Hey All,

While Angel's explanation is entirely correct, it's a bit light on detail, so I thought I'd weigh in.

The big category here is modifiers, and the rules regarding modifiers are very strict. If you want to modify a noun, the modifier and the modifi-ee (my invented word) have to touch.

(A) encounter native crocodiles lurking in the shallows, whose eyes and noses are peeking out

(B) encountered native crocodiles lurking in the shallows, whose eyes and noses peek out

(C) had encountered native crocodiles lurking in the shallows, whose eyes and noses peek out

(D) encounter native crocodiles lurking in the shallows, with eyes and noses peeking out

(E) encounter native crocodiles lurking in the shallows, with eyes and noses that are peeking out

The first split you inevitably saw (aside from the verb tense issue up front, which we can also discuss) was "whose" versus "with". "Whose" is a relative pronoun, and can only be used to modify nouns. That means that "whose" better go RIGHT NEXT to the thing it modifies. Unfortunately, in A, B and C, it modifies "shallows". This doesn't make any sense, for obvious reasons.

"with" is a preposition, and also sets off a modifying phrase. However, this phrase is not modifying crocodiles (As you may have assumed) but "lurking". One way to determine what's being modified is to ask yourself what question is being answered by the modifying phrase. In other words, you can't answer a question about the crocodile with this modifier ("What were the crocodiles doing?" "With eyes and noses peeking out" -- this makes no sense). But you can answer the question "How were the crocodiles lurking?" "With eyes and noses peeking out"). We're modifying a verb, and verb modifiers DO NOT need to touch the verbs they modify.

Between D and E, D is simply more concise (there's no reason to introduce the relative pronoun "that"; it just complicates the meaning).

Also, there's no reason to use any tense but present here. Notice the original verb "participate", which is in the present, then ask yourself if there's any good reason to change tenses. There isn't. Answer is D.

Hope that helps!
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My take on this question is in a different way , As i think use of whose is correct because It clearly refer's to croc's !!

Ans is D,

Reasoning as follows : < I split sentence into its clauses >

Many Daring vactioners,

Who participate in guided tours on the tarcos river , encounter native crocodile lurking in the swallows,

Whose eyes & noes are peeking out from the surface of murky water

Now, As per S-V agreement Sentence is correct,
Pronoun : whose --> referring to croc correct
Verb Tense : Since this is a information statement hence Simple present tense must be use , Use of present progressive in under line portion ( Whose eyes & noes are peeking) wrong
Modifiers : Correct
Parallelism : OK
Idioms : does not find any specific
Meaning : clear

A : Wrong because of VT error
B: use of encountered verb wrong
C : Use of past perfect wrong
D : Correct Ans ,
E : Use of that unnecessary

Hope it helps !!

Regards
ST
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Hi debbiem,

Your reasoning is good, but you missed out one tense error in A. The present continuous tense are peaking out implies that the action is happening at this current moment. This tense is definitely wrong. This option would mean that the visitors encounter crocodiles whose eyes and noses are peaking out at this moment...

I understand that you are very concerned with the modifier touch rule, and you are right in doing so. However there are exceptions to modifier touch rule. This example illustrates such an exception: another essential phrase modifier may sometimes drop in between a noun and its modifier. Since you have more serious problem (tense problem) in option A, you would be better off with D, although the modifier touch rule is not followed in this case.

Also note that peaking out in option D is not in present continuous tense, but a present participle. A present participle follows the tense of the main verb of the sentence, in this case simple present.

Both your questions are related. In general a modifier should touch the noun it modifies. However there are certain exceptions when this rule does not hold. Manhattan SC guide elaborates these rules in a structured way. The above is an example of such an exception in which the touch rule does not hold.

Moreover I would suggest not to differentiate the modifiers as "whose" modifiers, "with" modifiers etc. - it is more convenient to generalize the rules for all modifiers - only some exceptions may be memorized (e.g., present participle modifier may refer to the whole preceding clause).

No, it is not concision that makes option D better. The present continuous tense "are peaking out" makes option E wrong.

I read somewhere on this forum that a "preposition + noun + participle phrase" is an incorrect structure. In option D, how can a "with + eyes and noses + peeking" be a correct structure?