special modifier.

[thanghnvn]

Only seven people this century have been killed by the great white shark, the man-eater of the //movies"”less than those //killed by bee stings.
A. movies"”less than those
B. movies"”fewer than have been
C. movies, which is less than those
D. movies, a number lower than the people
E. movies, fewer than the ones

the oa is B.
pls discuss the oa. pls, do not discuss why other choices are wrong. if you want to know why other choices are wrong, pls, look at the other posting in this forum

I want to learn from the oa as Ron told us

the modifier "fewer than have been" in B certainly must refer to "seven persons" but that modifier also modify the whole preceding clause because if that modifier modify only "seven person", we can move this modifier to a place close to "seven persons"

Only seven person, fewer than THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE have been killed by bee stings, have been killed by great while sharks.

is this sentence make sense. I do not think so.

so, "fewer than have been killed by bee stings" also modify the whole preceding clause. IS THAT RIGHT.

if that is right, this kind of modifier modify both "seven persons" and the preceding clause. this kind of modifier modify both noun and verb.

the similar modifier is " learning gmat" in the following sentence which is certainly correct

Learning gmat, I make my English better

"learning gmat" refer to both "I" and the following clause. so, it modifies both noun and verb

what I want you to confirm is

"fewer than have been" in choice B is a kind of modifier which can modify both noun and verb/clause. is that righ?

[RonPurewal]

There are already several long threads about this problem. Please search the forum, locate an existing thread, and post your question(s) on it.

Thanks.