Download incomplete or missing participial phrases

126 Section 2 • Guide to Structure and Written Expression
LESSON 19
INCOMPLETE OR MISSING PARTICIPIAL PHRASES
Participial phrases generally occur after nouns. They are actually reduced (shortened) relative
clauses. Present participles (which always end in -ing) are used to reduce adjective clauses that
contain active verbs.
Minnesota, which joined the Union in 1858, became the thirty-second state.
(adjective clause with active verb)
Minnesota, joini;;g the Union in 1858, became the thirty-second state.
(participial phrase with a present participle)
Most past participles end in -ed, but there are also many irregular forms. Past participles are used to
reduce adjective clauses with passive verbs.
William and Mary College, which wasfounded in 1693, is the second oldest university in
the United States.
(adjective clause with a passive verb)
William and Mary College, founded in 1693, is the second oldest university in the United States.
(participial phrase with a past participle)
Participial phrases can also come before the subject of a sentence.
joining the Union in 1858, Minnesota became the thirty-second state.
Founded in 1693, William and Mary College is the second oldest university in the United States.
Usually, the participle itself is missing from this type of Structure item, but any part of a participial
phrase as well as parts of a main clause may be missing.
..
Sample Item
Natural resources provide the raw materials ____ to produce finished
goods.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
needed
are needed
which need
needing
Option (B) is a passive verb; the sentence cannot contain two main verbs (are
needed and prOl'ide) in the same clause. Choice (C) creates an adjective clause, but
the verb in the clause is active and a passive verb is required. (However, a relative
clause with a passive verb (which are needed) would be a correct answer.) Choice
(D) is a present participle and has an active meaning; a past participle is needed. A
Exercise 19
Focus: Completing structure problems involving incomplete or missing participial phrases. (Note:
One or two items in this exercises do not focus on participial phrases; these items are marked on the
answer key with asterisks.)
Directions: Choose the one option-(A), (B), (C), or (D)-that correctly completes the sentence,
and then mark the appropriate blank. The first one is done as an example.
Section 2 • Guide to Structure and Written Expression
127
1. Aerodynamics is the study of the forces _ _ _ _ _ _ on an object as it moves through the
atmosphere.
~ (A) acting
_ _ (B) act
___ (C) are acting
_ _ (D) acted
2.
___
___
___
___
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
for their strong fiber include flax and hemp.
Plants are grown
Plants grown
Plants that grow
To grow plants
___
___
_ __
___
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
, Jose Limon's dance troupe often toured abroad.
The u.s. State Department sponsored it
Sponsored by the U.S. State Department
The U.S. State Department, which sponsored it
The sponsorship of the U.S. State Department
3.
4. Elfreth'sAlJey in Philadelphia is the oldest residential street in the United States, with
_ _ _ _ _ _ from 1728.
___ (A) hOllses are dated
___ (B) the dates of the houses
___ (C) the dating of houses
___ (D) hOllses dating
5. In 1821 the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, was laid out in a design _ _ _ _ _ _ after that of
Washington, D.C.
___ (A) patterned
___ (B) was patterned
___ (C) a pattern
___ (D) that patterned
6.
___
___
___
___
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
in front of a camera lens changes the color of the light that reaches the film.
Placed a filter
A filter is placed
A filter placed
When a filter placed
7. The Massachusetts State House,
the United States at that time.
___ (A) completing
___ (B) which was completed
___ (C) was completed
_ _ (D) to be completed
8. Barbara McClintock
_ _ (A) known
___ (B) who knows
___ (C) knowing
___ (D) is known
in 1798, was the most distinguished building in
for her discovery of the mobility of genetic elements.
9. The solitary scientist _ _ _ _ _ _ by himse1fhas in many instances been replaced by a
cooperative scientific team.
___ (A) to make important discoveries
___ (B) important discoveries were made
___ (C) has made important discoveries
_ _ _ (9) making important discoveries
128
Section 2 • Guide to Structure and Written Expression
10. Geometry is the branch of mathematics _ _ _ _ _ _ the properties of lines, curves, shapes,
and surfaces.
___ (A) that concerned with
___ (B) it is concerned with
___ (C) concerned with
___ (D) its concerns are
11.
an average of 4T\ inches of rain a year, Mount Waia1ea1e in Hawaii is the wettest
spot in the world.
___ (A) It receives
___ (B) Receiving
___ (C) To receive
___ (D) Received
12. Amber is a hard, yellowish-brown
of years ago.
