Currently 26 billion barrels a year, world consumption of oil is risin

Question

Currently 26 billion barrels a year,  world consumption of oil is rising at a rate of  2 percent annually.

(A) world consumption of oil is rising at a rate of

(B) the world is consuming oil at an increasing rate of

(C) the world’s oil is being consumed at the increasing rate of

(D) the rise in the rate of the world’s oil consumption is

(E) oil is consumed by the world at an increasing rate of

Source :  GMATPrep Default Exam Pack

What is the reason for B being incorrect ?

Q-2)  In California today, Hispanics under the age of eighteen account for more than 43%, compared with a decade ago, when it was about 35% . 
A. In California today, Hispanics under the age of eighteen account for more than 43%, compared with a decade ago, when it was about 35%.
B. Of the Californians under the age of eighteen, today more than 43% of them are Hispanic, compared with a decade ago, when it was about 35%. 
C. Today, more than 43% of Californians under the age of eighteen are Hispanic, compared with about 35% decade ago. 
D. Today, compared to a decade ago, Californians who are Hispanics under the age of eighteen account for more than 43%, whereas it was about 35%. 
E. Today, Hispanics under the age of eighteen in California account for more than 43%, unlike a decade ago, when it was about 35%.

OA: C. Why is E Incorrect ?

Thanks,
GR

soumanag · Accepted Answer

Modifier:

A. world consumption of oil is rising at a rate of -  "Currently 26 billion barrels a year" modifies the current consumption of oil 
B. the world is consuming oil at an increasing rate of -  "Currently 26 billion barrels a year" - modifies "the world" 
C. the world’s oil is being consumed at the increasing rate of -  "Currently 26 billion barrels a year" - modifies "the worlds oil" 
D. the rise in the rate of the world’s oil consumption is -  "Currently 26 billion barrels a year" - modifies "the rate of rise" 
E. oil is consumed by the world at an increasing rate of -  "Currently 26 billion barrels a year" - modifies "the oil"

Answer : A

GMATPill · Answer

You need to understand framework #3.

Consider: 
1) "currently 26 billion barrels a year, world oil consumption blah blah blah."

2) World oil consumption, currently 26 billion barrels a year, blah blah blah."

3) World oil consumption blah blah blah, currently 26 billion barrels a year."

Notice there are 3 different places you can position the descriptive phrase "currently 26 billion barrels a year." However, notice #3 does not make sense! Why? because from a sentence structure perspective, that phrase is structured so it describes the word nearest the comma to the left of it--which is NOT oil consumption.

But in #2, "currently 26 billion barrels a year" correctly is positioned with a comma to the left and the correct subject "world oil consumption."

Likewise in #1, "currently 26 billion barrels a year" correctly describes the word right next to the comma to the right of it--"world oil consumption"

So whenever you have a descriptive phrase, it must describe the word nearest the comma. The ONLY exception is when you have an "-ing" verb, in which case it must describe the subject of the sentence. But in this case you have a descriptive phrase: "currently 26 billion barrels a year" and it is positioned so it describes whatever word is to the right of the comma.

If you go through all the answer choices, only choice A has a word that makes sense with the phrase "currently 26 billion barrels a year"---the other answer choices have words that don't make sense with that phrase.

So you need to identify the structure of the sentence, look at how that structure dictates what describes what and identify which answer choice makes sense. I can only tell you so much via text, for more info check out the GMAT Pill Study Method.

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem: 
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that the world consumption of oil is currently at 26 billion barrels a year, and it is rising at a rate of 2 percent annually.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers

• In a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.

A:   Correct.  This answer choice correctly uses "Currently 26 billion barrels a year" to modify "world consumption of oil", conveying the intended meaning - that the world's   consumption of oil   is currently at 26 billion barrels a year. Moreover, Option A uses the phrase "rising at a rate of 2 percent annually", conveying the intended meaning - that   the amount of oil   that the world is consuming is increasing at a   stable   rate.

B:  This answer choice incorrectly uses "Currently 26 billion barrels a year" to modify "the world", illogically implying that   the world   is currently at 26 billion barrels a year; the intended meaning is that the world's   consumption of oil   is currently at 26 billion barrels a year; remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Moreover, Option B further alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "increasing rate of 2 percent annually"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that   the rate   at which the world is consuming oil is increasing; the intended meaning is that   the amount of oil   that the world is consuming is increasing at a   stable   rate.

