📢 Too many exams? Don’t know which one suits you best? Book Your Free Expert 👉 call Now!

    Question

    Each of the following sentences has been divided into

    five parts (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e). One of these parts may contain a grammatical or contextual error. Identify the part that contains the error. If there is no error, choose option (e). To understand the failure of the uprising (a), /numerous primary sources were examined (b), /revealing contradictions in leadership decisions (c) /and public mobilisation strategies (d)./ No error (e)
    A d Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    B c Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    C b Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    D a Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    E e Correct Answer Incorrect Answer

    Solution

    The error is a dangling modifier. The sentence begins with the infinitive phrase "To understand the failure of the uprising" (part a). Grammatically, the subject of the main clause that immediately follows must be the logical "doer" of that action. However, the subject introduced in part (b) is "numerous primary sources." Since primary sources do not have the ability to "understand" an uprising, the modifier is left dangling. To correct the sentence, part (b) should be rewritten in the active voice to introduce a logical subject, such as: "...historians examined numerous primary sources." Correct structure: To understand the failure of the uprising, historians examined numerous primary sources, revealing contradictions in leadership decisions and public mobilisation strategies.

    Practice Next
    More Spotting Errors Questions
    ask-question