Multiple choice

Directions: This question presents a sentence, all or part 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.

These restrictions had ensured high prices of food, and thereby high cooking cost, and when the servant brought the rich chocolate doughnuts to the table drenched in strawberry syrup and topped with vanilla ice-cream, Aunt- Jessie was taken by surprise.

  1. and when the servant brought the rich chocolate doughnuts to the table drenched in strawberry syrup and topped with vanilla ice-cream, Aunt Jessie was taken by surprise

  2. and when the servant brought the rich chocolate doughnuts, drenched in strawberry syrup and topped with vanilla ice-cream, to the table

  3. and when the servant drenched in strawberry syrup and topped with vanilla ice-cream, brought the rich chocolate doughnuts to the table

  4. and when the servant brought to the table, the rich chocolate doughnuts drenched in strawberry syrup and topped with vanilla ice-cream

  5. and when the servant brought to the table, strawberry syrup drenched and vanilla ice cream topped, rich chocolate doughnut

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

Explanation for (1): Type of error: misplaced modifiers

In the given sentence, the misplaced modifier is the clause 'drenched in strawberry syrup and topped with vanilla ice-cream'. The modifying clause here modifies the wrong word 'table' as according to the sentence the table is drenched and topped, while actually the doughnuts are supposed to be drenched.

Justification for (2): The modifying clause modifies the correct word 'doughnuts'. The sentence is correct as the doughnuts (and not the table or the servant) are rightfully drenched in strawberry syrup and topped with vanilla ice-cream
Explanation for (3): The option sounds as if the servant (not the doughnuts) is drenched in strawberry syrup and topped with vanilla ice-cream.
Explanation for (4): The sentence is unnecessarily complicated and incorrect. Explanation for (5): The sentence is incorrect as it has been complicated unnecessarily.