RESUMPTIVE MODIFIER Definition: A modifier that repeats a key word at the end of a sentence and then adds informative

or descriptive details related to that word.

Examples and Observations:

"Edith looked out on the morning, the soft bright morning that struck her dazzled dazzling eyes." (Henry Green, Loving, 1945)

"The lunchroom at Callanan [Junior High School] was like something out of a prison movie. You would shuffle forward in a long, silent line and have lumpen, shapeless food dolloped onto your tray by lumpen, shapeless women--women who looked as if they were on a day release from a mental institution, possibly for having poisoned food in public places." (Bill Bryson, The Lost Continent. Harper & Row, 1989)

"Everything about a cheetah is designed for speed--pure, raw, explosive speed." (Roff Smith, "Cheetahs on the Edge." National Geographic, November 2012)

"It was the sort of morning when the air gives us a feeling of anticipation--a feeling that, on a day like this, things surely cannot go joggling along in the same dull old groove; a premonition that something romantic and exciting is about to happen to us." (P.G. Wodehouse, Something Fresh, 1915)

"For there we loved, and where we love is home, Home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts . . .." (Oliver Wendell Holmes, "Homesick in Heaven," 1871)

"Hollywood has always been a cage--a cage to catch our dreams." (John Huston, quoted in the Sunday Times [UK], Dec. 1987)

"There needs to be a general acceptance that the model has failed: the brakes-off, deregulate or die, privatize or stagnate, lunch is for wimps, greed is good, whats good for the financial sector is good for the economy model; the 'sack the bottom 10 per cent,' bonus-driven, 'if you cant measure it, it isnt real' model;the model that spread from the City to government and from there through the whole culture, in which the idea of value has

gradually faded to be replaced by the idea of price." (John Lanchester, I.O.U.: Why Everyone Owes Everyone and No One Can Pay. Simon & Schuster, 2010)

"In the first place, there was the ennui. And such ennui as it was! A heavy, overpowering ennui, such as results from a participation in eight courses of steaming, gravied food, topping off with salted nuts which the little old spinster Gummidge from Oak Hill said she never knew when to stop eating--and true enough she didn't--a dragging, devitalizing ennui, which left its victims strewn about the living-room in various attitudes of prostration suggestive of those of the petrified occupants in a newly unearthed Pompeiian dwelling; an ennui which carried with it a retinue of yawns, snarls and thinly veiled insults, and which ended in ruptures in the clan spirit serious enough to last throughout the glad new year." (Robert Benchley, "Christmas Afternoon," 1921)

"The practice of spiritual exercise must begin with desire, the desire that the phenomenal world may become diaphanous and that true Being may shine through." (Thomas Kerns, "Spiritual Exercise." Yoga Journal, March 1976)

"But, after all, what would be a gift that fulfills the condition of the gift, namely, that it not appear as gift, that it not be, exist, signify, want-to-say as gift? A gift without wanting, without wanting-to-say, an insignificant gift, a gift without intention to give?" (Jacques Derrida, Given Time. Trans. by Peggy Kamuf. Univ. of Chicago Press, 1994)

"The resumptive modifier often includes a that-clause, as these examples . . . illustrate: Remember that well-chosen verbs send a message to the reader, the message that the writer has crafted the sentence with care. That kind of agentless prose should send up a red flag, a signal that here's a candidate for revision. The reader assumes from such messages that the writer has certain doubts, doubts that perhaps others may have, thus connecting, as possible fellow doubters, the writer and the reader. In the following sentence from a book review about the work of Edith Wharton, the reviewer uses a dash instead of a comma to set off a resumptive modifier: Wharton depicted women caught between constraint and the possibilities of a new sexual freedom--a freedom

that she herself enjoyed, though at a high cost.

