What this lesson covers
This one runs the whole check on a real-shaped item: ask who is doing the opening action, then look at what each wrong choice puts after the comma. Every distractor is a perfectly grammatical sentence, which is exactly why this question type survives a read-through.
Also covered: why a passive subject slips past the check, and the mid-sentence misplacement of only, almost and nearly.
0:00 Who is doing it
0:14 The setup
0:39 The method
1:04 Three ways this goes wrong
1:25 Recap
Worked examples
The questions the video works, written out: the setup, each step, the answer and the trap.
0:14Example 1
Racing to finish before the storm, ___ Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? A) the last row of seedlings was planted by the volunteers B) the volunteers planted the last row of seedlings C) the seedlings were planted in the last row D) planting the last row took the volunteers an hour
- The opening phrase, Racing to finish before the storm, describes somebody. Ask who is racing. It is the volunteers.
- An opening modifier attaches to the first noun after the comma, so the volunteers have to be the first thing the sentence names.
- Check what each choice puts right after the comma. A: the last row of seedlings. B: the volunteers. C: the seedlings. D: planting the last row.
- Only B puts the people who are racing where the phrase can reach them.
Answer: B) the volunteers planted the last row of seedlings
In B the volunteers are racing and the volunteers are planting, which is what the sentence means. A is the trap: it mentions the volunteers, so it sounds complete, but its subject is the last row, and a row cannot race. The passive voice moved the doer to the end of the sentence, out of the modifier's reach. C makes the seedlings race and D makes the planting race. All four are grammatical English sentences, which is why this question survives a read-through; the test is who is doing it, not whether it sounds fine.
One more, same method
Hoping to beat the afternoon heat, ___ Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? A) the hike was started by the scouts before sunrise B) the trailhead was crowded with scouts before sunrise C) the scouts started the hike before sunrise D) an early start gave the scouts a cooler climb
- Ask who is hoping. It is the scouts.
- The scouts must be the first noun after the comma. A puts the hike there, B puts the trailhead there, and D puts an early start there.
- C names the scouts right after the comma, so the phrase reaches the people it describes.
Answer: C) the scouts started the hike before sunrise
Only C makes the scouts both the ones hoping and the ones starting. A is the trap because it contains the scouts and reads smoothly, but its subject is the hike, and a hike cannot hope: a passive subject names the thing instead of the doer, which is the second of the three ways this question goes wrong.
Lesson transcript
The narration of the video, word for word, under its chapter headings.
One sentence, one opening phrase, four ways to finish it. That phrase describes somebody. Your only job is to make sure the sentence names them first. Racing to finish before the storm. Ask who is racing. It is the volunteers, so the volunteers have to be the first thing after the comma. In A, the last row is racing. In C, the seedlings are racing. In D, the planting is racing. Only B puts the right people where the opening phrase can reach them. Three ways this goes wrong. Checking whether it sounds fine instead of asking who is doing the opening action. Accepting a passive subject, which names the thing instead of the doer. And only ever checking the opening, when only and almost get misplaced mid sentence too. The word right after the comma is who is doing it.
Read the written version: the Form, Structure, and Sense strategy guide, then try 25 hard Form, Structure, and Sense questions with full explanations. Both are free, no account needed.