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Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a seri Updated on: 16 Nov 2018, 03:43
Originally posted by fmik7894 on 18 Sep 2017, 20:56.
Last edited by Bunuel on 16 Nov 2018, 03:43, edited 1 time in total.
Renamed the topic and edited the question.
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Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a series of trade bans because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world over the consumption of beef products from specific regions.


A. because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world

B. that was caused by the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world

C. due to the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world

D. reported in the year 2000 because the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy spread panic around the world

E.. because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reporting in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world

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akshata19
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Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a seri 18 Sep 2017, 21:36
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We are providing the reason for the action 'why countries found ...' hence it should be because of and not due to
due to only modifies noun

Narrows down to A and E
a specific time in 2000 the cases were reported hence reporting is wrong form used in E ( avoid the parallelism trap reporting & spreading)

A is the ans .
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Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a seri 18 Sep 2017, 22:18
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Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a series of trade bans because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world over the consumption of beef products from specific regions.

a. because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
b. that was caused by the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
c. due to the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
d. reported in the year 2000 because the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy spread panic around the world
e. because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reporting in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world

I initially struggled a lot on sentences which use because or due to.

The correct answer is A.

Check out this link by e-gmat on because vs due to
https://e-gmat.com/blog/gmat-verbal/sen ... because-of
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Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a seri 19 Sep 2017, 03:54
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Hey GMATNinja mikemcgarry chetan2u

I don't think this sentence is correct!

"Spreading panic.....regions" is a result of "bovine spongiform encephalopathy" . Why do we need "and" to separate the two parts?

If option A is the right answer then the sentence means
- Many countries faced trade bans because of
a) The cases in bovine spongiform encephalopathy
b) Spreading panic...regions

This doesn't make sense to me.

Experts please correct me if I am wrong. Thanks
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Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a seri 27 Nov 2017, 15:25
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The other correct -ish construction is
"Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a series of trade bans because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and panic SPREADING (I have interchanged the wordsaround the world over the consumption of beef products from specific regions." --> this means bans happened due to 1) disease (noun) 2) panic spreading (also a noun)


Would really like to know why A is right. :( Thank you!
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Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a seri 28 Nov 2017, 07:42
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Madhavi1990
The other correct -ish construction is
"Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a series of trade bans because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and panic SPREADING (I have interchanged the wordsaround the world over the consumption of beef products from specific regions." --> this means bans happened due to 1) disease (noun) 2) panic spreading (also a noun)


Would really like to know why A is right. :( Thank you!
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Hi..

pikolo2510, missed out on your post
Not a great question but if you have to choose the best and why A is correct..

Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a series of trade bans because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world over the consumption of beef products from specific regions.

there are two modifiers -
1) past participle - reported
2) present participle - spreading
Both these modify the preceding noun or noun phrase and here they modify - the cases of spongiform encephalopathy

now reported is correct since the event has happened and also it is in passive voice - cases of b s e did not report but were reported..
spreading is correct in second part as it is in active voice - cases of b s e spread the panic


hope it helps
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Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a seri 21 Jun 2018, 10:32
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fmik7894
Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a series of trade bans because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world over the consumption of beef products from specific regions.

a. because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
b. that was caused by the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
c. due to the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
d. reported in the year 2000 because the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy spread panic around the world
e. because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reporting in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
Show more

Imo A

A is correct
B that can not refer to plural noun " bans " and use of singular was is incorrect for plural nouns .
C Due to can not used here as it can only modify nouns .What we have here is clause so this choice is incorrect.
D Changes structure and changes meaning .It seems to suggest bans reported .
E Again meaning is not correct it seems to suggest that spongiform encephalopathy did the act of reporting .What we need here is proper passive voice to make meaning correct .
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Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a seri 13 Feb 2019, 00:12
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fmik7894
Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a series of trade bans because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world over the consumption of beef products from specific regions.

a. because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
b. that was caused by the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
c. due to the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
d. reported in the year 2000 because the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy spread panic around the world
e. because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reporting in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world

Imo A

A is correct
B that can not refer to plural noun " bans " and use of singular was is incorrect for plural nouns .
C Due to can not used here as it can only modify nouns .What we have here is clause so this choice is incorrect.
D Changes structure and changes meaning .It seems to suggest bans reported .
E Again meaning is not correct it seems to suggest that spongiform encephalopathy did the act of reporting .What we need here is proper passive voice to make meaning correct .
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When you say that "due to" can not be used to modify a clause. Here isnt "due to " modifying the "case of bovine desease" which is a noun + 2 modifiers.
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Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a seri 13 Feb 2019, 01:03
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arvind910619
fmik7894
Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a series of trade bans because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world over the consumption of beef products from specific regions.

