Hi,

I have been struggling with modifiers lately - need some help!

1. Both the following sentences have the exact same structure but one is grammatically correct and the other is not. (pg 99 SC)

Correct: Last night our air conditioner broke, causing great consternation.

Incorrect: The patient's rare disease was treated using novel techniques developed at the medical school.

Per the explanation in the guide, the underlined modifier is dangling since the sentence contains no noun that is properly modified by using novel techniques.

My question is: why is disease not considered a noun? why does this structure work for the first sentence and not the second?

#2. Correct: Ravaged by civil war for many years after it gained independence from Portugal, Angola, is now one of Africa's success stories: its economy grew by 21% last year, and parliamentary elections are to be held later this week. pg 96

My question is: how is the use of colon justified here? Shouldn't the colon be used to explain what comes after it? If so, how does having parliamentary elections define success?

#3 Correct: Regina returned the dress, which was torn at one of the seams, to the store. pg 98
Shouldn't the underlined modifier be an 'essential clause'

Stacy/Ron: Can you please help?
Thanks in advance

anybody?

1.The disease cannot use novel techniques.
The subject of the verb using is the disease.

2.The colon provides further explanation...
P.192

3.I think whether a clause is essential depends on the writer.

Q1)
Pg 85 last line MGMAT 4th ed.SC BIBLE
Disease is the object of the verb treated.this sentence is passive
Q3)http://www.manhattangmat.com/tags/sentence-correction

Hi chitrangada.maitra

The sentence -
Last night our air conditioner broke, causing great consternation.

is a Action ---> Result construction (X--->Y Construction)

', Present Participle' construction can only be used
1. in X--->Y Construction cases
2. where X is Noun Clause

Note the , before -ing form

So X is noun and Causing is verb: CORRECT

The sentence -
The patient's rare disease was treated using novel techniques (lets's forget about - developed at the medical school.)

is a Result <---- Action construction ( Y<----X Construction)

X is not a Noun Clause here.. Remember A noun/Subject performs the action.. X is not a noun so who is performing the action???
No Noun>> Dangling Modifier

First, these sentences do not have the exact same structure; look at the comma for the clearest evidence of this. Second, disease is definitely a noun, it is just not the thing that used novel techniques. On the other hand, in example 1 the air conditioner is definitely what caused consternation..



The colon itself doesn't explain anything. The part after the colon should clarify what comes before. And i'll stay out of the politics of discussing whether parliamentary elections is an appropriate measure of success for a newly-independent country. :) Suffice it to say that the author of the sentence apparently thinks this is the case..



It depends on how many dresses she returned to the store..

_________________
Tim Sanders
Manhattan GMAT Instructor