PQRS sentence ordering question — Arrange the parts to describe how, in the darkness, the doctor’s tall stooping figure with a long narrow beard and aquiline nose was clearly visible, ensuring proper modifier placement and natural flow.

Given data

• P: ‘‘the long, narrow beard’’
• Q: ‘‘was clearly visible with’’
• R: ‘‘the tall stooping figure of the doctor’’
• S: ‘‘and the aquiline nose’’

Concept/ApproachLead with the head noun phrase, then the verb phrase ‘‘was clearly visible with’’, and finally the coordinated features.

Step-by-step constructionBegin with R: ‘‘the tall stooping figure of the doctor …’’Then Q: ‘‘… was clearly visible with …’’Then P: ‘‘… the long, narrow beard …’’Then S: ‘‘… and the aquiline nose.’’Full sentence: ‘‘In the darkness, the tall stooping figure of the doctor was clearly visible with the long, narrow beard and the aquiline nose.’’

Why other orders are wrongStarting with modifiers (P/S) yields fragments. ‘‘Q’’ cannot start because it is a verb phrase needing a subject; RQPS supplies it.

Common pitfallsDo not separate coordinated nouns (beard and nose) from the governing preposition ‘‘with’’.

Final AnswerRQPS