Hello Everyone!
Let's take a closer look at this question, so we can narrow down the options to the correct one! First, here is the original question with the major differences between the options highlighted in
orange:
A mutual fund having billions of dollars in assets will typically invest that money in hundreds of
companies, rarely holding more than one percent of the shares of any particular corporation.
(A) companies,
rarely holding more than one percent
(B) companies,
and it is rare to hold at least one percent or more
(C) companies
and rarely do they hold more than one percent
(D) companies,
so that they rarely hold more than one percent
(E) companies
; rarely do they hold one percent or more
After a quick glance over the options, there are a couple major differences we can address:
1. "it" vs. "they" (pronoun-antecedent agreement)
2. -ing modifier in option A (modifier use)Let's start with #1 on our list: "it" vs. "they." Since option A doesn't use a pronoun, we'll save that option for later review. However, let's make sure that the pronouns in options B, C, D, & E all match up in number to what they're referring to:
(A) companies, rarely holding more than one percent -->
OK (
no pronoun = save for later)
(B) companies, and
it is rare to hold at least one percent or more -->
WRONG (
The pronoun "it" in this sentence is what we call a "dummy pronoun." It's not referring to anything earlier in the sentence, which is a big no-no on the GMAT. Dummy pronouns are confusing and unclear to readers, which is why the GMAT prefers you avoid them whenever possible.)
(C) companies and rarely do
they hold more than one percent -->
WRONG (
The plural "they" is referring back to the singular subject "a mutual fund," which is not parallel in number.)
(D) companies, so that
they rarely hold more than one percent -->
WRONG (
The plural "they" is referring back to the singular subject "a mutual fund," which is not parallel in number.)
(E) companies; rarely do
they hold one percent or more -->
WRONG (
The plural "they" is referring back to the singular subject "a mutual fund," which is not parallel in number.)
While we have effectively eliminated all the options except for A, we should still make sure that the -ing modifier is used correctly. To make this clearer to see, we've added in the non-underlined portions of the sentence:
(A) A mutual fund having billions of dollars in assets will typically invest that money in hundreds of
companies, rarely holding more than one percent of the shares of any particular corporation.
To do a quick check, let's answer a couple key questions:
1.
Is the -ing modifier referring back to the entire main clause (the subject and verb)? Yes!2.
Does the modifier actually add more useful information to the clause? Yes!There you have it - option A is the correct choice! It's the only one that doesn't have any problems with pronoun-antecedent agreement, doesn't include any vague or misleading pronouns, and uses the -ing modifier correctly.
Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.