105(B) The son belongs to “her” and the “invention” belongs to the son, so both the possessive
pronoun (her) and the possessive apostrophe (son’s) work.
(C) a washing machine that dries... is a dependent clause and should be preceded by a comma.
“dries” is a singular verb and “washing machine” is its singular subject. Dries is also parallel to
fluffs and folds.
(D) according to the sentence as written, who or what is “pushing the button”? The washing
machine! Oops. That can’t be right.
Revised sentence:
Mrs. Ray boastfully presented her son’s new
A B Misplaced Modifier
invention, a washing machine that dries,
C a button is pushed OR you push a button
fluffs, and folds when pushing a button.
D
No error
E
Correct Answer: (D)
Let’s check the answers one by one to be on the safe side.
(A) check the preposition “of.” Make a new expression – some of the boys... That works. Let’s
check for pronoun ambiguity. Who does “them” refer to? Microorganisms. It’s the only plural
noun in the first part of the sentence, so the reference is clear. Both the pronoun and the
noun it refers to are plural, so pronoun agreement checks fine. The preposition “of” comes
before the pronoun “them” so the objective case is also correct.
(B) can “microorganisms” be found in the ocean? Yes.
(C) Let’s check the simple present tense verb “are” for SVA. Who or what “are”? Be sure to eliminate
the following prep phrases: to the naked eye, of them, in the ocean sediments, of the
continental shelf, of Namibia. The sentence then reads: Most microorganisms are not visible,
although some found are visible... the “are” refers to “microorganisms.”
(D) “as” is a preposition. Can something be visible as? Yes. Chromosomes are not visible as
separate units.
Correct Answer: (E)
13.Most microorganisms are not visible to the naked
eye, although some of them found in the ocean
A B
sediments of the continental shelf of Namibiaare visible as thin strings of pearls. No error
C D E