Which sentence is grammatically correct?

Question

A)Being a licensed trainer, Millicent's dog learned to play dead.

B)Excited about the seasonal deals, Suzy invited Barbara to go shopping.

C)With four pounds of cake in his stomach, the chair creaked beneath Jake.

D)After growing nearly two stories tall, my grandfather cut down the tree.

Answer 1

These are all great examples of modifier questions. The modifier phrase needs to be directly next to the person or object that is being modified, or described.

A)

modifier phrase: Being a licensed trainer...

Ask yourself, “Who or what is the licensed trainer?” A trainer would have to be a person. So this choice is not grammatically correct because the sentence makes it seem like Millicent’s dog is the trainer. If it said, “ Being a licensed trainer, Millicent taught her dog to play dead,” then it would be correct.

B)

modififier: Excited about the seasonal deals...

Who or what is excited?

C)

modifier: With four pounds of cake in his stomach...

Four pounds of cake in who’s stomach?

D)

modifier: After growing nearly two stories tall...

Who or what grew two stories tall?

Answer those three questions and it’ll help you decide which sentence is grammatically correct.

Answer 2

Answer B is correct, because "Excited about the seasonal deals" refers to Suzy, whereas "Being a licensed trainer" does NOT refer to "Millicent's dog", "With four pounds of cake in his stomach" does NOT refer to "the chair", and "After growing nearly two stories tall" does NOT refer to "my grandfather".