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noun modifier does not touch the noun!?

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noun modifier does not touch the noun!?

by 123nobody321 » Sun Aug 25, 2013 6:12 am
Hey folks,

I came across another question regarding modifiers. In one of the exercises the following sentence appears:
Although the ballerina seems healthy, she feels very unwell and is unlikely to dance well at tonight's performance

I have a question now regarding the modifier "unlikely" (which is an adjective although it is written with "-ly" - I just had to look it up) which modifies "she". But don't we have a problem then? "She" and the modifier "unlikely" do NOT touch each other!? Earlier, I learned the rule that a noun modifier must always touch the noun it modifies. But here it seems that a whole phrase is in between them.

Do I miss a piece of the puzzle here?

Looking forward for you answers :)


Best regards,
nobody
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by sameerballani » Sun Aug 25, 2013 6:22 am
1)I believe that UNLIKELY is not an adjective, but an adverb. Having said that, I believe it plays the role of modifying verb TO DANCE in this sentence. If you ask yourself what is unlikely, you will get an answer -> she DANCING tonight is unlikely. Hence we need to ensure that the modifier and the thing it modifies is as close as possible(not necessarily next to each other) and the modifier is modifying unambiguously.

2) Ok. Even if we talk about noun modifiers, there can be scenarios in which they do not touch the noun it modifies. However, we still need to ensure that there is no ambiguity in the sentence.

Eg: Th BOX of NAILS, WHICH IS lying on the table, HAS the dimension 2x3x5.

WHICH is not modifying nails, but box.

Hope this helps!!
123nobody321 wrote:Hey folks,

I came across another question regarding modifiers. In one of the exercises the following sentence appears:
Although the ballerina seems healthy, she feels very unwell and is unlikely to dance well at tonight's performance

I have a question now regarding the modifier "unlikely" (which is an adjective although it is written with "-ly" - I just had to look it up) which modifies "she". But don't we have a problem then? "She" and the modifier "unlikely" do NOT touch each other!? Earlier, I learned the rule that a noun modifier must always touch the noun it modifies. But here it seems that a whole phrase is in between them.

Do I miss a piece of the puzzle here?

Looking forward for you answers :)


Best regards,
nobody
If my post was helpful, then please click "Thank".
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by 123nobody321 » Sun Aug 25, 2013 8:30 am
Your answer is much appreciated!

1)
MGMAT: "Unlikely: CORRECT. Here, unlikely is an adjective. Unlikely modifies she, because "is" is a linking verb."
That is what the solution says. To be honest, your solution does make more sense to me :)

2)
Regarding your example with the box of nails. MGMAT says in the very same chapter about modifiers, that "which" can only refer to the noun immediately preceding it - never to refer to an entire clause.

In your sentence, the noun preceding "which" would be "nails" and not "box". :S

Is there an explanation?
I am sorry that I have to bother you so much (with the other threads as well), but I try to follow the rules and I just have a lot of problems applying them (just answered 9 SC questions - only 3 correct) :/


Best,
nobody
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by sameerballani » Sun Aug 25, 2013 11:39 am
Ok this solution does make sense :(
When we have sentences such as
She is unwell / She feels good / She is sick / She feels unwell / They are HAPPY

In these sentences unwell/good/sick are all ADJECTIVES, since they explain more about noun/pronoun(SHE/THEY)..

ADJECTIVES follow linking verbs such as FEEL/IS/ARE

Similarly, if we split it-
1) Ballerina seems HEALTHY
2) She feels UNWELL
3) She is UNLIKELY

All bold part are adjectives because of the explanation given above.!!
123nobody321 wrote:Your answer is much appreciated!
1)
MGMAT: "Unlikely: CORRECT. Here, unlikely is an adjective. Unlikely modifies she, because "is" is a linking verb."
That is what the solution says. To be honest, your solution does make more sense to me :)

You might want to revisit the concept of mission critical modifier in MGMAT SC Guide for better clarity on this.
123nobody321 wrote: 2)
Regarding your example with the box of nails. MGMAT says in the very same chapter about modifiers, that "which" can only refer to the noun immediately preceding it - never to refer to an entire clause.

In your sentence, the noun preceding "which" would be "nails" and not "box". :S

Is there an explanation?
I am sorry that I have to bother you so much (with the other threads as well), but I try to follow the rules and I just have a lot of problems applying them (just answered 9 SC questions - only 3 correct) :/


Best,
nobody
Hope this helps !!
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