--Margaret Drabble . . . Coming at the end of the sentence, in the position of end focus, these modifiers are going to command the reader's attention. And, clearly, they offer the writer a way of adding information, information that might otherwise require a sentence of its own." (Martha Kolln, Rhetorical Grammar. Pearson, 2007)

"To create a resumptive modifier find a key word, usually a noun, then pause after it with a comma, . . . then repeat it, . . . [and then] add a relative clause: Since mature writers often use resumptive modifiers to extend a sentence, we need a word to name what I am about to do in this sentence, a sentence that I could have ended at that comma, but extended to show how resumptive modifiers work." (Joseph M. Williams, Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace. Longman, 2003) SUMMATIVE MODIFIER A modifier (usually a noun phrase) that appears at the end of a sentence and serves to summarize the idea of the main clause. Examples and Observations:

"The headstone stood above seventeen layers of unrecorded East Londoners: cats, rabbits, pigeons, pebbles and rings, all impacted in the heavy clay." (Iain Sinclair, Lights Out for the Territory. Granta Books, 1997)

"One feels that she ought to be sticking round, ministering to her husband, conferring with the cook, feeding the cat, combing and brushing the Pomeranian--in a word, staying put." (P.G. Wodehouse, Right Ho, Jeeves, 1934)

"The lane climbs up Hart's Hill to a view across Berkshire that could have been a frontispiece for Morton's book--lush, small, irregular fields, black cattle lying in ear-tagged ease, their legs folded, the vegetative green fading with distance into some darker namelessness of colour, patches of woodland, rooks in the air like wheeling black smuts, the light softly diffused, the air somehow afternoon rich and heavy and over-oxygenated, almost cloying--a small-scale, domesticated, inimitable landscape." (Joe Bennett, Mustn't Grumble: In Search of England and the English. Simon & Schuster UK, 2006)

"Here are two sentences that contrast relative clauses and summative modifiers. Notice how the which in the first one feels 'tacked on': Economic changes have reduced Russian population growth to less than zero which will have serious social implications. Economic changes have reduced Russian population growth to less than zero, a demographic event that will have serious social implications. To create a summative modifier, end a grammatically complete segment of a sentence with a comma, . . . find a noun that sums up the substance of the sentence, . . . [and then] continue with a relative clause." (Joseph M. Williams, Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace. Longman, 2003)

"In example 47 [below], the second unit . . . in this kind of apposition, termed a summative modifier by Williams (1979:609), first summarizes the ideas expressed in the first unit and then attributes some characteristic to them. In example 47, the first part of the second unit, a process, provides a very general summary of the activity of decomposition discussed in the first unit; the relative clause following this noun phrase characterizes this process as one that occurs more rapidly in a specific environment. (47) These micro-organisms decompose organic matter in the soil and release plant nutrients, a process which occurs particularly rapidly in an oxidised soil under tropical conditions of warmth and humidity. (SEU w.9.6.18)" (Charles F. Meyer, Apposition in Contemporary English. Cambridge Univ. Press, 1992) What is an APPOSITIVE?

An appositive--that is, a noun or noun phrase that identifies or renames another noun--is a handy way of adding details to a sentence. The term comes from the Latin word for "placing close by," and an appositive usually appears right after the word or phrase that it renames. You've just seen one example of an appositive--in the first sentence of this article. Here, from the opening of George Orwell's essay "A Hanging," are two more: We were waiting outside the condemned cells, a row of sheds fronted with double bars, like small animal cages.

He was a Hindu, a puny wisp of a man, with a shaven head and vague liquid eyes. A few paragraphs later, Orwell lines up a pair of appositives to identify another character: Francis, [1]the head jailer, [2]a fat Dravidian in a white drill suit and gold spectacles, waved his black hand. In each of Orwell's sentences, the appositive could be substituted for the noun it renames (cells, Hindu, Francis). Or it could be deleted without changing the basic meaning of the sentence. Set off by commas, such appositives are said to be nonrestrictive. In some cases, an appositive might be thought of as a simplified adjective clause (a word group beginning with who or which). This next sentence, for example, relies on an adjective clause to identify the subject, hangman: The hangman, who was a gray-haired convict in the white uniform of the prison, was waiting beside the machine. Now look at George Orwell's original version of the sentence, with the adjective clause reduced to a more concise appositive: The hangman, a gray-haired convict in the white uniform of the prison, was waiting beside the machine. Viewed this way, appositives offer a way to cut the clutter in our writing. And that, you'll have to admit, makes it a handy little device--a compact grammatical structure.

An appositive is a word or group of words that identifies or renames another word in a sentence. As we've seen (in the article What Is an Appositive?), appositive constructions offer concise ways of describing or defining a person, place, or thing. In this article you will learn how to construct sentences with appositives.
A. From Adjective Clauses to Appositives Like an adjective clause, an appositive provides more information about a noun. In fact, we may think of an appositive as a simplified adjective clause. Consider, for example, how the following two sentences can be combined: Jimbo Gold is a professional magician.