C:  This answer choice incorrectly uses "Currently 26 billion barrels a year" to modify "the world’s oil", incorrectly implying that   the world's oil   is currently at 26 billion barrels a year; the intended meaning is that the world's   consumption of oil   is currently at 26 billion barrels a year; remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Moreover, Option C further alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "increasing rate of 2 percent annually"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that   the rate   at which the world is consuming oil is increasing; the intended meaning is that   the amount of oil   that the world is consuming is increasing at a   stable   rate.

D:  This answer choice incorrectly uses "Currently 26 billion barrels a year" to modify "the rise in the rate", incorrectly implying that   the rate   at which the world's consumption of oil is rising is currently at 26 billion barrels a year; the intended meaning is that the world's   consumption of oil itself   is currently at 26 billion barrels a year; remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.

E:  This answer choice incorrectly uses "Currently 26 billion barrels a year" to modify "oil", incorrectly implying that   oil in general   is currently at 26 billion barrels a year; the intended meaning is that the world's   consumption of oil   is currently at 26 billion barrels a year; remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Moreover, Option E further alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "increasing rate of 2 percent annually"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that   the rate   at which the world is consuming oil is increasing; the intended meaning is that   the amount of oil   that the world is consuming is increasing at a   stable   rate.

Hence, A is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Phrase Comma Subject" and "Subject Comma Phrase" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1minute):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx_5LxK5Bh0

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

icandy · Answer

(1) Modifier issue

What is currently 26 billion barrels a year? oil consumption

Only A fits

(2) "it" in all answer choices seem to be referring to population, which does not exist in the sentence to start with

Only C fits.

piyatiwari · Answer

Understanding the meaning of the sentence : the clause 'Currently 26 billion barrels a year' is for ' world's oil consumption.

A.  world consumption  of oil is rising at a rate of  - Correct 
B.  the world  is consuming oil at an increasing rate of
C.  the world’s oil  is being consumed at the increasing rate of
D.  the rise  in the rate of the world’s oil consumption is
E.  oil is consumed by the world  at an increasing rate of

gsothee · Answer

A.  world consumption  of oil is rising at a rate of-term consumption correctly refers to 26 billion barrels a year
B.  the world  is consuming oil at an increasing rate of -it is nonsensical to say world is 26 billion barrels
C.  the world’s oil  is being consumed at the increasing rate of -means that world's oil is 26 billion barrels
D.  the rise in the rate  of the world’s oil consumption is - rise of consumption rate can be 26 billion barrels but it changes the meaning of original sentence. According to original sentence current world consumption is 26 billion barrels.
E.  oil is consumed by the world at an increasing rate o f- awkward construction

correct A

Stiv · Answer

The first sentence (A) The first part of the sentence is used as a modifier for the world consumption...
Currently 26 billion barrels a year, world consumption of oil is rising at a rate of 2 percent annually.

C. Today, more than 43% of Californians under the age of eighteen are Hispanic, compared with about 35% decade ago. CLEAR AND CONCISE, NO AMBIGUITY.

pavanpaone · Answer

Q-2)  In California today, Hispanics under the age of eighteen account for more than 43%, compared with a decade ago, when it was about 35%. 
A. In California today, Hispanics under the age of eighteen account for more than 43%, compared with a decade ago, when it was about 35%.   Here the percentage of hispanics is being with decade,actually present hispanics percentage should be compared to percentage of hispanics a decade ago   
B. Of the Californians under the age of eighteen, today more than 43% of them are Hispanic, compared with a decade ago, when it was about 35%.  same error as "a"   
C. Today, more than 43% of Californians under the age of eighteen are Hispanic, compared with about 35% decade ago . correctly compares present percentage with percentage of a decade ago  
D. Today, compared to a decade ago, Californians who are Hispanics under the age of eighteen account for more than 43%, whereas it was about 35%.  "whereas it was about 35%" should be nearer to decade which modifies  
E. Today, Hispanics under the age of eighteen in California account for more than 43%, unlike a decade ago, when it was about 35%.   usage of like should be used for nouns and pronouns only

swati007 · Answer

Which kind of modifier is -  Currently 26 billion barrels a year 
I know that currently is the adverb so is above phrase an adverbial modifier?

