Rabinal Achí is a precolonial Maya dance drama performed annually in Rabinal, a town in the Guatemalan highlands. Based on...

Let's begin by understanding the meaning of this sentence. We'll use our understanding of pause points and segment the sentence as shown - understanding and assimilating the meaning of each segment bit by bit!

Sentence Structure

Sentence 1:

• Rabinal Achí is a precolonial Maya dance drama performed annually in Rabinal, a town in the Guatemalan highlands.

Sentence 2:

• Based on events that occurred when Rabinal was a city-state ruled by a king, ______ [varies across choices] had once been an ally of the king but was later captured while leading an invading force against him.

Understanding the Meaning

Let's start reading:

The first sentence tells us:

• Rabinal Achí is a precolonial Maya dance drama
  • It's performed annually in a Guatemalan town called Rabinal.

Now the second sentence begins:

• 'Based on events that occurred when Rabinal was a city-state ruled by a king'
  • This is setting up context - telling us that the dance drama is based on historical events from when Rabinal was a city-state.

This is where we have the blank.

Let's look at the choices:

• Choice A: "Rabinal Achí tells the story of K'iche' Achí, a military leader who"
• Choice B: "K'iche' Achí, the military leader in the story of Rabinal Achí,"
• Choice C: "the military leader whose story is told in Rabinal Achí, K'iche' Achí,"
• Choice D: "there was a military leader, K'iche' Achí, who in Rabinal Achí"

To see what works here, let's read the rest of the sentence and understand what it's saying!

The sentence continues:

• 'had once been an ally of the king but was later captured while leading an invading force against him.'

Now let's understand what the complete second sentence is telling us:

• It starts with 'Based on events that occurred...'
  • This phrase describes something - it tells us what is based on these events.
• Then we need information about:
  • Someone who had been an ally of the king
  • But was later captured while invading

What do we notice about the structure here?

The opening phrase 'Based on events...' is describing something - telling us what is based on those historical events.

What is based on events?

• The dance drama Rabinal Achí is based on events
• K'iche' Achí (the person) is not based on events - he WAS part of the events

So the main part of the sentence needs to have Rabinal Achí (the dance drama) as the subject, not K'iche' Achí (the person).

Looking at our choices:

• Choice A: "Rabinal Achí tells the story of..."
  • This makes "Rabinal Achí" (the drama) the subject of the main clause
  • This is what the opening phrase "Based on events..." should describe
  • Then it tells the story of K'iche' Achí, describing him with "a military leader who had once been an ally..."
• Choices B and C: Both make K'iche' Achí or "the military leader" the subject
  • This would mean "Based on events..." is describing the person
  • But that doesn't make sense - the person isn't based on events; the drama is

The correct answer is Choice A. It creates the proper structure where the dance drama (what is based on events) is the subject of the main clause, and then it tells us about K'iche' Achí within that structure.

GRAMMAR CONCEPT APPLIED

Matching Opening Modifiers to What They Describe

When a sentence begins with a descriptive phrase (called an introductory modifier in grammar terms), that phrase must logically describe whatever comes immediately after it:

Pattern:

• Descriptive phrase + , + [what's being described] + rest of sentence

Example 1:

• ✓ Correct: "Based on historical events, the movie tells the story of a famous battle."
  • "Based on historical events" describes "the movie" ✓
• ✗ Incorrect: "Based on historical events, the battle involved thousands of soldiers."
  • "Based on historical events" would describe "the battle" ✗
  • But the battle itself isn't based on events - it WAS the event

Example 2:

• ✓ Correct: "Known for its spicy cuisine, Thailand attracts many food tourists."
  • "Known for its spicy cuisine" describes "Thailand" ✓

In this question:

• "Based on events that occurred..." describes what is based on events
• The dance drama Rabinal Achí is based on events (not the person K'iche' Achí)
• Therefore, "Rabinal Achí" (the drama) must be the subject right after the comma
• Choice A provides this structure: "Based on events..., Rabinal Achí tells the story of..."