What does this question test?
This question tests your ability to identify the incorrect idiom pertaining to the use of verb – order. It also tests your skill in selecting the answer that communicates the correct intended meaning of the original sentence.
What does the sentence mean?
This sentence explains the origination of the concept of grand jury. It states that this concept dates from 12th century. At that time Henry II of England orders panels of common citizens to prepare lists of people who were suspected criminals.
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What are the errors in the original sentence?
- Clause 1: The concept of the grand jury dates from the twelfth -century,
- Clause 2: when Henry II of England ordered panels of common citizens
- Clause 3: should prepare lists
- Clause 4: of who were their communities’ suspected criminals.
Error 1: Fragment Error: Clause 3 lacks a subject. The verb “should” does not have a subject. From the meaning of the sentence, it appears that panels of common citizens do the action of “should prepare lists”. However, the sentence construction is such that this relationship is not clearly.
Error 2: Idiom Error: Clause 2 seems to be incomplete. It is not clear what Henry II ordered panels of common citizens to do. From the meaning of the sentence, it appears that the panels were ordered to prepare certain specific lists. This can be corrected by using the verb “ordered” in idiomatically correct form – ordered X to verb.
Note that this sentence does not have pronoun ambiguity error. The pronoun “their” refers to common citizens. Now there is one more plural noun to which it could refer to – panels. However, even if it refers to panels, the population to which it refers to remains the same. “their” refers to people who are in the jury. Thus, this pronoun is not ambiguous. Furthermore, all answer choices include this pronoun. Thus, you should not worry about the pronoun ambiguity error in this question. Refer to this post for the detailed explanation on the framework for determining whether pronoun ambiguity exists or not.
Answer Choice Analysis
Choice B – Same errors as in Choice A. By changing “should” to “would”, the 2 errors of choice A still remain in choice B.
Choice C – Meaning Error – By converting “should prepare” to “preparing”, clause 3 is now converted into a verb-ing modifier. This modifier now modifies the preceding noun – panels of common citizens. Thus modification distorts the meaning of the sentence. Now the sentence implies that Henry II ordered panels of common citizens to do something. This something is not stated in the sentence. Furthermore, Henry II ordered such panel of common citizens that prepares these specific lists.
Choice D – Idiom Error – This choice also uses incorrect idiom – ordered X the verb-ing. The correct idiom construction is “ordered X to verb”The concept of the grand jury dates from the twelfth -century, when Henry II of England ordered panels of common citizens should prepare lists of who were their communities’ suspected criminals. E) to prepare lists of suspected criminals in their communities
Choice E – No Error. This is the correct choice.
What are the key take-away messages?
- The verb – ordered requires the construction – ordered X to verb.
- Correct answer should communicate the intended logical meaning of the original sentence.
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