sl750 wrote:Soft plaque is now emerging as the cause of up to eighty percent of heart attacks, harder to detect and more vulnerable to sudden, unexpected rupture than hard plaque

A) Soft plaque is now emerging as the cause of up to eighty percent of heart attacks, harder to detect and more vulnerable to sudden, unexpected rupture than hard plaque Sentence fragment

B) Soft plaque is now emerging as the cause of up to eighty percent of heart attacks, as opposed to hard plaque, harder to detect and more vulnerable to sudden,unexpected rupture Meaning Change

C) Soft plaque is harder to detect and more vulnerable to rupture than hard plaque, now emerging as the cause of up to eighty percent of heart attacks Sentence Fragment

D) Soft plaque, harder to detect and more vulnerable to sudden, unexpected rupture than hard plaque, is now emerging as the cause of up to eighty percent of heart attacks Correct

E) Soft plaque, because it is harder to detect and more vulnerable to sudden, unexpected rupture, is emerging as the cause of up to eighty percent of heart attacks, as opposed to hard plaque Meaning Change

I shall post the answer after a few comments

Thanks

Why Op C is wrong???? the comparison in first part is correct and "emerging" (COMMA + ING) i believe correctly modifying Soft plaque.

Moreover, In Op D, can u please suggest if it correct to place a COMMA between Sudden and unexpected....this COMMA is unnecessarily creating confusion. I think AND should be placed between these two words rather than a COMMA.

Thanks Pranay!!. When I see the sentence like that without the filler it does make sense

bubbliiiiiiii wrote:

Why Op C is wrong???? the comparison in first part is correct and "emerging" (COMMA + ING) i believe correctly modifying Soft plaque.

Nope it modifies hard plague and thus, changes the meaning of the sentence.

In C, it is unclear whether now emerging modifies soft plaque or hard plaque. Generally, a present participle (such as emerging) preceded by a comma refers to the subject of the preceding clause. C is confusing because the comparison in the preceding clause-- soft plaque [is] harder to detect...than [is] hard plaque -- implies two potential subjects: hard plaque and soft plaque. Many readers will assume that emerging refers to hard plaque, since it is the closer of the two preceding subjects. The intended meaning of the sentence, however, is that emerging refers to soft plaque. Since it must be clear what a modifier is modifying, eliminate C.