Main content
SAT
Unit 11: Lesson 3
Writing: Grammar- Writing: Setting Up Ideas — Video Lesson
- Setting up ideas | Quick guide
- Writing: Strong Support — Video lesson
- Strong support | Quick guide
- Writing: Relevant Information — Video lesson
- Relevant information | Quick guide
- Writing: Sequencing sentences — Video lesson
- Sequencing sentences | Quick guide
- Writing: Transition Words — Video lesson
- Transition words and phrases | Quick guide
- Writing: Transition Sentences — Video Lesson
- Transition sentences | Quick guide
- Writing: Introductions — Video lesson
- Writing: Conclusions — Video lesson
- Introductions and conclusions | Quick guide
- Writing: Interpreting Graphs and Data — Video lesson
- Interpreting graphs and data | Quick guide
- Writing: Precision — Video Lesson
- Precise word choice | Quick guide
- Writing: Concision — Video lesson
- Concision | Quick guide
- Writing: Formal and Informal Language — Video Lesson
- Writing: Formal vs. casual language — Example
- Formal vs. casual language | Quick guide
- Writing: Syntax — Example
- Writing: Sentence Fragments — Video Lesson
- Writing: Sentence Boundaries — Example 1
- Writing: Sentence boundaries — Example 2
- Sentence fragments | Quick guide
- Writing: Subordination and coordination — Example
- Writing: Combining Sentences — Video Lesson
- Linking clauses | Quick guide
- Writing: Parallel Structure — Video lesson
- Writing: Parallel structure — Example
- Parallel structure | Quick guide
- Writing: Modifier Placement — Video Lesson
- Writing: Modifier placement — Example
- Modifier placement | Quick guide
- Writing: Verb Tense and Mood — Video Lesson
- Writing: Shift in verb tense and mood — Example
- Verb tense and mood | Quick guide
- Writing: Pronoun Clarity — Video Lesson
- Writing: Pronoun clarity — Example
- Pronoun clarity | Quick guide
- Writing: Pronoun Agreement — Video Lesson
- Writing: Pronoun-antecedent agreement — Example
- Pronoun-antecedent agreement | Quick guide
- Writing: Possessive determiners — Example 1
- Writing: Possessive determiners — Example 2
- Writing: It’s/Its Confusion — Video Lesson
- Confusion with "its" and "their" | Quick guide
- Writing: Subject-Verb Agreement — Video Lesson
- Writing: Subject-verb agreement — Example
- Subject-verb agreement | Quick guide
- Writing: Noun Agreement — Video Lesson
- Writing: Noun agreement — Basic example
- Noun agreement | Quick guide
- Writing: Frequently Confused Words — Video Lesson
- Writing: Frequently confused words — Example
- Frequently confused words | Quick guide
- Writing: Conventional Expressions — Video Lesson
- Writing: Conventional expression — Example
- Conventional expressions | Quick guide
- Writing: Logical Comparison — Video Lesson
- Writing: Logical comparison — Example
- Logical comparison | Quick guide
- Writing: End-of-sentence punctuation — Example 1
- Writing: End-of-sentence punctuation — Example 2
- Writing: Commas — Video Lesson
- Commas | Quick guide
- Writing: Semicolons — Video Lesson
- Semicolons | Quick guide
- Writing: Colons — Video lesson
- Colons | Quick guide
- Writing: Possessive Pronouns — Example
- Writing: Possessive Nouns — Video Lesson
- Making nouns possessive | Quick guide
- Writing: Items in a series — Example
- Writing: Punctuating Lists — Video Lesson
- Lists and punctuation | Quick guide
- Writing: Nonrestrictive and parenthetical elements — Example
- Writing: Nonessential Elements — Video Lesson
- Nonessential elements | Quick guide
© 2023 Khan AcademyTerms of usePrivacy PolicyCookie Notice
Writing: Modifier placement — Example
Watch Sal work through a harder modifier placement question from the SAT Writing and Language Test.
Want to join the conversation?
