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

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):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team

(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.

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

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 of- awkward construction

correct A

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.

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

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?

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.

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.

I guess there is typo in the question.

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

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

[quote="greatchap"]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.

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

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

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?

(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

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