Jimbo Gold performed at my sister's birthday party. One way to combine these sentences is to turn the first sentence into an adjective clause:

Jimbo Gold, who is a professional magician,performed at my sister's birthday party. We also have the option of reducing the adjective clause in this sentence to an appositive. All that we need to do is omit the pronoun who and the verb is: Jimbo Gold, a professional magician, performed at my sister's birthday party. The appositive a professional magician serves to identify the subject, Jimbo Gold. Reducing an adjective clause to an appositive is one way to cut the clutter in our writing. However, not all adjective clauses can be shortened to appositives in this fashion--only those that contain a form of the verb to be (is, are, was, were). B. Arranging Appositives An appositive most often appears directly after the noun it identifies or renames: Arizona Bill, "The Great Benefactor of Mankind," toured Oklahoma with herbal cures and a powerful liniment. Note that this appositive, like most, could be omitted without changing the basic meaning of the sentence. In other words, it's nonrestrictive and needs to be set off with a pair of commas. Occasionally, an appositive may appear in front of a word that it identifies: A dark wedge, the eagle hurtled earthward at nearly 200 miles per hour. An appositive at the beginning of a sentence is usually followed by a comma. In each of the examples seen so far, the appositive has referred to the subject of the sentence. However, an appositive may appear before or afterany noun in a sentence. In the following example, the appositive refers to roles, the object of a preposition: People are summed up largely by the roles they fill in society--wife or husband, soldier or salesperson, student or scientist--and by the qualities that others ascribe to them. This sentence demonstrates a different way of punctuating appositives--with dashes. When the appositive itself contains commas, setting off the construction with dashes helps to prevent confusion. Using dashes instead of commas also serves to emphasize the appositive. Placing an appositive at the very end of a sentence is another way to give it special emphasis. Compare these two sentences: At the far end of the pasture, the most magnificent animal I had ever seen--a white-tailed deer--was cautiously edging toward a salt-lick block. At the far end of the pasture, the most magnificent animal I had ever seen was cautiously edging toward a saltlick block--a white-tailed deer. Whereas the appositive merely interrupts the first sentence, it marks the climax of sentence two. C. Punctuating Nonrestrictive and Restrictive Appositives As we've seen, most appositives are nonrestrictive--that is, the information that they add to a sentence is not essential for the sentence to make sense. Nonrestrictive appositives are set off by commas or dashes.

A restrictive appositive (like a restrictive adjective clause) is one that cannot be omitted from a sentence without affecting the basic meaning of the sentence. A restrictive appositive shouldnot be set off by commas: John-Boy's sister Mary Ellen became a nurse after their brother Ben took a job at a lumber mill. Because John-Boy has multiple sisters and brothers, the two restrictive appositives make clear which sister and which brother the writer is talking about. In other words, the two appositives are restrictive, and so they are not set off by commas. D. Four Variations 1. Appositives that Repeat a Noun Although an appositive usually renames a noun in a sentence, it may instead repeat a noun for the sake of clarity and emphasis: In America, as in anywhere else in the world, we must find a focus in our lives at an early age, a focus that is beyond the mechanics of earning a living or coping with a household. (Santha Rama Rau, "An invitation to Serenity") Notice that the appositive in this sentence is modified by an adjective clause. Adjectives,prepositional phrases, and adjective clauses (in other words, all of the structures that can modify a noun) are often used to add details to an appositive. 2. Negative Appositives Most appositives identify what someone or something is, but there are also negative appositives that identify what someone or something is not: Line managers and production employees, rather than staff specialists, are primarily responsible for quality assurance. Negative appositives begin with a word such as not, never, or rather than. 3. Multiple Appositives Two, three, or even more appositives may appear alongside the same noun: Saint Petersburg, a city of almost five-million people, Russia's second-largest and northernmost metropolis, was designed three centuries ago by Peter the Great. As long as we don't overwhelm the reader with too much information at one time, a double or triple appositive can be an effective way of adding supplementary details to a sentence.

