College of Admission Tests Multan

Dangling or Misplaced Modifier

Solve the question of and select the option from the choices A through D/E. Check your Answer and view the explanation.

Question: 6

By the year 2000, A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens' gripping book portraying the suffering of the proletariat under the brutal subjugation of the French aristocracy had around 200 million copies in print, making it more than that of almost any other English book ever written.

  • book portraying the suffering of the proletariat under the brutal subjugation of the French aristocracy had around 200 million copies in print, making it more than
  • book portraying the suffering of the proletariat under the brutal subjugation of the French aristocracy had around 200 million copies in print, which is more than
  • book portraying the suffering of the proletariat under the brutal subjugation of the French aristocracy, had around 200 million copies in print, more than
  • book portraying the suffering of the proletariat under the brutal subjugation of the French aristocracy, had around 200 million copies in print, making it more than
  • book portraying the suffering of the proletariat under the brutal subjugation of the French aristocracy had around 200 million copies in print and is more than

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Correct Answer: C

None

Option(C) is correct There are three main issues being tested in this question. (1) The phrase Charles Dickens'...aristocracy is a modifying phrase and must be set off in a pair of commas as it should stand between the subject and verb in order to clearly modify the subject. Modifiers that break the flow of the sentence must be set off in a pair of commas. Without a comma after aristocracy, the modifying phrase is not properly separated from the subject (A Tale of Two Cities) and verb (had). (2) The pronoun it in the phrase making it more than does not have a clear antecedent (although it probably refers to A Tale of Two Cities). (3) The phrase making it more than illogically compares a book to a number of copies of a book in print. The sentence should compare a number of copies in print to a number of copies in print. A. there is no comma between aristocracy and had to set off the modifying phrase; the sentence improperly compares unlike parts; the pronoun it toward the end of the sentence has no clear antecedent B. there is no comma between aristocracy and had to set off the modifying phrase C. the modifying phrase between the subject and verb is set off by a comma; the unclear and unnecessary pronoun it has been removed; like parts are being compared (i.e., number of copies in print) D. the sentence improperly compares unlike parts; the pronoun it toward the end of the sentence has no clear antecedent E. this is a long run-on sentence; there is no comma between aristocracy and had to set off the modifying phrase; the phrase and is more than is awkward as there is no clear subject to which the verb is refers