Bears are sometimes viewed as vicious predators, but they

Question

Bears are sometimes viewed as vicious predators, but they are actually omnivores, not strict carnivores, and their diet is simple, consisting mostly of fruits, nuts and berries, eggs, and grub worms,  and salmon occasionally .

A) and salmon occasionally

B) and salmon is occasionally

C) with salmon as occasional

D) salmon an occasional meal

E) with salmon as an occasional meal

Source- Grockit

piyatiwari · Answer

E is right.

A and salmon occasionally - and wrong
B and salmon is occasionally - is occasionally doesn't make sense
C with salmon as occasional - incomplete
D salmon an occasional meal - no conjuctive word, wrong
E with salmon as an occasional meal - uses and and completes the sentence.

rajeevrks27 · Answer

and salmon occasionally   should be expressed a little contrast to the eating habits that are frequent.
II-ism is required to be followed till worms.
  with salmon as an occasional meal   is correctly completing the sentence.
so i am with E

MSoS · Answer

Only E completes the sentence correctly

saikarthikreddy · Answer

Salomon occasionally is not gramatically correct.Only E is right .

AJ21 · Answer

Bears are sometimes viewed as vicious predators, but they are actually omnivores, not strict carnivores, and their diet is simple, consisting mostly of fruits, nuts and berries, eggs, and grub worms,  and salmon occasionally.

A. and salmon occasionally
B. and salmon is occasionally
C. with salmon as occasional
D. salmon an occasional meal
E. with salmon as an occasional meal

On the forum related to this question there was disagreement regarding the answer. 
Please let me know what you think.

Thanks in advance,

Saabs · Answer

Please re-structure the original question (underline the part in the original sentence, structure the options, etc.)

From all the answers, C and E actually say that the salmon belongs to the worms as one meal, so worms + salmon = occasional meal.

jlo1234 · Answer

Bears are sometimes viewed as vicious predators, but they are actually omnivores, not strict carnivores, and their diet is simple, consisting mostly of fruits, nuts and berries, eggs, and grub worms,  and salmon occasionally .

Here's my take on the subject, if I'm understanding anything wrong please correct me:

The comma + connector (i.e. FANBOYS) joins two independent clauses together. Here, the independent clauses in this sentence are:

1. Bears are sometimes viewed as vicious predators. 
2. They are actually omnivores, not strict carnivores. 
3. Their diet is simple, consisting mostly of fruits, nuts and berries, eggs, and grub worms. 
4. Salmon occasionally.

The last independent clause is the underlined portion and is incorrect because 1) it cannot function as an independent clause because there is no verb associated with the subject and 2) it doesn't present any logical or complete meaning. Therefore A is incorrect. Connector Error.

A. and salmon occasionally   Incorrect (see reason above).

B. and salmon is occasionally   To me, this is still a connector error because it still doesn't present any logical or complete meaning. The salmon is occasionally what? Eliminate.

C. with salmon as occasional   For me, the connector error is gone since the "with" changes the independent clause to a prepositional phrase. Now, "with salmon as occasional" seems to modify "their diet is simple". However, this is an incorrect use of "as". Here, "as" cannot present the function of salmon ("salmon as occasional"? doesn't make sense), and no other uses of "as" makes sense in this context. Comparison Error. Eliminate.

D. salmon an occasional meal   This to me is a meaning error because it doesn't present any logical or complete meaning (again). "Salmon an occasional meal" doesn't have any logical meaning in this context. Eliminate.

E. with salmon as an occasional meal  Here, the use of "as" is correct: it's presenting the function or role of salmon in the bears' diet, i.e. "an occasional meal". The preposition "with" links this prepositional phrase to "their diet is simple", providing further information in regards to the bears' diet. Correct answer choice.

If anyone can please correct/add to my understanding that'd be great!

Nrj0601 · Answer

Official Explanation

Read the Original Sentence Carefully, Looking for Errors:

The intention of the sentence is to convey several of the items that "mostly" comprise the diet of bears and the one item, salmon, that is only an occasional part of that diet. The sentence as written incorrectly modifies a noun, salmon, with the adverb occasionally. Eliminate (A).

Scan and Group the Answer Choices:

There is no obvious pattern in the remaining choices, so analyze them carefully one by one.

Eliminate Choices Until Only One Remains:

Eliminate (B). While it correctly uses "occasionally" to modify the verb "is," it does not convey a complete idea.

Eliminate (C) and (D). They also do not convey complete ideas.

(E) is correct. It correctly separates "salmon," the occasional meal, from the items in the bear's usual diet by the use of the conjunction "with." It also properly structures "salmon as an occasional meal" as a noun phrase parallel to the other nouns in the list of diet items.

TAKEAWAY: Adjectives modify nouns, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives.

Bears are sometimes viewed as vicious predators, but they

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Bears are sometimes viewed as vicious predators, but they

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

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Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards