The nephew of Pliny the Elder wrote the only eyewitness

[RBBmba@2014]

The nephew of Pliny the Elder wrote the only eyewitness account of the great eruption of Vesuvius in two letters to the historian Tacitus.

(A) The nephew of Pliny the Elder wrote the only eyewitness account of the great eruption of Vesuvius in two letters to the historian Tacitus.
(B) To the historian Tacitus, the nephew of Pliny the Elder wrote two letters, being the only eyewitness accounts of the great eruption of Vesuvius.
(C) The only eyewitness account is in two letters by the nephew of Pliny the Elder writing to the historian Tacitus an account of the great eruption of Vesuvius.
(D) Writing the only eyewitness account, Pliny the Elder's nephew accounted for the great eruption of Vesuvius in two letters to the historian Tacitus.
(E) In two letters to the historian Tacitus, the nephew of Pliny the Elder wrote the only eyewitness account of the great eruption of Vesuvius

OA : E

@ Experts, Although I got this one correct, a quick question - had the current OA E been a wrong choice, then would A have been correct in that particular case ?

Actually, it seems that the reason given in the OG for A to be wrong, is bit non-sensical because there is no way "eruption can take place in two letters" irrespective of the position of the phrase "two letters...", so evidently 'in two letters' can never modify 'eruption of Vesuvius' in any way. Thus, it means even though positioned at the end, 'in two letters' will ALWAYS modify the VERB wrote ONLY.

Would be curious to know your feedback. Much thanks in advance!

P.S: PLEASE NOTE that among the given choices, I don't have any issues in understanding why OA is preferred to A. So, kindly shed light on the above aspect only.

[GMATGuruNY]

A modifier should be AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE to what it serves to modify.
It must be CRYSTAL CLEAR what a modifier is modifying.

Actually, it seems that the reason given in the OG for A to be wrong, is bit non-sensical because there is no way "eruption can take place in two letters" irrespective of the position of the phrase "two letters...", so evidently 'in two letters' can never modify 'eruption of Vesuvius' in any way.

The problem is that the placement of in right after the great eruption of Vesuvius makes it SEEM as though the in-modifier is intended to modify eruption, since an ERUPTION can occur IN something.
As a result, A seems to imply that the ERUPTION took place in two letters -- clearly not the intended meaning.

would A have been correct in that particular case ?

The GMAT would not offer the construction in A as an OA.
Since a modifier should be as close as possible to what it is intended to modify, there is simply no justification for placing in two letters so far from its intended referent (wrote).

The intended meaning is clearly conveyed by the OA.
Generally, an introductory prepositional modifier serves as an ADVERB modifying THE VERB IN THE FOLLOWING CLAUSE.
E: IN TWO LETTERS to the historian Tacitus, the nephew of Pliny the Elder WROTE the only eyewitness account.
Here, in two letters (an introductory prepositional modifier) clearly serves as an ADVERB modifying wrote (the verb in the following clause).
Conveyed meaning:
The nephew WROTE IN TWO LETTERS.

The correct answer is E.

Please note that the goal is to choose the BEST answer choice.
Since E is free of errors and places in two letters closer to its intended referent than does A, eliminate A and choose E.

[RBBmba@2014]

Yes, Mitch. Although I didn't have any issue in understanding why OA is preferred to A, I just wanted to get clarified on other concerns I raised above! Thank you for your reply.

P.S: A quick question - you've said "an ERUPTION can occur IN something". So, here ERUPTION must have occurred in Vesuvius. Right? Where else it can occur logically...!

[RBBmba@2014]

A quick question - you've said "an ERUPTION can occur IN something". So, here ERUPTION must have occurred in Vesuvius. Right? Where else it can occur logically...!

Mitch - could you please provide a quick feedback on the above ? Much thanks in advance!

[GMATGuruNY]

Yes, Mitch. Although I didn't have any issue in understanding why OA is preferred to A, I just wanted to get clarified on other concerns I raised above! Thank you for your reply.

P.S: A quick question - you've said "an ERUPTION can occur IN something". So, here ERUPTION must have occurred in Vesuvius. Right? Where else it can occur logically...!

One example:
the eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD.

[RBBmba@2014]

Thanks Mitch.

Generally, an introductory prepositional modifier serves as an ADVERB modifying THE VERB IN THE FOLLOWING CLAUSE.

Is the VERB you referred to above, the MAIN VERB in the THE FOLLOWING CLAUSE of the introductory prepositional modifier (or any OTHER VERB in the THE FOLLOWING CLAUSE) ?