4. List Appositives with Pronouns A final variation is the list appositive that precedes a pronoun such as all or these or everyone: Streets of yellow row houses, the ochre plaster walls of old churches, the crumbling sea-green mansions now occupied by government offices--all seem in sharper focus, with their defects hidden by the snow. (Leona P. Schecter, "Moscow")

The word all is not essential to the meaning of the sentence: the opening list could serve by itself as the subject. However, the pronoun helps to clarify the subject by drawing the items together before the sentence goes on to make a point about them. As we've seen (What Is an Appositive?), an appositive is a word or group of words that concisely identifies or renames another word in a sentence. The exercise on this page offers practice in identifying appositives. Instructions Some of the sentences below contain adjective clauses; others contain appositives. Identify the adjective clause or appositive in each sentence; then compare your responses with the answers on page two. (If you run into problems, review Building Sentences with Appositives.)

TIP: To view this exercise without ads, click on the print icon near the top of the page.
1. John Reed, an American journalist, helped found the Communist Labor Party in America.

2. My sister, who is a supervisor at Munchies, drives a company car.

3. I took a cookie from Gretel, who is the woodcutter's daughter.

4. I took a cookie from Gretel, the woodcutter's daughter.

5. Og, the King of Bashan, was saved from the flood by climbing onto the roof of the ark.

6. I once saw Margot Fonteyn, the famous ballerina.

7. Elkie Fern, who is a professional botanist, led the kids on a nature hike.

8. Elsa, a good country woman, has a daughter named Ulga.

9. Paul Revere, who was a silversmith and a soldier, is famous for his "midnight ride."

10. I read a biography of Disraeli, the 19th-century statesman and novelist.

On this page you'll find answers to the exercise on page one, Practice in Identifying Appositives. 1. appositive: an American journalist 2. adjective clause: who is a supervisor at Munchies 3. adjective clause: who is the woodcutter's daughter 4. appositive: the woodcutter's daughter 5. appositive: the King of Bashan 6. appositive: the famous ballerina 7. adjective clause: who is a professional botanist 8. appositive: a good country woman 9. adjective clause: who was a silversmith and a soldier 10. appositive: the 19th-century statesman and novelist

ABSOLUTE PHRASES Definition and rules. An absolute phrase is a modifier (quite often a participle), or a modifier and a few other words, that attaches to a sentence or a noun, with no conjunction. An absolute phrase cannot contain a finite verb. Absolute phrases usually consist of a noun and a modifier that modifies this noun, NOT another noun in the sentence. Absolute phrases are optional in sentences, i.e., they can be removed without damaging the grammatical integrity of the sentence. Since absolute phrases are optional in the sentence, they are often set off from the sentence with commas or, less often, with dashes. We normally explain absolute phrases by saying that they modify entire sentences, rather than one word. This is an important concept, since many similar phrases that we work with modify other words. For example, adjectives modify nouns, and adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. That said, however, in some cases, it seems to make more sense to say that absolute phrases modify nouns. We will look at some of these examples a bit later. First, let's look at some examples of absolute phrases: Examples of Absolute Phrases: The absolute phrases look like this: Her determination stronger than ever, Nexisa resolved not to give up until she had achieved her dreams. The sun shining bright and the pale blue sky forming a backdrop of the Sacre Coeur, Carl stepped into his future as a traveler and observer. Still young boys, Matt and Erin Billy awoke early one Christmas morning with sleepy eyes, completely unaware that they were sleeping not in the beds they had gone to sleep in, but in one of their presents that year -- a new set of bunk beds. We finished the hearty meal quickly, our appetites satisfied, our minds at peace. All things being equal, the active voice tends to be correct more often than the passive on standardized tests. Please notice that in every case the absolute phrase provides some sort of information that works to put the whole sentence or idea in context. Please also notice that the absolute phrases themselves do NOT contain verbs, nor are they connected to the main sentence with a conjunction. Finally, please notice that the primary components of most (but not all) of these absolute phrases are a noun + a modifier, although it is possible to use only a modifier. If that's confusing, don't worry -- we'll look at these patterns in a bit more detail now. noun + participle This is one of the most common ways to form an absolute phrase. It might be helpful for some people to imagine this pattern with a verb between the noun and the participle. For example, if you say The question was still unanswered, you have a complete sentence; if, on the other hand, you say The question unanswered and you then attach that phrase to a main sentence, then you have an absolute phrase. Here are some examples. The absolute phrases look like this. The question still unanswered, the teacher decided to address the confusion of her students more closely. The train running late, we decided to get off at the next stop and take a taxi home. There are many industries in California vital to its economy, with technology being one of the most important. Compare these sentences with the verbs and conjunctions in them: The question was still unanswered, and the teacher decided to address the confusion of her students more closely. The train was running late, so we decided to get off at the next stop and take a taxi home. There are many industries in California vital to its economy, and technology is one of the most important. Important! Although many of these absolute phrases could be written with the word being in them, more formal English (and ETS!)

