16Hit1600
Standard English ConventionsHardModifier placement

Standard English Conventions practice question

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? ____, the ancient manuscript revealed details no historian had expected.

  1. A. Examining it under ultraviolet light
  2. B. When examined under ultraviolet lightCorrect
  3. C. To examine it under ultraviolet light
  4. D. Having examined it under ultraviolet light

Answer: B. When examined under ultraviolet light

The manuscript can't examine itself, so an -ing/'having' opener would dangle by attaching to 'manuscript'. 'When examined...' correctly modifies the manuscript. Watch what noun follows the comma.

Why the other answers are wrong

A. Examining it under ultraviolet light
The noun right after the comma is 'manuscript,' so 'Examining it under ultraviolet light' says the manuscript examined itself — a dangling modifier.
C. To examine it under ultraviolet light
'To examine it...' also attaches to 'manuscript,' making the manuscript the one doing the examining; the passive 'When examined' avoids that.
D. Having examined it under ultraviolet light
'Having examined it' makes 'the manuscript' the examiner rather than the thing being examined — check the noun that follows the comma.

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