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This sentence from The Economist is poorly constructed, is it?

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zhanbo
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This sentence from The Economist is poorly constructed, is it? [#permalink] New post   08 Oct 2019, 03:15
The economist is highly recommended for GMAT / GRE test takers not only for its content but also for its writing quality. That is why I am surprised to find one sentence showing typical modifier error.

The first sentence of the article "Beyond cruise control" (https://www.economist.com/technology-qu ... se-control) reads,

Driving fast along a road outside Turin, snow-capped mountains beckon in the far distance.

Here, "Driving fast along a road outside Turin" is a present participle serving as a modifier. The subject of the sentence is "snow-capped mountains". But it is wrong to say that "snow-capped mountains" are doing the driving.

So this is a poorly constructed sentence. Agree? Is there any way to defend this sentence from such a reputable source?
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ccooley
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Re: This sentence from The Economist is poorly constructed, is it? [#permalink] New post   09 Oct 2019, 12:45
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zhanbo wrote:
The economist is highly recommended for GMAT / GRE test takers not only for its content but also for its writing quality. That is why I am surprised to find one sentence showing typical modifier error.

The first sentence of the article "Beyond cruise control" (https://www.economist.com/technology-qu ... se-control) reads,

Driving fast along a road outside Turin, snow-capped mountains beckon in the far distance.

Here, "Driving fast along a road outside Turin" is a present participle serving as a modifier. The subject of the sentence is "snow-capped mountains". But it is wrong to say that "snow-capped mountains" are doing the driving.

So this is a poorly constructed sentence. Agree? Is there any way to defend this sentence from such a reputable source?


Excellent catch! This sentence, according to the GMAT, would be incorrect for the reason that you state.

This error shows up a lot, even in otherwise high-quality writing. Keep an eye out for it!
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Re: This sentence from The Economist is poorly constructed, is it? [#permalink] New post   09 Oct 2019, 14:11
ccooley wrote:
zhanbo wrote:
The economist is highly recommended for GMAT / GRE test takers not only for its content but also for its writing quality. That is why I am surprised to find one sentence showing typical modifier error.

The first sentence of the article "Beyond cruise control" (https://www.economist.com/technology-qu ... se-control) reads,

Driving fast along a road outside Turin, snow-capped mountains beckon in the far distance.

Here, "Driving fast along a road outside Turin" is a present participle serving as a modifier. The subject of the sentence is "snow-capped mountains". But it is wrong to say that "snow-capped mountains" are doing the driving.

So this is a poorly constructed sentence. Agree? Is there any way to defend this sentence from such a reputable source?


Excellent catch! This sentence, according to the GMAT, would be incorrect for the reason that you state.

This error shows up a lot, even in otherwise high-quality writing. Keep an eye out for it!


Thanks for your comment! And your scores in GMAT and GRE are my inspiration! :-)
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Re: This sentence from The Economist is poorly constructed, is it? [#permalink] New post   09 Oct 2019, 15:20
zhanbo wrote:
The economist is highly recommended for GMAT / GRE test takers not only for its content but also for its writing quality. That is why I am surprised to find one sentence showing typical modifier error.

The first sentence of the article "Beyond cruise control" (https://www.economist.com/technology-qu ... se-control) reads,

Driving fast along a road outside Turin, snow-capped mountains beckon in the far distance.

Here, "Driving fast along a road outside Turin" is a present participle serving as a modifier. The subject of the sentence is "snow-capped mountains". But it is wrong to say that "snow-capped mountains" are doing the driving.

So this is a poorly constructed sentence. Agree? Is there any way to defend this sentence from such a reputable source?


Yes, this is a poorly constructed sentence and grammatically incorrect. What is interesting is that this type of error is very common.

This writing must have escaped the editorial process, but this is not surprising. You can see this type of error in professional and academic manuscripts as well.
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Re: This sentence from The Economist is poorly constructed, is it? [#permalink]
09 Oct 2019, 15:20
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