Even though surrounded by wild southern winds, local

Question

Even though surrounded by wild southern winds,  local fishermen said that conditions on the sea at the time of the shrimp hunting was acceptable.

A) local fishermen said that conditions on the sea at the time of the shrimp hunting was acceptable.
B) the sea conditions during the shrimp hunting were acceptable according to local fishermen.
C) according to local fishermen, the sea was in acceptable condition during the time of the shrimp hunting.
D) the sea was in acceptable condition during the shrimp hunting, according to local fishermen.
E) local fishermen said that condition on the sea at the time of the shrimp hunting were acceptable.

good explanations will get kudos!!  Click here for the OE

HumptyDumpty · Accepted Answer

First part of the sentence " Even though surrounded by wild southern winds, " is participial modifier, which must modify the noun after the comma. Thus A, C and E are out.

A) local fishermen said that conditions on the sea at the time of the shrimp hunting was acceptable. 
Local fishermen were not surrounded by wild southern winds, but the sea was. Conditions  was  accpetable.
 B) the sea conditions during the shrimp hunting were acceptable according to local fishermen. 
Not really correct. The sea conditions weren't surrounded, but the sea was. "According" needs a preceding comma.
 C) according to local fishermen, the sea was in acceptable condition during the time of the shrimp hunting. 
"according" opens next modifier. The first modifier is past participial modifier, the second is present participial modifier => not parallel. Besides, it is commonly avoided to put two modifiers one after another, especially when they refer to different nouns as here: surrounded -> sea, according to sb -> sea conditions.
 D) the sea was in acceptable condition during the shrimp hunting, according to local fishermen. 
This is correct, after all. The sea was in acceptable condition s . I looked it up in Collocation Dictionary that states that the only correct possibility is "condition s ". The last comma correctly separates participial modifier, which thus refers to the entire preceding clause. Not perfect, but the best AC.
 E) local fishermen said that condition on the sea at the time of the shrimp hunting were acceptable. 
Wrong for the same reasons as A.

skamal7 · Answer

even though creates a contrast ..hence contrast to local winds the sea or sea condition will be a right stuff to start sentence with after the comma

left with option B and C 
D changes the meaning saying "he sea was in acceptable condition " which changes the meaning of sentence
My choice C
According to local fisherman is just a modifier

SuvSach · Answer

My Choice C
A, B and E have a modifier error. Modifier clause should modify the sea, and not fishermen or conditions. Between C and D, C sounded better, keeping 'according to fishermen' clause at the start of the sentence.

pqhai · Answer

The sea should be surrounded by wild southern winds , not the local fishermen or the sea conditions. 
So C and D are contenders.
C is wrong because " during the time " is redundant. During means through a period of time.

Only D is correct.

ankurgupta03 · Answer

The sentence says that the sea was surrounded by the winds, so we need to modify the sea and not the local fishermen or the sea conditions.

Even though surrounded by wild southern winds,  local fishermen said that conditions on the sea at the time of the shrimp hunting was acceptable.

A) local fishermen said that conditions on the sea at the time of the shrimp hunting was acceptable.
  The sea was surrounded, not the local fishermen  
B) the sea conditions during the shrimp hunting were acceptable according to local fishermen.
  sea was surrounded, not the sea conditions  
C) according to local fishermen, the sea was in acceptable condition during the time of the shrimp hunting.
  This suggests that the fisherman tell that the sea was surrounded by southern winds  
D) the sea was in acceptable condition during the shrimp hunting, according to local fishermen.
  Correct  
E) local fishermen said that condition on the sea at the time of the shrimp hunting were acceptable.
  The sea was surrounded, not the local fishermen

Vercules · Answer

Updated the post with OA and OE

Even though surrounded by wild southern winds,  local fishermen said that conditions on the sea at the time of the shrimp hunting was acceptable.

(A) local fishermen said that conditions on the sea at the time of the shrimp hunting was acceptable.

