Since the last decade, Chinese firms have accounted for 90% of the int

Let's run through the wrong answers one at a time. What we know about the underlined portion is that it needs to fit in on both sides. On the left, it needs to be able to modify or otherwise follow the part about bamboo flooring. On the right, it needs to connect to the modifier "as Western consumers go green."


B. whose appeal grows
It's actually okay to say "whose" here. Strangely, while "who" refers to a person, we can use "whose" for any noun, simply because "which's" isn't a word. So I can say "The frisbee, whose popularity declined over the last decade . . . " Since that usage could create some misunderstanding in the context of this sentence, we may be better off without it, but that wouldn't completely eliminate B by itself. The other reason to cut B is the use of the simple present: "grows." Although this is not grammatically incorrect (it's parallel with "go green"), it doesn't convey the sense that the demand has been growing for some time. I'm not sure an official GMAT question would rely on these criteria for elimination, but A is definitely a better and clearer answer (as we'll discuss).

C. which has a growing appeal
D. a product with growing appeal

These are both fine on the left side. Either one can modify the preceding noun, "bamboo flooring," and since there's not much ambiguity here, there's no particular reason to pick D over C. The problem is on the right. "As Western consumers go green" is an adverbial modifier, and we need an action or clause for it to modify. This means we need to know WHAT IS HAPPENING as Western consumers go green.

D only provides a noun phrase: "a product with growing appeal." "Product" and "appeal" are nouns. "Growing" serves as an adjective modifying "appeal." There is no action here at all.
C might give us slight hope, since it at least contains a verb--"has." However, this doesn't help us to show the change over time that we need to convey. What has happened as consumers go green is not that this flooring HAS an appeal, growing or otherwise, but that the appeal has grown along with the progress of going green.

E. the appeal of the product has grown

This is a good old-fashioned comma splice, a.k.a. a run-on sentence. "The appeal of the product has grown" is an independent clause, so we can't just tack it on with a comma.

This leaves us with A. the appeal of which has grown

Not everyone may find this kind of noun modifier comfortable or familiar, but it's actually fairly common. We can say things like "I tried a new kind of coffee, the quality of which was unparalleled" or "He signed a contract, the terms of which he did not fully understand." It's basically a way to modify a noun we haven't yet used, but which is connected to a previous noun. I want to mention the appeal of the flooring, the quality of the coffee, or the terms of the contract I just mentioned. So this covers us up to "the appeal of which." We can read the sentence as if we've just said "The flooring has a great appeal, which . . . "

That gets us to the right-hand side. The use of present perfect shows us that the appeal has been in the process of growing. When? While the Western consumers have gone green. So why, you might ask, isn't that last part also in present perfect? That's the form I used just now in talking about the process: "Western consumers HAVE GONE green." Well, that's a bit tricky, but it has to do with completion. We can say that the appeal of something HAS GROWN without implying any sort of completion. The appeal can have grown and can continue to grow. But if I say that consumers "have gone green," it sounds like something that is done. "As consumers go green" more clearly indicates an ongoing process. Similarly, we might say "Computer skills have become more essential than ever as the world goes online." We can read general form as "X increases at a time when Y is in the process of happening."

I hope this helps! Let me know if I can clarify further.
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I don't understand why Option D is wrong.
The reason given is:

The modifier which has growing appeal??? presents the feature of the laminated bamboo flooring. This feature is a constant quality of the flooring. But this is not intended meaning of the sentence.

The sentence intends to say that the appeal of such a flooring has risen for a particular reason. Hence, Choice A is correct and C incorrect.

Hi sakshiagarwal96

The sentence demands a modifier that should refer to the entire idea "that chinese firms have accounted for ___" not the product. Going by the meaning of the sentence you will arrive at A.

Option D meaning: Refers Product to the "Entire preceding clause" which does not make sense.



Since the last decade, Chinese firms have accounted for 90% of the international export market for laminated bamboo flooring, the appeal of which has grown as Western consumers go green.

A. the appeal of which has grown --- OA

B. whose appeal grows

C. which has a growing appeal

D. a product with growing appeal

E. the appeal of the product has grown

I agree , this can be stated as an example of an appositive modifier where "the product" in D refers to "laminated bamboo flooring,".
Someone please correct me if I am wrong
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It's true that "a product" can serve as an appositive modifying "bamboo flooring." The problem is that in D, the adverbial modifier "as Western consumers go green" has nothing to modify. Only A, B, and E provide a verb for this modifier to apply to. The present participle "growing" in C and D is just working as an adjective for "appeal."
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And extending your logic, with POE of the rest
- we eliminate B because whose modifies person? Also whose is only modifying laminated floors not the entire phrase?
- we eliminate E because ?

Please help. I am struggling with this question.

DmitryFarber, could you please elaborate your explanation? I didn't quite get it

Since the last decade, Chinese firms have accounted for 90% of the international export market for laminated bamboo flooring, the appeal of which has grown as Western consumers go green.

A. the appeal of which has grown

B. whose appeal grows

C. which has a growing appeal

D. a product with growing appeal

E. the appeal of the product has grown

Please explain why option "e" is wrong. Also explain other choices too.
Thanks in advance

Do you have official explanation for this? Thanks in advance

Posted from my mobile device

Doesn't A become a run-on sentence over here?

Since the last decade, Chinese firms have accounted for 90% of the international export market for laminated bamboo flooring, the appeal of which [laminated bamboo stick] has grown as Western consumers go green.

Isn't the highlighted text a clause? I'm really confused if it is an appositive.

DmitryFarber

My analysis of the question was pretty much the same.
However where I deviated from the explanation is as follows:

(B): I do agree that there is a change in meaning here as this option does not clearly indicate that the appeal has been growing for some time now. But I did not discard it outright.

(A): Even though the sense of continuation of "appeal growing" is expressed better here, the latter part of the sentence completely ruined this option for me. I believe that for this option to be considered correct, the sentence has to be rewritten as follows:

"Since the last decade, Chinese firms have accounted for 90% of the international export market for laminated bamboo flooring, the appeal of which has grown as Western consumers have been going green."

There has to be a sense of continuation in the action on both sides of the "as" comparison trigger.

That's why I eliminated "A" and chose "B".

Is my reasoning incorrect?

Even I have the same doubt. Can someone please help here?

Hi,

'the appeal of which has grown as Western consumers go green' is a relative clause and hence, it is a dependent clause.

are you sure this question is valid?
we need a conjunction word before" the appeal of" or a ";" right?
since..., SVO, SVO as SVO????????seriously?DmitryFarber

so by that sense, even in option A, after , commma its an independent sentence because a sentence must have atleast one idenpedent clause.

@e-gmat
Can you please share the OE for this one

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