abansal1805 wrote:
Believed to have originated from local hospitals, oceangoing garbage scows dump medical refuse that may provide an explanation for the existence of unacceptable levels of pollution at several local beaches.
A. Believed to have originated from local hospitals, oceangoing garbage scows dump medical refuse that
B. Oceangoing garbage scows dump medical refuse that is believed to have originated from local hospitals, and this
C. Oceangoing garbage scows dump medical refuse, believed to have originated from local hospitals, that
D. Originated, it is believed, from local hospitals, an oceangoing garbage scow dumps medical refuse and
E. Originating, it is believed, from local hospitals, oceangoing garbage scows dump medical refuse and
Arvind42 wrote:
generis GMATNinja Is the usage of "This" to refer to the clause correct? Can a preposition refer to an entire clause? if yes, then which ones can refer to the entire clause.
Hi
Arvind42 , up to now, GMAC has not accepted the use of
this to refer to a clause or the idea or event described by that clause.
Some grammar constructions have no gray areas.
Subjects and verbs must agree.
Fragments or comma splices are incorrect.
We cannot predict with certainty what GMAC will do next in areas that occasionally
become gray areas.
Will GMAC publish a question in 2021 in which "this" is allowed to refer to a clause?
Highly doubtful. But I cannot give you a guarantee.
I am 99 percent certain that GMAC will not allow THIS to stand for a clause.
For example, in one official question that has appeared year after year in the guide, the word
this is used as it is in (B) here,
and the official explanation contains exactly one sentence about (D): The referent of THIS is unclear.
Spoiler alert: One incorrect answer to the official question just referenced is revealed.
In this official question (
OG 2020 #879),
HERE, the OE rejects (D) solely because "[the word] THIS has no clear referent." In that option D,
this is supposed to refer to the facts described in the clause.
The rule seems clear enough.
Dmitry Farber, above, wrote a great answer.
This question is not very GMAT-like.The other four options contain errors that are worse than the "this" error.
Takeaway: I am 99 percent that GMAC would not allow "this" to stand for an entire clause or an unstated idea.
In this question, we choose option (B) despite what is almost certain error in its use of "this" because (B) is the best of the lot.
I hope that analysis helps.
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