Identify the type and function of the underlined clause in the following sentence.

I didn't lie to my mother; I merely participated in a campaign of misinformation that was started by my brother.

.... the bride leaned over and whispered to me that she was having second thoughts.

Which statement about absolute phrases is false?

Because Joe is a tennis instructor, some of our weekend guests expected him to give free lessons, while others simply pestered him for free advice.

The police stood guard over the smoking ruins of the town, their senses alert to any sign of looters.

Which statement about phrases is false?

The cat burglar, cunningly disguised as a mouse, was able to squeak through the fence undetected.

After the blond model wobbled precariously, she hit the runway with a thud and died.

The principle of .... states that, in proper sentence structure, a pronoun usually refers to something earlier in the text and must agree in number (singular or plural) with the thing to which it refers.

A modifier, which can be an adjective or adverb, or a phrase or clause acting as an adjective or adverb, should be placed as close as possible to the word it modifies.

A phrase may function in a sentence as a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb.