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Chapter 9

Going Long: Descriptive Phrases and Clauses

Short descriptions — the adjectives and adverbs covered in Chapter 8 — add a lot of meaning to your sentences. Why stop there? Longer descriptive elements, also known as phrases and clauses, can really drive home your message. The good news is that long descriptions are fairly easy to construct. The not-so-good news is that slotting these descriptions into the proper spot can be tricky. The questions in this chapter hone your skill in correctly situating phrases and clauses, as well as a few slippery single-word descriptions.

The Questions You’ll Work On

In this chapter, you work on these concepts:

 Recognizing the word or words described by phrases and clauses

 Placing phrases and clauses so that they are clear and describe the appropriate word

What to Watch Out For

Keep these points in mind when you’re answering the questions in this chapter:

 Prepositional phrases may function as an adjective, describing nouns or pronouns, or as an adverb, describing verbs.

 Infinitives and participles may also act as descriptions. Infinitives (to + verb, such as to meet, to greet, to sleep) may describe nouns, pronouns, or verbs. Participles (the part of a verb you use with has, have, or had, such as given, driving, and the like) may describe nouns or pronouns.

 Clauses (units of a sentence that contain a subject-verb pair) may describe nouns, pronouns, or verbs.

 To find any sort of adjective, ask these questions: How many? Which one? What kind? To locate an adverb, ask the following: How? When? Where? Why? Under what conditions?

 Every description, no matter how long or short, must be placed as near as possible to the word it describes. Only, just, almost, and nearly must be placed right before the word or words they apply to, not elsewhere in the sentence.

 Steer clear of vague descriptions that may describe one or more words in the sentence. Your meaning must be clear.

 When a verbal phrase begins a sentence, it must describe the subject of the sentence.

Identifying the Words Being Described

412–431 Identify the word(s) described by the underlined expression.

412. A zookeeper with a long broom stood outside the lions’ large, grassy enclosure.

413. Clara sneezed into her handkerchief and then paused before resuming her speech.

414.Above the clouds, the child’s green kite soared swiftly.

415. Mary Gould, the author of that mystery series, says that she will kill her detective in the next installment.

416. The red wool carpet lay over the scratched floor and made the room look much more attractive to the buyer.

417. Monica, sliding her finger around the bowl, did not realize that all the icing was gone.

418. These puppets, which belonged to my grandmother, played important roles in our show.

419.Before Dennis applied for a scholarship, he researched many possible awards and found several that seemed within his reach.

420. Sheltering beneath their mother’s arms, the twins smiled shyly at the doctor, who offered each of them a cherry lollipop.

421. Shirley visited France and took only one photo of the Eiffel Tower.

422. The boy who cried wolf is the subject of a famous fairy tale and an accurate depiction of human nature.

423. Nancy’s detective stories were always fun to read, although sometimes she seemed to benefit from too many coincidental clues.

424. No matter how many times he mopped the floor, Doug couldn’t keep up with the water flowing through the cracks in the foundation.

425. The team manager discussed the price of new uniforms at his meeting last night.

426. When Tom finally threw down his spoon, he had been stirring the sauce for nearly an hour.

427.While carrying wood, the lumberjack dropped a few logs on the lawn, and the birds quickly scattered in fear.

428. Conscientious assistants take notes of everything their supervisors say, regardless of how unimportant the comments seem.

429. David and his puppy, rolling together in a mock fight, knocked over a lamp and two tables before they were finished.

430. Last month I traveled to Seattle, a beautiful city, to see my family.

431. Receiving a medal for what he accomplished during his time in office, the principal bowed to the audience and praised both students and faculty.

Avoiding Misplaced, Dangling, and Vague Descriptions

432–451 In which of these sentences are the descriptions placed correctly?

432.

1 The ruby earrings rested on the nightstand next to my bed that I wore to the dance.

2 The ruby earrings that I wore to the dance rested on the nightstand next to my bed.

3 The ruby earrings rested on the nightstand that I wore to the dance next to my bed.

433.

