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Sub 505 Level|   Comparisons|               
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A researcher claims that a tornado of a given size and strength is lik 25 Mar 2022, 04:11
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Sneha2021
GMATNinja egmat KarishmaB
(B) A researcher claims that a tornado, if of a given size and strength, is likely both proportionately and in absolute numbers to cause more deaths in the southeastern region of the United States than in the northeastern.

I agree than A is better than B bcz B has introduced "If" condition
Could you help me with any other reason to reject B?

Thanks in advance!
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Hello Sneha2021,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, one reason to eliminate Option B is that it places information vital to the core meaning of the sentence - the fact that a tornado must be of a given strength and size to be likely to cause the specific pattern of deaths described - between two commas; please remember, information vital to the core meaning of the sentence can never be placed between commas.

To understand the concept of "Extra Information Between Commas" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



All the best!
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A researcher claims that a tornado of a given size and strength is lik 08 Apr 2022, 05:08
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(C) A researcher claims that, with a tornado of a given size and strength, it is likely to cause more death, both proportionately and in absolute numbers, in the southeastern rather than in the northeastern region of the United States.

A researcher (sub - s) claims (verb - s)
- that,
- with a tornado of a given size and strength, (prep phrase modifiers)
- it (there is no antecedent for the pronoun - error - 1) (it - singular subject) is (singular - verb) likely to cause more death,
- both proportionately and in absolute numbers,
- in the southeastern rather than in the northeastern region of the United States. (rather than - used for options and not comparison - incorrect


query? I don't know what the prep phrase is modifying. How can we identify it more precisely? egmat GMATNinja
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A researcher claims that a tornado of a given size and strength is lik 08 Apr 2022, 05:31
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(C) A researcher claims that, with a tornado of a given size and strength, it is likely to cause more death, both proportionately and in absolute numbers, in the southeastern rather than in the northeastern region of the United States.

A researcher (sub - s) claims (verb - s)
- that,
- with a tornado of a given size and strength, (prep phrase modifiers)
- it (there is no antecedent for the pronoun - error - 1) (it - singular subject) is (singular - verb) likely to cause more death,
- both proportionately and in absolute numbers,
- in the southeastern rather than in the northeastern region of the United States. (rather than - used for options and not comparison - incorrect


query? I don't know what the prep phrase is modifying. How can we identify it more precisely? egmat GMATNinja
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Hello nisthagupta28,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, in Option C the prepositional phrase "with a tornado of a given size and strength" appears to illogically modify the pronoun "it".

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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A researcher claims that a tornado of a given size and strength is lik 08 Apr 2022, 05:38
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(C) A researcher claims that, with a tornado of a given size and strength, it is likely to cause more death, both proportionately and in absolute numbers, in the southeastern rather than in the northeastern region of the United States.

A researcher (sub - s) claims (verb - s)
- that,
- with a tornado of a given size and strength, (prep phrase modifiers)
- it (there is no antecedent for the pronoun - error - 1) (it - singular subject) is (singular - verb) likely to cause more death,
- both proportionately and in absolute numbers,
- in the southeastern rather than in the northeastern region of the United States. (rather than - used for options and not comparison - incorrect


query? I don't know what the prep phrase is modifying. How can we identify it more precisely? egmat GMATNinja



Hello nisthagupta28,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, in Option C the prepositional phrase "with a tornado of a given size and strength" appears to illogically modify the pronoun "it".

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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As previously mentioned by GMATNinja in one of the previous posts - if prepositional phrase appears as an object in a clause, then it modifies the verb.
But, when it appears as it does in the case of option c - is it safe to say that prepositional phrase then modifies the subject of the clause?
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A researcher claims that a tornado of a given size and strength is lik 08 Apr 2022, 14:43
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nisthagupta28
(C) A researcher claims that, with a tornado of a given size and strength, it is likely to cause more death, both proportionately and in absolute numbers, in the southeastern rather than in the northeastern region of the United States.

A researcher (sub - s) claims (verb - s)
- that,
- with a tornado of a given size and strength, (prep phrase modifiers)
- it (there is no antecedent for the pronoun - error - 1) (it - singular subject) is (singular - verb) likely to cause more death,
- both proportionately and in absolute numbers,
- in the southeastern rather than in the northeastern region of the United States. (rather than - used for options and not comparison - incorrect


query? I don't know what the prep phrase is modifying. How can we identify it more precisely? egmat GMATNinja
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Typically, when a prepositional phrase comes before a clause, it'll modify the action of that clause. For example:

    With great enthusiasm, Tim set numerous raccoon traps in his kids' bedrooms.

In this case, "with great enthusiasm" gives us info about Tim's attitude when he "set" the traps. Makes sense.

Another example:

    "With his kids screaming in the backseat, Tim drove to the movies."

Now "with his kids screaming" gives us context for what was happening as Tim "drove." Tim was with his kids, who were losing their minds in the backseat. Again, perfectly logical. (Also a very common occurrence.)

Now take another look at the relevant portion of (C):

Quote:
with a tornado of a given size and strength, it [a tornado] is likely to cause more death,
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I can't make any sense of this. Are we talking about two different tornados, one of a given size and strength, and another likely to cause death? And then the two are "with" each other the same way Tim was "with" his kids? If it's the same tornado, what is the "with" doing?

Wouldn't it be clearer to eliminate the prepositional phrase altogether, and just write, "A tornado of a given size and strength is likely to cause more deaths?" That's exactly what we get in (A), which is far more logical.

So the incoherence of the modifier is enough to kill (C).

I hope that helps!
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A researcher claims that a tornado of a given size and strength is lik 13 Apr 2022, 02:02
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the point is where "proportionately and in the absolute number " is placed.

it caused more death, proportionately

in above sentence, proportionately modifies "more" and, so, is an adverb.

the our phrase is an adverb and should be close to the word , here "more" , it modifies. so, this phrase should be close to "cause more deaths ". in many answer choices, this phrase is placed wrongly.
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A researcher claims that a tornado of a given size and strength is lik 13 Apr 2023, 19:52
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