tends not to use being when being is optional. If you've studied GMAT Sentence Correction for a while, then you know that the word being raises a big red flag on the test! Here are some examples: The movie being over, we left the theater. This sentence could be rewritten like this: The movie over, we left the theater. Similarly, having + past participle is often so semantically similar to the sentence without it that many sentences are written without having + past participle. An example would be very good here: Having been chosen to head the committee, Angus Ng thought about how he could help raise money for his chess club at Harvard. This sentence could look like this: Chosen to head the committee, Angus Ng thought about how he could help raise money for his chess club at Harvard. This concept is important for the Sentence Correction section of the GMAT, so if you're preparing for that test, pay attention to this! Wait, wait, there's more! noun + adjective Another pattern is to use an adjective after the noun it modifies. Look at these examples: Their meal still not ready after 45 minutes, the hungry and an gry customers left the restaurant. His hat in hand and pride in check, Horace asked his former boss for his job back. The previews still showing, Kelly and Chris decided to leave the theater and enjoy the sunny day. . absolute phrase after a noun Another kind of absolute phrase is found after a modified noun; it adds a focusing detail or point of focus to the idea of the main clause. This kind of absolute phrase can take the form of a prepositional phrase, an adverbial phrase, an adjective phrase, or a noun phrase. Julie crossed the finish line, aware only that she'd broken her personal record, not that she'd broken a world record. Budi finished his test confidently, his right hand sore from having written so much, but his mind relieved that it wa s finally over. Erin Billy likes talking to his grandmother because she seems to know that life could change at any moment -- unpredictably. "Please photocopy this set of exercises for me -- the sooner, the better." Although absolute phrases are optional in sentences (meaning they can be removed and the sentence will still be grammatically correct), the are sometimes used to provide the most important information of the sentence: Our substitute teacher entered the room, her eyes stern, her stance aggressive, and her demeanor intimating that she would not take any flak from her students that day. Their dreams shattered and lives destroyed, the family stared in disbelief at the pile of wood, glass, and metal that was o nce their house. In these sentences, you will notice that the information in the absolute phrases is actually more important than that in the main sentences. This kind of absolute phrase can take the form of a prepositional phrase, an adverbial phrase, an adjective phrase, or a noun phrase. is it OK??

The absolute phrase is a certain type of modifier that is composed of both a noun and a modifier of that noun. Unlike straight modifiers, which must always modify the noun that comes after them, absolute phrases do not follow such stringent modification rules. Sentence using an absolute phrase: Researchers have found alarming levels of radioactivity in certain species of ferns, findings that suggest the detrimental effects of nuclear power plants in nearby areas. Follow @grockitgmat on Twitter today for more GMAT testing tips and MBA admissions strategies! Though this kind of construction may seem a little unusual, it is in fact a correct use of the absolute phrase. Notice in particular that findings does not modify the last word of the first clause, ferns. Rather, findings modifies alarming levels of radioactivity, and such a relationsh ip is understand in the sentence without the proximity wed require from a straight modifier. Now that you know how the absolute phrase works, lets check out some common pitfalls. First, it is common to see which used to attach an absolute phrasethis is an absolute no-no. Incorrect: Researchers have found alarming levels of radioactivity in certain species of ferns, WHICH suggests the detrimental effects of nuclear power plants in nearby areas. So, why is using which incorrect? When used to attach a relative clause to a main clause, which must always refer to the noun that directly precedes it. Because ferns is the noun that directly precedes the attached clause, does it make sense to say that ferns suggest the detrimental effects of nuclear power plants in nearby areas? Not quite. Remember, it is the alarming levels of radioactivity that suggest such detrimental effects. Heres another example of a no-no: Incorrect: Researchers have found alarming levels of radioactivity in certain species of ferns AND THIS suggests the detrimental effects of nuclear power plants in nearby areas.

Though this type of construction is common in speech, the GMAT tends to look down upon the use of the pronoun this because its antec edents are generally ambiguous. To improve the clarity of the sentence, we might write and these results suggest the. This way, we do not have the problem of an ambiguous pronoun (though this is a relatively inelegant choice). There is one way way we can fix this problem, and lucky for us, its a pretty easy fix. Use the -ing form after the comma. Correct: Researchers have found alarming levels of radioactivity in certain species of ferns, SUGGESTING the detrimental effects of nuclear power plants in nearby areas. Generally, you can use either an absolute phrase or an -ing clause at the end of a sentence, often to show a result of the preceding clause.

