According to its proponents, a proposed new style of aircraft could

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

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 according to proponents of the new style of aircraft, it could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours by skimming along the top of the atmosphere.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers + Pronouns + Idioms

• In a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.
• "due to" is used to modify nouns and "because of" is used to modify verbs and clauses.
• A pronoun and its derivatives can only refer to one noun in a sentence.

A: Correct. This answer choice correctly modifies the clause "a proposed new style of aircraft could" with the phrase "by skimming along the top of the atmosphere", conveying the intended meaning - that the new style of aircraft could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours, and it could do so by skimming along the top of the atmosphere. Further, Option A correctly uses the pronoun "its" to refer only to "a...new style of aircraft". Additionally, Option A avoids the idiomatic error seen in Option D, as it uses the phrase "by skimming" rather than "because of" or "due to". Besides, Option A is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

B: This answer choice incorrectly uses "By skimming along the top of the atmosphere" to modify "proponents of a proposed new style of aircraft", illogically implying that the proponents skim along the top of the atmosphere; the intended meaning is that the new style of aircraft skims along the top of the atmosphere; remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.

C: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "with it skimming along the top of the atmosphere"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that according to proponents of the new style of aircraft, it could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours by skimming along the top of the atmosphere.

D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "because of its skimming"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the new style of aircraft could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours because it has already skimmed along the top of the atmosphere; the intended meanings that the new style of aircraft could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours by skimming along the top of the atmosphere. Further, Option D unidiomatically uses "because of" to refer to the noun phrase "its skimming"; remember, "due to" is used to modify nouns, and "because of" is used to modify verbs and clauses.

E: This answer choice incorrectly uses "its" to refer to "a...new style of aircraft" and as a placeholder pronoun; remember, a pronoun and its derivatives can only refer to one noun in a sentence. Further, Option E uses the needlessly wordy phrase "makes it possible that", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

Hence, A is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Phrase Comma Subject" and "Subject Comma Phrase" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team

wow..a tough-one + 1..for post a gmatprep question and not labeling it that way..now when i take the gmatprep my result would be skewed

A for me too..after reading it again and again..

According to its proponents, a proposed new style of aircraft could, by skimming along the top of the atmosphere, fly between most points on Earth in under two hours.

A. According to its proponents, a proposed new style of aircraft could, by skimming along the top of the atmosphere, fly between most points on Earth in under two hours. - CORRECT
B. By skimming along the top of the atmosphere, proponents of a proposed new style of aircraft say it could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours. - 'By skimming along the top of the atmosphere' is incorrectly modifying 'proponents'
C. A proposed new style of aircraft could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours, according to its proponents, with it skimming along the top of the atmosphere. - 'it' can refer to 'Earth' or 'aircraft'
D. A proposed new style of aircraft, say its proponents, could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours because of its skimming along the top of the atmosphere. - same as C
E. According to its proponents, skimming along the top of the atmosphere makes it possible that a proposed new style of aircraft could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours - awkward

According to its proponents, a proposed new style of aircraft could, by skimming along the top of the atmosphere, fly between most points on Earth in under two hours.

A. According to its proponents, a proposed new style of aircraft could, by skimming along the top of the atmosphere, fly between most points on Earth in under two hours.
Everything else seems okay except the colored "its" referring to "a proposed new style". I wasn't sure if "a proposed new style's proponents" makes sense in the context.

B. By skimming along the top of the atmosphere, proponents of a proposed new style of aircraft say it could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours.
Meaning distortion. Having "by ~" in the front implies that "skimming ~" is the reason for the proponents' support.

C. A proposed new style of aircraft could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours, according to its proponents, with it skimming along the top of the atmosphere.
The colored one sounds like 'skimming ~' is additional information.

D. A proposed new style of aircraft, [color=#0000ff]say its proponents, could[/color] fly between most points on Earth in under two hours because of its skimming along the top of the atmosphere.
S/V agreement error

E. According to its proponents, skimming along the top of the atmosphere makes it possible that a proposed new style of aircraft could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours
Missing the subject

I chose A as the answer.

According to its proponents, skimming along the top of the atmosphere makes it possible that a proposed new style of aircraft could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours.


Hi Sachin, sort of, the issue is that it doesn't really make sense, the structure means that the 'proponents' must be talking about 'skimming' - highlighted. This is confusing as it's the aircraft that should be being talked about.

I also think there is an issue with 'makes' in this sentence.

Hope that's clear

James

Thanks James for confirming. What is the issue with ' makes ' ?

So, there's no other grammatical error in the sentence if I am not incorrect.

Hi,

'makes' is present tense, I would think that it would be better to have it in the future/conditional. I.e. Skimming would make it possible for a new aircraft....

It's not the major issue with the sentence though, and could possibly be argued the other way.

James

Hi umesh

For your first question: Who is flying ? Aircraft or new style? Sentence says Style.
This sentence uses a rare structure: (noun + preposition) ==> acts as an adjective.
For example: I have a great deal of experience in introducing new products to international markets.
"deal" is a noun. the noun "deal" itself means nothing if it does not have the modifier to know what you're actually talking about (you're talking about "experience").
"a great deal of" = adjective ==> means a lot.

Back to your question, "a new style OF aircraft" follows the same structure. "a new style" can't fly for sure. If you just stop at "a new style", you mean nothing.
"a new style OF aircraft" conveys different meaning. It talks about an aircraft actually. Thus, an aircraft can fly.

