Dallol Ethiopia is one of the world's hottest places with a recorded

Question

Dallol, Ethiopia is one of the world's hottest places, with a recorded annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit,  which is higher than in  any other country on earth.

(A) which is higher than in

(B) which is higher than it is

(C) and higher than that of

(D) higher than that of

(E) higher than in

generis · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Project SC Butler: Day 66 Sentence Correction (SC1)

Dallol, Ethiopia is one of the world's hottest places, with a recorded annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit,  which is higher than in  any other country on earth.

A) which is higher than in
B) which is higher than it is
C) and higher than that of
D) higher than that of
E) higher than in

Note: The OE from the source has a strange error that I am going to rewrite.   Small portions of the OE in the source are verbatim.

•  The sentence is supposed to compare the average temperature in Ethiopia to the average temperatures of other countries

• Options A and E compare the average  temperature  in Ethiopia to other  countries.  
 average temperature  is different from  a country .

In options A and E, the temperature itself is "higher" than any other country.
The temperature is not higher than any other country.

The temperature needs to be "higher" than a  temperature  in any other country.
Eliminate A and E.

• choices C and D differ only in that C  incorrectly  uses  and  to introduce a contrast.
Eliminate C.

EDIT  
•  Between B and D , 
(1) option B is missing the preposition IN, and
(2) D is more concise

Option (B) in the sentence :
 Dallol, Ethiopia is one of the world's hottest places, with a recorded annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit,  which is higher than it is      any other country on earth.

That sentence is silly.

If in doubt, replace the pronoun  it  with the noun. 
 Dallol, Ethiopia is one of the world's hottest places, with a recorded annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit,    is higher than  the temperature is ____   any other country on earth.

The last part of the sentence is incorrect:  . . .   the  temperature is  any other country on earth. 
The temperature IS any other country on earth? No. Nonsense.
Eliminate B

• OPTION D - using the pronoun THAT to "make a copy" of  temperature

We need the sentence to say: 
  Dalloi is one of the world's hottest places, with an annual temperature of 94° F, higher than   any other country.

We can make a "copy" of  temperature  by using the pronoun  that,  as is the case in option D.

Dalloi's temperature is hotter than  the temperature  of all other countries.
Dalloi's temperature is hotter than  THAT  OF of all other countries.

D) in the sentence
Dallol, Ethiopia is one of the world's hottest places, with a recorded annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit,  higher than that of  any other country on earth.

•   The word WHICH in A and B is not necessarily a problem -  which  refers to  temperature   
-- We can use a relative pronoun,  which , to refer to  temperature

-- The word  which  can modify the immediately preceding noun or the main noun in a noun phrase 
An essential modifier always trumps a nonessential modifier and creates an exception to the "touch" rule.

The Modifier Touch Rule says that a modifier should be next to (should "touch") the noun it modifies.
 There are exceptions to this rule . 
The most common exception arises from the difference between essential and nonessential modifiers.

An essential modifier always takes priority over a nonessential modifier and can come in between a noun and a nonessential modifier.

-- The prepositional phrase  of 94 degrees Fahrenheit  is an essential modifier  with  a temperature of HOW MANY DEGREES?], so it is placed right after the noun  temperature .
-- The modifier   is nonessential. It can be placed second. 
-- Both  of 94° F  and  which  modify  temperature .
-- In this kind of sentence,   which  modifies  the closest preceding  main noun or "head noun"  in the noun phrase consisting of  . I give you a link to one similar official example below.
--  Spoiler alert!  If you open the link, three incorrect answers to an important official question are revealed.
 One official question is  HERE

Option D is correct.

COMMENTS

This question is a challenge. Option B seems pretty good but lacks the word IN. (B) is not grammatical.
-- I doubt that pronoun ambiguity exists in A and B. The logical referent is "temperature." 
 That antecedent itself is fine,  although the which-clause (without THAT OF) in option A may seem to refer to 94 degrees Fahrenheit. Yet again, (D) is the best option.
-- The word  which  is allowed to "reach over" a prepositional phrase ( of 94 degrees Fahrenheit ) in order to modify the word  temperature . This exception to the touch rule is the most common of such exceptions.

Answer D

pikolo2510  wrote the best answer.   Kudos!

pikolo2510 · Answer

Meaning Analysis : -

- The author wants to convey that Dallol has the highest temperature as compared to any other place in the world
- We are comparing temperature in dallol vs all other paces

Now lets see the options

Dallol, Ethiopia is one of the world's hottest places, with a recorded annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit, which is higher than in any other country on earth.

