can someone expalin me what is realtive clause modifier and

Question

can someone expalin me what is realtive clause modifier and how it is used in sentence correcntion. I came across the below example adn would like to understand why i have to use "that"

A ballad by Simon Taylor, written in the same year as The Golden Sun were recorded , shows that Taylor was a more diverse musician than is commonly believed.

A. A ballad by Simon Taylor, written in the same year as The Golden Sun were recorded
B. A ballad by Simon Taylor, written in the same year of recording as The Golden Sun 
C. A ballad by Simon Taylor, written in the same year that The Golden Sun was recorded
D. Simon Taylor wrote a ballad in the same year as he recorded The Golden Sun that
E. Simon Taylor wrote a ballad in the same year of recording as The Golden Sun that

The best answer is C. In this sentence, the relative pronoun that should introduce the clause The Golden Sun.. recorded to make a relative clause modifying year. Also, the singular title of the song demands a singular verb: was.  Why “that” has to be used.?

One more example:

xxxDr. Russel’s hypothesis  of the teeth belonging to an extinct animal was verified by comparing the findings with large teeth and bone specimens at the Hunterian Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons in England.  
A. of the teeth belonging to an extinct animal was verified by comparing the findings with large teeth and bone specimens at the Hunterian Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons in England
B. of the teeth belonging to an extinct animal was verified through a comparison with findings with large teeth and bone specimens at England’s Hunterian Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons.
C. that the teeth they found belonged to an extinct animal was verified by comparing the findings with large teeth and bone specimens at the Hunterian Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons in England
D. which was that the teeth belonged to an extinct animal, was verified by comparing the findings with large teeth and bone specimens at England’s Hunterian Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons.
E. which was verified by comparing the findings with large teeth and bone specimens at the Hunterian Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons in England, was that the teeth belonged to an extinct animal

The best answer is C. Choice A and B are faulty because a relative clause beginning with that is needed to state Dr. Russel’s hypothesis. D and E are awkward and wordy, and both use which where that would be the preferred pronoun for introducing a clause that states Dr. Russel’s hypothesis.  Why do I need a realtive clause here? What does “They” refer to in the sentence? Where is precedent of pronoun “They”?

gmat1220 · Answer

You can eliminate A since it has SV error - "were" is plural and cannot associate with singular noun "The Golden Sun". That leaves only C as the answer.

"that" in C refers to the "year". The SC is announcing emphatically that it was the same year.

vivesomnium · Answer

You know that a modifier is something that is used to mofidy a Noun Phrase in a sentence..
Let our basic sentence be: John sings 
If I modify it to say: 'The legendary singer John sings' Legendary singer is a noun phrase which modifies the noun John: Noun Phrase Modifier
'Tall and handsome John sings' : Adjective phrase modifier
'John with his baritone sings' : Prepositional phrase modifier
'John smiling happily sings' : Verb phrase modifier
And finally,
'John, whom I love so much, sings' : RELATIVE clause modifier.
Relative phrase modifiers are relative clauses beginning with relative pronouns like whom, who, that, which, whose, where, when, why etc.
Note that this is a modifier which is a complete clause: contains a subject and a predicate.
In examples you cited,
1. C. 'that the Golden year was recorded' is a relative clause modifier. It modifies the 'year'. In the same sentence 'written in the same year..' is a verb phrase modifier, modifying the ballad.

2. C. ' that the...animal' modifies the noun 'Dr. Russel's hypothesis'
Use of they is incidental I think.
 Hope that helps.

garimavyas · Answer

@vivesomnium , that is a decent explanation . did i use a relative clause ?
anyway , the usage of 'they' in the second sentence, is strange, how can it be incidental ?

vivesomnium · Answer

No, you didnt: You used that as a pronoun pointing to the explanation I gave. In the sentence, 'that' didnt modify anything, did it?

Also, option C would have been correct if the phrase'they found' was removed. It's addition to the sentence doesnt make it grammatically wrong..It does bring additional information though, that the teeth in question were found by an unkown 'they', however, in absence of any other option being gramatically correct, that doesnt remain much of a flaw..

VerbalBot · Answer

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can someone expalin me what is realtive clause modifier and

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