Analysts blamed May's sluggish retail sales on unexciting merchandise

OE:
Logical predication; Diction
The sentence must clearly indicate that the inclement weather had
slowed retail sales. Relative pronouns, such as which, should follow as
closely as possible the nouns to which they refer. The adjective usual,
rather than the adverb usually, is required when modifying a noun. The
phrase wetter than usual is correct and concise.
A. The insertion of was is unnecessary and misleading. The referent of
which is unclear, because regions, not weather, is the nearest noun.
B. Correct. This sentence is concise, correct, and idiomatic, and which
has a clear referent, the weather.
C. With the linking verb was, the adjective usual is needed in place of
the adverb usually. The referent of which is unclear because
regions, not weather, is the nearest noun.
D. This construction is unclear and can be seen as unintentionally
indicating that the analysts were colder and wetter. The adjective
usual should be used instead of the adverb usually to modify the
noun weather.
E. This construction is unclear and can be seen as unintentionally
indicating that the analysts were colder and wetter. The insertion of
was is unnecessary and misleading.
The correct answer is B.

This popped up on our Ask Me Anything About SC thread, and I figured I'd repost it here, just in case it helps anybody else.
(Looks like there was a small typo -- the official answer is B, not C. ).

Let's look at some of the differences between (B) and (C).

First, we're trying to compare (1) the weather in May to (2) the usual weather (the weather in May was colder and wetter than the usual weather). In order to modify the implied noun ("weather"), we need the adjective form ("usual"), not the adverb form ("usually").

Also, what does the "which" modify in choice (C)? The regions? The weather? At best, the intended meaning is unclear. And if you think about what it is that actually "slows sales", it's not really the weather itself. Instead, it's the fact that it was colder and wetter than usual in some regions. So to reach the logical meaning, the "which" needs to modify a noun that doesn't really exist in the sentence ("the fact...").

(B) avoids all of those problems: the phrase beginning with "which" clearly modifies "weather", and the meaning is perfectly clear and logical.

Lastly, (C) has an extra pronoun ("it"). Does the "it" refer to the weather? Or is it a non-referential pronoun? Neither interpretation is WRONG, exactly, but the fact that we have a somewhat unclear pronoun gives us one last tiny vote against (C).

So (B) is the better choice.

I hope that helps!

I understand that the correct option is B.
Can you please explain what exactly is modified by the comma + verb-ing modifier "slowing..."?
Does it make sense with the subject or just provides additional information about both the things-weather and unexciting merchandise?

Interesting question anshgupta.

In this case, I would say that the participle phrase ("slowing...") is just modifying "weather" (the subject of the preceding clause).

An additional "meaning hint" is that this specific portion of the sentence talks about "barbecue grills and lawn furniture", typically used during "outdoor activities".

Since weather was colder and wetter than usual, outdoor activities would obviously remain muted.

GMATNinja KarishmaB

(D) being colder and wetter than usually in some regions, slowing
Why D is incorrect?
Why "being" usage is incorrect. I understand that "being" states temporary condition. How to use this info to reject D?

(E) having been colder and wetter than was usual in some regions and slowed
"Having been" also tells us sequence of events. Can we reject E bcz sentence doesn't require any sequencing? (Having been colder, Analyst blame...)
or "having been..." can't be parallel to "slowed"
Thank you for your help!

"being" is a temporary state. It often implies some action which is leading to that state.

He is a jerk.
He is being a jerk. (his actions have been such lately. Otherwise, he may not usually be a jerk. )

The weather was not being cold and wet. The weather wasn't doing anything temporarily to be cold and wet. It just was cold and wet.
Use of 'usually' is also wrong in (D).

"having been' signals the completion of one action leading to another action. No such usage here.
"slowing sales of grills and lawn furniture" is the effect of 'colder and wetter weather. They are not two parallel elements.

B) which was colder and wetter than usual in some regions, slowing

in option B I have a doubt with what "slowing" is modifying here.

"slowing..." is a present participial phrase towards the end of a clause and is preceded by a comma.

Such modifiers modify the subject of the preceding clause.

Here, the subject of the preceding clause is "which" (referring to weather).

So, "slowing.." is modifying "weather".

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses present participial phrases, their application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.

dear avigutman, AndrewN,MartyTargetTestPrep , RonTargetTestPrep,

how can I distinguish. B and D ?

I picked up D because "usually".
the weather is colder and wetter than (the weather) usually was. -- seems to compare the status of this weather with what weather usually is,
while in B
the weather is colder and weather than the usual weather was.-- seems to compare weather with the usual weather

please elaborate.

thanks in advance

Why can't "which" refer to "unexciting merch as well as the weather"?

I eliminated A and C because of "which" making the last sentence an unessential modifier.

in some regions, which slowed

One reason is the potential ambiguity. Does the WHICH refer to these REGIONS, for example.

Hi rishabhchats,

It may not be a good idea to take an option out just because it includes a nonessential modifier. Is there a specific rule that you're trying to apply here?

I'm not sure that's a question we want to ask here. The idea with SC is not to look for all the incorrect ways to read the sentence. Rather, you want to eliminate versions that have outright grammatical errors, incorrect/nonsensical meanings, or unclear meanings. No one reading this would think that the merchandise was colder and wetter, nor is there any structural reason that we must apply the modifier to that part of the sentence. It follows the thing we want to modify, and that meaning makes sense, so we leave it alone. It's not that the modifier couldn't possibly apply to two things, but that there's no reason to read the sentence that way.

Now looking at the "which" modifier in C, we do have a misplacement problem. "Which" should modify a noun, but the REGIONS didn't slow down sales. In fact, no noun did! Sales slowed down because the weather was colder and wetter than usual. That's why we need an adverbial modifier, as in B. Essential/non-essential isn't the issue. (In fact, it almost never is an issue in SC.)

I think it was something I read while going through Magoosh's material regarding the use of "which" and "that". So was trying to decode the sentence from a meaning POV.

Hi rishabhchats,

Got it. Just keep in mind that "nonessential" doesn't normally mean "unimportant". Nonessential modifiers can absolutely be used to convey important information.

Analysts blamed May's sluggish retail sales on unexciting merchandise as well as the weather, colder and wetter than was usual in some regions, which slowed sales of barbecue grills and lawn furniture.

This question is a very good example of when to use "which" in GMAT sentence correction.

considering the statement above colder and wetter than was usual in some (regions), <-- (which).

regions<--which (which always refers to the previous word).

which modifies regions, but read the question carefully does the statement wants to modify the regions which slowed down the sales of barbecue grills and lawn furniture. No, It wants to modify May's sluggish retail sales on unexciting merchandise as well as the weather resulting in slowed sales.

(B) which was colder and wetter than usual in some regions, slowing

Now, let's use the concept we learned and see why option (B) is the correct answer.

Analysts blamed May's sluggish retail sales on unexciting merchandise as well as the (weather), <-- (which) was colder and wetter than usual in some regions, (slowing).......

here which modifies weather. (Based on the concept we learned that which always refers to the previous word and modify it). Since, the statement modifies only weather which is colder and wetter than usual.

The second problem this question challenges you on is modifiers. Instead of which using (slowing) modifies entire Statement (Analysts blamed May's sluggish retail sales on unexciting merchandise as well as the weather. Hence the entire statement makes sense.