As a result of having nostrils, called nares, connected to olfactory

Question

As a result of having  nostrils, called nares, connected to olfactory bulbs that go back to the brain, sharks are capable of smelling even a few molecules of blood in the water.

(A) As a result of having

(B) As a result of their having

(C) Because they have

(D) Because of having

(E) Because of their having

mnm21234 · Accepted Answer

As a result of having  nostrils, called nares, connected to olfactory bulbs that go back to the brain, sharks are capable of smelling even a few molecules of blood in the water.

(A) As a result of having

(B) As a result of their having

(C) Because they have

(D) Because of having

(E) Because of their having

A=D and B=E, therefore, C is the only correct choice. It looks like some people are having trouble eliminating A. Try rearranging the sentence. 
"Sharks are capable of smelling even a few molecules of blood in the water as a result of having nostrils"
"Sharks are capable of smelling even a few molecules of blood in the water because they have nostrils"

sayantanc2k · Answer

Yes, I could not find any convincing reasoning why  as a result of + gerund  is wrong. Therefore I would approach the question in a different way:

V-A-N rule (Manhattan GMAT SC strategy guide) - verbs preferred to adjectives, adjectives preferred to nouns. The following examples are from the Manhattan SC guide:

Wordy: Her example was an inspiration (noun) to me. Better: Her example inspired (verb) me.
Wordy: They made a reference (noun) to the strike. Better: They referred (verb) to the strike.

In our example: 
 having nostrils  -  having  is a gerund, i.e. a noun (gerund is a verb used as a noun)
 have : a verb

As per V-A-N rule, verbs are preferred to nouns. Therefore, I would go with C.

A word of caution: V-A-N rule is to be used as a last resort,when other more serious grammatical or meaning errors cannot be identified.

DenisSh · Answer

KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION:

This is an example of a Sentence Correction question that explicitly and almost exclusively tests expression. As a result of having is not grammatically offensive, and it works fine with the rest of the sentence, but it is rather wordy and indirect. (B), (D), and (E) share the same basic structure with the imprecise of having expression. An active sentence or phrase starts with the subject (they) and then moves to the verb (have) and object (nostrils). Active expression is generally the most effective expression on the GMAT; always choose it when presented with a grammatically correct option as well.  (C) is the best option because it is the most active and the most clear.

rthothad · Answer

A pronoun can never come before the noun it refers. Check out https://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/pronouns.htm

Paul · Answer

Pronouns do not have to refer to something coming earlier in the passage, they can refer to things coming later in the passage also. rthothad, you missed what the link said: "A pronoun  usually  refers to something earlier in the text..." This is not the case when the sentence starts off with an introductory modifier. The passage here needs a personal pronoun in the earlier part, the dependent clause(also introductory modifier) to refer to "sharks" of the independent clause, the latter part.

A and D do not have such a pronoun to link the subject of the introductory modifier to the subject of the latter part "sharks". B has an improper pronoun reference. E improperly use possessive pronoun to refer to "sharks"; we need personal pronoun!

reply2spg · Answer

IMO C...they clearly refer Sharks

AryamaDuttaSaikia · Answer

"Having" cannot be used in possession. Hence "having nostrils" is an incorrect usage. There is a cause and effect pattern in the sentence and "because" is the preferred entry point. Hence the only answer left is "C".

AryamaDuttaSaikia · Answer

The pronoun " they" in this sentence is not ambiguous. It refers to the Sharks. If you skip the portion between the two commas from "called" to "brain" then "they" refers to sharks. Hence you can directly connect the pronoun to the subject. Remember the main subject of the sentence cannot be between two commas.

thangvietname · Answer

the fuction of "doing " in the sentence is hard point of grammar but most gmat expert can not explain fully

NikitaVChoudhary · Answer

According to the meaning of the sentence, As Sharks have nostrils, modifier..,connected to olfactory bulbs that go back to the brain, Sharks are capable of smelling 
even a few molecules of blood in the water.

Therefore Correct Answer should have "because", A and B are gone 
In D, and E the use of having is incorrect.
The correct answer is C.

twoface07 · Answer

The sentence can be simplified as above. The sentence intends to describe an attribute of sharks  because  they have nostrils (or nares).

- The use of the possessive pronoun 'their' is incorrectly used here. Eliminate (B) and (E).
- Eliminate (A) and (D) due to lack of a pronoun that can refer to the antecedent 'sharks'.

The answer is choice (C). A way to verify this choice is by rearranging the sentence:
"Sharks are capable of smelling even a few molecules of blood in the water because they have nostrils called nares".

VerbalBot · Answer

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As a result of having nostrils, called nares, connected to olfactory

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

As a result of having nostrils, called nares, connected to olfactory

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