- again why sentence start with verb?
A smile was on the Mieko Nagaoka, when he completing the 1500 m freestyle swim at age 100.
Mieko Nagaoka wore a smile, when he completing the 1500 m freestyle swim at age 100.
Happiness was evident on Mieko Nagaoka, when he completing the 1500 m freestyle swim at age 100.
I don't understand, why is in English grammar subject-matter at the end of the sentence?(1 vote)- Well, it makes the sentence have more excitement. To say that, "A smile was on the Mieko Nagaoka, when she completing the 1500 m freestyle swim at age 100." its a bit dull. You know that Mieko did something good, so, you wont really be surprises that she did something amazing. Same thing with the other two. It makes SEANCE what you wrote, but its dull. Now adding the part: "Mieko Nagaoka wore a smile," at the end of the sentences, makes the reader think. "Who did this? Who was 100 years old? What was her expression when she completed the 1500-meter swim?" Then, after that comma, it gives you those answers: "Nieko Nagaoka wore a smile."
Hope this helps both of you. :)(9 votes)
- thanks, this really cleared my doubts on modifier placement.(3 votes)
- whats a dangling modifier?(1 vote)
- A dangling modifier is an ambiguous or misleading construction of the following type:
“Walking down the street, the neighbors’ gardens looked beautiful.”
We don’t know who’s walking down the street, but it certainly isn’t the gardens. These are usually a careless mistake but are sometimes done deliberately, for humorous effect.(4 votes)
- After the description and the comma, the person's name should come after? Does this work for other sentences? I'm little confused on this.(1 vote)
- then what are the other type of examples/questiones??(1 vote)
- What does this mean?(1 vote)
- this video was good though couldn't it have been either the last or second to last?(1 vote)
- It couldn't be the last one because after the comma, the subject should be the first word, in this case, Mieko Nagaoka(1 vote)
- Atin the video, why was options c and d taken out? Was it because it was to descriptive when talking about the smile on Mieko's face? 1:22(0 votes)
- I'm guessing that you're talking about B and D. These options were removed because they make the reader think that the first part of the sentence was referring to the smile or the happiness. Mieko swam the race, not the smile/happiness.(4 votes)
- Option C and D seems to be the same answer but why did you choose C not D(0 votes)
- Because in D, it seems as though the smile was the first person to complete 1,500 meters at age 100. To make the sentence clear, it is best to identify the person that's being spoken about(3 votes)
Video transcript
- [Instructor] Having become
the first person to complete the 1500-meter freestyle swim at age 100, a smile was worn by Mieko Nagaoka. So the way it's written
right now, it makes it seem like a smile, a smile was
the first person to complete the 1500-meter freestyle swim at age 100, which doesn't make much sense. Let's just think about
what's going on here. When you read this,
when someone is reading, when someone's reading, I'll
do this in a different color, when someone is reading this
part, I'll underline in red, having become the first person to complete the 1500-meter freestyle swim at age 100, and then there's a comma,
your brain is expecting that the first thing you read
is what was being described, the first person to complete
the 1500-meter freestyle swim. But then you see a smile, so
it looks like they're talking that the smile was the
first person to complete the 1500-meter freestyle
swim, but we, of course, know that they were not talking about a smile, we're talking about Mieko Nagaoka. So this second part right over here, I want it to start with Mieko Nagaoka was wearing a smile, maybe. So I definitely wanna change it. I definitely wanna change it. So let's see, having
become the first person to do all this stuff,
happiness was evident. Well, no, now it seems like
happiness was the first person to complete the 1500-meter freestyle swim, so I don't like that choice. Having become the first
person to do all this stuff, Mieko Nagaoka wore a smile. Yup, that feels good 'cause
the first thing you see, that was what was intended
to be the first person to complete the 1500-meter
freestyle swim at age 100. So I'm liking this one. And then this last choice,
it still has a smile, the way it's written it
makes it seem like a smile was the first person to complete the 1500-meter freestyle swim, so I don't like this one either. So I feel very good about this choice.