Read the passage from sugar changed the world. why were the english the first to build factories to mill cloth? because of the wealth they gained, the trade connections they made, and the banking systems they developed in the slave and sugar trade. indeed, the cheap cloth from the factories was used to clothe the slaves. english factories, you might say, were built, run, and paid for by sugar. which excerpt from the passage best states the authors’ claim? a) "why were the english the first to build factories to mill cloth? " b) "because of the wealth they gained, the trade connections they made, and the banking systems they developed in the slave and sugar trade." c) "indeed, the cheap cloth from the factories was used to clothe the slaves." d) "english factories, you might say, were built, run, and paid for by sugar."

The correct answer is D.

The author originally states the question, "Why were the English the first to build factories to mill cloth?" A question cannot be the author's claim, but the answer to that question is the author's claim. In this case, the answer to the question is that the English factories were built, run, and paid for by sugar. The other sentences help the author back up their question, but the author's main point was that everything was paid for by the sugar, including the clothing the slaves wore.

type of error:

the error in the sentence is a "dangling modifier". a dangling modifier is a phrase, word or clause that "dangles" because there is not target to modify. in this case, "after mopping the floor" is the dangling modifier since it has no word to modify. the noun "house" cannot mop the floor; therefore there is a mistake in the writing of the sentence.