Although people in France consume fatty foods at a rate comparable to

This is definitely a tough question, and I can see we have some good debate here. Here's the thing about D) though:

"Passive tense" is not in an error on the GMAT. There are absolutely times when using the passive tense is appropriate. The real grammatical problem with D) is what a few people have noted here:

You cannot say "The rate of fatty foods consumed." If you are going to use "the rate of" then you need to follow it by some kind of action noun such as "consumption," "change," or "inflation." Although "foods" is a noun, it is not an action noun and there is no rate of food.

The following would be grammatically correct (though not ideal):

"The rate of consumption of fatty foods in France..."

In short: Be careful ruling things out for "passive tense."

Brett

The sentence makes a comparison between the rate at which fatty foods are consumed by people in France and the United States and the death rates from heart disease in both the countries and also contrasts the rate of consumption of fatty foods and the death rates.

Option A: Although people in France consume fatty foods at a rate comparable to the United States, their death rates
The option contrasts people with their death rates. The sentence should contrast the rate at which people consume fatty foods with death rates from heart disease. So, Option A can be eliminated.

Option B: Although people in France and the United States consume fatty foods at about the same rate, the death rates
This option contrasts the rate at which people consume fatty foods with ‘the death rates’. So, Option B is correct.

Option C: Although fatty foods are consumed by people in France at a comparable rate to the United States’s, their death rates
Option C is not stylistically graceful. The pronoun ‘their’ after the comma could refer to fatty foods or people. It is an ambiguous pronoun and if it is supposed to refer to ‘fatty foods’, the meaning of the sentence is changed. The option also contains an apostrophe after the noun ‘United States’; this usage is not graceful. So, Option C can also be eliminated.

Option D: Although the rate of fatty foods consumed in France and the United States is about the same, the death rates
While Option D might be grammatically correct, it doesn’t convey the intended meaning. The contrast should not be between the rate of fatty foods and death rates. So, Option D can also be eliminated.

Option E: Although the rate of people consuming fatty foods is about the same in France and the United States, the death rates
The contrast in this option is between the rate of people and death rates. The contrast should be between the rate at which people consume fatty foods and death rates. So, Option E can also be eliminated.

Option B is the most appropriate one.

Jayanthi Kumar.

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-



Choice A: Option A incorrectly compares the rate of consumption to the people of the United States. Moreover, this answer choice incorrectly uses the possessive pronoun "their" in place of the word "the". Thus, Option A is incorrect.

Choice B: Option B is quite concise and conveys the intended meaning of the sentence. Thus, Option B is correct.

Choice C: Option C repeats the error Option A makes, regarding the use of "their". Moreover, the use of passive voice makes this answer choice needlessly wordy and quite awkward. Thus, Option C is incorrect.

Choice D: Option D incorrectly refers to the rate of the foods, rather than to the rate of the consumption of the foods; the resultant meaning is quite illogical. Thus, Option D is incorrect.

Choice E: Option E incorrectly refers to the rate of the people consuming food, rather than to the rate of the consumption of the foods. Thus, Option E is incorrect.

Hence, B is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

I say D. But its btwn D or E. I think we can elim anything with the use of "their" (AC) and elim B b/c we are comparing rates not people.

I think its D over E b/c the rate of people compared to the death rate

vs. the rate of fatty foods consumed vs. the death rates


D just seems more logical.

I think the confusion happens when you try to parallel rate of fatty food consumption to rate of deaths. There is no need to make them parallel. If you try to do so, you will run into the problem that rate and rates are not parallel.
Only A and B are contenders, because C, D, and E are all passive.
A is really $%#ed up. It's comparing people in France to the U.S., instead of people in france to people in the U.S.
B was my pick. Thanks!

Although people in France consume fatty foods at a rate comparable to the United States, their death rates from heart disease are far lower in France.

A. people in France consume fatty foods at a rate comparable to the United States, their
B. people in France and the United States consume fatty foods at about the same rate, the
C. fatty foods are consumed by people in France at a comparable rate to the United States’s, their
D. the rate of fatty foods consumed in France and the United States is about the same, the
E. the rate of people consuming fatty foods is about the same in France and the United States, the

Some thoughts:
1. Apple and Orange can not be compared:
=> This rule eliminates A.
2. Pronoun must have clear and unambiguous antecedent.
Their in C does not have clear reference. C is unnecessarily passive.
3. "The rate of fatty foods consumed":
=> It means that the rate is consumed. So, D is out.
4. "The rate of people consuming":
=> The rate of people is awkward in E.
Answer is B.

"Their" wrong pronoun. Eliminate A and C. Moreover "United States's" in C.
"consuming" sounds awkward. Eliminate E.
Passive voice. Eliminate D.
B: active voice, clear meaning, proper pronoun.

B is the answer.
We can safely eliminate answer choices A and C because of the use of "their" in place of "the".
A- Incorrect because of illogical comparision and the use of "their" which is plainly wrong. Rate is wrongly compared to United States.
C- Incorrect for two reasons: the use of passive voice and the use of "their".
D and E are talking about the rate. It should be "people consuming fatty foods at a rate". Who consumes the fatty food in those coutries? People or animals? see the whole meaning changes.
B coorectly uses the principles of comparison.

Although people in France consume fatty foods at a rate comparable to the United States, their death rates from heart disease are far lower in France.

A. Same
B. people in France amd the United States consume fatty foods at about the same rate, the
C. fatty foods are consumed by people in France at a comparable rate to the United States's, their
D. the rate of fatty foods consumed in France and the United States is about the same, the
E. the rate of people consuming fatty foods is about the same in France and the United States, the




""of people consuming" is incorrect; you can't write "of + NOUN + VERBing" if the action of VERBing is the focus of the preposition" This is from Manhatten website.

