Let's take 'em Modifiers down! (Part 2)

Possessive Nouns - Spoiled Sports!


Misplaced modifiers sometimes appear in sentences with possessive nouns (nouns ending with 's or s'). Look at an example from MGMAT:


INCORRECT: Unskilled in complex math, Bill's score on the exam was poor.


See the mistake? Instead of referring to Bill, the modifier refers to his score implying that his score was unskilled in complex math rendering the sentence illogical. Besides, this will not what an author in his right mind would intend to say!


CORRECT: Unskilled in complex math, Bill did not score well on the exam.


Also remember, a modifier usually cannot modify a noun in the possessive case.
Never ignore abstract nouns such as development. Modifiers that touch them need to intend to modify them. Here's an example:


INCORRECT: Only in the past century has Origami's development, a ceremonial activity invented millennia ago, into a true art form taken place.


This sentence is telling the reader that Origami's development is a ceremonial activity invented millennia ago, which is not the intent of the author. Therefore a corrected statement would read:


CORRECT: Origami - a ceremonial activity invented millennia ago - has developed into a true art form only in the past century.


Noun Modifiers with Relative Pronouns
Noun modifiers are sometimes introduced by Relative Pronouns.
The relative pronouns are: Which, That, Whose, Where, Whom, Who, When


Such modifiers are called Relative Clauses. Relative Pronouns are subjected to many restrictions.

• Who and Whom can only modify people
• Which can only modify things
• That according to the GMAT can only modify things (although other grammar authorities disagree)

Example:
INCORRECT: The scientists THAT discovered plutonium are not alive.
CORRECT: The scientists WHO discovered plutonium are not alive.

• Whose can modify people or things according to the GMAT
• Which or Whom sometimes follow prepositions.

Example: the canal through which the water flows

• Who is the subject of a relative clause and Whom is the object of a relative clause

Example:
INCORRECT: The security guard WHO we met was nice.
CORRECT: The security guard WHOM we met was nice.

• That and Whom can be dropped if the noun is the object of the modifying clause.

INCORRECT: The movie THAT we watched last night was scary.
CORRECT: The movie we watched last night was scary.

• Where can modify a place such as a city, country, state, area or site.

Note: It cannot modify a metaphorical place such as a condition or situation or case or status or circumstance. In such cases, in which is used instead of where.

• When can modify an event or time such as a period or age or1987 or decade. In such circumstances, you can also use in which instead of when.

Essential and Non-essential Modifiers
Essential Modifiers are those modifiers that provide required information.
Non-essential Modifiers are those modifiers that provide extra information.


Example:
Essential Modifier: The mansion painted red is owned by the Lees.
The modifier "painted red" is necessary to identify the mansion owned by the Lees among many mansions on a street. To the question What is owned by the Lees?, you would answer the red mansion.
Non-essential Modifier: This mansion, recently painted red, is owned by the Lees.
The modifier "recently painted red" is extra information since the mansion has already been identified by "this". To the question What is owned by the Lees?, you would answer this mansion.

• When in a dilemma between that and which, use the following thumb rules:
• Use which (and commas) when the modifier is non-essential.
• Use that (and no commas) when the modifier is essential.

• In general, essential modifiers are not separated by commas and non-essential modifiers are separated by commas.

Verb Modifiers (And we're nearing the end of modifiers, yaayyyyyy!!!!!)

• As the name suggests, such modifiers modify verbs. The most common verb modifiers are adverbs, although most verb modifier behave the way adverbs do.

Examples: 

Courtesy: MGMAT

• Subordinators are words such as although, while, if, because, unless, so that, etc. which begin subordinate clauses, but cannot stand on their own and are attached to a main clause.

Courtesy: MGMAT

• In all the examples, the word I makes sense. It is important to know that the verb modifier can be placed more freely in a sentence than a noun modifier which has to be placed next to the noun that is being modified. 
• However, the subject that is being modified by the verb needs present in the sentence. 
• Finally, the verb must be placed in the sentence such that it modifies the subject correctly without ambiguity.

Which vs. -Ing words (And here we are, yaayyyyyy again!!!!!)

• Use which only to modify the noun immediately preceding it. Do not use it to modify an entire clause.

Example:

INCORRECT: Crime has recently decreased in our neighborhood, which has led to a rise in property prices.

This sentence wrongly conveys that our neighborhood has led to an increase in property prices. So you get the drift!

CORRECT: The recent decrease in crime in the neighborhood has led to a rise in property prices.

Also CORRECT: Crime has recently decreased in the neighborhood, leading to a rise in property prices.