Question 51·Hard·Form, Structure, and Sense
Having spent decades studying flightless birds, ______ leading her to become the foremost authority on ostrich locomotion.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For modifier and sentence-structure questions, first identify any opening "-ing" or participial phrase and ask who or what is logically doing that action. Then check that the noun or pronoun immediately after the comma is that doer; if not, the choice creates a dangling modifier and should be eliminated. Among the remaining options, prefer clear, concise, active constructions over passive or wordy versions, and read the full sentence to confirm it flows logically and naturally.
Hints
Focus on the opening phrase
Look closely at "Having spent decades studying flightless birds,". Think about who this phrase is describing in the rest of the sentence.
Check what comes right after the comma
In sentences that start with an "-ing" phrase like this, the noun or pronoun immediately after the comma should be the one performing that action. Identify what the subject is in each option.
Test for logic and wordiness
Eliminate any choice where the subject after the comma is something that cannot literally spend decades studying, or where the structure is awkward or overly wordy compared with the others.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the opening phrase
Look at the beginning: "Having spent decades studying flightless birds,". This is a participial phrase (an "-ing" form used as a modifier) that describes who spent decades studying flightless birds.
Ask: Who did this studying? It must be a person, and in the context of the sentence, that person is Dr. Nguyen.
Apply the modifier placement rule
In Standard English, when a sentence starts with a participial phrase like "Having spent decades studying flightless birds," the noun or pronoun immediately after the comma must be the one doing that action. Otherwise, you get a dangling modifier (the description seems to attach to the wrong thing).
So the correct completion must:
- Put the actual person (the researcher) as the grammatical subject right after the comma.
- Avoid making something non-human (like "articles" or "publication") or a vague pronoun (like "it") the subject of that clause.
Test each choice for logic and clarity
Now check each option:
- "numerous articles were published by Dr. Nguyen," makes articles the subject, as if the articles spent decades studying.
- "the publication of numerous articles by Dr. Nguyen occurred," makes the publication the subject, which also cannot study.
- "it was Dr. Nguyen who published numerous articles," makes it the subject after the comma, so the modifier wrongly describes "it."
Only "Dr. Nguyen published numerous articles," puts Dr. Nguyen directly after the comma as the subject doing the action, creating a clear, active, and grammatically correct sentence:
"Having spent decades studying flightless birds, Dr. Nguyen published numerous articles, leading her to become the foremost authority on ostrich locomotion."