Correcting Modifier-Word Modified Agreement Errors - GMAT Verbal

The key issue with the underlined phrase is the simultaneous use of "an" and the plural form "studies." Either the singular "an" or the plural "studies" needs to be changed to make the forms match. "An objective study" is the correct answer choice.

The error in the underlined portion of the sentence is its use of the singular form "part" after the adjectives "many different." As both adjectives indicate the plurality of the noun they describe, the singular noun "part" needs to be a plural noun to correct the error. "Many different parts of the world" is the correct answer choice because it is the only one in which this error is corrected.

The use of "much" in this sentence is incorrect as the word should only be used with singular nouns, and the sentence uses it to refer to "different kinds." In this situation, the appropriate word is "many." The only answer choice that uses the correct word is "left behind many different kinds."

As it is presently written, the sentence has a lack of agreement between the introductory phrase and the antecedent word. The subject of the sentence needs to more directly link back to "previous efforts." The answer choice which most clearly makes this link is "this new piece of legislation was supported by a wide range of political figures."

Because "the plants" is a plural subject, the corresponding pronoun must be a plural subject pronoun. "Those" is the word that matches.

The sentence, as it is written, contains a misplaced modifier, as the sentence reads as though "the responsibility" is what "rammed into the tree." The sentence needs to be rewritten to show that it was "the movie star" who actually "rammed into the tree." The only answer choice that does this in a grammatically correct manner is "the movie star had responsibility for the crash squarely placed on him."

The phrase "all of" indicates that the noun it is modifying in the sentence should be plural. Therefore, "opinion" should be "opinions," and the correct phrase is "despite all of the differing opinions on the subject."

The adjective "many" in this sentence is intended to modify a plural noun; therefore, the correct phrase should be "many learnable techniques."

"All film directors" is a plural noun in which all film directors are described as a unified group. The example sentence incorrectly shifts to a singular pronoun ("his") later in the sentence. In order for a singular pronoun to be correct in this situation, the sentence would have to be begin "Any film director" and the preferred pronoun form is gender neutral: "Any film director must be thoughtful in his or her use of light and shadow." The use of "all" means that the film directors must be treated as a unified group of many people. The correct version of the sentence reads, "All film directors must be thoughtful in their use of light and shadow."

The error in this sentence is the word "alls," which does not follow the rules of standard written English within the context of the sentence. We should change the word to "all," with the correct phrasing as "Having been all over the world."

The word "part" must be pluralized in order to reflect the use of the word "all." We should therefore change the phrase to "all of the different parts."

The error in the sentence is in the use of the word "those," as the remainder of the sentence refers to a specific way Lisa prefers to be treated. Therefore, "those" should become "that" and the underlined phrase should become "be treated like that."

The example sentence makes a modifier error. In order for the sentence to be correct, the "time" must either be treated as a unified, grammatically singular block of time (in which case "all this time" is the correct phrasing), or treated as multiple occurrences (grammatically plural) in which case "all these times" is correct. In either case, the modifier and the word modified must agree in number. Since it is the only one of these options that is included without additional errors, the correct response reads, "Even after all this time, I still do not know how to swim."

The major issue here is not only the misplaced modifier "civil engineers" but also modifier agreement. Note that using the plural "civil engineers" is inappropriate. The correct placement of the modifier uses the phrase to modify Marcus. To convey Marcus' profession (singular), one must adjust the modifier to agree with the singular noun. The incorrect answer choices fail to resolve both of these issues and result in awkward syntax or modifier placement errors.

The key issue with the underlined phrase is the simultaneous use of "an" and the plural form "studies." Either the singular "an" or the plural "studies" needs to be changed to make the forms match. "An objective study" is the correct answer choice.

The error in the underlined portion of the sentence is its use of the singular form "part" after the adjectives "many different." As both adjectives indicate the plurality of the noun they describe, the singular noun "part" needs to be a plural noun to correct the error. "Many different parts of the world" is the correct answer choice because it is the only one in which this error is corrected.

The use of "much" in this sentence is incorrect as the word should only be used with singular nouns, and the sentence uses it to refer to "different kinds." In this situation, the appropriate word is "many." The only answer choice that uses the correct word is "left behind many different kinds."

As it is presently written, the sentence has a lack of agreement between the introductory phrase and the antecedent word. The subject of the sentence needs to more directly link back to "previous efforts." The answer choice which most clearly makes this link is "this new piece of legislation was supported by a wide range of political figures."

Because "the plants" is a plural subject, the corresponding pronoun must be a plural subject pronoun. "Those" is the word that matches.

The sentence, as it is written, contains a misplaced modifier, as the sentence reads as though "the responsibility" is what "rammed into the tree." The sentence needs to be rewritten to show that it was "the movie star" who actually "rammed into the tree." The only answer choice that does this in a grammatically correct manner is "the movie star had responsibility for the crash squarely placed on him."