a. because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
b. that was caused by the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
c. due to the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
d. reported in the year 2000 because the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy spread panic around the world
e. because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reporting in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world

Imo A

A is correct
B that can not refer to plural noun " bans " and use of singular was is incorrect for plural nouns .
C Due to can not used here as it can only modify nouns .What we have here is clause so this choice is incorrect.
D Changes structure and changes meaning .It seems to suggest bans reported .
E Again meaning is not correct it seems to suggest that spongiform encephalopathy did the act of reporting .What we need here is proper passive voice to make meaning correct .
When you say that "due to" can not be used to modify a clause. Here isnt "due to " modifying the "case of bovine desease" which is a noun + 2 modifiers.
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Due to modifies the effect, not the cause.
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Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a seri 13 Feb 2019, 02:27
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manishcmu
Shrattitude
Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a series of trade bans because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world over the consumption of beef products from specific regions.

a. because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
b. that was caused by the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
c. due to the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
d. reported in the year 2000 because the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy spread panic around the world
e. because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reporting in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world

Imo A

A is correct
B that can not refer to plural noun " bans " and use of singular was is incorrect for plural nouns .
C Due to can not used here as it can only modify nouns .What we have here is clause so this choice is incorrect.
D Changes structure and changes meaning .It seems to suggest bans reported .
E Again meaning is not correct it seems to suggest that spongiform encephalopathy did the act of reporting .What we need here is proper passive voice to make meaning correct .
Show more
When you say that "due to" can not be used to modify a clause. Here isnt "due to " modifying the "case of bovine desease" which is a noun + 2 modifiers.

Due to modifies the effect, not the cause.

Hi manishcmu, thanks for response,
i wrote to arvind910619 responce where he stated that due to cannot refer to a clause
So what you mean to say is it is modifying the effect (trade bans) and not the cause (case of bovine desease).
Still my question remains the same. Is it not an noun (trade bans / bovine desease). There is no action (verb). So why not the use of Due to?
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Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a seri 13 Feb 2019, 02:56
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Shrattitude
manishcmu
Shrattitude
Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a series of trade bans because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world over the consumption of beef products from specific regions.

a. because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
b. that was caused by the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
c. due to the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
d. reported in the year 2000 because the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy spread panic around the world
e. because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reporting in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world

Imo A

A is correct
B that can not refer to plural noun " bans " and use of singular was is incorrect for plural nouns .
C Due to can not used here as it can only modify nouns .What we have here is clause so this choice is incorrect.
D Changes structure and changes meaning .It seems to suggest bans reported .
E Again meaning is not correct it seems to suggest that spongiform encephalopathy did the act of reporting .What we need here is proper passive voice to make meaning correct .
When you say that "due to" can not be used to modify a clause. Here isnt "due to " modifying the "case of bovine desease" which is a noun + 2 modifiers.

Due to modifies the effect, not the cause.

Hi manishcmu, thanks for response,
i wrote to arvind910619 responce where he stated that due to cannot refer to a clause
So what you mean to say is it is modifying the effect (trade bans) and not the cause (case of bovine desease).
Still my question remains the same. Is it not an noun (trade bans / bovine desease). There is no action (verb). So why not the use of Due to?
Show more

Due to is "trying" to modify the clause - Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a series of trade bans, which is the effect in the form of clause. Due to is not modifying "trade bans". Here is a simple example - The delay in bus service was due inclement weather. Here , due to modifies the noun phrase - "delay in bus service". However, if I write - the bus was delayed due to inclement weather. This is wrong because due to is trying to modify the clause - "the bus was delayed ". You see there is a subtle difference in the two sentences . In one, we used a noun phrase and in the other we used a clause to convey the same idea. Hope this helps.
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Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a seri 15 Aug 2020, 12:20
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manishcmu
Shrattitude
manishcmu
Shrattitude
Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a series of trade bans because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world over the consumption of beef products from specific regions.

a. because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
b. that was caused by the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
c. due to the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world
d. reported in the year 2000 because the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy spread panic around the world
e. because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reporting in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world

Imo A

A is correct
B that can not refer to plural noun " bans " and use of singular was is incorrect for plural nouns .
C Due to can not used here as it can only modify nouns .What we have here is clause so this choice is incorrect.
D Changes structure and changes meaning .It seems to suggest bans reported .
E Again meaning is not correct it seems to suggest that spongiform encephalopathy did the act of reporting .What we need here is proper passive voice to make meaning correct .
When you say that "due to" can not be used to modify a clause. Here isnt "due to " modifying the "case of bovine desease" which is a noun + 2 modifiers.

