Light rail, public transit that usually results in economic growth for

Hello, everyone. I saw two requests for the same question come through, so I thought I would chime in and discuss this odd little question.

Analysis: Remember, an or conjunction acting in the capacity of A or B (rather than joining two independent clauses) carries any modifiers over from A to B. If you expand the right-hand side here, you get little parking or little buses. There can be buses of all sizes, to be sure, but the meaning of few buses for a countable noun would be much more fitting, I think you would agree. Red light.

Analysis: There is no need to get into the singular/plural agreement quandary between exist or exists, since we are still dealing with possible little buses. If there is an easy way out, then head for the door. Red light.

Analysis: Okay, now I am a little confused. If where was not meant to be underlined in the original sentence, then what is it doing in answers (A) and (B)? If I take things at face value, then the head of this option needs a where. Still, seeing as we have disproved (A) and (B), and scanning ahead to (D) and (E) to see what lies in store, we cannot dismiss this answer based on a missing head. The answer has to be something, right? In any case, notice that we now have a clear compound subject in buses and parking, so a singular subject-verb agreement in exists will not do. Red light.

Analysis: Maybe in some Podunk town in nowhere U.S.A., it is okay to say where there is little... buses available, but subject-verb agreement on the GMAT™ calls for an adherence to Standard American English, and this option fails miserably to meet that standard. Red light.

Analysis: This one had better work, given that we have already eliminated the other choices. Yes, PTD1995, it does need a where at the head of the line. Whoever created the question--in its original form, since MahmoudFawzy may have just been transcribing--should have done a better job proofreading. But if we are to look at the line with our ghost where at the head, we get a sentence that violates no grammatical or semantic rules:

Light rail, public transit that usually results in economic growth for small communities, often makes commuting easier in areas where there are few buses and little available parking.

This sentence wins by default. Green light.

Beware these third-party questions, but learn from them what you can. If this one still does not make sense to anyone, I would be happy to help clarify any of the points I have made above.

Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew