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Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
redferrocene wrote:
A recent study has found that within the past few years, many doctors had elected early retirement rather than face the threats of lawsuits and the rising costs of malpractice insurance.
(A) had elected early retirement rather than face
(B) had elected early retirement instead of facing
(C) have elected retiring early instead of facing
(D) have elected to retire early rather than facing
(E) have elected to retire early rather than face
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that many doctors have elected to retire early rather than face the threats of lawsuits and the rising costs of malpractice insurance.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Tenses• The present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.
• The past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past".
• Any elements linked by a conjunction ("rather than" in this case") must be parallel.
• For referring to the purpose/intent of action the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb") is preferred over the present participle ("verb+ing").
• A general observation: “instead of” generally loses to “rather than” on GMAT.
A: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "elected early retirement"; the use of the noun phrase "early retirement" leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that many doctors have elected to retire early rather than face the threats of lawsuits and the rising costs of malpractice insurance. Further, Option A incorrectly uses the past perfect tense verb "had elected" to refer to an action that concluded in the past but continues to affect the present; please remember, the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present, and the past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past". Additionally, Option A fails to maintain parallelism between "early retirement" and "face the threats...insurance"; please remember, any elements linked by a conjunction ("rather than" in this case") must be parallel.
B: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "elected early retirement"; the use of the noun phrase "early retirement" leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that many doctors have elected to retire early rather than face the threats of lawsuits and the rising costs of malpractice insurance. Further, Option B incorrectly uses the past perfect tense verb "had elected" to refer to an action that concluded in the past but continues to affect the present; please remember, the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present, and the past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past". Additionally, Option B fails to maintain parallelism between "early retirement" and "facing the threats...insurance"; please remember, any elements linked by a conjunction ("instead of" in this case") must be parallel. Besides, a general observation: “instead of” generally loses to “rather than” on GMAT.
C: This answer choice uses the present participle ("verb+ing" - "retiring" in this sentence) to refer to the intent behind the action "have elected"; please remember, for referring to the purpose/intent of action the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb") is preferred over the present participle ("verb+ing" - "retiring" in this sentence). Besides, a general observation: “instead of” generally loses to “rather than” on GMAT.
D: This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism between "to retire early" and "facing the threats...insurance"; please remember, any elements linked by a conjunction ("rather than" in this case") must be parallel.
E: Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase "to retire early", conveying the intended meaning - that many doctors have elected to retire early rather than face the threats of lawsuits and the rising costs of malpractice insurance. Moreover, Option E uses the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb" - "to + retire" in this sentence) to refer to the intent of the action "have elected". Further, Option E correctly uses the present perfect tense verb "have elected" to refer to an action that concluded in the past but continues to affect the present. Additionally, Option E maintains parallelism between "retire early" and "face the threats...insurance". Besides, Option E uses the preferred construction "rather than".
Hence, E is the best answer choice.To understand the concept of "Present Perfect Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):
To understand the concept of "Past Perfect Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):
To understand the concept of "Infinitive vs Present Participles" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team