aragonn wrote:
At first sight, Elsinor Castle, with its glass windows and sophisticated casements, was disappointingly modern, but as one walks through the portal one begins to feel the presence of history.
a) At first sight, Elsinor Castle, with its glass windows and sophisticated casements, was
b) At first sight, Elsinor Castle, which has glass windows and sophisticated casements, was
c) At first sight, Elsinor Castle, with its glass windows and sophisticated casements, is
d) Elsinor Castle, with its glass windows and sophisticated casements at first sight is
e) Elsinor Castle, at first sight, with its glass windows and sophisticated casements, are
Official Question Explanation:
The underlined portion of the sentence contains the verb was, so check that it agrees with its subject and is parallel to other verbs in the sentence. The past tense verb was is not parallel to the verbs in the non-underlined portion of the sentence, walks and begins to feel, which are present tense. This is a parallel construction error. Eliminate choice A and look for any obvious repeaters. Choice B is an obvious repeater since it also uses the past tense verb was, so eliminate choice B. Now, evaluate the remaining answer choices individually, looking for reasons to eliminate each.
Choice C fixes the original parallel construction error by replacing the past tense verb was with the present tense verb is, and introduces no new errors, so keep choice C. Choice D fixes the original parallel construction error but creates a new error by placing the modifying phrase, at first sight, immediately following the noun casements. As a result, the phrase incorrectly describes casements, which changes the meaning of the sentence. This is a misplaced modifier error, so eliminate choice D. Choice E fixes the original parallel construction error by replacing the past tense verb was with the present tense verb are but introduces a new error. Since the singular subject Elsinore Castle does not agree with the plural verb are, this choice contains a subject-verb agreement error. Eliminate choice E.
Choice A: No. The past tense verb was is not parallel to the present tense verbs walks and begins. Parallel construction.
Choice B: No. The past tense verb was is not parallel to the present tense verbs walks and begins. Parallel construction.
Choice C: Correct.
Choice D: No. The phrase, at first sight, incorrectly modifies the noun casements. Misplaced modifier.
Choice E: No. The singular subject Elsinore Castle does not agree with the plural verb are. Subject-Verb agreement.
The correct answer is choice C.