Question

Change the underlined part of the sentence, if required-
Found only in the Western Hemisphere and surviving through extremes of climate, hummingbirds’ range extends from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, from sea level rain forests to the edges of Andean snowfields and ice fields at altitudes of 15,000 feet.
a- Found only in the Western Hemisphere and surviving through extremes of climate, hummingbirds’ range extends
b- Found only in the Western Hemisphere, hummingbirds survive through extremes of climate, their range extending
c- Hummingbirds, found only in the Western Hemisphere and surviving through extremes of climate, with their range extending
d- Hummingbirds, found only in the Western Hemisphere and surviving through extremes of climate, their range extends

Answer 1

Hint: After reading the given sentence, we can understand that a hummingbird is only found in the Western Hemisphere and can survive through extremes of climate. Hence, we need a noun modifier to disclose information about the principle clause.

Complete answer:
Let’s look at the above-given sentence-
We can see that there is a comma after ‘extremes of climate’. Hence, we expect a subject and a modifier to be placed after the comma but ‘hummingbirds’ range’ is not our subject.
So, we need to modify the subject, ‘hummingbird’.
Now, let’s examine the given options-
Option a- ‘Found only in the Western Hemisphere and surviving through extremes of climate, hummingbirds’ range extends’ is an incorrect option, because it does not modify the subject,’ hummingbird’.
Option b- ‘Found only in the Western Hemisphere, hummingbirds survive through extremes of climate, their range extending’ is the correct option, despite the change in the structure of the sentence, because we can see the use of a noun modifier that helps in modifying the main clause.
Option c- ‘Hummingbirds, found only in the Western Hemisphere and surviving through extremes of climate, with their range extending’ is an incorrect option, because it does not provide a verb for the subject.
Option d- ‘Hummingbirds, found only in the Western Hemisphere and surviving through extremes of climate, their range extends’ is an incorrect option because it does not provide a verb for the subject.
So, the correct answer is “Option b”.

Note:
Carefully understand the context of the sentence and thereafter, read the given options. Also, keep in mind that only the subject can be modified to produce a meaningful sentence.