gaurav2187 wrote:
pqhai wrote:
In the late 1880s, the journalist Jacob Riis visited tenement dwellings in several impoverished New York City neighbourhoods to investigate housing conditions and photograph immigrant tenant's apartments, whose interiors were inhumanely overcrowded, their floors often serving as beds, and their walls often windowless and dilapidated with age and neglect.
(A) whose interiors were inhumanely overcrowded, their floors often serving as beds, and their walls often windowless and dilapidated with age and neglect
Correct. Modifier is used correctly.
(B) whose interiors were inhumanely overcrowded, their floors were often serving as beds, and their walls were often lacking windows and dilapidated due to age and neglect
Wrong. information about the floors and walls just provides additional info for inhumanely overcrowded apartments' interiors ==> modifier should be used.
(C) whose interiors were inhumanely overcrowded, their floors were often serving as beds, and they had walls often windowless and dilapidated with age and neglect
Wrong. Same as B.
(D) having interiors inhumanely overcrowded, their floors often serving for beds, and their walls were often windowless and dilapidated due to age and neglect
Wrong. Verb-ing modifier + comma ==> modify preceding clause. However, the underlined part just modifies "apartments".
(E) having interiors that were inhumanely overcrowded, their floors often serving as beds, and their walls often lacked windows and were dilapidated on account of age and neglect
Wrong. Same as D. Verb-ing modifier + comma ==> modify preceding clause. That's wrong here.
Hope it helps.
Just one question.
In option A, isnt there a parallelism error-
whose interiors were inhumanely overcrowded,
their floors often serving as beds, and t
heir walls often windowless and dilapidated with age and neglect1 is in Verb-ed form other is in verb-ing form
The first modifier (relative clause modifier) is not supposed to be parallel to the second and the third (absolute phrases).
Relative phrase modifier: whose interiors were inhumanely overcrowded
Absolute phrase 1: their floors often serving as beds
Absolute phrase 2: their walls often windowless and dilapidated with age and neglect.
There is no bearing of "overcrowded" with "serving" since they are in two different elements which has no parallelity requirement.
The only parallelity requirement is within the absolute phrase 1 and the absolute phrase 2, and they are parallel (noun + noun modifier)
Absolute phrase 1: Noun = their floors, noun modifier (present participle) = (often) serving as beds
Absolute phrase 2: Noun = their walls, noun modifier (adjectival) = windowless and dilapidated with age and neglect.
The only requirement here is that "their walls" and "their walls" be parallel. (Even the noun modifiers in two differnet absolute phrases need not be parallel.)