So what the explanation is saying is that in the sturucture,
N1 + preposition + N2 + V, if the action of V is the focus of the preposition, N2 has to be possessive, and if N2 itself is the focus of the preposition, N2 doesn't have to be possessive?

Do I understand properly?

So...if I changed this into "the rate of people's consuming fatty food, could E be correct?


Also, in B, how is not using "in" before the U.S. ok? I guess that it might be ambigous because it could mean that people in france and the U.S (not people in the U.S.) consume~.

Modifiers are king on the GMAT. An ability to recognize misplaced modifiers is key to overcoming the recent meaning-centered Sentence Correction questions on the "revised" GMAT, for modifiers and meaning go hand in hand. This means that the more comfortable you are with modifiers, the less active/conscious effort you have to make in understanding the intended meaning of a given SC question.

A) Wrong because a rate (at which people in France consume fatty foods) is being compared to a country (United States)
B) Correct. A comparable item (rate) is being compared between two groups. Correct comparison of like versus like.
C) Wrong Because rate is being compared to an ambiguous item, the United States' something (what exactly? United States' people? United States' rate?) Also, note that saying that "fatty foods are consumed by people in France at a comparable rate to .... is not as correct as saying "fatty foods are consumed by people in France at a rate comparable to ...). "Their" seems to refer to fatty foods or people....another error.
D) Wrong Modifier Error. You can't say "the rate of fatty foods...."; you can say "the rate of consumption...". Note that the "consumed in France...." in "the rate of fatty foods consumed in France and the United States" is only a modifier that is modifying "fatty foods", and this bring us back to why you can't say "the rate of fatty foods [(a noun (phrase) like (fatty) foods cannot be measured by a rate; however a noun like consumption can)] consumed in France and the United States (modifier of fatty foods)"
E) Wrong Another Modifier Error. "the rate of people consuming fatty foods is about the same in France and the United States". You can't say "The rate of people" since "consuming fatty foods is about the same in France and the United States" is merely modifying the noun "people" or "rate of people". The latter is illogical since a "rate (of people or of anything else)" cannot physically consume fatty foods

Cheers,
Der alte Fritz.

Any Manhattan GMAT expert want to give this one a try? I find that comment made by the author insteresting and would clearly benefit for a more thorough analysis from professional perspective

Thanks a lot
Cheers
J

Is this approach valid?

I used the appositive modifier(AP-M) logic for the most part(after COMMA is appositive)

(A) people in France consume fatty foods at a rate comparable to the United States, their (wrong comparison)
(B) people in France and the United States consume fatty foods at about the same rate, the
(C) fatty foods are consumed by people in France at a comparable rate to the United States’s, their (their must refer to US not US's - AP-M)
(D) the rate of fatty foods consumed in France and the United States is about the same, the (death rate after comma is referring to same - AP-M)
(E) the rate of people consuming fatty foods is about the same in France and the United States, the

The construct of the sentence is actually: Dependent clause (Although people in France consume fatty foods at a rate comparable to the United States) + Independent clause (their death rates from heart disease are far lower in France). So, it might not be appropriate to have in mind a blanket rule that everything after comma is appositive.


I don't believe death rate refers to same here. A big problem with this option is that it does not tell us who is consuming fatty foods: It just totally skips the word people.

p.s. Our book SC Nirvana discusses Appositives, their application and examples in significant detail. If you can PM you email, I can send you the corresponding section.

Meaning: People in France consumes at a similar rate compared to people in US, the death rate of people in US is far lower than that of France.

(A) people in France consume fatty foods at a rate comparable to the United States, their
Comparison error -> Incorrect
(B) people in France and the United States consume fatty foods at about the same rate, the
-> Looks good.
(C) fatty foods are consumed by people in France at a comparable rate to the United States’s, their
Only issue I can find is voice is changed. Is there any other error?

(D) the rate of fatty foods consumed in France and the United States is about the same, the
rate is consumed? Not correct "Rate at which" would be better

(E) the rate of people consuming fatty foods is about the same in France and the United States, the
rate of people -> Changes the meaning. The original sentence said people in both countries are consuming fatty food at a similar rate. This sentence says rate of people is same in both the countries.

Hi kinjiGC,

Thanks for posting your doubt here.

Your analysis of this question looks pretty good. Keep up the good work.

There is just one point that I want to add here. Use of "their" is not correct in Choices A and C. The pronoun "their" in both the choices seems to refer to the "people in France". This reference certainly makes the latter part of the sentence illogical.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
SJ

Hello Kyle,hope you are good???Ok...i reside in Nigeria and am preparing to take the GMAT next year..I am using all the Manhattan strategy guides that i ordered from Amazon and i will admit,its been of much help..THANKS TO YOU GUYS..So back to the question,i am not really clear as to what the exact answer is...I am inclined to go with option E as it actually compares the rate of people consuming fatty foods in France to the rate of people consuming fatty foods in the US while option B incorrectly compares People in France and the US (not people in the US)..I just feel that the comparison here is not correct..Correct me if i am wrong..

Glad to hear that we've been able to help with your preparation!

Question E would be nice if it said "the rate of fatty food consumption is about the same...", but as written "the rate of people consuming fatty foods..." doesn't make sense and isn't idiomatic. That leaves us with answer choice B, which I admit depart significantly from the structure we might expect, but it is clearly written. We are talking about people in France and the US and the comparison is that both peoples consume at about the same rate. We understand clearly what is happening in that sentence.

Let me know if you have additional questions here...

KW