Multiple choice

Directions: The following question presents a sentence, part of which or all of which is underlined. Beneath the sentence you will find five ways of phrasing the underlined part. The first of these repeats the original; the other four are different. If you think the original is best, choose the first answer; otherwise choose one of the others.

Samuel Sewall viewed marriage, as other seventeenth-century colonists, like a property arrangement rather than an emotional bond based on romantic love.

  1. Samuel Sewall viewed marriage, as other seventeenth-century colonists, like a property arrangement rather than

  2. As did other seventeenth-century colonists, Samuel Sewall viewed marriage to be a property arrangement rather than viewing it as

  3. Samuel Sewall viewed marriage to be a property arrangement, like other seventeenth-century colonists, rather than viewing it as

  4. Marriage to Samuel Sewall, like other seventeenth-century colonists, was viewed as a property arrangement rather than

  5. Samuel Sewall, like other seventeenth-century colonists, viewed marriage as a property arrangement rather than

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

The original sentence has a misplaced modifier and improper comparison structure. 'Like other seventeenth-century colonists' should modify Samuel Sewall, not 'marriage.' Option E correctly places the modifier: 'Samuel Sewall, like other seventeenth-century colonists, viewed marriage as a property arrangement rather than' maintains proper grammatical structure and parallel comparison.