namurad wrote:
In the past several years, astronomers have detected more than 80 massive planets, most of them as large or larger than Jupiter, which circle other stars.
(A) most of them as large or larger than Jupiter, which circle
(B) most of them as large or larger than Jupiter and circling
(C) most of them at least as large as Jupiter, circling
(D) mostly at least as large as Jupiter, which circle
(E) mostly as large or larger than Jupiter, circling
Hi
AjiteshArun IanStewart and other experts,
First, thanks for your previous posts! I know that it might not be a good idea to try to "fix" the incorrect options in GMAT SC section, but as I really hope to solidify my knowledge about the so-called "subgroup modifier," could I ask you the following questions?
1. If the option (B) were revised into "most of them at least as large as Jupiter and circling," would it be acceptable?
I know in the correct answer (C), the word "circling" modifies all the 80 massive planets. But it seems also logical to me if the word "circling" is used to modify "most of the 80 planets". (It is difficult for me to decide which noun, all the 80 planets or most of the 80 planets, "circling" is meant to modify, since both seem logical.) However, for this revision, I am not sure whether the present participle
"circling" can work with the adjective phrase
"as large as Jupiter" in terms of parallelism. They both function as noun modifier, but one is a pure adjective and another is a present participle. A similar sentence would be "The cat,
sleepy and purring, is enjoying the company of its owner"--is this sentence correct?
2. What do you think about the use of "mostly" in the option (D) and (E)?
Some people and experts have said that they think the word "mostly," an adverb, cannot modify the preceding noun "planets". Though this idea is understandable, I am not sure why "mostly" cannot be used to modify the following adjectives "at least as large as Jupiter." Options (D) and (E) have their own issues--(D) wrongly uses the singular form of "circle" and (E) wrongly uses "as large or larger than"--but is the word "mostly" an issue here?
The Cambridge Dictionary has an example for the word "mostly": "The band are mostly teenagers," in which "mostly" describes "are." If this sentence is revised into "The band, mostly teenage, can only perform at the weekend," will this sentence be considered wrong?
Thank you so much in advance!