Let's take 'em Modifiers down! (Part1)

---Intro to be added---


Adjectives and Adverbs: Watch out for these suckers!

• Make sure not to use an adverb where and adjective is required
• In certain instances, adjectives occur after linking verbs and modify the noun

Examples: Amy is a GOOD person (Good is an adjective that modifies the noun person)
                 Amy is feeling GOOD (Good is again an adjective that modifies the noun Amy)
                 Amy is feeling WELL (Well is an adjective that modifies the noun Amy)
                 Amy writes WELL (In this case, Well is adverb that modifies the verb writes)

• The GMAT might at times play a trick on you by including two seemingly correct sentences. However, both these sentences may not mean the same thing. Pick the choice that conveys the author's intent accurately.

Examples:
INCORRECT: James Joyce is Max's SUPPOSEDLY Irish ancestor.
CORRECT:  James Joyce is Max's SUPPOSED Irish ancestor.


Here, the adjective SUPPOSED needs to modify the noun ANCESTOR. The sentence implies that James Joyce may or may not be Max's ancestor, but James Joyce is certainly Irish.


INCORRECT: Max's grandmother is his SUPPOSED Irish ancestor.
CORRECT: Max's grandmother is his SUPPOSEDLY Irish ancestor.


In this case, unlike the last, the question is whether Max's grandmother is Irish or not. Therefore, we need a modifier that modifies the adjective Irish, viz., SUPPOSEDLY.


Here's a list of adjectives that have been alternated with their adverbs on the past in the GMAT:
frequent, corresponding, independent, seeming, rare, recent, separate, significant, usual, and supposed.


Noun Modifiers: Phrases or clauses that modify nouns and pronouns


Noun modifiers can be imagined to be long adjectives. 

Courtesy: MGMAT

• A noun that modifies another noun is referred to as an Appositive. This is just FYI! An example would be: The cat, a TABBY raised on a farm, took a nap. In the example, TABBY is a noun that modifies cat, which has already been modified by the phrase raised on a farm.
• Because you're not used to sentences with opening modifiers, the GMAT uses it to trick you. Therefore, pay special attention to such sentences. Notice in the examples above, that the modifiers are separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma. Even though such sentences may not sound correct when we say them, they are correct to write.

Noun Modifiers: Where the hell do they sit??

I've made a bunch of mistakes on this one!

When you see a noun modifier, you need to ask yourself, "Which noun does this need to modify for the sentence to make most sense?". MGMAT talks about a rule called the TOUCH rule: Every NOUN and its MODIFIER must TOUCH each other.

I personally think it's also useful to figure out whether the sentence sounds ambiguous or not. Meaning, is there a possibility of the noun modifier referring to more than one noun?

MGMAT Example:   

INCORRECT: Jim biked along an old dirt road to get to his house, which cut through the woods. 

CORRECT: To get his house, Jim biked through an old dirt road, which cut through the woods.

If, as in the case above, the modifier is placed next to the wrong noun, it is known as a Misplaced Modifier.

If the noun that has to be modified is not present in the sentence it is known as a Dangling Modifier. Here's an MGMAT example of what I'm talking about.

INCORRECT: Resigned to the bad news, there was no commotion in the office.

INCORRECT: There was no commotion in the office, resigned to the bad news.

In the example above, notice that there is no noun present. In order to complete the sentence we will need to insert a suitable noun as the noun modifier resigned to the bad news will need to refer to an individual or a group. Therefore a correct sentence reads as follows:

CORRECT: Resigned to the bad news, the office workers made no commotion.

Another of these dangling modifiers are noticed in Present Participle modifiers, that is, the -Ing form. Although these are called Verb Modifiers, they need a noun subject to make sense! You're probably seeing stars. If not, kudos! 'Cos I am.

Here are some wrong, wrong examples from MGMAT: 

1. Using the latest technology, the problem was identified.
2. The problem was identified using the latest technology.

Remember, you probably say stuff like this, but you can't write and definitely can't pick it on the GMAT!! You're probably wondering why and I must admit the answer hit me right away when I was reading the sentence. This is because the verb modifier needs to refer to someone. So to correct this, you can insert a noun such as the engineer. Now the sentence becomes:


CORRECT: Using the latest technology, the engineer identified the problem.
CORRECT: The engineer identified the problem using the latest technology.

Also, unlike a noun modifier, a verb modifier does not have to TOUCH the subject it modifies.


Another thing that you've got to remember is not to use long , wordy modifiers as these tend to sound awkward and confusing. Here's an example of what I'm talking about:


INCORRECT: George Carlin, both shocking and entertaining audiences across the nation, who also struggled publicly with drug abuse, influenced and inspired a generation of comedians.


This example has two modifiers placed one after the other, which sounds confusing. One way of amending the problem is to shift the misplaced modifier who struggled publicly with drug abuse before the subject that it modifies. But this doesn't entirely sort out the problem. The best solution, as per MGMAT, is to eliminate one of the modifiers entirely.


CORRECT: Both shocking and entertaining audiences across the nation, George Carlin influenced and inspired a whole generation of comedians, even as he struggled publicly with drug abuse.


The modifier Both shocking and entertaining audiences across the nation links the subject George Carlin correctly. The second modifier has been done away with and the contrasting thought struggling publicly with drug abuse has been represented by a subordinate clause headed by even as.