In assessing the problems faced by rural migrant workers the question

Question

In assessing the problems faced by rural migrant workers, the question of whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant.

(A) In assessing the problems faced by rural migrant workers, the question of whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant.

(B) The question of whether the rural migrant worker is better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant in assessing the problems that they face.

(C) A question that is irrelevant in assessing the problems that rural migrant workers face is whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor.

(D) In an assessment of the problems faced by rural migrant workers, the question of whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant.

(E) The question of whether the rural migrant worker is better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant in an assessment of the problems that they face.

generis · Accepted Answer

adkikani  , I think you are asking about the introductory phrase in (D).

That introduction is a prepositional phrase that begins with "in."

Prepositional phrases are versatile. 
Further, introductory phrases often "set the stage" or give context for the main clause.

An introductory  prepositional  phrase is  not  subject to rules that govern some other kinds of introductory phrases, 
with one exception ( preposition  + __ING) addressed below.

Specifically, prepositional phrases at the beginning of a sentence 
do  not  have to modify the subject that follows, 
though they usually must refer to the main clause in some way.

----------------------

•  By contrast , 5 other types of introductory phrases  must  modify EITHER

(1) the subject in the clause that follows immediately

OR

(2) the subject in the immediately following clause OR the whole subsequent clause

→ →   3 types   of introductory phrases  must modify the subject  of the clause that follows the introductory phrase

• phrases that start with an  adjective 
  Wet and slippery , the  frog  escaped from the little boy's grasp.

• phrases that start with a  past participle  (verbED)
  Frightened  by the wind,  the child  hid under the bed

• phrases that begin with a  noun + modifiers 
  A veteran of the war in Afghanistan , the American  soldier  could not bear to be idle while civilians in Syria were gassed and massacred ,  so he joined the Kurdish YPG forces. 
 
→ →   2 types   of intro phrases  must modify either the subject  of the subsequent clause 
 OR the whole clause :

• phrases that begin with  present participles  (___ING or verbING)
  Weeping with relief , the refugee handed his child to the rescue workers.

• phrases that begin with a  preposition and a  participle  , such as  in assessing 
  In refusing to be cowed , the American press has played a pivotal, perhaps decisive, role in defending democracy.

--------------------

Unlike   those five introductory phrases just listed, 
introductory phrases that begin with a preposition
 do  not  have to modify  the subject that follows or the immediately following clause.

Prepositional introductory phrases can simply set the stage for the main clause.

On the GMAT, introductory prepositional phrases often modify a whole clause.

This introductory phrase is an adverbial modifier.
•  In context X, the question of ABC is irrelevant  .

Introductory phrases MAY set up a sort of causal link, as  Arro44  wrote:
 If you want to assess A's problem, don't compare A's wealth to B's wealth. 
Slight rewrite:
•   While    performing an assessment of A's problems, 
whether A is marginally better off than B is irrelevant  .

• The  introductory prepositional phrase  acts as an  adverbial modifier .
In what way, in what context, HOW  is  the entire  question of whether A is marginally better off than B  irrelevant?
The question  is  irrelevant  when  or  while  performing an assessment of problems faced by rural migrant workers.

I do not think that the phrase is an adjectivial modifier of "question." The phrase is an adverbial modifier of the whole main clause.

Hope that helps.

AdityaHongunti · Answer

In assessing the problems faced by rural migrant workers, the question of whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant .

Meaning :  In an assesment (evaluation) of a certain situation, considering a scenario is irrelevant.

- Here "in assessing "needs a doer because "in assessing " is a modifier modifying some noun. The "question " does not assess the problem .

- Same error as A. 
 
- Same error as A . Also "they " is ambiguous 
 
 - "an assessment " is correct. This clearly states that "in an assessment , considering bla bla bla is useless" . Here assessment itself is a noun and hence does not need a doer  
 
- Wordy and awkward . "they " in the end unnecessarily makes the sentence wordy. Also "they "does not have a clear antecedent

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 in the context of an assessment of the problems faced by rural migrant workers, the question of whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant.

Concepts tested here:Pronouns + Meaning + Modifiers + Redundancy/Awkwardness

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

A:  This answer choice incorrectly uses "In assessing...migrant workers" to modify "the question", illogically implying that   the question   of whether rural migrant workers are better off materially than the urban working poor is assessing the problems faced by them and in doing so is irrelevant; the intended meaning is that in the   context of an assessment   of the problems faced by rural migrant workers, the question of whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant; please remember, in the “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.

B:  Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the plural pronoun “they” to refer to the singular noun "the rural migrant worker".

