GMAT Grammar Biweekly: Adverbial Modifiers
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Have you been following our grammar tips series? We’ve already talked about opening modifiers and noun modifiers. We’re almost done with this much-feared topic. If you’re still having problems, it’s probably with adverbial modifiers.
These can be the most overwhelming, so let’s break them down now. Back to our favorite modifier-riddled sentence:
Barking ferociously, the dog, which was known to be vicious, ran down the street, chasing the boy who had been poking at it just moments before.
An adverbial modifier is something that describes almost anything in the world that is not a noun. There’s actually a one-word adverbial modifier in our ferocious dog sentence (or, put far more simply, an adverb). Go back and see if you can find it.It’s the second word in the sentence; ferociously. But “barking ferociously” is a noun modifier. “Ferociously” is an adverbial modifier. If you’re wearing a confused/exasperated/annoyed expression, you’re not alone. Don’t worry – the GMAT isn’t going to go so crazy as to have you dissect clauses word-by-word, but we can use this adverb to start explaining the role of an adverbial modifier.
Step back and try to focus on meaning. What, exactly, is “ferociously”? Your first instinct may be the dog, but there’s a problem with that instinct. Take a moment and create a sentence that describes a dog using that word. Here’s what I came up with:
The dog is ferociously.
Wait. Full stop. What I just wrote sounds really wrong. And it is really wrong! The sentence that makes sense is:
The dog is ferocious.
A dog can be ferocious, but cannot be ferociously. Go back to the original sentence and see if you can now find something that is described as “ferociously.”
It’s the way the dog is barking! The dog is barking ferociously. Adverbial modifiers describe verbs, adjective, clauses, and anything else that is not a noun.
The GMAT will often test adverbial modifiers using present participles. Translated for the non-grammarian: words ending in –ing. If you see “, -ing” think about what the –ing is describing. It is often the entire clause before the comma. Practice IDing what is being described by the adverbial modifier in each of these sentences:
- The girl sat near the river, cooling her feet in the water.
- Companies are more likely to report positive outcomes than negative ones, causing investors to make suspect decisions, though the information is available to those who look hard enough.
- After taking up drumming, John seemed to constantly get complaints from the neighbors, forcing him to soundproof his garage.
What’s being described by each –ing modifier is more complex than we’ve seen with noun modifiers. Here’s a basic breakdown of the meaning:
- “Cooling her feet” is modifying how the girl sits. Think of it as a result. She sits. Therefore, her feet are cooled. The cooling is describing what is happening because she’s sitting, not just the girl.
- What is “causing investors to make suspect decisions”? That companies skew their reporting. Again, the adverbial modifier is describing what happens because of the action, not just describing the company or the reports.
- The third is the same as the first two. What forced the soundproofing? Getting complaints. A large idea is being described, so we’re dealing with adverbial modifiers.
Seem simple enough? Look at the meaning to figure out what is being modified. If it’s an idea that’s larger than a noun, insert an adverbial modifier. Before we wrap up, let’s take a look at how the GMAT might throw in some flawed sentences. See if you can find and fix the errors:
- Everyone was enjoying the party, except Susan, calling her best friend and complaining about the evening.
- Mike developed a game called Gongu, which pushed him to the limits of his developing ability.
- Jordan and Kyle, racing against each other, were both in fourth grade.
All of these are GMAT-wrong, though some may have sounded right, and some may even be sentences you would happily say in actual speech. Let’s break this down GMAT style.
- “Calling her best friend…” describes Susan. This is a problem because Susan is clearly a noun (don’t you think “noun” every time you see Susan?), but the modifier is adverbial. Let’s swap it out for a noun modifier.
Everyone was enjoying the party, except Susan, who was calling her best friend and complaining about the evening.
- What pushed Mike to his limits? There’s two possible answers. Either the game itself, Gongu, or the act of developing the game. Fortunately, the sentence gives you a hint about which is correct. It’s his developing ability, so it makes sense that developing the game was challenging, not necessarily playing it. That’s not a simple noun, it’s a verb (with some extra specifics tacked on). “, which” is a noun modifier, so, again, we need to make a swap.
Mike developed a game called Gongu, pushing himself to the limits of his developing ability.
- This can be a toughie, even though it’s the shortest sentence. Racing is meant to describe the boys, but can’t because it’s adverbial. The easy fix is to make it a noun modifier:
Jordan and Kyle, who were racing against each other, were both in fourth grade.
but let’s not take the easy way out. How can you change the sentence so that an adverbial modifier works? You’d have to make “racing…” modify the entire clause, not just the boys.
Jordan and Kyle, racing against each other, showed their competitive spirits.
Now the adverbial modifier works because racing illustrates how the boys are showing their competitive sides, not just the boys themselves.
Adverbial modifiers can be tricky, but focus on their intended meaning, then compare that to actual meaning. If you want a more thorough discussion of modifiers, visit Chapter 6 of our Sentence Correction Strategy Guide. ?
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