A) which is higher than in---> Incorrect. The option is comparing the temperature to all other places

B) which is higher than it is---> Incorrect. What does it refer to?

C) and higher than that of---> Incorrect. This option does compare the temperature in dallol vs the temperature in all other places. But the "and" in the sentence is not connecting two independent clauses

D) higher than that of ---> Correct. bingo! now the comparison is correct.

E) higher than in---> Incorrect. The option makes the same mistake as option A

abhishek893rai · Answer

generis 
Please address my query:
In option A, why cant we construct the below statement, by use of SAE, substitution and ellipsis:
Dallol, Ethiopia is one of the world's hottest places, with a recorded annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit,  which  is higher than  in any other country on earth.

This, to me, makes the comparison correct.
My questions are:
#1 Is the above construction correct ? - if not then how to use SAE, basically ellipses part where optional text can be omitted
#2 can relative pronoun - which/that/who/whom/whose - take up a  Noun Phrase  or do they take just a  Noun word  ?
#3 Option: D ( correct answer ) has this structure:
Dallol, Ethiopia is one of the world's hottest places, with a recorded annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit,  higher than that  of any other country on earth

My questions for this particular choice are:
#3.1: 'with the...Fahhrenheit' this is a modifier -  non-essentionl modifier  ?
#3.2: how is ' higher than that of any country on earth'  attached to this. What  type of modifier  is this ? As in option A, 'which' makes it a Relative pronoun clause attached at the tail refering to temperature just before the comma. I am not able to understand , how this modifier ('higher than that of ...') attached in choice D

daagh · Answer

The two modifiers in questions are nested modifiers, the first modifying the main clause and the second modifying the first modifier. A modifier modifies the the previous clause or the noun in front or another modifier is legal. After all, modifiers true to their name have to modify something.

generis · Answer

abhishek893rai , in order to prevent taking this topic thread into a subject whose discussion often mushrooms far from the original question, I will point you to this thread: HERE Use logic and choose the clearest answer. What two things are being compared? The annual temperature in Ethiopia and the annual temperature in every other country in the world. The thread I just linked to discusses how to handle comparisons and ellipsis—and what not to do. I would read Ron Purewal's posts about strategy. I also like this post about how to treat comparisons. Which option makes that fact about two compared temperatures the clearest? In option D, the words "that of" make it clear that we are comparing the annual temperature of Ethiopia to the annual temperature in any country on earth. There will be disagreement about what "which" modifies. I will amend my OE to account for that disagreement. Some people will say that "which" in options A and B seems to modify 94 degrees Fahrenheit. Other people will say that "which" modifies temperature . EDIT: You may want to look at the official question upon which this question is based. That official question is HERE . In addition, this official question here has answer choices almost identical to those in this question. -- higher than that of is the best answer. -- which is higher than in is not the correct answer. That thread also contains very sophisticated discussion. Can you make the argument that (A) is superior to (D)? That (D) contains error? I edited and rearranged my OE. Now discussion of what which can modify is in its own bullet point, near the bottom of the post. By "take up," do you mean "stand for"? I assume so. Which can modify either the prepositional object or the main noun in . If which modifies the object of the preposition, often we have an easier time analyzing the comparison. If which modifies the main noun in a noun phrase, that analysis may be harder. In this case, as is the case in the official question to which I linked, I suppose we could argue that "which" seems to refer to 94° Fahrenheit, a reference that creates a comparison that is even worse than "temperature." At the least, we could argue that the reference is not clear and thus (D) is the answer. I'm not sure that avenue is necessary. Both linking verbs ("IS") create subject complements that are different (hottest country on earth and higher than in any other country). THAT OF creates a copy of temperature that makes the comparison clearer. And in D, THAT cannot refer to 94° Fahrenheit. Does this fact matter? Why? (I am trying to prevent this thread from heading into territory that would be better covered in GMATNinja 's "Ask me Anything" thread that you can find here • higher than that of any country on earth is a modifier of temperature . -- The names don't matter. This refrain is constant in SC: hyper-focus on parts of speech is not the way to do well on SC. -- Does higher than seem to be anything other than a modifier of temperature ? If higher were an adverb, it would need to modify a verb. There isn't one in the preceding phrase. The phrase is probably a reduced relative (adjectivial) clause (jargon!!!). Here's how such clauses work. This is probably the clause that was probably reduced, though I am just guessing ): which is higher than that of any other country on earth. We can reduce (shorten) clauses to phrases, especially when the clauses contain a relative pronoun and a TO BE verb. Reduced relative clauses are very common on the GMAT. To reduce a relative clause to an adjective phrase: (1) Remove the relative pronoun (WHICH) (2) Remove the "to be" verb (IS) (3) Place the adjective after the noun it modifies Example: I could not stop eating the plump and inviting cherries, which were more luscious than any other fruit I'd eaten in a long time. (1) remove the relative pronoun (WHICH) (2) remove the TO BE verb (were) (3) place the adjective after the noun it modifies Result, relative clause reduced to adjective phrase modifying "cherries": I could not stop eating the plump and inviting cherries, more luscious than any other fruit I'd eaten in a long time. You can get a very quick overview of reduced relative clauses here. I may be wrong, but this level of questioning typically indicates that you have mastered SC pretty well. If I am correct that you are doing well, then may I suggest that you shift your focus? Study official examples only. Make flashcards. Watch for patterns. For example, GMAC does not like WITH to express causality. At all. Or notice that many correct answers are written in the allegedly taboo passive voice. It is very easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. That picture consists of GMAC-originated questions in which patterns and the best answer (not the perfect answer) rule the day. If I have not answered your questions, please take your queries to GMATNinja 's Ask Me Anything thread. (I do not want this topic to expand geometrically into an ellipsis and substitution discussion. I think there are better ways to handle comparisons.

