Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question, one thing at a time, and narrow down our options quickly so we know how to answer questions like this when they pop up on the GMAT! To begin, let's take a quick look at the question and highlight any major differences between the options in orange:

Many population studies have linked a high-salt diet to high rates of hypertension and shown that in societies where they consume little salt, their blood pressure typically does not rise with age.

A. shown that in societies where they consume little salt, their

B. shown that in societies that have consumed little salt, their

C. shown that in societies where little salt is consumed,

D. showing that in societies where little salt is consumed,

E. showing that in societies where they consume little salt, their

After a quick glance over the options, a few key differences jump out:

1. shown vs. showing (Verb Form & Parallelism)
2. where they consume / that have consumed / is consumed (Verb Form & Pronouns)
3. Using “their” after the comma or not (Pronouns)

Since #1 is an easy either/or split, let’s start there! No matter which one we choose, we’ll eliminate 2-3 options rather quickly. This is mainly a matter of parallelism! We need to make sure the verb tense we use matches up with the earlier “linked.”

(*Note: We are using the most recent version of this question, which does not match feedback in the comments. Options D & E were updated at some point after this was originally posted.)

A. shown that in societies where they consume little salt, their

B. shown that in societies that have consumed little salt, their

C. shown that in societies where little salt is consumed,

D. showing that in societies where little salt is consumed,

E. showing that in societies where they consume little salt, their

We can eliminate options D & E because “showing” isn’t parallel to “linked.” Now that we have things narrowed down a bit, let’s move on to focusing on #2 and #3 on this list:

A. shown that in societies where they consume little salt, their
This is INCORRECT because it contains a couple vague pronouns! It’s not 100% clear what “they” and “their” are referring to. Logically, “they” and “their” refer back to “societies,” which makes no sense. A society is not the same thing as a person and cannot consume salt or get high blood pressure - however, the people within the society can.

B. shown that in societies that have consumed little salt, their
This is also INCORRECT because of the vague pronoun “their,” which is attempting to state that a society gets high blood pressure, not the people within that society, which makes no logical sense.

C. shown that in societies where little salt is consumed,
This is our CORRECT choice! It gets rid of the vague pronouns, and the meaning is clear to readers.

There you have it - option C is our winner!

Don’t study for the GMAT. Train for it.
_________________

I will go with C!
The sentence is passive. So, C fits nicely. "shown" is parallel to "linked"

Definitely C.

"They showed" is not parallel to have linked. So D and E are wrong. In A and B, the their suggests that the societies have high blood pressure.

Many population studies have linked a high-salt diet to high rates of hypertension and shown that in societies where they consume little salt, their blood pressure typically does not rise with age.

C.

Can't be D or E simply b/c who's "they?" There is no referent using those choices.

Also, it would be helpful to check if the question is properly underlined before hitting submit.

Would request you to please underline the sentence properly.

Can somebody help me out..... Is the use of "where" correct in the OA?
I thought, "where" has to talk about an location or event. Is "societies" something that can utilize "where"?

How is it different from: "I want to live in an era where....."... <--- Which is incorrect

am I wrong mikemcgarry ??
http://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/gmat-sente ... use-where/

My views--

You are right about the word "where" which modifies places but here societies is used as a place.So its correct.

"I want to live in an era where--in this "In which" should be more appropriate (In Which modifies places/situations/time period/phenomenon)

(A) shown that in societies where they consume little salt, their - wordy
(B) shown that in societies that have consumed little salt, their - societies which consumed
(C) shown that in societies where little salt is consumed, - best
(D) they showed that in societies where little salt is consumed, - independent sentence , required
(E) they showed that in societies where they consume little salt, their -- independent sentence , required

Many population studies have linked a high-salt diet to high rates of hypertension and shown that in societies where little salt is consumed, blood pressure typically does not rise with age.

Eroors in the incorrect options highlighted in RED , due to incorrect use of Pronouns They/Their...

Correct answer must hence be (C)
_________________

Many population studies have linked a high-salt diet to high rates of hypertension and shown that in societies where they consume little salt, their blood pressure typically does not rise with age.

(A) shown that in societies where they consume little salt, their - their can refer to societies -- illogical - it is people in the societies and not the soiciety itself that can have blood pressure.

(B) shown that in societies that have consumed little salt, their - same as A

(C) shown that in societies where little salt is consumed, - Correct

(D) they showed that in societies where little salt is consumed, - usage of where is incorrect here ;"they" unambiguously refers to "many population studies", so it's fine (although it constitutes unnecessary repetition - this is already the subject of the sentence, so it needn't be repeated; see (c))
the principal problem with (d) is the lack of tense parallelism. since "have linked" is in the present perfect, the present perfect is also compulsory for the other verb (i.e., it should be "shown", not "showed").

(E) they showed that in societies where they consume little salt, their - their usage is incorrect as in A , usage of where is incorrect here

Answer C
_________________

Hi Dear Experts,

OA is (C) shown that in societies where little salt is consumed.
My question is: where is never used for meta places. I consider society meta place. Otherwise can community, group of people, and firm take where as well?

Thanks

is "societies" supposed to be it?
_________________

(A) shown that in societies where they consume little salt, their - wordy
(B) shown that in societies that have consumed little salt, their - societies which consumed
(C) shown that in societies where little salt is consumed, - best
(D) they showed that in societies where little salt is consumed, - independent sentence , required
(E) they showed that in societies where they consume little salt, their -- independent sentence , required

The pronoun when can be used to modify a noun event or time, such as period, age, 1987\ or decade. In
these circumstances, you can also use in which instead of when.
But I can't find explanation for the usage of WHERE with the word society

Could someone explain it?

Can we use 'where' for non locations? I saw in some video that we can use where only for location

Thanks for your question, sashankvarma!

No, you cannot use "where" for non-locations on the GMAT. It sometimes happens in informal speech/writing, but for the GMAT, it's a no-no.

I hope that helps!
_________________

Thankyou for quick reply,
In the above question we are using `where` for `societies`. And here `societies` is not a physical location right? then, how come Option E is best one?

Hi experts, can someone please explain why the use of "where" (...that in societies where little...) is correct here? I narrowed it down and selected B because I thought you cannot refer to societies using where.