Official ExplanationHibernating during late fall and winter, moving their nesting site once before returning to torpor that lasts
between three and six months, a hedgehog could hibernate so long as seven months.
A. between three and six months, a hedgehog could hibernate so B. between three and six months, hedgehogs can hibernate as C. between three to six months, hedgehogs could hibernate as D. from three to six months, hedgehogs could hibernate so E. from three to six months, a hedgehog can hibernate soThis question addresses pronoun-antecedent agreement. In this case, “their” is not in the underlined portion of the text, so we know that the antecedent “hedgehogs” need to be in the plural form to agree. Let’s see how each option handles this, and eliminate any that use a singular antecedent:
A. between three and six months,
a hedgehog could hibernate so
B. between three and six months,
hedgehogs can hibernate as
C. between three to six months,
hedgehogs could hibernate as
D. from three to six months,
hedgehogs could hibernate so
E. from three to six months,
a hedgehog can hibernate so
We can eliminate options A & E because the singular antecedent “a hedgehog” doesn’t agree with the plural pronoun “their.”
Idioms are another issue. “Between A
and B” is the correct way to word the phrase. The other idiom, “
as long as,” is correct with “as” and incorrect with “so.” Differences within the text are highlighted.
B. between three and six months, hedgehogs can hibernate asThis is
CORRECT. The idioms are used correctly in the sentence. “Between three and six months,” and “can hibernate as long as.”
C. between three to six months, hedgehogs could hibernate asThis is
INCORRECT. Right away, we can see that the idiom that should be “between A and B” is used incorrectly.
D. from three to six months, hedgehogs could hibernate soThis is
INCORRECT. Right away, we can see that the idiom that should be “between A and B” is used incorrectly.
There you have it - option B is our correct choice!Don’t study for the GMAT. Train for it.