Last visit was: 27 Apr 2026, 06:29 It is currently 27 Apr 2026, 06:29
Home
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
   1   2   3 
User avatar
desertEagle
User avatar
Joined: 14 Jun 2014
Last visit: 03 Aug 2025
Posts: 550
Own Kudos:
348
Given Kudos: 413
Posts: 550
Kudos: 348
Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required 09 Aug 2022, 04:39
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
helpmeongmat
Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required to survive in the electronics industry, an industry marked by rapid innovation and volatile demand, such firms tend to be very large.


(A) to survive

(B) of firms to survive

(C) for surviving

(D) for survival

(E) for firms’ survival
Show more

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Answer to Question 181
The subject of the main clause (such firms) presumes a prior reference to the firms in question. Furthermore,
the logical subject of to survive and the logical complement of required should be made explicit. All three
demands are met by B, the best choice. Choices A, C, and D, with no reference to the firms in question, meet
none of these demands. In choice E, the illogical and awkward use of a prepositional phrase (for firms' survival)
buries the needed initial reference to firms in a possessive modifier.
User avatar
DesiMozart
User avatar
Joined: 10 Dec 2020
Last visit: 27 Nov 2022
Posts: 19
Own Kudos:
3
Given Kudos: 64
Location: India
Schools: ISB '23
GMAT 1: 650 Q49 V31
GRE 1: Q164 V157
GPA: 3.45
Schools: ISB '23
GMAT 1: 650 Q49 V31
GRE 1: Q164 V157
Posts: 19
Kudos: 3
Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required 16 Oct 2022, 18:45
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
helpmeongmat
Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required to survive in the electronics industry, an industry marked by rapid innovation and volatile demand, such firms tend to be very large.


(A) to survive

(B) of firms to survive

(C) for surviving

(D) for survival

(E) for firms’ survival
Show more

Can someone please explain how this question tests pronouns?
avatar
Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required 16 Oct 2022, 23:22
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
helpmeongmat
Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required to survive in the electronics industry, an industry marked by rapid innovation and volatile demand, such firms tend to be very large.


(A) to survive

(B) of firms to survive

(C) for surviving

(D) for survival

(E) for firms’ survival
Show more

In the non underlined part, stem uses the words, 'such firms'. Now we can use such X only when we have mentioned X before in the sentence, and stem hasn't mentioned firms anywhere!
SO correct option needs to mention firms, this alone eliminates, A,C and D.
In option E, they have used the possessive form of firm. so we cannot actually use such firms with a possessive mention, hence option E is out!
We are left with only 1 option.
Ans-B.
User avatar
ExpertsGlobal5
User avatar
Experts' Global Representative
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Last visit: 27 Apr 2026
Posts: 6,257
Own Kudos:
6,225
Given Kudos: 45
Location: India
GMAT Date: 11-01-2019
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 6,257
Kudos: 6,225
Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required 18 Oct 2022, 04:35
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
DesiMozart
helpmeongmat
Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required to survive in the electronics industry, an industry marked by rapid innovation and volatile demand, such firms tend to be very large.


(A) to survive

(B) of firms to survive

(C) for surviving

(D) for survival

(E) for firms’ survival

Can someone please explain how this question tests pronouns?
Show more

Hello DesiMozart,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, this question test pronouns through its use of the phrase "such firms"; as "such firms" is a pronoun phrase, due to its use of "such", the correct answer choice must include the noun "firms" in order to give the pronoun phrase a logical referent.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
User avatar
prayassingh21
User avatar
Joined: 23 Sep 2020
Last visit: 03 Sep 2024
Posts: 1
Given Kudos: 405
Posts: 1
Kudos: 0
Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required 24 Jan 2023, 23:05
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
GyanOne
The mention of 'such firms' later in the sentence tells us that there must be a reference to the firms earlier on in the sentence. For this reason, A, C, and D are out.

Between B and E, B wins because it clearly mentions the firms for 'such firms' to refer back to this later on. In E, only the firms' survival is mentioned - not the firms themselves - so 'such firms' has no precedent to refer back to.

