It is not required to isolate "in 1950" with two commas. The prepositional phrase "in 1950" is a verb modifier referring to the verb "appointed". (Most prepositional phrases are verb/verbal modifiers). However in GMAT it is not recommended to eliminate an answer choice just because of punctuation issues - there must be some other major problem in the wrong answer choice.

The main problems in option C are as follows:

1. Wrong Idiom - appoint X as Y... should be appoint X Y. The preposition "as" should not be there.
2. Redundant use of "to the position". Because of the construction of the sentence "to the position" is unnecessary.

A seems to be the correct answer. The opening modifier is correctly followed by Edith Sampson.

All the other options have either modifier issue or change the meaning.

What is the issue with B?

Thanks in advance

A is the correct answer as this option does not have modifier issue.

B. 'In Edith Sampson'- 'Edith Sampson' is a person and not the time that is preceded by 'in'. Another issue is that 'HT appointed ES as the first African American women' and not mentioned that that year African American women would named as an....

C. 'in 1950' seems a misplaced modifier.

D. 'The first african american women.......' incorrectly modifies HT

E. Weird sentence structure.
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B changes the intention of meaning. He didnt appoint first women. It was just the result that she became first women for something.

Why did I not realise this earlier? This is a big mistake with option B.. thanks a lot for the clarification

Hi guys,

Why C is wrong. I dont think "in 1950" is misplaced modifier, since it can modifies when Truman appoints Sampson.
Please help, thanks.

in 1950 should be part of the main clause i think !! Experts please help to understand option C

A - Modifier correctly attributes to Edith Sampson

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Apoointed to the position.... modifies what comes next ( Edith Samson ) , hence the original sentence is correct...

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IMO, the main decision points are I) Meaning and II) Modifier

Modifiers usually go hand in hand with Logical Meaning, so one should rely on grammatical rules, but rather understand the intended meaning. Wrong placement of Modifiers change the meaning. Why in fact does a wrongly placed modifier change meaning? It is important to understand the function of modifiers. Modifier give a description of an object! So if you misplace the modifier you describe something else than is actually true. So to go through the ACs.


A) -ed Partial modifier clearly modifies Edith Sampson. There is no other entity that could be modified. The passive voice clearly describes who appointed the position. Meaning: Harry Truman appointed Edith to the position. She became the first African American women to be named an official representative....

B) Prepositional Phrase IN Edit Sampson is not logical. Also meaning has changed: Harry Truman appointed the first African American women to be named an official representative.

C) Harry S. Truman appointed Edith Sampson to the position as the first AA woman -> Clearly not the intended meaning: He appointed her to the position, but not as the first AA woman... that she became the First AA woman was the result!

D) The first AA women is a noun modifier, therefore must touch E -> This indicates that Harry Truman is the first AA woman...

E) Appointed as the first AA women to be named? -> Clearly not intended meaning: She was appointed to a position that made her then to the first AA woman...

No one can appoint someone as FIRST PERSON TO BE something.Such as , I cannot appoint TRUMP to be first President of america *(sorry no offense ). After appointing the person becomes the first person to be appointed.

. Appointed to the position in 1950 by Harry S. Truman, Edith Sampson became the first African American woman to be named an official representative to the United Nations. -
Seems right , It's modifying the right person. Ms. Edith , good for you.

B. In Edith Sampson, Harry S.Truman appointed the first African American woman to be named an official representative to the United Nations in 1950. - There's a definite modifier error here. Neglect this on

C. Harry S. Truman appointed Edith Sampson, in 1950, to the position as the first African American woman official representative to the United Nations.
A definitely seemed better, let's keep going. Finding 4 wrong options is the key to crushing the GMAT

D. The first African American woman to be named an official representative to the United Nations, Harry S.Truman appointed Edith Sampson to the position in 1950
Harry S Truman , the first African American woman to be appointed, does not sound right. Forget

E. Appointed by Harry S. Truman in 1950 as the first African American woman to be named an official representative to the United Nations was Edith Sampson -
You definitely need a comma here. It seems like he pointed a finger across the room and chose Edith Thompson.

I picked (A), but it is hard for me to eliminate (C). What is wrong with (C)? Is it meaning or grammar? generis

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