Hello Everyone!
Let's take a closer look at this question, and figure out the best way to find the right answer - and quickly! Before we dive in, here is the original question, with the major differences between the options highlighted in
orange:
According to a recent study of consumer spending on prescription medications, increases in the sales of the 50 drugs that were advertised most
heavily accounts for almost half of the $20.8 billion increase in drug spending last year, the remainder of which came from sales of the 9,850 prescription medicines that companies did not advertise or advertised very little.
(A)
heavily accounts for almost half of the $20.8 billion increase in drug spending last year
, the remainder of which came(B)
heavily were what accounted for almost half of the $20.8 billion increase in drug spending last year
; the remainder of the increase coming (C)
heavily accounted for almost half of the $20.8 billion increase in drug spending last year
, the remainder of the increase coming(D)
heavily, accounting for almost half of the $20.8 billion increase in drug spending last year
, while the remainder of the increase came(E)
heavily, which accounted for almost half of the $20.8 billion increase in drug spending last year
, with the remainder of it comingAfter a quick glance over the options, there are 2 major differences we can focus on:
1. How they begin: wording of the verb "account"
2. How they end: punctuation/modifiers/pronouns/conjunctionsLet's take a look at #1 on our list, and see if we can find any problematic options to rule out.We have 3 options (A/B/C) that use different verb tenses, while the other 2 options (D/E) were rewritten to create modifiers. This means we have 2 things to focus on here:
1. Proper verb tense
2. Proper use of modifiersHere is how each option breaks down. To help you see any potential problems, we've added the rest of the clause that's not underlined.
(A) ...increases in the sales of the 50 drugs that were advertised most heavily accounts for almost half of the $20.8 billion increase in drug spending last year, the remainder of which came
This is
INCORRECT because it uses the wrong verb tense! The subject it's referring to is "increases," which is plural, yet the verb here is "accounts," which is singular!
(B) ...increases in the sales of the 50 drugs that were advertised most heavily were what accounted for almost half of the $20.8 billion increase in drug spending last year; the remainder of the increase coming
This is
INCORRECT because it's over wordy! It's not necessary to say "were what accounted for" when simply saying "accounted for" would do. Remember - the GMAT prefers concise language whenever possible!
(C) ...increases in the sales of the 50 drugs that were advertised most heavily accounted for almost half of the $20.8 billion increase in drug spending last year, the remainder of the increase coming
This is
CORRECT! It's concise, and it uses past tense to properly indicate the timing of an action that happened last year.
(D) ...increases in the sales of the 50 drugs that were advertised most heavily, accounting for almost half of the $20.8 billion increase in drug spending last year, while the remainder of the increase came
This is
INCORRECT because there is no main verb in the sentence, making it one very long fragment! By changing "accounted for" to "accounting for," we've changed the verb into a modifier. This means we no longer have a verb to go with the subject, "increases."
(E) ...increases in the sales of the 50 drugs that were advertised most heavily, which accounted for almost half of the $20.8 billion increase in drug spending last year, with the remainder of it coming
This is also
INCORRECT because there is no main verb in the sentence! By changing "accounted for" to "which accounted for," we've changed the verb to a modifier. This means we no longer have a verb to go with the subject, "increases."
There you have it! Option C is the only one that uses the proper verb tense without creating an accidental sentence fragment!**************
If you're wondering what would happen if we focused on #2 instead, here is how things would break down:(A) heavily accounts for almost half of the $20.8 billion increase in drug spending last year, the remainder of which came
The main problem with this is the phrase "the remainder of which." It's not 100% clear what this is referring back to: the remainder of the drugs, the sales of drugs, or increase in drug spending? If it's not 100% clear, then it's likely an
INCORRECT option.
(B) heavily were what accounted for almost half of the $20.8 billion increase in drug spending last year; the remainder of the increase coming
While the phrase itself is okay, the punctuation is not. This is
INCORRECT because the semicolon isn't necessary. Only use semicolons to separate two
independent clauses - this is separating an independent clause from a dependent clause. Since the clause after the semicolon can't stand alone, you cannot use a semicolon here.
(C) heavily accounted for almost half of the $20.8 billion increase in drug spending last year, the remainder of the increase coming
This is
CORRECT! The modifier is referring back to what's closest to it, which is the increase of drug spending last year. This makes sense, and it's punctuated properly, so it's all good!
(D) heavily, accounting for almost half of the $20.8 billion increase in drug spending last year, while the remainder of the increase came
This is
OKAY for now because it's clear what the phrase is referring back to, and it's punctuated properly.
(However, we would later rule out option D because it's missing a verb, making it a sentence fragment.)(E) heavily, which accounted for almost half of the $20.8 billion increase in drug spending last year, with the remainder of it coming
This is
INCORRECT because the singular pronoun "it" doesn't agree in number with its plural antecedent "increases."
Option C is still the correct choice, though it may take you a little bit longer to come to that conclusion!Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
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09 Apr 2022, 12:04