Clearly B.
Show more

This is correct answer in one of the OG SC question...Here also 'she' has no precedent to refer back to ....how its possible
Although Elizabeth Barrett Browning's success was later overshadowed by that of her husband, among her contemporaries she was considered the better poet.
User avatar
Shataqshi
User avatar
Joined: 13 Jul 2019
Last visit: 15 Jun 2025
Posts: 6
Given Kudos: 4
Posts: 6
Kudos: 0
Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required 26 Jan 2023, 06:30
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi, I was reading a post on how pronouns CAN refer to possessive pronouns on the GMAT. In this question, can't E be the correct answer then?
User avatar
Oppenheimer1945
User avatar
Joined: 16 Jul 2019
Last visit: 21 Apr 2026
Posts: 783
Own Kudos:
664
 [1]
Given Kudos: 236
Location: India
Schools: INSEAD '26 (D) ISB '27 (D) IIMB '26 (A) IIMA '26 (A) HEC '26 (D) LBS '26 IESE '27 (D) Fuqua '27 (WL) Tepper '27 (WL)
GMAT Focus 1: 645 Q90 V76 DI80
GPA: 7.81
Schools: INSEAD '26 (D) ISB '27 (D) IIMB '26 (A) IIMA '26 (A) HEC '26 (D) LBS '26 IESE '27 (D) Fuqua '27 (WL) Tepper '27 (WL)
GMAT Focus 1: 645 Q90 V76 DI80
Posts: 783
Kudos: 664
 [1]
Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required 28 Jan 2023, 01:04
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
egmat karishma
I can only think of A, C, D as good options to mark. I can never think of B in the first place. Is it only idiom based question? How to tackle such similar questions?
User avatar
DmitryFarberMPrep
User avatar
Manhattan Prep Instructor
Joined: 22 Mar 2011
Last visit: 03 Mar 2026
Posts: 3,005
Own Kudos:
8,627
 [1]
Given Kudos: 57
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 745 Q86 V90 DI85
Posts: 3,005
Kudos: 8,627
 [1]
Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required 28 Jan 2023, 11:21
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
samagra21


If you look through the commentary above, you can see that the key issue is not about idioms at all. B and E are the only possible choices because we need the word "firms" to justify the use of "such firms" later in the sentence. In general, you can catch things like this by asking why some new word is introduced in only some of the answer choices. Could it be serving a purpose or fixing a problem? This happens fairly often.
User avatar
DmitryFarberMPrep
User avatar
Manhattan Prep Instructor
Joined: 22 Mar 2011
Last visit: 03 Mar 2026
Posts: 3,005
Own Kudos:
8,627
 [3]
Given Kudos: 57
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 745 Q86 V90 DI85
Posts: 3,005
Kudos: 8,627
 [3]
Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required 28 Jan 2023, 11:24
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Shataqshi

That's right--many people are citing the old "possessive poison" rule that the GMAT does not follow. This question is old enough that the rule may have been in play at the time it came out. However, there's another reason to cut E. It doesn't clarify who's spending the money. It just says that a lot of money needs to be spent "for firms' survival." This could be money spent by the government or by private research institutions for all we know, or it could be that if ONE company spends a lot, the rest can survive. B more clearly indicates that each firm needs to spend a large amount to survive.
User avatar
Raman109
User avatar
Joined: 17 Aug 2009
Last visit: 28 Jul 2025
Posts: 705
Own Kudos:
212
Given Kudos: 33
Posts: 705
Kudos: 212
Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required 08 Oct 2023, 05:31
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Others are an easy elimination. Between B and E - "require for" is a commonly used idiom (thus, we may fall into the trap)" as the "firm's" is possessive as against what we need is "firms." B has it, but being a non-native speaker, sometimes it is difficult to choose a wired-looking option - I'll say if you don't know something - maybe it is because you did not hear it. It may not necessarily be wrong. For non-native speakers, do a ton of quality reading. GMAT (or, for that matter, any other quality exam such as CAT in India) punishes the attitude of just relying on your ear. Now, back to the key point in our question
1. "require for" usage - It indicates something necessary or essential for a particular purpose or outcome. It suggests that a certain condition or qualification is needed to achieve a specific goal or fulfill a certain requirement.
E.g., A bachelor's degree is required for this job position. A valid ID is required for entry into the concert venue.

2. "require of" usage - It is used to express a demand or explanation placed on someone or something. It implies that someone is asking or expecting a specific action, behavior, or quality from another person or entity.
E.g., I require of you to complete the assignment by tomorrow. The job requires of its employees a high level of attention to detail. The coach requires of the team to attend practice regularly.
User avatar
rajidraadkhan
User avatar
Joined: 22 Dec 2023
Last visit: 02 Sep 2024
Posts: 3
Given Kudos: 7
Posts: 3
Kudos: 0
Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required 02 Feb 2024, 11:11
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
bmwhype2
helpmeongmat
Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required to survive in the electronics industry, an industry marked by rapid innovation and volatile demand, such firms tend to be very large.

(A) to survive
(B) of firms to survive
(C) for surviving
(D) for survival
(E) for firms’ survival

Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required to survive in the electronics industry, an industry marked by rapid innovation and volatile demand, such firms tend to be very large.

an industry marked by rapid innovation and volatile demand is a summative/resumptive modifier. we can pretty much ignore it since it does not add to the meaning of this stem.

therefore we only have this to consider:
Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required to survive in the electronics industry, such firms tend to be very large.

Normally this would be correct: (note the omission of SUCH)
Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required to survive in the electronics industry, firms tend to be very large.

however, SUCH signifies to the reader that it is referring back to firms, which is not mentioned in the dependent clause.
Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required to survive in the electronics industry, such firms tend to be very large.

therefore, we need to mention firms in the dependent clause.
Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required of firms to survive in the electronics industry, such firms tend to be very large.
Show more

I see just one sentence here with 2 modifier. Where do you see a dependent clause? "Because of" is a phrase marker.

Posted from my mobile device
   1   2   3 
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7390 posts
AbhishekP220108
507 posts
bhanu29
361 posts