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555-605 Level|   Modifiers|   Punctuation|            
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A controversial figure throughout most of his public life, the Black 22 Sep 2017, 12:22
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LucyDang

Can anyone please help me to explain what's the role of " A controversial figure throughout most of his public life"? To which does it complement? I get confused with this noun phrase!
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In this case "A controversial figure" is acting as an adjective (modifier), which is providing more information about (modifying) the noun "Marcus Garvey"

Hope this helps
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A controversial figure throughout most of his public life, the Black 22 Sep 2017, 12:26
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daagh Can you explain how C alters the meaning and why is it wrong? I went with A but had difficulty eliminating C.
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There are two reasons which I can think of:

1. Usage of "freedom to him" - is incorrect as - Africa symbolized the possibility of freedom

2. Sentence is wordy
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A controversial figure throughout most of his public life, the Black 12 Feb 2020, 23:37
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A controversial figure throughout most of his public life, the Black leader Marcus Garvey advocated that some Blacks return to Africa,
the land that, to him, symbolized the possibility of freedom.

(A) that some Blacks return to Africa, the land that, to him, symbolized the possibility of freedom
Correct. It clearly states that land symbolizes the possibility of freedom.

(B) that some Blacks return to the African land symbolizing the possibility of freedom to him
Meaning change. This means that the act of black returning to African land is symbolizing freedom.

(C) that some Blacks return to Africa which was the land which symbolized the possibility of freedom to him
Too wordy. Which was then again which.

(D) some Black’s returning to Africa which was the land that to him symbolized the possibility of freedom
some without the word that means he advocated them directly and only some of them. He didn't address it to the whole group.

(E) some Black’s return to the land symbolizing the possibility of freedom to him, Africa
some without the word that means he advocated them directly and only some of them. He didn't address it to the whole group.
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A controversial figure throughout most of his public life, the Black 11 Jan 2022, 06:21
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A controversial figure throughout most of his public life, the Black leader Marcus Garvey advocated that some Blacks return to Africa, the land that, to him, symbolized the possibility of freedom.
 
A. that some Blacks return to Africa, the land that, to him, symbolized the possibility of freedom Correct answer

B. that some Blacks return to the African land symbolizing the possibility of freedom to him This implies that there is some African land that does not symbolize the possibility of freedom.

C. that some Blacks return to Africa which was the land which symbolized the possibility of freedom to him When left with a choice between “which” and “that”, the former implies that something non-essential is being referred to. However, the fact that Africa is a land that symbolized the possibility of freedom is a relevant point.

D. some Black’s returning to Africa which was the land that to him symbolized the possibility of freedom Same as C.

E. some Black’s return to the land symbolizing the possibility of freedom to him, Africa “That” needs to follow “advocated.”

- Nitha Jay
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A controversial figure throughout most of his public life, the Black 17 Jan 2022, 22:19
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KarishmaB - Can you pls review my analysis and share your thoughts ?

Option B is wrong as it introduces African land instead of Africa
Option C and D are wrong as modifier which is not preceded by a comma
Option E is wrong as it has meaning error. Meaning, as per original sentence, is that MG advocate some blacks to return to Africa; whereas, meaning from option E is that some blacks returned to the land.

Below is the detailed break down of the original sentence -

A controversial figure throughout most of his public life ==> modifier for Marcus Garvey
, the Black leader Marcus Garvey ==> Subject
advocated ==> verb
Subordinate clause ==> that some Blacks return to Africa,
Noun + noun modifier ==> the land that, to him, symbolized the possibility of freedom.

Thanks,
Anshul
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A controversial figure throughout most of his public life, the Black 18 Jan 2022, 06:59
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PanpaliaAnshul
KarishmaB - Can you pls review my analysis and share your thoughts ?

Option B is wrong as it introduces African land instead of Africa
Option C and D are wrong as modifier which is not preceded by a comma
Option E is wrong as it has meaning error. Meaning, as per original sentence, is that MG advocate some blacks to return to Africa; whereas, meaning from option E is that some blacks returned to the land.

Below is the detailed break down of the original sentence -

A controversial figure throughout most of his public life ==> modifier for Marcus Garvey
, the Black leader Marcus Garvey ==> Subject
advocated ==> verb
Subordinate clause ==> that some Blacks return to Africa,
Noun + noun modifier ==> the land that, to him, symbolized the possibility of freedom.

Thanks,
Anshul
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Hello PanpaliaAnshul,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, your reasoning is broadly correct.

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We hope this helps.
All the best!
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A controversial figure throughout most of his public life, the Black 28 Nov 2022, 12:20
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Can Someone tell the differnce between Symbolized and Symbolizing , any meaning prospoctive changes , etc
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A controversial figure throughout most of his public life, the Black 01 Dec 2022, 00:45
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omsoni134

There's nothing special about -ing vs. -ed on this word in particular. In general, we are looking at present vs. past participles (words formed from verbs). An -ing word like "symbolizing" can be attached to a noun, and then it means that the noun in question had that trait or performed that action during the time frame in question. So I can say "the land symbolizing the possibility," but it kind of sounds like the land was actively symbolizing at a particular point in time. This can depend a bit on context and intended meaning. It's a little off here.

An -ed word can also form a modifier ("the promised land," "the items included in the contract"), but it can also just be a normal past tense verb. When we say "that symbolized," that's how we're using it. This is better for a general statement about how Garvey saw Africa: for a long period of time (perhaps his whole life), the continent symbolized the possibility of freedom.
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A controversial figure throughout most of his public life, the Black 01 Dec 2022, 01:58
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omsoni134
Can Someone tell the differnce between Symbolized and Symbolizing , any meaning prospoctive changes , etc
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Hey omsoni134

Thank you for the interesting question. There is certainly a difference in meaning in the way "symbolizing" has been used/placed. Allow me to explain:

To begin with, we see three distinct structures of modification:
    a. ... Africa, the land that (or which), to him, symbolized the possibility of freedom
    b. ... the African land symbolizing the possibility of freedom to him
    c. ... the land symbolizing the possibility of freedom to him, Africa
Of the above three structures, only 'a' and 'c' are correct in terms of describing or referring to "Africa". Let's understand why:


b. ...The African land symbolizing the possibility of freedom to him.

    "Symbolizing" here describes "the African land". This means that choice B talks about a particular land within Africa that symbolizes the possibility of freedom. However, the original sentence gives us no such indication. The original sentence talks about Africa as a whole, and not some particular land within Africa. Hence, choice B distorts the intended meaning in this respect.

a. ...Africa, the land that (or which), to him, symbolized the possibility of freedom

    The comma after "Africa" tells us that "Africa" (all of it) is the land that symbolized the possibility of freedom.


c. ...the land symbolizing the possibility of freedom to him, Africa

    By placing "Africa" at the end, separated by a comma, once again we convey that Africa is the land symbolizing the possibility of freedom.



So, to conclude, the use of "symbolizing" in choice B is a deterministic error. However, the same word "symbolizing" in choice E is not a deterministic error.


I hope this answers your question pertaining to the use/meaning of "symbolizing". I've deliberately not discussed the other errors. If you have any follow up queries, please revert.


Happy Learning!

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A controversial figure throughout most of his public life, the Black 26 Dec 2024, 08:26
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