As the former chair of the planning board for 18 consecutive years and

As the former chair of the planning board for 18 consecutive years and a board member for 28 years, Joan Philkill attended more than 400 meetings and reviewed more than 700 rezoning applications.

(A) As the former
(B) The former
(C) Former
(D) She was
(E) As the

GMATNinja VeritasKarishma AjiteshArun

I understand the correct answer choice is E. It makes a lot more sense meaning-wise as compared to the other options.

But I want to know whether Options B and C are grammatically correct.

B. The former chair of the planning board for 18 consecutive years and a board member for 28 years, Joan Philkill attended more than 400 meetings and reviewed more than 700 rezoning applications.

In the above sentence "The former chair of the planning board for 18 consecutive years and a board member for 28 years" is acting as a modifier.

So the structure is Modifier, Independent clause.

I do not see an issue here. Please help me understand why this is incorrect.


C. Former chair of the planning board for 18 consecutive years and a board member for 28 years, Joan Philkill attended more than 400 meetings and reviewed more than 700 rezoning applications.

In the above sentence "Former chair of the planning board for 18 consecutive years and a board member for 28 years" is acting as a modifier.

So the structure is Modifier, Independent clause.

I do not see an issue here as well. Please help me understand why this is incorrect.

Also, I want to understand what is the difference between Option B and C. Whether the article "the" is necessary, and if yes, why?