For your second question:Who is skimming? Proponents or Aircraft? Sentence says Proponents.
"by skimming...." is modifier ==> It should modify a preceding noun/noun phrase. Because "a new style of aircraft" is actually about the aircraft, thus the aircraft should skim along the top of the atmosphere.

For your third question: Is modifier clause 'by skimming along the top of the atmosphere' present at correct place?
The modifier "by skimming along...." is placed correctly. It modify a preceding noun/noun phrase - "a new style of aircraft".


ANALYZE ALL OPTIONS:

According to its proponents, a proposed new style of aircraft could, by skimming along the top of the atmosphere, fly between most points on Earth in under two hours.

A. According to its proponents, a proposed new style of aircraft could, by skimming along the top of the atmosphere, fly between most points on Earth in under two hours.
Correct. As stated above.

B. By skimming along the top of the atmosphere, proponents of a proposed new style of aircraft say it could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours.
Wrong. "by skimming" modifies "proponents" <== wrong meaning.

C. A proposed new style of aircraft could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours, according to its proponents, with it skimming along the top of the atmosphere.
Wrong. "with it skimming" is wrong. It's neither a possessive structure (should be its) nor a modifier ("it" is placed incorrectly).

D. A proposed new style of aircraft, say its proponents, could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours because of its skimming along the top of the atmosphere.
Wrong. "because of its skimming" is wordier than "by skimming". In addition, the meaning "could fly ...because of its skimming" sounds awkward.

E. According to its proponents, skimming along the top of the atmosphere makes it possible that a proposed new style of aircraft could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours
Wrong. "according to its proponents, skimming...." <== it sounds like the proponents of skimming. Hence, the meaning is not clear.

Hope it helps.

Have gone through the previous posts, still need some help in understanding why option C is incorrect.

The two main problems with options C are as follows:

1. The preposition "with" is used wrongly to depict how something is done (how an aircraft could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours). For answering "how" questions, "by" is an appropriate preposition.

2. The prepositional modifier "with it skimming along the top of the atmosphere." should ideally touch the noun it refers ("style of aircraft") - the modifier wrongly refers to "proponents".

According to its proponents, a proposed new style of aircraft could, by skimming along the top of the atmosphere, fly between most points on Earth in under two hours.

Issue: Modifier | Construction

Analysis:
1. Core of the sentence: "new style of aircraft.. could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours"
2. Modifiers have to be placed in a way that conveys the meaning succinctly.


A. According to its proponents, a proposed new style of aircraft could, by skimming along the top of the atmosphere, fly between most points on Earth in under two hours.

B. By skimming along the top of the atmosphere, proponents of a proposed new style of aircraft say it could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours.
- "By skimming..." incorrectly modifies "proponents", leading to non-sensical meaning

C. A proposed new style of aircraft could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours, according to its proponents, with it skimming along the top of the atmosphere.
- "with it" does not have a clear reference and is too far from aircraft that is supposed to modify

D. A proposed new style of aircraft, say its proponents, could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours because of its skimming along the top of the atmosphere.
- "because of its skimming" is ungrammatical

E. According to its proponents, skimming along the top of the atmosphere makes it possible that a proposed new style of aircraft could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours.
- "According to its proponents" incorrectly modifies "skimming"
- usage of "possible" and "could" is redundant.

Answer: A.

Hi VeritasKarishma, could you please provide a detailed analysis as to why option A is correct?

Most options have modifier errors.

(B) By skimming along the top of the atmosphere, proponents of a proposed new style of aircraft say it could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours.

proponents are not the ones skimming along the top of the atmosphere. The aircraft could fly in under two hours by skimming. The modifier 'By skimming ... " has to tell how the aircraft could fly between most points in under two hours.

(C) A proposed new style of aircraft could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours, according to its proponents, with it skimming along the top of the atmosphere.

"with it skimming along the top ..." is incorrect. It cannot fly with skimming. It flies in under two hours by skimming...

(D) A proposed new style of aircraft, say its proponents, could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours because of its skimming along the top of the atmosphere.

Again, "because of its skimming" is incorrect.

(E) According to its proponents, skimming along the top of the atmosphere makes it possible that a proposed new style of aircraft could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours.

The modifier "according to its proponents" uses the pronoun "its" which should refer to the subject after the comma. So it should be "According to its proponents, a proposed new style of aircraft..." Option (A) corrects this error.

Answer (A)

(A) is the correct OA. But isn't (A) has "its" without a antecedent?

Hi Lakshya, whenever a pronoun appears as part of introductory modifier (According to its proponents in this case), the pronoun almost always refers to the noun/noun-phrase immediately after the introductory modifier (a proposed new style of aircraft in this case).

For example:

According to his detractors, Tendulkar always played for himself and not for his country.

Here, his will refer to Tendulkar.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses the "pronoun" related concept of introductory modifier, its application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.

I dont think there is any reason to eliminate C. I think 'it' in the option C refers to 'a proposed new style' which i think is the correct reference.
Can someone please explain the correct explanation to eliminate C?

You are correct that there is no pronoun reference ambiguity in (C). The only logical antecedent of "it" is "aircraft."

However, (C) is flawed because of the use of "with it" in the closing phrase of the sentence.

By eliminating a modifier, we can more easily see that the use of "with it" results in the sentence's not effectively conveying a logical meaning.

(C) A proposed new style of aircraft could fly between most points on Earth in under two hours, ... with it skimming along the top of the atmosphere.

We can see that that version conveys the illogical meaning that the aircraft could fly with the aircraft skimming along the top of the atmosphere.

(A), which uses "by skimming" rather than "with it skimming," is much better.