In August 2010, a report was published on stone projectile points dati

Hi All,

In August 2010, a report was published on stone projectile points dating back 64,000 years excavating from layers of ancient sediment in Sibudu Cave, South Africa.



In August 2010, a report was published on stone projectile points. These points date back 64,000 years and have been excavated from layers of ancient sediment in Sibudu Cave, South Africa.



The verb-ing modifier “excavating” has been placed right after “64,000 years” without any comma preceding it. This means that this modifier is referring to “64,000 years”. This is absolutely illogical because now the sentence suggests that “64,000 years” did the action of excavating. This is the only error in the sentence. Now let’s run the POE to find the correct answer.

POE:

Choice A: Incorrect. Modifier error as discussed above.

Choice B: were published on stone projectile points dating back 64,000 years layers excavated: Incorrect. Firstly, this choice has subject verb number agreement error. Singular “a report” cannot have plural verb “were published”. Secondly, change in the placement of “layers” makes the sentence illogical.

Choice C: published about stone projectile points dating back 64,000 years excavated from layers: Incorrect. Absence of “was” before “published” turns the sentence into active voice. The sentence now suggests that “a report” did the action of publishing about “stone projectile points”. However, the facts are published in a report. A report does not do the job of publishing.

Choice D: was published on stone projectile points dating back 64,000 years excavated from layers. Correct. This choice turns “excavating” to “excavated” that refers to “stone projectile points”. This means that these points were excavated in South Africa.

Choice E: on stone projectile points dating back 64,000 years was published about layers: Incorrect. “published about layers” suggests that some facts were published about the layers. This choice has an illogical meaning.

PS @hero4th: Please read the explanation of Choices C and D to find the difference between the two. Here it is voice issue rather than the idiom.



1. A verb-ing modifier modifies the immediate preceding noun if the modifier is not preceded by a comma.
2. We must use correct voice to convey the logical intended meaning of the sentence.
3. Notice the change in placements of words as they may change the meaning of the sentence.

Hope this helps.

Thanks.
Shraddha