Owen.

D) Terrell Owens, while playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, had his me-first attitude being so tiresome that it became
--> Incorrect Verb Construction + Tense error.

E) Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude, while being a Philadelphia Eagle, that was so tiresome that it became
--> 'while being a Philadelphia Eagle' correctly used verb modifier. Correct idiom usage: So X that Y.

A) While being a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome as to become --> The subject should be Owens, not his attitude as the modifier is modifying the person

B) In his tenure as a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude that was so tiresome as to become

C) While playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome that it became --> same as A

D) Terrell Owens, while playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, had his me-first attitude being so tiresome that it became. -> tense error

E) Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude, while being a Philadelphia Eagle, that was so tiresome that it became --> the modifier modifies Owens. So, it should be clsoe to OWens and not attitude..misplaced modifier.

Hence, B

A) While being a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome as to become
Opening modifier incorrectly modifies attitude
B) In his tenure as a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude that was so tiresome as to become
Correct
Opening Modifier " In his tenure ....." correctly modifies Terrell Owens
so as to shows the correct cause effect relationship

C) While playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome that it became
Opening modifier incorrectly modifies attitude

D) Terrell Owens, while playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, had his me-first attitude being so tiresome that it became
This sentence seems as if owen's attitude was tiresome on its own . This sentence is also awkward and uses past perfect unnecessarily
E) Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude, while being a Philadelphia Eagle, that was so tiresome that it became
That clause is misplaced modifier

Correct ans is B
A- being is usually avoided and Opening modifier modifies a possessive noun
C-Opening modifier modifies a possessive noun
D- awkward phrasing
E-while being a Philadelphia Eagle is not positioned correctly and also the construction is incorrect

While being a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome as to become a distraction that overshadowed his all-pro performance level and ultimately forced the team to release him.


A) While being a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome as to become

Incorrect modifier

B) In his tenure as a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude that was so tiresome as to become

Correct modifier and right construction overall

C) While playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome that it became

Incorrect modifier

D) Terrell Owens, while playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, had his me-first attitude being so tiresome that it became

Incorrect tense

E) Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude, while being a Philadelphia Eagle, that was so tiresome that it became

Misplaced modifier

Correct answer B

Answer - E

While being a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome as to become a distraction that overshadowed his all-pro performance level and ultimately forced the team to release him.


A) While being a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome as to become - incorrectly modifies Terrel's attitude

B) In his tenure as a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude that was so tiresome as to become - so tiresome as to become is an example of incorrect idiom usage

C) While playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome that it became - incorrectly modifies Terrel's attitude

D) Terrell Owens, while playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, had his me-first attitude being so tiresome that it became - tense discrepancies

E) Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude, while being a Philadelphia Eagle, that was so tiresome that it became - correct answer

A) While being a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome as to become --

• The subject is Terrell Owens which is wrong

B) In his tenure as a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude that was so tiresome as to become

• correct

C) While playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome that it became

• In this option subject is Terrell Owens not his attitude

D) Terrell Owens, while playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, had his me-first attitude being so tiresome that it became.

• "Being" incorrect usage of tense

E) Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude, while being a Philadelphia Eagle, that was so tiresome that it became

• Misplaced modifier

While being a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome as to become a distraction that overshadowed his all-pro performance level and ultimately forced the team to release him.

A) While being a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome as to become

Incorrect: Easy to identify of course; The opening modifier is intended to modify Terrell but here it modifies "Terrell Owens' me-first attitude".

B) In his tenure as a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude that was so tiresome as to become

Incorrect: "In his tenure as a Philadelphia Eagle" is Unidiomatic;

C) While playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome that it became

Incorrect: Same error as in A;

D)Terrell Owens, while playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, had his me-first attitude being so tiresome that it became
Correct;In fact this sentence needs being to make it correct. "It" is used correctly.

E)Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude, while being a Philadelphia Eagle, that was so tiresome that it became
[/quote]

Incorrect: Placement of "while being a Philadelphia Eagle" is not correct. It should be close to Terrel.

wonderful question.

Would love to have one CR challenge from David and Brian.

your wish is my command...

CR question going up right now.

David

While being a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome as to become a distraction that overshadowed his all-pro performance level and ultimately forced the team to release him.


A) While being a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome as to become

Incorrect: Usage of "Being" is wrong and "While being a Philadelphia Eagle" incorrectly modifies Terrell Owens' attitude

B) In his tenure as a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude that was so tiresome as to become

Correct

C) While playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome that it became

Incorrect: "While playing for the Philadelphia EaglesTerrell" wrongly modifies Owens' attitude

D) Terrell Owens, while playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, had his me-first attitude being so tiresome that it became

Incorrect: Usage of "being" is incorrect

E) Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude, while being a Philadelphia Eagle, that was so tiresome that it became

Incorrect: Usage of "being" is incorrect