In 1813, the Sixth Coalition attacked Napoleon and the First

Question

In 1813, the Sixth Coalition attacked Napoleon and the First French Empire in the Battle of Leipzig, the largest conflict in the Napoleonic Wars.

A. In 1813, the Sixth Coalition attacked Napoleon and the First French Empire in the Battle of Leipzig, the largest conflict in the Napoleonic Wars

B. The Sixth Coalition attacked Napoleon and the First French Empire in 1813, which was called the Battle of Leipzig and which became the largest conflict in the Napoleonic Wars

C. In the largest conflict in the Napoleonic Wars, in 1813, the Sixth Coalition attacked Napoleon and the First French Empire in the Battle of Leipzig

D. 1813 saw the Battle of Leipzig, the largest conflict in the Napoleonic Wars, in which the Sixth Coalition attacked Napoleon and the First French Empire

E. The Battle of Leipzig, the largest conflict in the Napoleonic Wars, was a conflict between the Sixth Coalition and the First French Empire in 1813

sudhir18n · Answer

Its a tough choice between A and C.
But I guess C chances the meaning - only somewhat.
I will go with A

daagh · Answer

A. In 1813, the Sixth Coalition attacked Napoleon and the First French Empire in the Battle of Leipzig, the largest conflict in the Napoleonic Wars-  correct choice

B. The Sixth Coalition attacked Napoleon and ‘the First French Empire in 1813, which was’ called the Battle of Leipzig and which became the largest conflict in the Napoleonic Wars…  'Which' has wrong modification

C. In the largest conflict in the Napoleonic Wars, in 1813, the Sixth Coalition attacked Napoleon and the First French Empire in the Battle of Leipzig…  The prepositional phrase ‘In the largest conflict in the Napoleonic Wars’ modifying the Battle of Leipzig should go hand in hand. with its modified noun

D. 1813 saw the Battle of Leipzig, the largest conflict in the Napoleonic Wars, in which the Sixth Coalition attacked Napoleon and the First French Empire ---  1813 saw - awkward 
--
E. The Battle of Leipzig, the largest conflict in the Napoleonic Wars, was a conflict between the Sixth Coalition and the First French Empire in 1813 ….  Where is the element of Sixth Coalition attacking Napoleon? Meaning is distorted

sudhir18n · Answer

Hi Daagh, 
Are you sure that a prepo. modifier should be close( thats what I undstd of hand in hand ) of the noun it modifies.?
Correct me if i understood correct, because I believe a prepo. modifier can modify even at a distance and it modifies a clause and not Noun..

daagh · Answer

sudhir18n

Really? Which clause is it modifying in this context? I thought the phrase modified the noun phrase of the Battle of Leipzig because, that is the one that occurred in 1813. Can you cite any other clause that the introductory sentence modifying the topic ?You may also allude to some similar cases, If not in this sentence, in which in spite of distant placement, the modification did not suffer. I am curious to know, because wrong word order has been a critical aspect of stylistic errors in GMAT in recent times especially at higher end questions.

Thanks in advance

vyassaptarashi · Answer

Good to see some conversation here..

Prepositional phrase can modify nouns as well as verbs. Therefore depending upon what it is modifying it can be close or away from noun or verb respectively.
E.g Noun -  on the cycle ,  the seat  is present
verb -  on the cycle , I  like  to see the seat.

OA is A

daagh · Answer

vyassaptarashi wrote

I do appreciate your theory. But just please tell, what the prepositional phrase modifying in this case, whether a verb or a noun and how far both are placed from each other. According to your theory, in the largest conflict in the Napoleonic Wars, modifies 1883, or the Sixth Coalition or the attacked or the First French empire or the Battle of the Leipzig? In other words, what is the relevance of the basic tent of modification that modifiers set of by commas should be immediately followed by the modified, lest the essence of modification should get emaciated.

As admittedly, if A is the answer,which I don't dispute. what the flaw is in C according to you? Can you pl. enlighten me?

As admittedly, if A is the answer,which I don't dispute. what is the flaw in C according to you? Can you pl. enlighten me?

sudhir18n · Answer

OG12 #87 
In an effort to reduce their inventories, Italian vintners have cut prices..............
 The prepositional phrase, is modifying the following clause, not the following noun.
 
Correct me if you think I'm wrong . Me no expert !!

PS: Congrats on CSk Win .. I was in chennai for last 3 years .. loved it thoroughly:)

vyassaptarashi · Answer

First of all"the largest conflict" is working as a noun as whole, in which largest, an adjective, is modifying noun conflict .. thus as a whole it is working as noun. Now, noun can modify only noun .... noun can not modify verb.... and it is called appositive. Thus, we can definitely say that "the largest conflict in the Napoleonic wars" is modifying "battle of Leipzig", which is noun again.

Now, in Option C, the construction is wrong because both "in the largest conflict in the Napoleonic Wars" and "in 1813" modifying "the sixth coalition". "The sixth coalition" is again noun thus its modifiers must be close to it. There are some exceptions but none fits here. Also, preposition phrase(in the largest conflict in the Napoleonic Wars) can not modify preposition phrase(in 1813) and thus it is wrong. 
Moreover, if we ignore the construction, then also the Option C can not become even a contender for the answer because in the question "the battle of Leipzig" is modified by "the largest conflict" and not the "the sixth coalition". thus changes the meaning.

This all explanation is what my understanding is .... please correct me if i m wrong....

And to Daagh ..... ur the best...man ... i can not challenge u .... after all i have learned a lot from ur posts...

daagh · Answer

vyassaptarashi wrote

That is exactly What I have been saying all along; I request you to read my first response in this topic, Wherein I have stated just what you have expressed now. Well said and well taken and well said

daagh · Answer

Sudhir18n

Which is the prepositional modifier in C? Is it the “In the largest conflict in the Napoleonic Wars” or ‘in 1883’ that precedes and modifies the entire clause. Becos after the initial prepositional phrase, there is another prepositional phrase namely, ‘in 1883’. Or are both modifying the clause?
But the issue here is that in the Italian Vintners case, the clause is placed immediately next to the comma and so there is no issue about it.

Your assertion that prepositional phrases do not modify nouns is untenable. Pl read the following for example from the page

daagh · Answer

When Ron says we have no choice to disagree. But to me the appearance in other forum does not look like a coincidence. The post in the other forum began on May 16, Ron replied them on May 16, and vyassaptarashi and you posted on May 24. Even the example clause which you have cited is just the same as what Ron gave. This looks like a reproduction of the other forum’s.

If y u had cited the reference to the other forum along your reply, life would have been simpler. Anyway I am glad that I am only as bad as Bret, the other GMAT Instructor.

I honestly believe that It is best to leave the issue here

naveenhv · Answer

Was torn between A and D. But chose A finally!

sudhir18n · Answer

Okai Daagh, I have attended the online 9 series of manhattan and been through such discussions. Not sure what u meant by 'not -coincidence'. We we discuss the prepositional modifier, we discussed the OG 12 Q 87.

What I meant by co-incidence is Ron has posted something on that on a forum as well as I was trying to get that explanation on Manhattan forum.

Anyways, as u said , its better to leave the discussion here.. we got to the learning, thats far more important.

Thanks Daagh

amit2k9 · Answer

choice is between A and C.
C the prep phrase should modify the battle of Leipzig. Thats missing here.

A is the best with proper placements.

In 1813, the Sixth Coalition attacked Napoleon and the First

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