Nil Posted November 12, 2002 Share Posted November 12, 2002 Since the 1930's aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes with frictionless wings, shaped so smoothly and perfectly that the air passing over them would not become turbulent. (A) wings, shaped so smoothly and perfectly (B) wings, wings so smooth and so perfectly shaped © wings that are shaped so smooth and perfect (D) wings, shaped in such a smooth and perfect manner (E) wings, having been shaped smoothly and perfectly so Why C not A? I am repeating this question in hope of a answer from Erin or from other experts out there..... Does the modifier "Shaped" automatically refers to the first nown (wings) it follows ? If not, then probably "shaped" modifies "aircraft manufacturer". What is the rule here? ( I realize that for introductory modifier, rule is clear that introductory modifier modifies first nown that follows it. For instance : Having said that, I have a question concerning 'ending' modifer) But how to apply the rule with ending modifier as is the case above) Underlines added for clarity by Erin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsalman Posted November 12, 2002 Share Posted November 12, 2002 I think that 'shaped so smoothly and perfectly' modifies the 'wing'. The only thing that is missing is a subordinating conjunction. Since 'shaped so smoothly and perfectly..' is a noun clause, it should be linked with the rest of the sentence using a relative pronoun (that, which, whom, who etc.). (A) does not link modifier to the wing. i.e. no relative pronoun © uses a relative pronoun and by doing so, the modifier needs to be reconstructed. From 'shaped so smoothly..' to 'that are shaped so smooth and perfect'. I hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erin Posted November 12, 2002 Share Posted November 12, 2002 The best, and really only, answer to this question is B: wings, wings so smooth and so perfectly shaped Using smoothly as an adverb to modify shaped is illogical--you can't "shape" something "smoothly;" you can shape something quickly, easily, lazily, but not smoothly. That gets rid of A and E. D is wordy and and essentially commits the same error (shaped in a smooth manner = shaped smoothly). C is wrong because it is ungrammatical to say "shaped so smooth;" "smooth" is an adjective that rightly modifies the noun "wings." We cannot use "shaped" as a linking verb between "wings" and "smooth." But we can use a be-verb as a linking verb between "wings" and "smooth." B, the only possible answer, uses a reduced form to join "wings" and "smooth:" wings that are so smooth and so perfectly shaped = wings so smooth and so perfectly shaped Many people ask about the repetition of the word "wings." Again, by the process of reduction our original sentence: wings, which are wings that are so smooth and so perfectly shaped gets reduced to wings, wings so smooth and so perfectly shaped Hope that's clear. :) Nil also asked about whether modifiers "automatically" modify the closest nouns. No, they do not. If they did, SC would be much, much easier and we could choose answers mechanically. Here's a famous example of a modifier that has no good place in the sentence: The cop shot the man with the gun. At some point, we have to have an "ear" for what's right and what's not right, what is understandable and what is not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsi5858 Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 The best, and really only, answer to this question is B: wings, wings so smooth and so perfectly shaped Using smoothly as an adverb to modify shaped is illogical--you can't "shape" something "smoothly;" you can shape something quickly, easily, lazily, but not smoothly. That gets rid of A and E. D is wordy and and essentially commits the same error (shaped in a smooth manner = shaped smoothly). C is wrong because it is ungrammatical to say "shaped so smooth;" "smooth" is an adjective that rightly modifies the noun "wings." We cannot use "shaped" as a linking verb between "wings" and "smooth." But we can use a be-verb as a linking verb between "wings" and "smooth." B, the only possible answer, uses a reduced form to join "wings" and "smooth:" wings that are so smooth and so perfectly shaped = wings so smooth and so perfectly shaped Many people ask about the repetition of the word "wings." Again, by the process of reduction our original sentence: wings, which are wings that are so smooth and so perfectly shaped gets reduced to wings, wings so smooth and so perfectly shaped Hope that's clear. :) HI Erin, can you shed some light onto when I can use smooth and when I can use smoothly? For example, Erin danced in a smooth manner. can I say the following? Erin danced smoothly. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsi5858 Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Any help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erin Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 HI Erin, can you shed some light onto when I can use smooth and when I can use smoothly? For example, WORDY: Erin danced in a smooth manner. can I say the following? PREFERABLE: Erin danced smoothly. Thank you! I know it's a year late, but basically it's generally better to use fewer words when you can. In this case, opt for the shorter version, as the longer version doesn't carry its weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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