1 The crosstown bus filled with holiday shoppers inched slowly through heavy traffic.

2 Filled with holiday shoppers, the crosstown bus inched slowly through heavy traffic.

3 The crosstown bus inched slowly through heavy traffic filled with holiday shoppers.

434.

1 Elena only has three children, though she had hoped for a larger family.

2 Elena has only three children, though she had hoped for a larger family.

3 Elena has three children, though she had only hoped for a larger family.

435.

1 George’s scowling unnecessarily alarmed people.

2 George’s unnecessary scowling alarmed people.

3 George’s scowling alarmed people unnecessarily.

436.

1 Tracy and the cat licking fur curled up on the couch.

2 Tracy and the cat curled up on the couch, licking fur.

3 Licking fur, Tracy and the cat curled up on the couch.

437.

1 The letter said that she had won the lottery in Alice’s mailbox.

2 The letter in Alice’s mailbox said that she had won the lottery.

3 The letter said that in Alice’s mailbox she had won the lottery.

438.

1 He drove the car down the highway that he bought last year.

2 That he bought last year, he drove the car down the highway.

3 He drove the car that he bought last year down the highway.

439.

1 Although the lobby renovation is taking longer than expected, we are sure that everyone will like the new floor tiles from Greece when it reopens in September.

2 Although the lobby renovation is taking longer than expected, we are sure that when it reopens in September, everyone will like the new floor tiles from Greece.

3 Although the lobby renovation is taking longer than expected, when it reopens in September we are sure that everyone will like the new floor tiles from Greece.

440.

1 My hands, breaking into a thousand pieces, were slippery, and the dishes fell.

2 My hands were slippery, and the dishes fell, breaking into a thousand pieces.

3 Breaking into a thousand pieces, my hands were slippery, and the dishes fell.

441.

1 She almost won with 500 votes; the loser received 410.

2 She won with almost 500 votes; the loser received 410.

3 With almost 500 votes, she won; the loser received 410.

442.

1 The highway boundary, painted white, was visible even at night.

2 Painted white, the highway boundary was visible even at night.

3 The highway boundary was visible even at night, painted white.

443.

1 Because Harry is on a diet that emphasizes fruit and vegetables, he just bought ice cream once a month.

2 Because Harry is on a diet that emphasizes fruit and vegetables, he bought just ice cream once a month.

3 Because Harry is on a diet that emphasizes fruit and vegetables, he bought ice cream just once a month.

444.

1 Jack avoided the mugger who was standing still and pointing a gun, running into the woods.

2 Running into the woods, Jack avoided the mugger who was standing still and pointing a gun.

3 Jack, running into the woods, avoided the mugger who was standing still and pointing a gun.

445.

1 Eleanor told me during the class the teacher was boring.

2 During the class, Eleanor told me the teacher was boring.

3 Eleanor told me the teacher was boring during the class.

446.

1 When you’re dealing with unreasonable people, making decisions quickly causes arguments.

2 When you’re dealing with unreasonable people, making decisions causes arguments quickly.

3 When you’re dealing with unreasonable people, making quick decisions causes arguments.

447.

1 Lying asleep in the crib, the nanny checked on the child.

2 The nanny, lying asleep in the crib, checked on the child.

3 The nanny checked on the child lying asleep in her crib.

448.

1 The house Agnes once visited sold for a million dollars.

2 The house Agnes visited sold for a million dollars once.

3 The house Agnes visited once sold for a million dollars.

449.

1 Testifying for the defense, the eye-witness account from Mr. Jones was compelling.

2 Testifying for the defense, Mr. Jones’s eye-witness account was compelling.

3 Testifying for the defense, Mr. Jones gave a compelling account of what he had witnessed.

450.

1 The commissioners explained the environmental impact of mining with a slide presentation.

2 The commissioners explained with a slide presentation the environmental impact of mining.

3 With a slide presentation, the commissioners explained the environmental impact of mining.

451.

1 The tattoo artist injected ink into the client’s upper arm, which was thickly muscled and hard to draw on.

2 Thickly muscled and hard to draw on, the tattoo artist injected ink into the client’s upper arm.

3 The tattoo artist injected ink, thickly muscled and hard to draw on, into the client’s upper arm.