My answer is C.

A. based... modifies pundits rather than their predictions.
B.IT has no antecedent
C.Correct
D.basis for what?
E. wordy

Option C

A)Based on the candidates' performances in the televised debates
I can't see a major error, but it feels like they (pundits) are based somewhere, not that their assessments are based in a reason.

B)Basing it on the candidates' performances in the televised debates
Pronoun "it" is misused. It should be plural, and the antecedent is not clear

C) Basing their assessments on the candidates' performances in the televised debates
Correct

D) With the candidates' performances in the televised debates used as a basis
Overly wordy and unidiomatic

E) By the assessments of the candidates' performances in the televised debates that they made
Same as D)
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NOTES: pundits are not based on, their assesments are [based on].

Ans (C)

IMO C is correct

Basing their assessments on the candidates' performances in the televised debates

Other options have errors A tense error
B has pronoun error 'it'


Based on the candidates' performances in the televised debates, many pundits predicted that the rival was likely to score an upset defeat over the incumbent senator.
C has meaning error
E uses 'they' referrrant error..

A. Based on the candidates' performances in the televised debates
B. Basing it on the candidates' performances in the televised debates
C. Basing their assessments on the candidates' performances in the televised debates
D. With the candidates' performances in the televised debates used as a basis
E. By the assessments of the candidates' performances in the televised debates that they made

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Ans:c
a)Pundits are based on the candidates' performances--wrong modifier
b)It- no proper antecedent
c)Correct
d)debates used as a basis--used as a basis modifies debates.it should modify the candidates' performances.
e)candidates'--they can not be used as a pronoun here--it should be there as candidates' is a possessive case

The best answer is C.

Based on the candidates' performances in the televised debates, many pundits predicted that the rival was likely to score an upset defeat over the incumbent senator.

A can be eliminated because many pundits cannot be based on the candidates' performance. The opening modifier is intended to modify the predictions made by the pundits.
B can be eliminated because there is no logical antecedent for the pronoun it in B.
D is wrong because with is a preposition and it should be followed by a noun. The object of the preposition with should not act as a subject of a verbed or verbing. The structure with + noun + verbing/verbed is always wrong. In D we have with + the candidates' performances in the televised debates + used. Clearly wrong.
E can be eliminated because the pronoun they has no logical antecedent.
C is left as the best answer out of the lot with the opening modifier rightly modifying many pundits.

A. Based on the candidates' performances in the televised debates
B. Basing it on the candidates' performances in the televised debates
C. Basing their assessments on the candidates' performances in the televised debates
D. With the candidates' performances in the televised debates used as a basis
E. By the assessments of the candidates' performances in the televised debates that they made

I don't like any of the answers posted here. Taking a stab.
A and C are the final two for me.

Looking at C, I can't find any issues.
For A,
"Based on ..." CAN modify either the pundits or the action (predicted) here.
From the context we know that pundits is not what the modifier is modifying.
So, it must be modifying 'predicted'. But that means the modified action (predicted) and modifier action (based on) both must have
the same doer.
Since pundits can't 'based on...', the verb-ed modifier isn't correctly modifying action either. Hence this is wrong.

You can't simply say 'verb-ed' modifier always modifies the nearest noun.

A. Based on the candidates' performances in the televised debates -- Incorrect. Dangling modifier. "Based on..debates" should modify the assessment, but in this choice, it seems to be modifying "many pundits". Eliminate.

B. Basing it on the candidates' performances in the televised debates -- "it" has no clear referent and this isn't exactly a case of placeholder pronoun as is evident when you review choice C. Eliminate.

C. Basing their assessments on the candidates' performances in the televised debates -- Fine. Errors in A and B have been fixed in this choice.

D. With the candidates' performances in the televised debates used as a basis -- "with" should only be used to provide additional information about the subject in the main clause. In this answer choice, the subject of the 2 clauses is different. Eliminate.

E. By the assessments of the candidates' performances in the televised debates that they made -- Wordy. Doesnt convey the meaning clearly. Just bad choice. Eliminate.

GMAT grammar is very technical. Although A makes it clear thoroughly what the sentence intends to convey BUT technically C is right.


Pundits (human) can't be based on performance. But their assessment or judgement etc can. 🙂🙂

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GMAT grammar is very technical. Although A makes it clear thoroughly what the sentence intends to convey BUT technically C is right.


Pundits (human) can't be based on performance. But their assessment or judgement etc can. 🙂🙂

Posted from my mobile device

Answer C.

A. based on modifies pundits rather than their predictions.
B.usage of it, has no antecedent
D. With issue unidiomatic
E. wordy

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KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Step 1: Read the Original Sentence Carefully, Looking for Errors
When a modifying phrase at the beginning of the sentence is underlined, your job is to make sure
that the subject of the phrase is what follows the comma. If you read this sentence aloud, you might
not have noticed anything because this is a very common error in spoken English. But the subject
following the comma is “pundits,” and the modifying phrase “Based on the candidates’ performances
in the televised debates” refers not to the pundits but to their predictions. This is a big error.

Step 2: Scan and Group the Answer Choices
There aren’t many obvious splits here, but the opening phrase followed by a comma tells you to
eliminate choices based on how they handle the modification error.

Step 3: Eliminate Choices Until Only One Remains
(A) should be eliminated because of the modification error just mentioned. (B) is wrong because the
pronoun “it” is misused here, as the reference is unclear and the number should be plural. (D) and
(E) are awkward and unidiomatic. (E) is also wrong because it is not clear what “they” refers to.
Only (C) is correct, because the subject of the phrase is “pundits,” as it should be, and this choice
also avoids pronoun reference problems.

Based on the candidates' performances in the televised debates, many pundits predicted that the rival was likely to score an upset defeat over the incumbent senator.

A is incorrect because the pundits predictions were based on the candidates' performances, not the pundits themselves. C fixes this error and is the correct answer.

A. Based on the candidates' performances in the televised debates
B. Basing it on the candidates' performances in the televised debates
C. Basing their assessments on the candidates' performances in the televised debates
D. With the candidates' performances in the televised debates used as a basis
E. By the assessments of the candidates' performances in the televised debates that they made
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