The modifying phrase at the beginning of this sentence should be followed by the noun that the modifier refers to, “the sea.” The sentence suggests that “local fishermen” were surrounded by wild southern winds. Though the meaning may sound logical, it makes more sense for the sea to be surrounded by wild southern winds. However the most apparent grammatical error is that the plural subject "conditions" does not agree with the singular verb "was acceptable." 
 
(B) the sea conditions during the shrimp hunting were acceptable according to local fishermen.

The modifying phrase “Even though surrounded by wild southern winds” at the beginning of this sentence should be followed by the noun the modifier refers to, “the sea.” Note that in the noun phrase "the sea conditions," the word "sea" acts as an adjective modifying the noun "conditions."

(C) according to local fishermen, the sea was in acceptable condition during the time of the shrimp hunting.

The placement of "according to local fishermen" makes it unclear whether the fishermen stated that the sea was “surrounded by wild southern winds” or that "the sea was in acceptable condition." Furthermore, his choice incorrectly uses the redundant phrase “during the time of” instead of “during.”

(D) the sea was in acceptable condition during the shrimp hunting, according to local fishermen.

Correct. The modifying phrase “Even though surrounded by wild southern winds” is correctly followed by the noun the modifier refers to, “the sea.” The phrase "according to local fishermen" is placed at the end of the sentence, unambiguously referring to the main clause ("the sea was in acceptable condition").

(E) local fishermen said that condition on the sea at the time of the shrimp hunting were acceptable.

The modifying phrase “Even though surrounded by wild southern winds” at the beginning of this sentence should be followed by the noun the modifier refers to, “the sea.” This choice also has a subject verb agreement - it incorrectly uses “were” for the singular “condition”.

Bluelagoon · Answer

i disagree the opening modifier is to modify the the fishermen as in the opening sentence. The sea can't be surrounded by winds. The only reasons it is incorrect is because the verb was is used for fishermen. E is the correct answer.

dave785 · Answer

I assumed E had a typo in it lol.(condition s ) and picked it.

Because winds can surround either the sea OR a fisherman, you should pick whichever option changes the meaning the least from the initial sentence. In the initial sentence, the winds surrounded the fishermen.

What is the source of this question?

Vercules · Answer

Hi Dave,

Yes if (E) had "conditions" instead of "condition" then (D) and (E) would both be correct and it would have been difficult to eliminate either one of these answer choices. One might face a similar situation on the real GMAT where a minor grammatical error could make an answer choice incorrect. Subject-Verb agreement errors though very common could be easily missed, even by the best test takers.

hope this helps,
Vercules

zazoz · Answer

thank you very good question and indeed well-explained explanation. I assumed that the wind surrounded the fisherman but I missed S.V agreement in A!

chesstitans · Answer

" in acceptable condition" is an idiom that will be tested in real gmat? 
Can anybody answer me please.

navderm · Answer

The mistake I made with this was 
1. Should the fishermen not be surrounded by the winds ? 
2. How can the whole sea be surrounded by winds ?

Can someone teach me how to think this in the right way/

Crytiocanalyst · Answer

A) local fishermen said that conditions on the sea at the time of the shrimp hunting was acceptable.
THe sea was surronded by winds meaning error therefore out

B) the sea conditions during the shrimp hunting were acceptable according to local fishermen.
The meaning is perfect however was is the right usage in comparison to was therefore out

C) according to local fishermen, the sea was in acceptable condition during the time of the shrimp hunting.
THe wind was not surronded in accordance to the fisherman wrong meaning therefore out

D) the sea was in acceptable condition during the shrimp hunting, according to local fishermen.
THe meaning and tense is perfect therefore let us hang on to it

E) local fishermen said that condition on the sea at the time of the shrimp hunting were acceptable.
were isn't the right usage therefore out

THerefore IMO D

phonemobile234 · Answer

Even though surrounded by wild southern winds Modifies Sea not local Fishermans
A,C and E are gone

The sea conditions were not surrounded , sea was surrounded. Hence option B is gone.

Correct answer Option D

Even though surrounded by wild southern winds, local

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Even though surrounded by wild southern winds, local

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