09173140521 wrote:
in answer D "...cars, gained..."gained modify cars or is separated from previous clause ?
could someone explain structure ? which is related to "gained" modify ?
So this is where modifiers get a little complicated. We ofter think of most modifiers as describing the closest noun, but they can also often modify an entire noun phrase. (i.e.
noun +
prepositional phrase). In other words, the modifier can describe either the
noun from the prepositional phrase to OR the
noun the prepositional phrase describes.
In D, our modifier ("gained ... drop") follows the noun phrase "
the potential energy of the cars". Here, the modifier is immediately next to the noun "
cars", so the modifier could describe "
cars" ... but it could also describe then entire noun phrase, so it could also describe "
potential energy".
Thinking about this logically, does it make more sense for cars to be gained by lifting roller coast cars up to the first drop or for potential energy to be gained by lifting roller coaster cars up to the first drop? In the first case, roller coasters would need to gain cars as they move, which makes zero sense. However, it makes a lot of sense for roller coasters to gain potential energy as they move. So while the modifier
grammatically could describe either "cars" or "potential energy", it must describe "potential energy"
based on meaning.
Takeaways:
1) Watch out for noun phrases when dealing with modifiers
2) Check for logical meaning