Which sentence is correct?

1. 92

   Phyllis Doyleposted 9 years ago

   Which sentence is correct?
   
   a young couple sued their son's teacher because she failed him on a test. The won the case because the teacher had not used proper grammar and the student had answered each question correctly. This prompted me to run a little quiz here.Which of the following sentences is correct?
   1. Johnny sat on a fence with huge eyes as he watched some crows harassing a cat with dive-bombing antics.
   2. Johnny sat on a fence watching, with huge eyes, some crows with dive-bombing antics harassing a cat
   3. With huge eyes, Johnny sat on a fence as he watched some crows harassing a cat with dive-bombing antics.

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2. 77

   American_Choicesposted 9 years ago

   Phyllis,
   This will be fun to see the responses! Love this idea! Thank you for submitting.
   
   Grammarly tells me all three function. Logic tells me I prefer number 3 but I wish to hear from the experts. I am out of my wheelhouse on this one.
   
   Thank you for this challenge.

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   1. 92

      Phyllis Doyleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      You are most welcome.

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3. 83

   Faith Reaperposted 9 years ago

   Hmm, not really sure, Phyllis, but the last one sounds best to me.  However, that does not make it correct. One truly has to be careful as to sentence structure as the meaning of the entire sentence can change as to the true meaning intended.

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   1. 92

      Phyllis Doyleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      You are correct on sentence structure..  When we look at #1 it is worded in such a way that the fence has huge eyes and the cat has dive-bombing antics.  #3 is correct with the huge eyes belonging to Johnny, but the cat still has dive-bombing antics.

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4. 61

   The Examiner-1posted 9 years ago

   I would say that #2 is the closest to being correct Phyllis.

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   1. 92

      Phyllis Doyleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I agree, Kevin.

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5. 67

   Dressage Husbandposted 9 years ago

   1. is definitely wrong as the fence definitely does not have huge eyes. 2. is correct as the meaning is clear. 3. is wrong as it is not clear what huge eyes are, a person? or nickname? they are not connected to Johnny in any way, other than he was with them, they may not even have been his - there is no clarity.

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   1. 92

      Phyllis Doyleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Awesome thought process, Stephen - you are very astute in your thinking.

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6. 71

   word55posted 9 years ago

   Hi Phyllis, I'll say that #2 was more direct and in order of describing what happened.

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7. 77

   chuckandus6posted 9 years ago

   I think number 2 is right, but I am not that good at grammar.
   P.S.what happened to the cat?

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8. 73

   Besarienposted 9 years ago

   1 is problematic as the huge eyes seem to belong to the fence.
   
   3 is problematic because it is the cat with dive-bombing antics.
   
   2 is the most clear. It could be better though-
   "Sitting on a fence, Johnny with huge eyes watched some crows
   with dive-bombing antics harassing a cat."

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   1. 92

      Phyllis Doyleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Very good thoughts.

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9. 78

   junksellerposted 9 years ago

   I'd say number 2 is 'correct'. The phrase "with huge eyes" immediately follows watching and is adding information about how he sat watching. The phrase "with dive-bombing antics" is similarly connected to the object it modifies (the crows).
   
   In the third one, the "with huge eyes" I think is fine as it is connected to Johnny, but the phrase "with dive-bombing antics" isn't as clear because it is separated from the object it modifies by another object. Does the cat or the crows have dive-bombing antics? (in this case it is pretty easy to figure out, but in other cases it can be difficult).
   
   The first one also has the problem with the phrase "with dive-bombing antics," and similarly has the phrase "with huge eyes" separated from the object it modifies as well.
   
   I don't think I'd say any of these are wrong. Perhaps their form is poor, their meaning is still clear. Obviously the fence doesn't have huge eyes.

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   1. 92

      Phyllis Doyleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Very well-thought out reply. You are very good at sentence structure. I agree with you.

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10. 71

    Harishprasadposted 9 years ago

    I think No 2 seems appropriate after  a close observation of all three sentences. Looking forward to know the correct answer. What an interesting question, Phyllis !

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    1. 92

       Phyllis Doyleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Thank you, Harish. A few people have got it right so far, including you.

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11. 81

    peachpurpleposted 9 years ago

    no.1, that sentence sounded proper and the punctuation mark is correct. The second punctuation mark is wrong.

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