Question

Imagine that you are helping a peer revise an essay that includes this sentence: "The cowboy jumped from the horse laughing in the face of danger.” Which statements accurately explain why this sentence needs to be revised? Check all that apply.
A.The sentence makes it seem like the horse is laughing in the face of danger.

B.The sentence makes it seem like the horse jumped off of the cowboy.


C.The sentence makes it seem like the cowboy is laughing in the face of danger.

D.The participial phrase “laughing in the face of danger” is modifying the wrong noun.

E.The participial phrase “laughing in the face of danger” should be closer to “cowboy.”

Answer 1

The answers are: 1,4,5

Answer 2

A.The sentence makes it seem like the horse is laughing in the face of danger. D.The participial phrase “laughing in the face of danger” is modifying the wrong noun.  E.The participial phrase “laughing in the face of danger” should be closer to “cowboy.”

In the sentence, "laughing in the face of danger" is a participial phrase describing a noun. The problem is that the noun it describes is horse. This makes it seem as though the horse is "laughing in the face of danger." However, the cowboy is the one doing the laughing as he jumps off the horse. In order to fix this error, the participial phrase needs to move closer to "cowboy". The sentence should be: The cowboy, laughing in the face of danger, jumped from the horse.