Participle Modifier (w/ and w/o comma)

If the comma is not there, the participial modifier must modify whatever noun directly precedes it. If the comma is there, then the participial modifier is taken to modify the preceding clause as a whole (or particularly the verb of that clause).

to wit:
tom received the court order [NO COMMA] restricting his movements outside the city --> the court order itself restricts tom's movements. we can infer that tom's movements are already restricted by the court order, regardless of whether he has received it.
tom received the court order, restricting his movements outside the city --> tom's movements were not restricted until he received the order.

by the way, the second of these sentences isn't that great: tom is the subject of that sentence, so the modifier implies that tom restricted his own movements by receiving the order. to convey the meaning more precisely, you'd say something like tom received the court order, thus activating orbringing into effect restrictions on...'

Ex: One of Ronald Reagan’s first acts as President was to rescind President Carter’s directivethat any chemical banned on medical grounds in the United States be prohibited from sale to other countries.

(A) that any chemical banned on medical grounds in the United States be prohibited from sale to other countries
(B) that any chemical be prohibited from sale to other countries that was banned on medical grounds in the United States
(C) prohibiting the sale to other countries of any chemical banned on medical grounds in the United States
(D) prohibiting that any chemical banned on medical grounds in the United States is sold to other countries
(E) that any chemical banned in the United States on medical grounds is prohibited from being sold to other countries

Ans C

Credit: Ron Purewal, MGMAT instructor