One of Ronald Reagan’s first acts as President was to

[denny798]

Hey VK,

If I understand your note, you've got it exactly backwards.

To simplify, I'm going to toss out the modifier "in its affidavit," as well as some other nonessential stuff.

They rejected the claim saying language can't be the only criterion.
No comma here, so the -ing word modifies the noun immediately preceding it. That is, the claim says language can't be the only criterion.


They rejected the claim, saying language can't be the only criterion.
Comma preceding the -ing word here, so the -ing word modifies the entire clauses preceding the comma, or the verb in that clause. In other words, this sentence attributes the "saying" to the same subject as "rejected" the claim, the Centre.

Apologies for replying to an outdated thread.
I cannot seem to understand the VK's understanding is different from the above.

Thanks,
Denny

[RonPurewal]

I cannot seem to understand the VK's understanding is different from the above.

Thanks,
Denny

what question are you trying to ask?
please ask an explicit question -- thanks.

[ntr1989512]

hi ron, i'm stuck by the structure in answer C
in C "prohibiting the sale to other countries of any chemical banned on medical grounds in the United States". i think the meaning in the original sentence should be "prohibiting the sale to any chemical banned on medical grounds in the united states to other countries"
but "other countries of" stuck between "sale to" and "any chemical..", it seems that "other countries of" modify "any chemical", just like the structure "A of B" . if so, it makes no sense.
my understanding if right ?

[tim]

no, your understanding is not right. remember, if the official answer is C and you have a rationale for why C is wrong, you have definitely made an error. keep in mind that "other countries of" does not modify anything. if you have a prepositional phrase the preposition must come at the beginning. "to other countries" and "of any chemical" both modify "sale", and that is perfectly fine..