___ (A) substance formed
___ (B) to form a substance
___ (C) substance has formed
___ (D) forming a substance
._ _ _ _ _ from the resin of pine trees that lived millions
Section 2 • Guide to Structure and Written Expression
129
LESSON 20
INCOMPLETE OR MISSING APPOSITIVES
An appositive is a noun phrase that explains or rephrases another noun phrase. It usually comes
after the noun which it rephrases. It may also come before the subject of a sentence.
Buffalo Bill, a famousfrontiersman, operated his own Wild West Show.
(appositive following a noun)
A famous frontiersman, Buffalo Bill operated his own Wild West Show.
(appositive before the subject)
Appositives are actually reduced adjective clauses. However, unlike adjective clauses, they do not
contain a marker or a verb.
Oak, which is one of the most durable hardwoods, is often used to make furniture.
(adjective clause)
Oak, one of the most durable hardwoods, is often used to make furniture.
(appositive)
Appositives are usually separated from the rest of the sentence by commas, but some short
appositives (usually names) are not.
Economist Paul Samuelson won a Nobel Prize in 1970.
In Structure items. all or part of an appositive phrase may be missing. In addition, the noun that the
appositive refers to or other parts of the main clause may be missing.
....
Sample Item
The National Road,
of the first highways in North America,
connected the East Coast to the Ohio Valley.
(A) which one
(B) it was one
(C) one
(D) was one
Choice (A) is incorrect; there is no verb in the relative clause. Choice (B) has no
connecting word to join the clause to the rest of the sentence. Choice (D) is
incorrect because a verb cannot be used in an appositive phrase. Note: u'hich was
one would also be a correct answer. ...
Exercise 20
Focus: Completing structure problems involving appositives. (Note: The focus for one or two items
in this exercises is not appositives; these sentences are marked in the answer key with asterisks.)
Directions: Choose the one option-(A), (B), (C), or (D)-that correctly completes the sentences,
and then mark the appropriate blank. The first one is done as an example.
1. The Democratic Party is older than the other major American political party,
___ (A) which the Republican party
~ (B) the Republican party
___ (C) it is the Republican party
___ (D) the Republican party is
130
2.
Section 2 • Guide to Structure and Written Expression
relations with friends and acquaintances, playa major role in the social
development of adolescents.
___ (A) What are called peer group relations are
___ (B) Peer group relations are
.___ (C) Peer group relations, the
___ (D) By peer group relations, we mean
3. Joseph Henry,
advisor on scientific matters.
_ _ (A) the
_ _ (B) to be the
_ _ (C) was the
_ _ (D) as the
first director of the Smithsonian Institute, was President Lincoln's
4. The Wassatch Range,
extends from southeastern Idaho into northern Utah.
___ (A) which is a part of the Rocky Mountains,
___ (B) a part of the Rocky Mountains that
___ (C) is a part of the Rocky Mountains
___ (D) a part of the Rocky Mountains, it
5.
___
___
___
___
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Ruth St. Dennis turned to Asian dances to find inspiration for her choreography.
It was the dancer
The dancer
That the dancer
The dancer was
6. The organs of taste are the
which are mainly located on the tongue.
___ (A) groups of cells, are taste buds
____ (B) taste buds, are groups of cells
___ (C) taste buds, these are groups of cells
___ (D) taste buds, groups of cells
7. In 1878 FrederickW Taylor invented a concept called scientific management, _ _ _ _ _ _ of
obtaining as much efficiency from workers and machines as possible.
___ (A) it is a method
___ (B) a method which
_ _ (C) a method
___ (D) called a method
8. A group of Shakers,
settled around Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, in 1805.
___ (A) members of a strict religious sect which
___ (B) whose members of a strict religious sect
___ (C) members of a strict religious sect,
___ (D) were members of a strict religious sect
9. In physics,
"plasma" refers to a gas which has a nearly equal number of positively
and negatively charged particles.
_ _ (A) the term
_ _ (B) by the term
___ (C) is termed
_ _ (D) terming
Section 2 • Guide to Structure and Written Expression
10. Norman Weiner,
development of the computer.
___ (A) who, as a
_ _ (B) was a
_ _ (C) whom a
_ _ (D) a
131
mathematician and logician, had an important role in the
11. Jerome Kern's most famoLls work is Showbo({t, _ _ _ _ _ _ most enduring mLlsical comedies.
_ (A) it is one of the i1nest,
_ _ _ (B) one of the finest,
___ (C) the finest one
___ (D) as the finest of the
12.
a marshland that covers over 7';0 square miles in North Carolina and Virginia.
_ __ (A) In the Great Dismal Swamp,
_ _ _ (B) The Great Dismal Swamp, which
___ (C) The Great Dismal Swamp,
___ (D) The Great Dismal Swamp is