Using Absolute Phrases

An absolute phrase -- is a modifier generally made from a noun or noun phrase and a participle. It can modify a noun or pronoun or the whole of the base sentence to which it is attached. e.g - Teeth chattering, we waited for hours in the bitter cold. Sails flapping, the boat tugged at its mooring. The participle may be expanded into a participle phrase -Sails flapping in the brisk morning breeze, the boat tugged at its mooring. An absolute phrase with other combinations 1). Noun and adverb phrase - Ram sat back comfortable, feet up on the desk. 2). Noun and adjective - Muscles taut, he hefted the barbells to his chest. 3). Noun and adjective phrase - She waved to the crowd, her face radiant with triumph.

4). Noun and adverb - Shoulders hunched, Ronaldo zigzagged past the linebacker.

We can use various absolute phrases in succession - Hair golden, eyes blue, body slender and tanned, he personified the California look.

Note - We can put an absolute phrase at the beginning of a sentence or at the end, setting it off with a comma.

We can also put an absolute phrase in the middle.

e.g - The speaker, his voice trembling with rage, denounced the hecklers. (note the pair of commas) 14). Many of them chiseled from solid rock centuries ago, the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia are dotted with hundreds of monesteries. (A). Many of them chiseled from solid rock centuries ago, the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia are dotted with hundreds of monesteries. (B). chiseled from solid rock centuries ago,the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia are dotted with hundreds of monesteries. (C). hundreds of monesteries, many of them chiseled from solid rock centuries ago, re dotting the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia. (D). The mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia are dotted with hundreds of monesteries, many of which are chiseled from solid rock centuries ago. (E). The mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia are dotted with hundreds of monesteries,many of them chiseled from solid rock centuries ago. Q:Archaeologists in Egypt have excavated a 5,000-year-old wooden hull that is the earliest surviving example of example of a built boatin other words, a boat constructed out of planks fitted togetherand that thus represents a major advance, in terms of boat-building technology, over the dugout logs and reed vessels of more ancient vintage. A. togetherand that thus represents B. togetherand this has represented C. together, and it represents D. together that was representing E. together to represent OA A

QUESTION: A late 19th century newspaper article targeted at readers desiring to increase their musical knowledge recommended reading books that were written not for musicians who have

been trained professionally, which was the case with many of the publications in circulation during the early part of the century, but music lovers who are not familiar with the technical

terminology used in those publications.

(A)

written not for musicians who have been trained professionally, which was the case with many of the publications in circulation during the early part of the century, but (B)

written not for professionally-trained musicians, the case with many of the publications in circulation during the early part of the century, but

(C) written not for professionally-trained musicians, as was the case with many of the publications in circulation during the early part of the century, but for (CORRECT ANSWER) (D)

not written for professionally-trained musicians, which was the case with many of the publications in circulation during the early part of the century, but were written for (E)

not written for musicians who have been trained professionally, the case with many of the publications in circulation during the early part of the century, but for

Q: Discovered by astronomers in July 2010, R136a1 is the most massive star ever cataloged, 60 percent more massive than the theoretical limit at the time it was discovered, and the most luminous star known to humankind.

(A)

Discovered by astronomers in July 2010, R136a1 is the most massive star ever cataloged, 60 percent more massive than the theoretical limit at the time it was discovered, and the most luminous star known to humankind.

(B)

Discovered by astronomers in July 2010, R136a1, the most massive star ever cataloged, it was 60 percent more massive than the theoretical limit at the time it was discovered and was the most luminous star known to humankind.

(C) When it was discovered by astronomers in July 2010, R136a1, the most luminous star known to humankind, was the most massive star ever cataloged, its mass exceeding the theoretical limit at the time by 60 percent. (CORRECT ANSWER)

(D)

The most massive star ever cataloged in July 2010, when it was discovered by astronomers, R136a1 exceeded the theoretical limit by 60 percent and was the most luminous star known to humankind.

(E)

R136a1, the most massive star ever cataloged and the most luminous star known to humankind, was 60 percent more massive than the theoretical limit was at the time of discovery by astronomers in July 2010.