Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
sondenso wrote:
The ancient Anasazi harvested such native desert vegetation as the purple-flowered bee plant, what they now commonly call wild spinach in northern Arizona and other parts of the southwestern United States.
(A) what they now commonly call
(B) a plant that they now commonly call
(C) now commonly called
(D) and is now commonly called
(E) which it is now commonly called
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that the ancient Anasazi harvested such native desert vegetation as the purple-flowered bee plant, and this plant is now commonly called wild spinach in northern Arizona and other parts of the southwestern United States.
Concepts tested here: Subject-Verb Agreement + Meaning + Pronouns + Grammatical Construction + Awkwardness/Redundancy• Semicolons and the “comma + conjunction” construction are used to link two independent clauses; commas are used to link an independent clause with a dependent one; commas cannot be used to join two independent clauses.
A: This answer choice suffers from pronoun ambiguity, as the pronoun "they" lacks a clear and logical referent. Further, Option A uses the needlessly wordy phrase "what they...call", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.
B: This answer choice suffers from pronoun ambiguity, as the pronoun "they" lacks a clear and logical referent. Further, Option B uses the needlessly wordy phrase "a plant that...call", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.
C: Correct. This answer choice avoids the pronoun error seen in Options A and B, as it uses no pronouns. Moreover, Option C avoids the subject-verb disagreement seen in Option D, as it uses the modifying phrase "now commonly called" rather than an active verb phrase ("is commonly called" in Option D). Further, Option C correctly modifies "the purple-flowered bee plant" with now commonly called wild spinach", conveying the intended meaning - that
the purple-flowered bee plant is now called wild spinach. Additionally, Option C correctly uses a comma to join the independent clause "The ancient Anasazi harvested such native desert vegetation as the purple-flowered bee plant" to the dependent clause "now commonly called wild spinach in northern Arizona and other parts of the southwestern United States". Besides, Option C is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.
D: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun phrase "The ancient Anasazi" with the singular verb "is". Further, Option D alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "and is...called"; the construction of this phrase links the verbs "harvested" and "is...called" together in a list, illogically implying that
The ancient Anasazi are now called wild spinach; the intended meaning is that
the purple-flowered bee plant is now called wild spinach.
E: This answer choice incorrectly uses the construction "comma + which" to join the independent clauses "The ancient Anasazi harvested such native desert vegetation as the purple-flowered bee plant" and "it is now commonly called wild spinach in northern Arizona and other parts of the southwestern United States"; remember, semicolons and the “comma + conjunction” construction are used to link two independent clauses
Hence, C is the best answer choice.To understand the use of punctuation on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~10 minutes):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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