) Again, that thread is HERE I hope that helps.

daagh · Answer

Dallol, Ethiopia is one of the world's hottest places, with a recorded annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit,  which is higher than in  any other country on earth.

Antecedents of pronouns, touch rule of relative pronouns and ellipsis. 
 
When we deal with any of the above points, it will be prudent to keep logic and reasoning as the top priority and we must settle for the most precise noun and not lengthy nested modifiers.
1. Dallol, Ethiopia is one of the world's hottest places, with a recorded annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit, which is higher than in any other country on earth.

A) which is higher than in

B) which is higher than it is

A) What is 'which' referring to seems to be an eternal debate because we think that it can modify both the short 'annual temperature' and the longer 'annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit'. Structurally or technically, there is no harm in thinking like that. However, logically we are inclined to prefer the shorter version . After all, the 94 degrees F., is yet another prepositional modifier of the annual temperature. Therefore, one need not be apologetic about discarding it.

Let us also see it from another angle. Let us replace the 'which' with what it sensibly intends to modify.

A. 1.  Annual temperature  is higher than in any other country.

A.2.  Annual temperature of 94 degrees F  is higher than in any other country.

You can now see that 94 degrees is higher in Dallol than 94 degrees in any other country. How stupid!

Therefore let us rest assured that 'which' does refer to the annual temperature. In addition, A is faulty because the wrong preposition 'in'.

Now let us come to the pronoun 'it'. The thumb rule is that the prerogative of a pronoun is to refer to the subject first. This leads to an absurd context that Dallol is higher than any other country. Even the reference of annual temperature is irrelevant because we are comparing a temperature with any other country. The pronoun is neither an expletive here since expletives are mostly used for starting a sentence and in the middle of a sentence. it is always used to refer to either a subject or an object

Let us now delve into D.

D) Higher than that of

'That' here replaces the annual temp., as we saw in the case of 'which' and together with the correct preposition 'of' , is perfectly idiomatic. That is the reason D is the correct choice.

chanchal541 · Answer

can someone explain why option A is wrong.
IN MY OPINION, WHICH CORRECTLY REFERS TO 94 DEG FAHRENHITE AND USE OF PREPOSITION 'IN', CORRECTLY COMPARES TEMP OF X TO TEMP OF OTHER COUNTRIES.
i AM NOT SATISFIED WITH ALL EXPLANATIONS. EXPERTS PLEASE HELP.

0Lucky0 · Answer

I checked out all of those 3-4 official questions that you linked above and in them the usage of "that of" is correct. You can't possibly refer to a State's/Country's GDP using "in" but for temperature, the usage of "in" is appropriate. The "that of" usage in Option D makes the sentence needlessly wordy in my opinion.
I think the answer choice in this question should be A and not D.

jfjahfnkjahbfkjds · Answer

1) The usage of which is redundant, so we can eliminate  A  &  B .
2)When we are comparing between the temperature between 2 cities the right preposition to use is "of" and when we are describing a temperature in a city "in" is the right preposition, using this we can eliminate  E 
3) Among C and D the "and" wrongly introduces a contrast (there is no need for that) eliminate  C .

The answer is  D

Dallol Ethiopia is one of the world's hottest places with a recorded

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Dallol Ethiopia is one of the world's hottest places with a recorded

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards