Official ExplanationBrutally delayed by issues with inclement weather, the fact that the soccer team also had a new head coach to adjust to was not seen by the commission as an appropriate excuse for such a late arrival.
A. Brutally delayed by issues with inclement weather, the fact that the soccer team also had a new head coach to adjust to B. Though brutally delayed by issues with inclement weather, the fact that the soccer team also had a new head coach to which to adjust C. Brutally delayed by issues with inclement weather, the soccer team also had to adjust to a new head coach, but thisD. Brutally delayed by issues with inclement weather, that the soccer team also had to adjust to a new head coachE. Though brutally delayed by issues with inclement weather the soccer team’s also having a new head coach team to which it had to adjustThis question deals with modifier agreement. The modifier, “Brutally delayed by issues with inclement weather,” should be paired up with what it is modifying. In this case, we need to ask:
Who or what was brutally delayed by weather? Once we have our options narrowed down, we can focus on other potential issues. Let’s see how each option stacks up:
A. Brutally delayed by issues with inclement weather, the fact that the soccer team also had a new head coach to adjust toThis is
INCORRECT. In this case, the modifier agreement is incorrect and could be referring to “the fact that” and not the soccer team itself.
B. Though brutally delayed by issues with inclement weather, the fact that the soccer team also had a new head coach to which to adjustThis is
INCORRECT. In this case, the modifier agreement is incorrect and could be referring to: “the fact that.”
C. Brutally delayed by issues with inclement weather, the soccer team also had to adjust to a new head coach, but thisThis is
CORRECT. This is the only option that correctly states that the soccer team is the one delayed.
D. Brutally delayed by issues with inclement weather, that the soccer team also had to adjust to a new head coachThis is
INCORRECT. In this case, the modifier agreement is incorrect and uses the unclear pronoun “that.”
E. Though brutally delayed by issues with inclement weather the soccer team’s also having a new head coach team to which it had to adjustThis is
INCORRECT. In this case, the modifier agreement is worded incorrectly with the possessive form, it’s missing a comma after the modifier, and is also overly wordy.
There you have it - option C is the only one that had the correct modifier-antecedent agreement. We don’t have to worry about other issues because we eliminated all 4 wrong choices by focusing on the main grammar problem.
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