[GMATGuruNY]

Thanks Mitch.

Generally, an introductory prepositional modifier serves as an ADVERB modifying THE VERB IN THE FOLLOWING CLAUSE.

Is the VERB you referred to above, the MAIN VERB in the THE FOLLOWING CLAUSE of the introductory prepositional modifier (or any OTHER VERB in the THE FOLLOWING CLAUSE) ?

An introductory prepositional modifier generally serves to modify the MAIN VERB in the following clause.

SC4 in the OG13:
AT THE END OF THE 1930s, Duke Ellington WAS LOOKING for a composer.
Here, Duke Ellington WAS LOOKING AT THE END OF THE 1930s.

SC8 in the OG13:
IN LATE 1997, the chambers inside the pyramid of the Pharaoh Menkaure at Giza WERE CLOSED.
Here, the chambers WERE CLOSED IN LATE 1997.

SC28 in the OG13:
IN VIRTUALLY ALL TYPES OF TISSUE in every animal species, dioxin INDUCES the production of enzymes.
Here, dioxin PRODUCES IN VIRTUALLY ALL TYPES OF TISSUE.

[RBBmba@2014]

An introductory prepositional modifier generally serves to modify the MAIN VERB in the following clause.

SC4 in the OG13:
AT THE END OF THE 1930s, Duke Ellington WAS LOOKING for a composer.
Here, Duke Ellington WAS LOOKING AT THE END OF THE 1930s.

SC8 in the OG13:
IN LATE 1997, the chambers inside the pyramid of the Pharaoh Menkaure at Giza WERE CLOSED.
Here, the chambers WERE CLOSED IN LATE 1997.

SC28 in the OG13:
IN VIRTUALLY ALL TYPES OF TISSUE in every animal species, dioxin INDUCES the production of enzymes.
Here, dioxin PRODUCES IN VIRTUALLY ALL TYPES OF TISSUE.

Hi GMATGuruNY,
In your above post you've mentioned that "An introductory prepositional modifier generally serves to modify the MAIN VERB in the following clause".

BUT in this link (2nd post of the thread), you've mentioned that "A prepositional modifier beginning a sentence or enclosed by commas generally serves as an ADVERB modifying THE NEAREST ELIGIBLE VERB".

So, aren't the portion in RED and BLUE contradictory ?

[GMATGuruNY]

Hi GMATGuruNY,
In your above post you've mentioned that "An introductory prepositional modifier generally serves to modify the MAIN VERB in the following clause".

BUT in this link (2nd post of the thread), you've mentioned that "A prepositional modifier beginning a sentence generally serves as an ADVERB modifying THE NEAREST ELIGIBLE VERB".

So, aren't the portion in RED and BLUE contradictory ?

The nearest eligible verb should be the main verb of the following clause.
The blue statement above refers to answer choices that are incorrect because the nearest eligible verb is NOT the main verb of the following clause.

[RBBmba@2014]

Hi GMATGuruNY,
In your above post you've mentioned that "An introductory prepositional modifier generally serves to modify the MAIN VERB in the following clause".

BUT in this link (2nd post of the thread), you've mentioned that "A prepositional modifier beginning a sentence generally serves as an ADVERB modifying THE NEAREST ELIGIBLE VERB".

So, aren't the portion in RED and BLUE contradictory ?

The nearest eligible verb should be the main verb of the following clause.
The blue statement above refers to answer choices that are incorrect because the nearest eligible verb is NOT the main verb of the following clause.

OK. Got you...However, in this CR, the Option E is: Beatrix Potter, in her book illustrations, carefully coordinated them with her narratives -- in which the introductory prepositional modifier "IN HER BOOK ILLUSTRATIONS" refers to the THE NEAREST ELIGIBLE VERB, which is the MAIN VERB in the following clause "coordinated". Right ?

But still Option E is wrong in that CR because meaning is distorted/nonsensical. Am I correct ?

[GMATGuruNY]

OK. Got you...However, in this CR, the Option E is: Beatrix Potter, in her book illustrations, carefully coordinated them with her narratives -- in which the introductory prepositional modifier "IN HER BOOK ILLUSTRATIONS" refers to the THE NEAREST ELIGIBLE VERB, which is the MAIN VERB in the following clause "coordinated". Right ?

Correct!

But still Option E is wrong in that CR because meaning is distorted/nonsensical. Am I correct ?

Correct!