faifai0714 wrote:
Having lived in Tahiti for several years, where life was slow and relaxed, it was difficult for Paul Gauguin to readjust to the hectic pace of Paris upon returning.
a)Having lived in Tahiti for several years, where life was slow and relaxed, it was difficult for Paul Gauguin to readjust to the hectic pace of Paris upon returning.
b)Having lived for several years in Tahiti, where life was slow and relaxed, it was difficult for Paul Gauguin to readjust to the hectic pace of Paris upon returning.
c)Having lived in Tahiti for several years, where life was slow and relaxed, Paul Gauguin had difficulty readjusting to the hectic pace of Paris upon his return.
d)Having lived for several years in Tahiti, where life was slow and relaxed, Paul Gauguin had difficulty readjusting to the hectic pace of Paris upon his return.
e)Having lived for several years in Tahiti, where life was slow and relaxed, Paul Gauguin had difficulty readjusting upon returning to Paris because of the hectic pace.
[C2] readjust (verb) = to change in order to fit a different situation, or to repair something slightly
After living abroad for so long, he found it difficult
to readjust to life at home.
A modifying phrase has to be placed next to the noun or pronoun it is intended to modify. A modifying phrase that violates this rule is called a “misplaced modifier.” There are two misplaced modifiers in the original sentence: (1) The phrase “
where life was slow and relaxed” is intended to modify “
Tahiti”, but is incorrectly placed next to “years”. (2) The phrase “Having lived in Tahiti for several years” is intended to modify “Paul Gauguin”, but is incorrectly placed closer to the impersonal subject “it”. Correcting these errors will involve rewording the sentence such that each of these modifying phrases is next to the word it is intended to modify.
Another problem with the original sentence is that it ends with the words “upon returning”. Ending a sentence with such an “-ing” verb form is awkward, because the reader is left expecting a few more words to complete the thought – for example “upon returning to Paris”.
(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.
(B) The modifier “Having lived for several years in Tahiti”, which should modify “Paul Gauguin”, now modifies “
it”. The final phrase “upon returning” is awkward.
(C) The modifier "where life was slow and relaxed" incorrectly modifies "years" instead of "Tahiti."
(D) CORRECT. "Paul Gauguin" is placed as the subject of the opening modifier "having lived in Tahiti." Additionally, the modifier "where life was slow and relaxed" is correctly placed next to its subject, "Tahiti."
(E) The phrase “because of the hectic pace” appears to be modifying the verb “returning” (in other words, it sounds like Gauguin returned because of the hectic pace). The verb “readjusting” is without a complement, so that the reader is left to wonder: “readjusting to what?”.