Gifted as a painter, Andrew Wyeth is a master at depicting people and

Question

Gifted as a painter , Andrew Wyeth is a master at depicting people and places.

(A) Gifted as a painter
(B) Being a gifted painter
(C) A gifted painter
(D) Because he is gifted as a painter
(E) As a painter who is gifted

ramlala · Answer

Here we have to modify Noun "Andrew Wyeth".
Choice C - perfectly modifies.

iMO C

kntombat · Answer

The answer to this question has to be Option C   , as it the only option which modifies the noun "Andrew Wyeth" properly.

DinoPen · Answer

Gifted as a painter,  Andrew Wyeth is a master at depicting people and places.

(A) Gifted as a painter
 This correctly modifies Andrew Wyeth.

(B) Being a gifted painter
 Wrong use of being -- no need for present perfect.

(C) A gifted painter
 This modifies Andrew Wyeth; however, there needs to be a 'comma' after Andrew Wyeth so the sentence can carry out 'smoothly', reading as 'A gifted painter, Andrew Wyeth, is...'

(D) Because he is gifted as a painter
 This is wordy and Answer choice A is more succinct.

(E) As a painter who is gifted
 Same reasoning as D.

olivia1909 · Answer

What makes C more appropriate than A for modifying?

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  olivia1909 . It is not so much that (C) is  more appropriate  than (A) in terms of modifying, but that it conveys the vital meaning of the sentence in a more concise way, so the shorter version is preferred.

(A)  Gifted as a painter, Andrew Wyeth... 
(C)  A gifted painter, Andrew Wyeth...

Analysis : If I were going to drop the idea of the original introductory phrase into the middle of the sentence, I might write,  Andrew Wyeth, who was gifted as a painter, ...  However, the appositive phrase  a gifted painter  achieves the same end, whether at the beginning of the sentence or in the middle, as in,  Andrew Wyeth, a gifted painter, ...  For this reason, (C) is preferred.

To address the concern that  DinoPen  brought up earlier, about the missing second comma in (C), this happens when an appositive phrase is used at the head of a sentence about a particular individual. If a modifying phrase falls in the middle of a sentence, then yes, we typically see it surrounded by commas and can effectively jump over it to continue the main clause. But that does not work here. Consider:

(C)  A gifted painter, Andrew Wyeth is a master at depicting people and places. 
(C.2)  A gifted painter, Andrew Wyeth, is a master at depicting people and places.

The second sentence conveys that a gifted painter is someone who is a master at depicting people and places, and that Andrew Wyeth is just one such person, but we seem to be missing some of that commentary (e.g.,  such as  or  for instance ). The original sentence—the non-underlined portion, the part that we cannot negotiate with—focuses on Andrew Wyeth  being  a master, so we know the introductory phrase is offering a commentary on Andrew Wyeth, not beginning the main clause.

I hope that adds clarity to a few concerns. Good luck with your studies, everyone.

- Andrew

Gifted as a painter, Andrew Wyeth is a master at depicting people and

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Gifted as a painter, Andrew Wyeth is a master at depicting people and

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