Will go for D.. laden with packages modify Larry..

and also don't see any problem with A.. too... but D looks better than A.
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but laden with packages doesnt modify ramp, It modifies WALKED down the ramp


previous discussion...
11-p527206?t=71255&hilit=larry#p527206

I've just seen in the previous discussion (11-p527206?t=71255&hilit=larry#p527206, as signaled by bigtreezl) that the correct answer is A.

Seems like this one has fooled the most of us...

I too for D.
A should not be the answer reasons-
The first time that Larry walked down the ramp, laden with packages, he tripped and nearly dislocated his shoulder.
A says first time that larry walked..means that for the first time in the life larry walked..and another--ramp was loaded with packages..

E also should not the answer reasons-
The first time that Larry, laden with packages, had walked down the ramp,he tripped and nearly dislocated his shoulder.
Here we are using parallelism.. see the three actions happened one after another and almost similar..
walked down the ramp
he tripped
dislocated his shoulder
I guess if we can remove the part he tripped from the sentence..then one might argue for the past perfect ..had walked down the ramp..let me know if someone has other ideas on this.

How can ramp be laden with packages. Its Larry who was laden with packages. A is clearly wrong.
@marshpa, A does not say that Larry walked for the first time in life. It says Larry walked first time on ramp. A is wong for the above reason.
D is the clear winner bcos laden with packages should modify Larry and not ramp

Why cant A be correct.

I thought laden with packages is an adjective for Lary and hence doesnt need to modify ramp, also in option D the comma is set immediately after lary which creates a dependant clause and is not right.

This is what i found on the usage of comma,

Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives. You could think of this as "That tall, distinguished, good looking fellow" rule (as opposed to "the little old lady"). If you can put an and or a but between the adjectives, a comma will probably belong there.

If i follow this rule then option A sounds correct and option D fails.

Could someone clarify pls

[quote="reply2spg"]The first time that Larry walked down the ramp, laden with packages, he tripped and nearly dislocated his shoulder.

(A) Larry walked down the ramp, laden with packages,
(B) Larry walked, laden with packages, down the ramp
(C) Larry walked down the ramp, with laden packages,
(D) Larry, laden with packages, walked down the ramp
(E) Larry, laden with packages, had walked down the ramp,[/quote

Stylistically A sounds correct - You use a "that" without a "," to introduce and essential modifier(That Larry walked down the ramp and not that Larry walked for the first time).
Politically one may argue that laden with packages modifies Larry (agreed noun modifiers are placed next to the noun they are modifying - but D sounds awkward).

Any comments?

Hi Arun,

The first time that Larry walked down the ramp, laden with packages, he tripped and nearly dislocated his shoulder.

It is clear that you get the intended meaning of the sentence. You agree that “laden with packages” should modify “Larry”.

According to GMAT, the verb-ed modifier is a noun modifier that should be placed to the entity it modifies as close as possible. Generally, verb-ed modifiers modify the immediate preceding noun or noun phrase.

In this sentence, “laden” is a verb-ed modifier which is places next to ramp. Even if it separated from “ramp” by comma, “ramp” is the immediate preceding noun and per the GMAT, “laden” will modify “ramp”. But this is certainly not the intended meaning of the sentence. Hence, we must put “laden” close to Larry so that there is no modification error.

You can also read this post for the correct usage of verb-ed modifiers:
verb-ed-modifiers-vs-verb-ing-modifiers-125611.html?fl=similar

I do agree that in Choice D, we need a comma after “ramp”. However, placement of comma alone has never been the deterministic issue for eliminating an answer choice. GMAT exclusively does not test the correct placement of punctuations. Moreover, to avoid a punctuation error, which is not even an error per GMAT, we are committing a graver error of modification by choosing A. Now modifiers are certainly deterministic errors to eliminate an answer choice.
Hence, we must choose the most ideal answer choice and that is choice D.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha
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Thnx alot Shraddha for the explaination.....

From What I have understood, I am writing a few examples.......
Please let me know whether my understading is correct.


1. If we have a sentence with a prepositional phrase with in noun clause preceding the modifier then the modifier modifies the noun of the sentence

ex : Sachin is one of the best players of badminton game, surpassed only by James and Amie.

2. If we have a sentence without a prepositional phrase preceding the modifier then the modifier modifies the closest noun..
ex : Sachin is the best player,playing for Indian Badminton team.
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Arun Mehta
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Hi Arun,
The link that I mentioned in my earlier post deals with Verb-ing and Verb-ed modifiers. Following are the rule sets for these modifiers according to their placement in the sentence:

1. Verb-ed modifiers always modify the preceding noun entity. It can be a single-word noun entity or a noun-phrase.

2. When a verb-ed modifier appears in the beginning of the sentence, it modifies the subject of the following clause.

3. When a verb-ing modifier appears after a clause preceded by a comma, then it modifies the preceding clause. It presents either extra information about the preceding clause or the result of the preceding clause.

4. When a verb-ing modifier appears after a clause without any comma before it, then it modifiers the preceding noun entity.

5. When a verb-ing modifier appears in the beginning of the subject, then it modifies either the subject or the entire following clause, depending upon the context the sentence.

Now let’s analyze the examples you have provided.

1. Sachin is one of the best players of badminton game, surpassed only by James and Amie.

In this sentence, “surpassed” is the verb-ed modifier. This means that it modify the preceding noun entity. Now, it does not make sense for “surpassed” to modify “badminton game”. Also notice that “one of the best players of badminton game” is a one big noun phrase. None of the element of this phrase can be written elsewhere in the sentence to communicate logical meaning. Hence, here “surpassed” is modifying “one of the best players of badminton game”. This is a correct modification. That’s what the sentence means.

2. Sachin is the best player, playing for Indian Badminton team.
Here we have a verb-ing modifier “playing” that appears after a clause preceded by a comma. That means that modifier modifies the entire preceding clause. This sentence means that Sachin is the best player and he plays for Indian Badminton team. Here the verb-ing modifier is presenting additional information about the preceding clause.

If you want to see more examples for the all the rule sets mentioned above and practice some quizzes, log on to e-gmat.com, register for free and view Verb-ing Modifiers concept file in our free trial concepts.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha
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