Sentence Correction

A) While being a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome as to become
Incorrect.
Misplaced Modifier issue. Terrell Owen's me-first attitude was not a philadelphia Eagle but Terrell Owen is.

B) In his tenure as a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude that was so tiresome as to become
Incorrect.
Become is not pas ttense and I think a past tense, became, should be used here.
C) While playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome that it became
Incorrect.
Same reason as explained in A.
D) Terrell Owens, while playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, had his me-first attitude being so tiresome that it became
Incorrect. being so tiresome does not sound correct.
E) Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude, while being a Philadelphia Eagle, that was so tiresome that it became
Correct. Modifier placed correctly. Became --> past tense is correct.

Who are the winners ?

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.

This sentence implies the following about Terrell Owens
1: He was a Philadelphia Eagle (PE)
2: While he was PE, he had me-first attitude.
3: This me-first attitude was tiresome to such an extent that it became a distraction that over shadowed his performance and forced the team to release him.

A) While being a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome as to become
This choice has modifier error. "While being a PE" should modify Terrell Owen. In this sentence, it modifies his me-first attitude. Also, the usage of so x as to y is ambiguous here. It is difficult to understand what became a distraction.

B) In his tenure as a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude that was so tiresome as to become
This choice also has error with the usage of "so x as to y". It is not clear who or what became a distraction.

C) While playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome that it became
This choice has modifier error similar to the one in choice A.

D) Terrell Owens, while playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, had his me-first attitude being so tiresome that it became
This choice is awkwardly worded. With the use of "being...", the choice is very unnecessarily wordy.

E) Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude, while being a Philadelphia Eagle, that was so tiresome that it became
This choice is correct. The modifier "while being a PE" modifies the action in the preceding clause. It presents the timing of when that action took place. Terrell Owens displayed the attitude while he was a PE. Also, the usage of "so x that y" is now precise and use of "it" prior to became clearly indicates what became a distraction. It means that Terrell displayed the attitude. This display of attitude became a distraction ...

I would go with option B......

Thanks for all the responses, everyone!

B is the correct answer here.

A and C have a glaring Modifier error in that the introductory phrase should modify "Terrell Owens" and not "Terrell Owens' attitude" (which couldn't logically play for the Eagles)

E also has a Modifier error in that "while being a Philadelphia Eagle" is placed next to the noun "attitude", creating confusion over which noun is logically being modified. And while "being" in this way isn't dead-wrong (it was a temporary condition that he was on the Eagles) it's a much clunkier sentence than that in choice B.

Choice D mixes verb tenses illogically - Owens "had" (past tense) an attitude "being" (present) tiresome.

Choice B is correct - the Modifier clearly modifies Owens and "displayed" (past-tense) is logical, with the construct "so X as to (infinitive verb) Y" also making logical sense. The sentence is also concise and clear, avoiding that excess awkwardness in D and E.


My main goal with this question was to include the idiom "So X as to Y" in a correct answer, as I've seen a lot of discussion on these boards in which people didn't like that construct. But it's valid, and if you use Modifier and Verb Tense logic you're stuck with it. That's what I'd advise for SC in general - focus on those main decision points that you know they test routinely!

Thanks to everyone for participating - you should receive a PM from our office later today if you qualified as one of the first 5 correct respondents!

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. The opening modifier incorrectly modifies Terrell Owens', but 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
Incorrect. Wrong idiom because of the meaning but not because of the format. In other words, Terrell Owens would not have displayed such attitude to become a distraction.

C) While playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, Terrell Owens' me-first attitude was so tiresome that it became
Incorrect. The opening modifier incorrectly modifies Terrell Owens', but 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 tense is not correct;Verb construction is bad.

E) Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude, while being a Philadelphia Eagle, that was so tiresome that it became
Correct. Modifier, Verb usage, and Idiom are correctly used.

Answer choice is E.

