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nitiny
not sure about C . :?

Here is C combined with the non underlined portion.

(C) When compared with wolves, which rarely inhabit areas that humans have densely populated, coyotes, smaller, more adaptable relatives of wolves, inhabit suburban and urban areas, where they feed on small prey and forage for food, often operating somewhat nocturnally.

B really looks correct, but is C correct too?

Let's remove the non restrictive modifiers from C. The meaning of the sentence should remain the same.

When compared with wolves, coyotes inhabit suburban and and urban areas.

I believe that now you will see the issue.
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Hi experts,
In my 2 cents,the placement of "wolves' smaller,more adaptable relatives" creates ambiguity.It should be swapped with "coyotes".

What is the flaw in my reasoning?
Please help clarify

Thanks :-)

While one could argue that stylistically speaking the optimal order of the two is "coyotes" first, the truth is that if a writer were to want to emphasized that the coyotes are smaller and more adaptable, the writer might choose to accomplish that end by placing the descriptive appositive "wolves' smaller,more adaptable relatives" before "coyotes".

Does doing so create ambiguity? If so please explain how, as perhaps you and I are talking about different issues.

Notice that actually you could leave "coyotes" out entirely, and the sentence would still work.

"Unlike wolves, which rarely live in areas that humans have densely populated, wolves’ smaller, more adaptable relatives can often be found in both suburban and urban areas, where they feed on small prey and forage for food, often operating somewhat nocturnally."
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(A) Compared with the scarcity of wolves in areas that humans have densely populated, coyotes, smaller, more adaptable relatives of wolves, can be quite numerous in

scarcity of wolves compared with coyotes

(B) Unlike wolves, which rarely live in areas that humans have densely populated, wolves’ smaller, more adaptable relatives, coyotes, can often be found in both
Correct comparison between wolves and coyotes

(C) When compared with wolves, which rarely inhabit areas that humans have densely populated, coyotes, smaller, more adaptable relatives of wolves, inhabit
not sure about this

(D) In contrast with wolves’ habitats, which rarely overlap areas that humans have densely populated, coyotes, wolves’ smaller, more adaptive relatives, often live in
wolves’ habitats compared with coyotes


(E) More than are wolves, which rarely inhabit areas that humans have densely populated, coyotes, which are smaller more adaptive relatives of wolves, inhabit
More than doesn't seems correct to me

not sure about C . :?

No addition to the others. To C: It is not clear what the wolves do. However, the sentence tries to create two contrasting statements (one for the wolves, one for the coyotes). Thus, "Unlike" is needed to achieve a logically flawless predication. Hope, the logic is clear. Otherwise, I can gladly try to explain it differently.
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hello expert
somehow i got the right answer but can you clarify me about what i think for these two options
option C ,why it is wrong(after analyzing above replies) because in option c it is comparing similarity between these two wolves but the additional info about first wolves describes as they rarely inhabit areas that human have densely populated that's why this is wrongly compared .

and in option B it is showing that how earlier wolves are different form coyotes . so right
please correct me if i am missing something

thanks
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hello expert
somehow i got the right answer but can you clarify me about what i think for these two options
option C ,why it is wrong(after analyzing above replies) because in option c it is comparing similarity between these two wolves but the additional info about first wolves describes as they rarely inhabit areas that human have densely populated that's why this is wrongly compared .

and in option B it is showing that how earlier wolves are different form coyotes . so right
please correct me if i am missing something

thanks

In C there is actually no comparison. Look at what C actually says.

"When compared with wolves ... coyotes inhabit ..."

So C conveys that when the are compared with wolves, coyotes do something, "inhabit suburban and urban areas." Get it? Check out these analogs.

When my car is washed, it looks clean.

When winter is coming, birds fly to warmer places.


The above two sentences make sense. However, the below two don't really make sense.

When coyotes are compared with wolves, they inhabit suburban areas.

When coyotes are not compared with wolves, they don't inhabit suburban areas.


So the meaning of C is nonsensical. C seems to compare the wolves and the coyotes but in actuality conveys that whether the coyotes do something depends on whether they are compared with wolves.

Ok, now let's consider B.

Unlike wolves ... coyotes can often be found in suburban and urban areas.

B clearly contrasts wolves and coyotes, conveying that coyotes are unlike wolves, in that wolves are rare in suburban and urban areas, while coyotes can often be found in those types of areas.
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Thank you Marty [GRINNING FACE WITH SMILING EYES], really appreciate it

Sent from my HM 1S using GMAT Club Forum mobile app
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Hi daagh !

