<p>The whole sentence is underlined</p>
<p>Scandinavian people have been sailing the seas throughout recorded history, their having crisscrossed half the world by the end of the Middle Ages.</p>
<p>correct answer: Scandinavian people, who have been sailing the seas throughout recorded history, had crisscrossed half the world by the end of the Middle Ages</p>
<p>why is this answer wrong? –> By the end of the Middle Ages, crisscrossing half the world, the Scandinavian people sailed the seas throughout recorded history</p>
<p>is it people it could be the “middle ages” and “Scandinavians” crisscrossing?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>“By the end of the Middle Ages” puts a time limit on the claim. “throughout recorded history” extends the claim to the present day. So grammatically, this version of the sentence tries to exist in two distinct time frames, which makes no sense. It’s a little like saying, “Yesterday I went to the store today.”</p>
<p>What happened by the end of the Middle Ages? The Scandinavian people sailed. The answer has to come immediately after that introductory clause (“By the end of the Middle Ages,”). Putting the “crisscrossing” phrase after the introductory clause creates a misplaced modifier. It would have worked with “By the end of the Middle Ages, the Scandinavian people had crisscrossed half the world by sailing the seas.” But this leaves no room for the “recorded history” information.</p>
<p>You must always go through all the options and the correct option sounds much better than this one. In addition to the reasons already posted remember that when one is talking about something being done “throughout recorded history”, continuous tense “sailing” makes sense here. And for “by the end of middle ages”, past perfect makes more sense. </p>
<p>Anyways, sometimes for such tough questions, you should choose the one that sounds the best and is the most refined of the lot.</p>