Used by many natural history museum curators (Tough SC)

[varun007]

Used by many natural history museum curators in the preparation of animal skeletons for display, dermestid beetles feed on the decaying flesh of animal carcasses, pulling with its mouthparts to strip the bone of any residual fat or muscle tissue.
dermestid beetles feed on the decaying flesh of animal carcasses, pulling
dermestid beetles feed on the decaying flesh of animal carcasses and pull
the dermestid beetle feeds on the decaying flesh of animal carcasses and pulls
the dermestid beetle feeds on the decaying flesh of animal carcasses, pulling
the dermestid beetle feeds on the decaying flesh of animal carcasses and it pulls

pls can somebody explain indetail

[TP]

Used by many natural history museum curators in the preparation of animal skeletons for display, dermestid beetles feed on the decaying flesh of animal carcasses, pulling with its mouthparts to strip the bone of any residual fat or muscle tissue.
dermestid beetles feed on the decaying flesh of animal carcasses, pulling
dermestid beetles feed on the decaying flesh of animal carcasses and pull
the dermestid beetle feeds on the decaying flesh of animal carcasses and pulls
the dermestid beetle feeds on the decaying flesh of animal carcasses, pulling
the dermestid beetle feeds on the decaying flesh of animal carcasses and it pulls

pls can somebody explain indetail

is the answer D?

[Guest]

yes ans is d pls can u explain in detail

[jwinawer]

A couple points:

Please put the first few words of the question as the subject header when posting questions on the forum. This helps us (and others) search efficiently.
Also, if possible, please post the answer and / or explanation and let us know if there is a specific part of the question or explanation posing difficulties.

In this problem, there are two main issues:

1. AB / CDE
plural / singular

The non-underlined portion refers to "its mouthparts", telling us that beetle must be singular. Eliminate A and B.

2. C / D / E
and pulls / , pulling / and it pulls
Feeding is the main action. Pulling fat and muscle tissue is part of the feeding process. The "ing" form of pulling in D makes this clear (we read everything after the comma as a modifier of the main action). In C and E, the conjunction plus main verb construction (and pulls or and it pulls) makes it sound like pulling is a separate action from feeding. This is incorrect. Hence C and E are wrong.

[ngufo06]

But what is the significance of comma before pulling ??
shouldn't there be no comma in D

[gorav.s]

ngufo -->

D is the correct answer - as explained by people above.

this is a verb+ing form - we need a comma to describe the whole action of feeding in the earlier part of sentence.

You need to be specially careful about using this adverbial phrasse.

It is same like saying --->
They watched the movie on friiday, eating popcorns and enjoying everymoment.

Hope it helps.

[RonPurewal]

ngufo -->

D is the correct answer - as explained by people above.

this is a verb+ing form - we need a comma to describe the whole action of feeding in the earlier part of sentence.

You need to be specially careful about using this adverbial phrasse.

It is same like saying --->
They watched the movie on friiday, eating popcorns and enjoying everymoment.

Hope it helps.

good explanation.

here's more about the comma + -ing modifier:

the "comma + ing" modifier should only be used when:

(A)
it MODIFIES THE ENTIRE ACTION of the preceding clause, and it APPLIES TO THE SUBJECT of that clause;

AND

(B)
one of the following is true:
(1) the "ing" action is SIMULTANEOUS with the main action;
- i ran down the sidewalk, flapping my arms wildly
(2) the "ing" action is a DIRECT CONSEQUENCE of the main action.
- i got a 100 on the most recent exam, bringing my average up to 91

another example:

joe ran down the sidewalk, flailing his arms.
--> correct (simultaneous)

my cousin took extra classes every semester in college, graduating in three years.
--> correct, because the "ing" is an actual consequence of the first action.

my cousin ate frozen food every day in college, graduating in three years.
--> incorrect, because there is no relationship (in particular, the second thing is not a consequence of the first thing, and isn't simultaneous either).

see emily-dickinson-s-letters-to-susan-huntington-dickinson-were-t6529.html for an example
on this problem, note that (a) and (e) are both grammatically correct, but that (a) doesn't make any rhetorical sense.

[chitrangada.maitra]

So, is it safe to say that option D is NOT a run on sentence because the second clause "Pulling with its mouth.... muscle tissue" is not independent.

[tim]

Chitrangada, you’re absolutely right..