I hope you can clarify my doubt in option B (the correct answer) ;)

B. Unlike wolves, which rarely live in areas that humans have densely populated, wolves’ smaller, more adaptable relatives, coyotes, can often be found in both

In B, we have two modifiers smaller and more adaptable that modify relatives and these two modifiers are joined by comma (,). Is is correct?

IMO we only use conjuntion and to join two identites and joining two identities by comma (,) is wrong.

Many thanks!
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leanhdung

We do not need the conjunction and; a comma is sufficient. Please see the link below on coordinate adjectives

https://www.write.com/writing-guides/gen ... djectives/
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leanhdung
What is your doubt in B?

Yeah ;)

In B, we have two modifiers smaller and more adaptable that modify relatives and these two modifiers are joined by comma (,). Is is correct?

IMO we only use conjuntion and to join two identites and joining two identities by comma (,) is wrong.

Please check my above reasoning!

Many thanks!

Also, please have a look at my reasoning at https://gmatclub.com/forum/in-1985-fewe ... l#p1840233 and https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-judge-to ... l#p1839248 :)

Your comments are precious to me :P
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Hello expert,
Can we use 'which' for wolves ? Is it correct?
As which can only be sued for things.

Or is it like best option type of thing, that is why, option b is correct?
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VKat
For the usage notes on 'which' please see the following relevant part in the link given below.

https://www.thefreedictionary.com/which

usage: The relative pronoun which refers to inanimate things and to animals: The house, which we had seen only from a distance, impressed us even more as we approached. The horses which pulled the coach were bay geldings.

Also see
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar ... e-pronouns
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Hello expert,
Can we use 'which' for wolves ? Is it correct?
As which can only be sued for things.

Or is it like best option type of thing, that is why, option b is correct?

Even though wolves are in some sense people, the convention is that "which" is used to refer to animals other than humans, and "who" and "whom" are used only to refer to humans, or potentially to other beings considered by most to be "people". For instance, an alien life form interacting with humans might be considered a person in some kind of conventional sense, and so referring to the alien would be done by using "who" or "whom". So the convention followed by the GMAT is to use "which" in referring to animals other than humans.

The reason B is correct is that it the only answer choice that logically compares wolves and coyotes. If you look closely, you will see that none of the other choices actually makes a logical comparison.

So B is not merely the best answer. It is the only answer that makes sense.
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How can B be correct when "cayotes" don't even has a verb ? unless I'm missing something
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How can B be correct when "cayotes" don't even has a verb ? unless I'm missing something

In B, "coyotes" serves as an appositive modifying "relatives".

So the subject and verb of the clause are "relatives" and "can .. be found".

"relatives ... can... be found"

"wolves' smaller, more adaptable relatives, coyotes, can often be found'
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MartyMurray

(B) Unlike wolves, which rarely live in areas that humans have densely populated, wolves’ smaller, more adaptable relatives, coyotes, can often be found in both

sentence breakdown
Sentence begins with "unlike wolves" so I ask myself, what is unlike wolves ? and the only answer comes to my mind is coyotes
"which rarely live in areas that humans have densely populated" relative clause giving more info about wolves
"wolves’ smaller, more adaptable relatives" in my mind is giving more info about coyotes
"can often be found in both" I concur with your explanation that this sentence contains verb but the comma before it ruins everything

I just feel like its poorly written sentence, below answer choice would make more sense to me :-

Unlike wolves, which rarely live in areas that humans have densely populated, coyotes, wolves’ smaller and more adaptable relatives, can often be found in both
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MartyMurray

(B) Unlike wolves, which rarely live in areas that humans have densely populated, wolves’ smaller, more adaptable relatives, coyotes, can often be found in both

sentence breakdown
Sentence begins with "unlike wolves" so I ask myself, what is unlike wolves ? and the only answer comes to my mind is coyotes
"which rarely live in areas that humans have densely populated" relative clause giving more info about wolves
"wolves’ smaller, more adaptable relatives" in my mind is giving more info about coyotes
"can often be found in both" I concur with your explanation that this sentence contains verb but the comma before it ruins everything

I just feel like its poorly written sentence, below answer choice would make more sense to me :-

Unlike wolves, which rarely live in areas that humans have densely populated, coyotes, wolves’ smaller and more adaptable relatives, can often be found in both

Yes, that version is better than B.

Still, I think B basically works, and none of the other answer choices work at all.

That kind of setup is what you will often see in GMAT SC questions, four choices that don't work at all and a "correct" answer that may not be the best way of putting something but gets the job done.
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A – compares “scarcity of wolves” with “coyotes”

B – correctly compares wolves and coyotes

C – “When compared” does not fit here. It makes it sound like the coyotes behavior is dependent on them being compared to wolves.

D – “wolves habitats” are compared to “coyotes”

E – “More than are wolves” doesn’t make any sense.
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