C:  Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "A question that is irrelevant in assessing"; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that   the question   of whether rural migrant workers are better off materially than the urban working poor is assessing the problems faced by them and in doing so is irrelevant; the intended meaning is that in the   context of an assessment   of the problems faced by rural migrant workers, the question of whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant. Further, Option C uses the needlessly indirect phrase "A question that is irrelevant", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

D:   Correct.  This answer choice correctly uses the plural pronoun “they” to refer to the plural noun "rural migrant workers". Further, Option D correctly uses "In an assessment...migrant workers" to modify "the question", conveying the intended meaning - that in the context of an assessment of the problems faced by rural migrant workers, the question of whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant. Additionally, Option D is free of any awkwardness/redundancy.

E:  Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the plural pronoun “they” to refer to the singular noun "the rural migrant worker".

Hence, D 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 (~1 minute):

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

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

BukrsGmat · Answer

In assessing the problems faced by rural migrant workers, the question of whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant.

(A) In assessing the problems faced by rural migrant workers, the question of whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant.--Verbing +doer - is the normal construcstion -> so Who? -> not surely the question 
(B) The question of whether the rural migrant worker is better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant in assessing the problems that  they face. - pronoun err
(C) A question that is irrelevant in assessing the problems that rural migrant workers face is whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor.
- Awkward construction, pronoun err, meaning changed

(D) In an assessment of the problems faced by rural migrant workers, the question of whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant.
- contender
(E) The question of whether the rural migrant worker is better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant in an assessment of the problems that  they  face.
- pronoun err

So D

lotus · Answer

why can't it be C. I don't see any pronoun error

egmat · Answer

Hi there,
Choice C - A question that is irrelevant in assessing the problems that rural migrant workers face is whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor.

This choice is incorrect because of its wordiness and awkwardness. There is no grammatical issue in this sentence as such. However, it is not very direct. Compare this portion in choice C -  problems that rural migrant workers face  – with this one in the correct choice D -  problems faced by rural migrant workers . Undoubtedly, the latter is more precise and clear than the former.

The stylistic issue in Choice C makes it incorrect.
Hope this helps.
Shraddha

ranjeet75 · Answer

I am very confused on A. Please guide why A is not correct.

crashVcrush · Answer

A : Case of dangling modifier : In ASSESSING the problems.....................

Deciding to retake the GMAT  , the problematic questions were posted in the forum = WHO is deciding, where's the subject without which the reader stays baffled ( Is it the questions decided to retake GMAT ); thus in A , the connection of In assessing the .................... with........... The question = Illogical/Sloppy.

To clear the maze : Deciding to retake GMAT, SKM posted the problematic questions in the forum.

Thus A is incorrect

egmat · Answer

Hi there, We cover in detail all about the verb-ing modifiers and their functions depending upon their placement in our concept named "Modifiers - Verb-ing". Just log on to e-gmat.com and register for free. This concept features in the Preview Level 1 concepts. All the concepts in this section is free. Just try it.

Hoe this helps. Thanks.

Skientist · Answer

SC is my weakest verbal element so please please please critique my answer / logic:

The problem in the original question is the use of 'they'. Who is the author referring to? I think the sentence reads that the problems are better off than the urban workers since 'faced by rural migrant workers' is a modifier of problems, making problems the subject.

I think C changes the focus of the statement. The original is looking at the welfare of 2 groups of people, C looks at a question and discusses it's irrelevance.

egmat · Answer

Hi @bradfris,

In assessing the problems faced by rural migrant workers, the question of whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant.

Well, I’m afraid your assessment of this problem is not quite correct. Notice that “In assessing… workers” is a long modifier. Hence any part of this modifier cannot be the subject of the sentence.

Now the opening verb-ing modifier “assessing” denotes an action that needs a doer. Generally, the subject of the modified clause is the doer of the action denoted by the verb-ing modifier. In this case, the subject of the modified clause is “the question”. Now, can “the question” do the job of “assessing”? No, it cannot. Hence this modification is incorrect. This incorrect modification makes the original choice incorrect.

I don’t think there is any ambiguity in the reference of pronoun “they”. The context of the sentence clearly suggests that the logical antecedent of this pronoun is “rural migrant workers”. 
We cover in detail all about the usage verb-ing modifier and pronoun reference in our e-learning course. Hit the “free trial” button below to start learning some of the important concepts tested on GMAT for free.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha

pqhai · Answer

IMO, D is correct.

In assessing the problems faced by rural migrant workers, the question of whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant.

(A) In  assessing  the problems faced by rural migrant workers,  the question  of whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant.
 >>> Wrong. the question can access.

(B) The question of whether the rural migrant  worker  is better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant in assessing the problems that  they  face.
 >>> Wrong. Worker is singular,

(C) A question that is irrelevant in assessing the problems that rural migrant workers face is whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor.
 >>> Wrong. Very bad structure and awkward.

(D)  In an assessment  of the problems faced by rural migrant  workers ,  the question  of whether  they  are better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant.
  >>> Correct.

(E) The question of whether the rural migrant  worker  is better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant in an assessment of the problems that  they  face
 >>> Wrong. Worker is singular

Hope it helps.

Arro44 · Answer

I would go for answer choice D.