It looks like majority of the responses are B. In my view, B is a trap answer because of great usage of words in the opening modifier--as a Philadelphia Eagle--and well accepted usage of the idiom--so X as to Y--. But,its meaning is nonsensical. However, in the answer choice E, opening modifier has contradictory word--while being--and also the idiom--so X that Y--is some what hidden.

Although I am late in responding to this question, I have not seen 5 correct responses with valid reasoning. So, I have posted.

rveeraga wrote:
B)In his tenure as a Philadelphia Eagle, Terrell Owens displayed a me-first attitude that was so tiresome as to become
Incorrect. Wrong idiom because of the meaning but not because of the format. In other words, Terrell Owens would not have displayed such attitude to become a distraction.

Can you explain how B changes the meaning because if I see then tiresome modifies attitude and attitude becomes distraction in the next sentence........

Rveeraga,
you may go through the explanations by Brian@veritasprep; thereafter, you can
ask questions for further clarifications or relating to objections.

Brian@VeritasPrep wrote:Thanks for all the responses, everyone!

E also has a Modifier error in that "while being a Philadelphia Eagle" is placed next to the noun "attitude", creating confusion over which noun is logically being modified. And while "being" in this way isn't dead-wrong (it was a temporary condition that he was on the Eagles) it's a much clunkier sentence than that in choice B.

Hi Brian,

Although I respect the official answer, I have a concern about the official explanation for choice E. I feel choice E is the correct one. May be both B and E are correct!! Sorry for being a pain, but I do want to make sure I understand things correctly. This question has kinda shaken my confidence and I want to learn from it.

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

I do not think "while being a PE" can modify attitude. I have seen similar usage of "while" in OG12#134. Choice C is the correct answer and here is the sentence with the correct answer:

Recently implemented "equations" based on studies of human sleep cycle have reduced sickness, sleeping on the job, and fatigue among shift workers while raising production efficiency in various industries.

In the official sentence above, the modifier "while raising" does not modify "workers". It modifies the preceding clause - it presents the sense that the action in preceding clause happened at the same time as the action "raising production efficiency".

IMO, the modification in choice E was very clear and that is why I chose it to be the correct answer.

Please help.

Thanks,

Aman

Aman -

Brian left open the possibility that "while being" might be acceptable even where it is located, but as Brian indicated the sentence formed by answer choice E becomes very disjointed -- he said "clunkier".

Choice B flows very well from start to finish. The "so x as to y" usage is correct as Brian indicated.

The example of "while" that you give from the official guide works much better than "while being" does here. First of all, the OG usage places the "while raising" phrase at the end of the sentence. This is not at all disruptive to the sentence and it makes for a good flow. For example:

"She raised three children and worked two jobs, while still pursuing her acting career." In this case the while is not misplaced, even though, as you mention, it is not modifying "jobs."

Now let's put the "while being" in the middle of the sentence and see that it is a distraction.

"He ran for President of the United States, while being a Senator from Illinois, and revolutionized the way that the Internet is used by political campaigns."

If you move the "while" to the beginning or end of the sentence it works better...

"While fulfilling his duties as a Senator from Illinois, he ran for President and revolutionized..."

I would even say that E qualifies as "awkward" - which is beyond poor style - and I would not accept this as the correct answer if there is any other option.

Brian@VeritasPrep wrote:Thanks for all the responses, everyone!

B is the correct answer here.

A and C have a glaring Modifier error in that the introductory phrase should modify "Terrell Owens" and not "Terrell Owens' attitude" (which couldn't logically play for the Eagles)

E also has a Modifier error in that "while being a Philadelphia Eagle" is placed next to the noun "attitude", creating confusion over which noun is logically being modified. And while "being" in this way isn't dead-wrong (it was a temporary condition that he was on the Eagles) it's a much clunkier sentence than that in choice B.

hi brian in E , isnt the that clause misplaced or is this kind of structure allowed where there can be another modifier between the noun and and the that clause