Your question is missing the passage that includes the participial phrases and the noun. I've found the complete question online. It is as follows:
Hoping for a few scraps of food, the tiny puppy scooted closer to the table where the man was eating. She placed her paws on the edge of the man's seat to signal that she was hungry. The man gently eased the whining puppy back onto the floor. "No begging," he scolded. Pushing his plate away from the edge of the table, the puppy walked away from the man.
Which participle or participial phrase modifies the wrong noun?
A.“hoping for a few scraps of food”
B.“whining”
C.“no begging”
D.“pushing his plate away from the edge of the table”
Answer:
The participial phrase the modifies the wrong noun is:
D. pushing his plate away from the edge of the table
Explanation:
From the passage we learn that the puppy is a female. It is referred to with the pronoun "she". The puppy approaches a man who is eating at a table. At the end of the passage, we read <em>"No begging," he scolded. Pushing his plate away from the edge of the table, the puppy walked away from the man.
</em> The participial phrase "pushing his plate away from the edge of the table" comes right before the noun "puppy" and is separated from it by a comma. That makes it seem as if it refers to the puppy. However, we know that the puppy should not be the one to push the plate away. It should be the man, who does not want to give the puppy his food. To have the participial phrase modify the correct noun, the punctuation should be changed as follows:
"No begging," he scolded, pushing his plate away from the edge of the table. The puppy walked away from the man.
It is now clear that the man was the one pushing the plate, and not the puppy.