Answer choices B and E are confusing as the "they" could refer to either the rural migrant workers, the urban poor or both.

Choice C is quite wordy and sounds awkward.

Furthermore, the first modifier in choice A does not have a subject, thus the answer choice is wrong.

Choice D is the only clear sentence which preserves both grammar and meaning;

The sentence aims to inform the reader about the irrelevance of the comparison between the material wealth of the rural migrant workers and the wealth of the working poor.

You can pretty much boil it down to:

If you want to asses A´s problem, don't compare A´s wealth to B´s wealth.
I hope this helps.

Best regards,
Chris

generis · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION • Choice A presents a dangling modifier because nothing mentioned in the sentence can perform the action of assessing the problems faced by rural migrant workers. Choice A states illogically that the question is assessing these problems. • In B, the plural pronoun they cannot refer as intended to the singular rural migrant worker . • C is awkward (

) and ambiguous: again, the question is not assessing the problems , and i rrelevant in assessing could be taken to mean either that the act of assessing the problems is irrelevant OR that the question described is irrelevant in an assessment of the problems. • Choice D is best • As is the case in B, the lack of agreement between worker and they makes E wrong. --------------- This OE is good, except for the use of "awkward" to describe (C). The author is correct. (C) IS awkward. Why? The author does an excellent job at explaining why (C) is confusing and ambiguous. Arro44 rewrote the meaning of the sentence in her or his own words. Bravo! If you want to assess A´s problem, don't compare A´s wealth to B´s wealth. AdityaHongunti is spot on about why GMAC often prefers the noun form of an ING word if there IS a noun form. - "an assessment " is correct. This clearly states that "in an assessment , considering bla bla bla is useless" . Here assessment itself is a noun and hence does not need a doer PRONOUN ambiguity - Read carefully. "They" is not ambiguous. It's clear from the logic of the sentence that "they" refers to rural migrant workers. Why would a sentence compare problems to the urban working poor in the context of assessing problems OF or FACED BY rural migrant workers? Or, if we were to move forward for an antecedent, why compare working poor to working poor? GMAC tolerates a lot more pronoun ambiguity than many people realize. If it is clear from the structure / logic / cue words in the sentence which noun SHOULD be the antecedent, GMAC allows that noun to stand for the pronoun. Noun/pronoun disagreement. B and E use the singular "worker." When answer choices are long, look for single words that differ: -- worker vs. workers -- assessing vs. assessment Answers by forum members Although neither answer is entirely correct in analysis, both posters chose the correct answer, and both had a couple of standout details. I am encouraged when I see people "dare" to post. It's a tie. Kudos to both! If I could award two kudos to each of you, I would. Why? Your efforts will help others learn. And you were brave. I respect that quality.

adkikani · Answer

Arro44   AdityaHongunti   generis   VeritasKarishma   AjiteshArun   aragonn

In assessing the problems faced by rural migrant workers, the question of whether they are better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant.

Can you help me understand if this is a noun+noun modifer or a simple noun phrase
with nouns  assessment  and  problems  with  faced  as verb-ed mofidier modifying noun - problems:

In an assessment of the problems faced by rural migrant workers

I am familiar with verb-ed and verb-ing modifying nouns, but can a noun phrase on its own
modify a noun - question on its own?

KarishmaB · Answer

"In an assessment ..." is a prepositional phrase modifying "the question". 
In A, B is irrelevant.

We prefer the noun form because if we use "in assessing .." we need the doer of the action as the subject.

arshi016 · Answer

GMATNinja according to the rile that you have told- subject2 will refer back to subject 1, D should be wrong- C should be correct answer because it might be awkward but at least grammatically correct. Can you please throw more light on the sub2->sub1 rule?

Best
-Arshi.

Best
-Arshi.

GMATNinja · Answer

I think you're thinking of the case when you have two subject-verb pairs in two clauses. Something like this:

"Cucumbers cost less than tomatoes at grocery stores in Western states, but they also taste like poo." - Here, the subject of the second clause ("they") refers unambiguously to the subject of the first independent clause ("cucumbers"), so this is fine.

This is not what's going on in choice (D):

"In an assessment of the problems faced by rural migrant workers" does NOT have a subject-verb pair -- "faced" is not a verb here. Instead, it modifies "problems". Put another way: that first part of the sentence ("In an assessment of the problems faced by rural migrant workers") is just a modifier, and NOT a clause.

Sure, (D) technically has two possible antecedents for the pronoun "they" ("problems" and "workers"), but, as discussed in  this video , pronoun ambiguity isn't necessarily a good reason to automatically disqualify an answer choice.

I hope that helps!

Kritisood · Answer

@experts, here in B, C and E would it be wrong to use "that" to refer back to plural "problems"?
the question of whether the rural migrant worker is better off materially than the urban working poor is irrelevant in assessing the  problemS  that   they face.

In assessing the problems faced by rural migrant workers the question

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

In assessing the problems faced by rural migrant workers the question

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