<p>Quincy took Dan to Derek s home for a visit never imagining that five years would pass before seeing Derek again</p>
<p>the answer was 'seeing' but isnt what 'never imagining' modifies ambiguous?</p>
<p>is 'seeing' an ambiguous modifier or just the tense is wrong?</p>
<p>seeing is ambiguous … it’s unclear who/what does the seeing … replace “seeing” with “he would see” or “he saw”</p>
<p>How about ‘never imagining’</p>
<p>The subject closest to “never imagining” is Derek. There is no ambiguity.</p>
<p>The subject closest to “seeing” is years. “that” introduces the intended clause “five years would pass before seeing Derek again”. In addition to the ambiguous reference for “seeing”, the clause needs a subject and a verb. So there are really two problems with the use of “seeing”.</p>
<p>Clause 1: Quincy took Dan to Derek’s home for a visit,
Clause 2: [Quincy is still the subject] Never imagining that five years would pass before seeing [logically this should read: Dan would see; also, seeing is just the wrong verb] Derek again.</p>