Question

which sentence contains a participial phrase that is placed correctly?

jose paid for a hamburger scanning the cafeteria for an empty seat.
peeling off her winter jacket, sierra settled into the cozy armchair.
made of soft wool, nadia pulled on a blue sweater.
the cowboy jumped from the horse laughing in the face of danger.

Explanation:

Identify the participial phrases and their intended modifiers

• "scanning the cafeteria for an empty seat" is intended to modify "Jose" but is placed next to "hamburger" (misplaced).
• "Peeling off her winter jacket" correctly modifies "Sierra," who is immediately adjacent to the phrase.
• "Made of soft wool" is intended to modify "sweater" but is placed next to "Nadia" (misplaced/dangling).
• "laughing in the face of danger" is intended to modify "cowboy" but is placed next to "horse" (misplaced).

Evaluate the correct placement

• The second sentence correctly places the introductory participial phrase "Peeling off her winter jacket" right before the subject "Sierra" that it modifies.

Answer:

• (A) Jose paid for a hamburger scanning the cafeteria for an empty seat.
• (B) Peeling off her winter jacket, Sierra settled into the cozy armchair. (Correct answer)
• (C) Made of soft wool, Nadia pulled on a blue sweater.
• (D) The cowboy jumped from the horse laughing in the face of danger.