daagh · Answer

What does '26 billion barrels' signify or modify? the World Consumption of Oil. Only A has a sensible modification. In B, 26 billion modifies the world, in C, the world's oil, in D, the rise, and in E, oil, all wrong. Hence A.

booksknight · Answer

OA looks best choice here. However I am not convinced by the usage of " World consumption of oil" shouldn't " World's consumption of oil or World's oil consumption " is a better choice ? Also if we had it in one of the answer choices then would it be preferred over answer choice A.

elegantm · Answer

I guess there is typo in the question.

Correct word should be "World's consumption of Oil"

sayantanc2k · Answer

Yes, the noun "consumption" should be preceded by an adjective, either a possessive adjective "world's" or a descriptive adjective "global".

thangvietnam · Answer

Currently 26 billion barrels a year,  world consumption of oil is rising at a rate of  2 percent annually.

(A) world consumption of oil is rising at a rate of
(B) the world is consuming oil at an increasing rate of
(C) the world’s oil is being consumed at the increasing rate of
(D) the rise in the rate of the world’s oil consumption is
(E) oil is consumed by the world at an increasing rate of

it is clear that "currently" is an adverb. what is noun of this adverb. it is "26 bilion barrels a year"

this is a noun phase and this noun phrase is modified by an adverb. strange??

the answer is that this noun phrase works as an adjective, modifying "consumption".

this is a grammatical case, in which adverb modify a noun phrase working as an adjective. at first , we see that it is strange that adverb modify a noun. latter, we see it is logic.

egmat · Answer

Hello thangvietnam , Indeed a very good analysis there.

Yes, you are correct in saying that the phrase 26 billion barrels a year has been used a modifier for the noun entity world consumption of oil . So the modifier acts as an adjective and hence can be modified by the adverb Currently . Hope this helps.

Thanks. Shraddha

Skywalker18 · Answer

Currently 26 billion barrels a year,  world consumption of oil is rising at a rate of  2 percent annually.

(A) world consumption of oil is rising at a rate of - Correct

(B) the world is consuming oil at an increasing rate of - opening modifier "26 billion barrels/year" is clearly not a description of the world

(C) the world’s oil is being consumed at the increasing rate of - opening modifier issue - oil is not at 26 billion barrels a year

(D) the rise in the rate of the world’s oil consumption is - opening modifier issue

(E) oil is consumed by the world at an increasing rate of - opening modifier issue

Answer A

daagh · Answer

booksnight wrote

I do not think this is such a critical issue. After all, a noun acting as an adjective is an acceptable convention. Look at the following cases.

oil price -- not oil's price

property tax -- not property's tax

human behavior--- not human's behavior

dictionary meaning-- not dictionary's meaning

football match-- not football's match

Hollywood actor --- not Hollywood's actor.

cigarette packet --- not cigarette's packet

science teacher --- not science's teacher.

university degree -- not university's degree

business administration --- not business's administration.

Such expressions are ok, aren't they?

HasnainAfxal · Answer

(A)  world consumption  of oil is rising at a rate of

(B)  the world  is consuming oil at an increasing rate of

(C)  the world’s oil  is being consumed at the increasing rate of

(D)  the rise  in the rate of the world’s oil consumption is

(E)  oil  is consumed by the world at an increasing rate of

preetamsaha · Answer

A. world consumption of oil is rising at a rate of - "Currently 26 billion barrels a year" modifies the current consumption of oil (correct)
B. the world is consuming oil at an increasing rate of - "Currently 26 billion barrels a year" - modifies "the world" (incorrect)
C. the world’s oil is being consumed at the increasing rate of - "Currently 26 billion barrels a year" - modifies "the worlds oil" (incorrect)
D. the rise in the rate of the world’s oil consumption is - "Currently 26 billion barrels a year" - modifies "the rate of rise" (incorrect)
E. oil is consumed by the world at an increasing rate of - "Currently 26 billion barrels a year" - modifies "the oil" (incorrect)

correct answer A

Currently 26 billion barrels a year, world consumption of oil is risin

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Currently 26 billion barrels a year, world consumption of oil is risin

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