High in the sky, soaring over the foothills that on hot, dry

Question

High in the sky, soaring over the foothills that on hot, dry days look like brushed brown suede, the condor attains a majesty that is rare among birds in flight.

High in the sky, soaring over the foothills that on hot, dry days look like brushed brown suede, the condor attains a majesty that is rare among birds in flight

The condor, being high in the sky and soaring over foothills that on hot, dry days look like brushed brown suede, attains a rare majesty among birds in flight

The condor, when it is high in the sky and soars over the foothills that on hot dry days look as if they might be brushed dry suede, attains a majesty that is rare among birds in flight

On hot, dry days, when the foothills look like brushed brown suede and the condor, high in the sky, soars over them, it attains a majesty that is rare among birds in flight

Attaining a majesty that is rare among birds in flight, high in the sky, the condor soars over foothills that look like brushed brown suede on hot, dry days

soumanag · Answer

High in the sky, soaring over the foothills that on hot, dry days look like brushed brown suede, the condor attains a majesty that is rare among birds in flight -  Noting wrong with this one!

The condor,  being  high in the sky and soaring over foothills that on hot, dry days look like brushed brown suede, attains a rare majesty among birds in flight

The condor,  when it is high in the sky  and soars over the foothills that on hot dry days look  as if they might be  brushed dry suede, attains a majesty that is rare among birds in flight

On hot, dry days, when the foothills look like brushed brown suede and the condor, high in the sky, soars over  them , it attains a majesty that is rare among birds in flight - Pronoun error
 
Attaining a majesty that is rare among birds in flight,  high in the   sky, the condor soars over foothills that look like brushed brown suede on hot, dry days -  Clause Attaining a majesty that is rare among birds in flight modifies high in the sky. 
Correct option: A

Onell · Answer

Guys,
is  soaring over the foothills...  in option A not a squinting modifier? Why can't it modify " the sky"

GMATPill · Answer

Let's look at the original sentence:

High in the sky, soaring over the foothills that on hot, dry days look like brushed brown suede, the condor attains a majesty that is rare among birds in flight.

Now let's break it down to its structure:

"High in the sky,  , the condor..."

Where is the main part of the sentence?

It's here: 
"High in the sky,  ,  "

So structurally, the -ING verb "soaring" is positioned to describe the subject of the main sentence--which is "the condor." Ask yourself if that makes sense. Do condors "soar over the foothills"???  Yes. It makes sense.

You asked why "soaring over the foothills" does not describe "sky"--well, here's two reasons:

1) Structurally,  it's not positioned to describe sky. This is the "description, main sentence" framework we go in further detail in GMATPill.

2) Meaning-wise , it doesn't make sense.

You always need to check these two components. In this case, neither one works in the favor of modifying "sky" so you know "soaring" must modify something else--in this case, the "condor."

So yes, answer is (A).

Onell · Answer

GMATPILL,
 I got a similar sentence from og12, but with adverbial modifier

Although various eighteenth and nineteenth-century American poets  had professed  an interest in Native American poetry and had pretended to imitate Native American forms in their own works,  until almost 1900 ,scholars and critics  did not begin  seriously to study traditional Native American poetry in native languages.

Until Almost 1900 => adverbial modifier
Scholars and critics did not ....=> main sentence (INDEPENDENT CLAUSE )
Although...=> Dependent Clause

You wrote that

From you explanation  until almost 1900  should modify verb of the main sentence (Did not begin) However OG says . until almost 1900  can refer back to the first verb (professed) or forward to the next verb (did not begin)?

In our original sentence why is modifier not positioned to describe sky structurally?
Am I missing sth?

rajeevrks27 · Answer

even two modifiers back to back does are causing awkwardness in A.

saikarthikreddy · Answer

Option A seems to be right.All the rest seem awkward .

manhasnoname · Answer

High in the sky, soaring over the foothills that on hot, dry days look like brushed brown suede, the condor attains a majesty that is rare among birds in flight.

Here is my reasoning

High in the sky, soaring over the foothills that on hot, dry days look like brushed brown suede, the condor attains a majesty that is rare among birds in flight  "SOARING ..." MODIFIES SKY

The condor, being high in the sky and soaring over foothills that on hot, dry days look like brushed brown suede, attains a rare majesty among birds in flight  BEING USAGE IS AWKWARD

The condor, when it is high in the sky and soars over the foothills that on hot dry days look as if they might be brushed dry suede, attains a majesty that is rare among birds in flight  GIVES A SENSE AS IF IT ATTAINS... ONLY WHEN IT SOARS

On hot, dry days, when the foothills look like brushed brown suede and the condor, high in the sky, soars over them, it attains a majesty that is rare among birds in flight  RUN ON

Attaining a majesty that is rare among birds in flight, high in the sky, the condor soars over foothills that look like brushed brown suede on hot, dry days  LOOKS PERFECT

What is wrong with my reasoning above?

Why can't E be the right answer?

Why can't "soaring ..." modify "sky" in A. ?

Balajikarthick1990 · Answer

High in the sky in option E modifies birds in flight, and it is supposed to modify condor. So that`s the reason option E is wrong.

RaghavSingla · Answer

In choice D, 'them' can't be used to describe foothills? I picked up D coz I found it okay.

VerbalBot · Answer

Automated notice from GMAT Club VerbalBot: 

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

 This post was generated automatically.

High in the sky, soaring over the foothills that on hot, dry

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

High in the sky, soaring over the foothills that on hot, dry

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards