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Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
okdongdong wrote:
A Swiss government panel recommended that the country sell about half of its gold reserves and this raised fears of other countries that do the same and inundate the market.
A. reserves and this raised fears of other countries that
B. reserves, which, as a result, raised fears of other countries that
C. reserves, as a result, they feared that other countries would
D. reserves, with fears raised that other countries would
E. reserves, raising fears that other countries would
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 a Swiss government panel recommended that the country sell about half of its gold reserves, and as a result fears were raised that other countries would do the same and inundate the market.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers + Pronouns + Grammatical Construction• 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; comma cannot be used to join two independent clauses.
• "who/whose/whom/which/where", when preceded by a comma, refer to the noun just before the comma.
• The introduction of present participle ("verb+ing"- “raising” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship.
A: This answer choice suffers from a pronoun error, as the pronoun "this" lacks a clear and logical referent. Further, Option A alters the meaning of this sentence through the phrase "fears of other countries"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the Swiss government panel raised fears
of other countries that sell half their gold reserves and inundate the market; the intended meaning is that the Swiss government panel raised fears about
the possibility that other countries would sell half their gold reserves and inundate the market. Additionally, Option A incorrectly uses conjunction ("and" in this sentence) to join the independent clauses "A Swiss government panel recommended that the country sell about half of its gold reserves" and "this raised fears of other countries that do the same and inundate the market"; remember, 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; comma cannot be used to join two independent clauses.
B: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "which...raised fears of other countries"; the construction of this phrase and its use to modify "half of its gold reserves" incorrectly implies that half of the Swiss gold reserves raised fears
of other countries that sell half their gold reserves and inundate the market; the intended meaning is that
the Swiss government panel raised fears about
the possibility that other countries would sell half their gold reserves and inundate the market; remember, "who/whose/whom/which/where", when preceded by a comma, refer to the noun just before the comma.
C: This answer choice suffers from a pronoun error, as the pronoun "they" lacks a clear and logical referent.
D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "with fears raised"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that a Swiss government panel recommended that the country sell about half of its gold reserves
because fears were raised that other countries would do the same and inundate the market; the intended meaning is that a Swiss government panel recommended that the country sell about half of its gold reserves,
and as a result fears were raised that other countries would do the same and inundate the market.
E: Correct. This answer choice avoids the pronoun errors seen in Options A and C, as it uses no pronouns. Further, Option E uses the phrase "raising fears that other countries would"; the construction of this phrase conveys the intended meaning - that
a Swiss government panel recommended that the country sell about half of its gold reserves,
and as a result the panel raised fears about
the possibility that other countries would do the same and inundate the market; remember, the introduction of present participle ("verb+ing"- “raising” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship. Additionally, Option E correctly uses a comma to join the independent clause "A Swiss government panel recommended that the country sell about half of its gold reserves" and the dependent clause "raising fears that other countries would do the same and inundate the market".
Hence, E is the best answer choice.To understand the concept of "Comma Plus Present Participle for Cause-Effect Relationship" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):
To understand the use of punctuation on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~10 minutes):
To understand the concept of "Which, Who, Whose, and Where" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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Updated on: 22 Aug 2022, 03:19
85%
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