Correcting Ambiguous Modifier Errors - GMAT Verbal

“Wearing patriotic pins” modifies the noun “congressman” not “cloakroom”; therefore, it must be placed directly after the word “congressmen.”

A majority is singular, so the verb "to believe" must agree with that verb form. Additionally, there is an ambiguous modifier at the end of the sentence. "National level" refers to policy, not people; therefore, it must be placed next to "policy," the noun that it modifies.

As constructed, the sentence reads that the "newspaper," an inanimate object, is what is working overtime, rather than the individuals actually putting in the work. The phrase needs to be reworked to show what is actually working. "With its staff working overtime to produce the first issue" is the only answer choice that makes the correct change.

In the original sentence, "gleefully" is an ambiguous modifier. Is the President gleeful when giving his orders to the group, or is he telling the group to themselves be gleeful when they greet the ambassadors? The correct answer shifts the word to make things clearer. All of the other options have errors of their own.

The example sentence is unclear because the pronoun "them" has an unclear antecedent. In the example, "them" could refer either to the coworkers or the papers, and is therefore ambiguous. The correction would be simply to specify that it is "the papers" that are being replaced.

The example sentence includes an ambiguous modifier. In the example sentence, "strictly" is not placed close enough to the verb it modifies, and is thus it is impossible to know whether the supervisor gave his instruction "strictly" (meaning in a strict manner), or whether he or she was providing a restriction on what the employees kept track of (i.e. to keep track "strictly" meaning only of the time spent away from their desks). The best correction here would be to move "strictly" closer to "instructed," making it clear that the manner of instruction is being modified. The correct version of the sentence reads, "Our supervisor strictly instructed us to keep track of the time we spent away from our desks."

The sentence as written is awkward, making it seem as though some unspecified amount of tourists are arriving "every single year." The exact comparison being made by "more" must be made explicit. The only answer choice that clears up this confusion is "the city has had more tourists every single year than the year before."

“Wearing patriotic pins” modifies the noun “congressman” not “cloakroom”; therefore, it must be placed directly after the word “congressmen.”

A majority is singular, so the verb "to believe" must agree with that verb form. Additionally, there is an ambiguous modifier at the end of the sentence. "National level" refers to policy, not people; therefore, it must be placed next to "policy," the noun that it modifies.

As constructed, the sentence reads that the "newspaper," an inanimate object, is what is working overtime, rather than the individuals actually putting in the work. The phrase needs to be reworked to show what is actually working. "With its staff working overtime to produce the first issue" is the only answer choice that makes the correct change.

In the original sentence, "gleefully" is an ambiguous modifier. Is the President gleeful when giving his orders to the group, or is he telling the group to themselves be gleeful when they greet the ambassadors? The correct answer shifts the word to make things clearer. All of the other options have errors of their own.

The example sentence is unclear because the pronoun "them" has an unclear antecedent. In the example, "them" could refer either to the coworkers or the papers, and is therefore ambiguous. The correction would be simply to specify that it is "the papers" that are being replaced.

The example sentence includes an ambiguous modifier. In the example sentence, "strictly" is not placed close enough to the verb it modifies, and is thus it is impossible to know whether the supervisor gave his instruction "strictly" (meaning in a strict manner), or whether he or she was providing a restriction on what the employees kept track of (i.e. to keep track "strictly" meaning only of the time spent away from their desks). The best correction here would be to move "strictly" closer to "instructed," making it clear that the manner of instruction is being modified. The correct version of the sentence reads, "Our supervisor strictly instructed us to keep track of the time we spent away from our desks."

The sentence as written is awkward, making it seem as though some unspecified amount of tourists are arriving "every single year." The exact comparison being made by "more" must be made explicit. The only answer choice that clears up this confusion is "the city has had more tourists every single year than the year before."

“Wearing patriotic pins” modifies the noun “congressman” not “cloakroom”; therefore, it must be placed directly after the word “congressmen.”

A majority is singular, so the verb "to believe" must agree with that verb form. Additionally, there is an ambiguous modifier at the end of the sentence. "National level" refers to policy, not people; therefore, it must be placed next to "policy," the noun that it modifies.

As constructed, the sentence reads that the "newspaper," an inanimate object, is what is working overtime, rather than the individuals actually putting in the work. The phrase needs to be reworked to show what is actually working. "With its staff working overtime to produce the first issue" is the only answer choice that makes the correct change.

In the original sentence, "gleefully" is an ambiguous modifier. Is the President gleeful when giving his orders to the group, or is he telling the group to themselves be gleeful when they greet the ambassadors? The correct answer shifts the word to make things clearer. All of the other options have errors of their own.

The example sentence is unclear because the pronoun "them" has an unclear antecedent. In the example, "them" could refer either to the coworkers or the papers, and is therefore ambiguous. The correction would be simply to specify that it is "the papers" that are being replaced.