<p>In the Barron's diagnostic test, there's a question like this:</p>
<p>Shakespeare's acting company performed in a relatively intimate setting, appearing before smaller audiences than most theaters today. </p>
<p>a)appearing before smaller audiences than most theaters today
b)they appeared before smaller audiences than most theaters today
c)appearing before audiences smaller than most audiences today
d)having appeared before smaller audiences than most theaters today
e)and they appeared before audiences smaller than ones at most theaters today</p>
<p>I understood the error in parallelism in comparing audiences to theaters and crossed out a, b, and d immediately. However, between c and e, I picked e because the modifying phrase "appearing before..." seemed to be placed incorrectly near the noun "setting" rather than the "company." The correct answer appears to be c most likely because e was too verbose.</p>
<p>Yes, it is quite illogical that a "intimate setting" will "appear," yet isn't this a misplaced modifier? How specific does the SAT get with modifier placement?</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>