Due to modifies the effect, not the cause.

Hi manishcmu, thanks for response,
i wrote to arvind910619 responce where he stated that due to cannot refer to a clause
So what you mean to say is it is modifying the effect (trade bans) and not the cause (case of bovine desease).
Still my question remains the same. Is it not an noun (trade bans / bovine desease). There is no action (verb). So why not the use of Due to?

Due to is "trying" to modify the clause - Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a series of trade bans, which is the effect in the form of clause. Due to is not modifying "trade bans". Here is a simple example - The delay in bus service was due inclement weather. Here , due to modifies the noun phrase - "delay in bus service". However, if I write - the bus was delayed due to inclement weather. This is wrong because due to is trying to modify the clause - "the bus was delayed ". You see there is a subtle difference in the two sentences . In one, we used a noun phrase and in the other we used a clause to convey the same idea. Hope this helps.
Show more


Hey.. from what I grasped, the modifier here needs to be one that modifies the NOUN (trade bans). "Because of" is illogical because as you said, it modidies the action of finding.

Many countrires found themselves in crisis because of a disease and the panic. They do not find that beccause of the two reasons. They find that while the two things going on. Let me make an analogy.
I find myself in lockdown because of the coronavirus and the Pandemic.
There exists no causality between the disease and the action that I find it. The effect of the two things is lockdown, as that of the two in original sentence is the bans.
In another word, the lockdown is due to the virus and the Pandemic. And the bans are due to the disease and panic.
Instead, because I was stopped by the patrol police, I found myself in lockdown. And because of the sharp decrease in beef export, the countries found themselves in deep sh*t.

In all, I really see no reason to go for choice A. Wish you could come up some more to convince me.
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Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a seri 15 Aug 2020, 13:06
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GMATNinja need your analysis of the answer choices. I fail to understand how spreading is correct, is it not a verbal on this cases? no aiding verb before it.

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Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a seri 22 Aug 2020, 16:30
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"Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a series of trade bans because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world over the consumption of beef products from specific regions."

I have a question here:

In the sentence above after "because of" we have a list of 2 reasons
1) the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 --- (noun phrase)
and
2) spreading panic around the world over the consumption of beef products from specific regions --- (simple gerund)

Should these 2 elements be considered parallel? Do we not need complex gerunds in order to make the 2nd element parallel to the first?

Thanks!
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Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a seri 23 Aug 2020, 00:00
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"Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a series of trade bans because of the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 and spreading panic around the world over the consumption of beef products from specific regions."

I have a question here:

In the sentence above after "because of" we have a list of 2 reasons
1) the cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in the year 2000 --- (noun phrase)
and
2) spreading panic around the world over the consumption of beef products from specific regions --- (simple gerund)

Should these 2 elements be considered parallel? Do we not need complex gerunds in order to make the 2nd element parallel to the first?

Thanks!
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IMO they are both noun, case and panic. Spreading is an adjective modifying panic

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Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a seri 30 Aug 2020, 05:21
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Hi Experts,
Please explain this .
i understand that reported and spreading are adjectives modifying the noun the Cases
but cant we use spread panic ? if we use is it still the same?
and when to use "due to" and "because"
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Many beef-exporting countries found themselves in the middle of a seri 30 Aug 2020, 11:06
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I think the experts keep shying away from this one because it simply isn't good. The OA doesn't make a lot of sense. Sure, we can say that cases of BSE are spreading panic, but it's a bit odd, since the cases themselves cannot spread panic. Then when we try to make that parallel to "reported," things really fall apart. There's simply no good reason to make "reported" and "spreading" into two parallel terms modifying "cases." In fact, the structure would naturally lead us to see "spreading panic" as a parallel noun to "cases."

Also, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that any question that hinges solely on the difference between "because of" and "due to" should be instantly discarded. The distinction between those two is not as clear as most GMAT-watchers would like to believe, and I'd be very surprised to see the GMAT make that the sole deal-breaker for an answer.

So, short version: Toss this question out and learn from official sources! :)

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