Which sentence is grammatically correct?
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A
Tapping the beat, Ms. Schuster led the chorus in song.
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B
Ms. Schuster led the chorus in song tapping the beat.
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C
Ms. Schuster led the chorus, tapping the beat, in song.
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D
Tapping the beat, the chorus was led in song by Ms. Schuster.
Sentence “Tapping the beat, Ms. Schuster led the chorus in song.” is grammatically correct because the participial phrase "Tapping the beat" logically modifies "Ms. Schuster," the subject performing both actions.
A) Tapping the beat, Ms. Schuster led the chorus in song.
Correctly attaches the participial phrase to "Ms. Schuster," the logical subject who both tapped the beat and led the chorus. Modifier placement creates clear, logical syntactic relationship without ambiguity.
B) Ms. Schuster led the chorus in song tapping the beat.
Creates ambiguity—the phrase "tapping the beat" could modify "song" (illogical) or "Ms. Schuster" (intended). Missing comma produces modifier misattachment risk.
C) Ms. Schuster led the chorus, tapping the beat, in song.
Awkwardly isolates the participial phrase with commas, separating it from both subject and object unnaturally. The placement between "chorus" and "in song" disrupts the verb phrase "led... in song."
D) Tapping the beat, the chorus was led in song by Ms. Schuster.
Creates a dangling modifier—suggests the chorus (not Ms. Schuster) was tapping the beat. Passive voice exacerbates the modifier misattachment by distancing the true actor from the modifying phrase.
Conclusion
Participial phrases must modify the subject immediately following them to prevent dangling modifiers. Sentence A achieves this precision by placing "Ms. Schuster" directly after the phrase, ensuring logical attachment to the person performing both musical actions.