A question on SC from MGMAT SC guide8

[amateur]

On page 120, question 5.
The editor of the local newspaper, who has earned much acclaim....

Isn't "who" a noun modifier and it should be right next to the noun it is modifying. I do understand the meaning on the whole but strictly by the rules learnt "who" is incorrectly modifying the noun "newspaper" instead of "editor". Can someone explain what I am missing over here. Thanks.

[tim]

we have two modifiers for "editor", and they come one right after the other. this is perfectly fine..

[tim]

we have two modifiers for "editor", and they come one right after the other. this is perfectly fine..

[amateur]

Then why is that page 85 of the same book talk about modifiers to be on either side of the noun instead of being right next to each other? I am talking aboout George Carlin example.... Thanks.

[RonPurewal]

Then why is that page 85 of the same book talk about modifiers to be on either side of the noun instead of being right next to each other? I am talking aboout George Carlin example.... Thanks.

try writing this sentence like that; you will realize pretty quickly that you can't.

[amateur]

Yes Ron, I do understand that I cannot write this sentence with modifiers on either side... So my question is questions in page 85 talks about not having two modifiers right next to each other but the answer in page 120 does the same (what was asked not to do in page 85). So can you help me clear this concept? Thanks.

[jlucero]

Pg 85 (emphasis mine):

"Putting two long modifiers in a row before or after a noun can lead to awkward or incorrect phrasings."

This does not say that you can't put modifiers together. And the examples here are much longer than the modifier "of our local newspaper". Awkward or incorrect phrasings occur when there is a possibility for ambiguous meanings. This is not the case here as "of our local newspaper" is next to editor, and "who has earned much acclaim in her long career" must modify a person and not a newspaper.

More complex rules of grammar are often guidelines of grammar. Guidelines that help to avoid ambiguous meanings.