Many population studies have linked a high-salt diet to high rates of

Question

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

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EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Accepted Answer

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.

GMATNinja · Answer

Good question! I think it's reasonable to see that "where" and wonder whether a society really is a place. On the one hand, a "society" is a kind of abstraction, one encompassing far more than a physical location -- there are cultural, political, and economic elements. On the other hand, if you ask where a certain society is located, you could probably point to a place on a map, right? Given the uncertainty here, I wouldn't feel comfortable treating this as a concrete error.

But rather than agonize over how much leeway the GMAT grants us when we're interpreting what constitutes a place, think about what would have happened if you'd decided that "where" was a definitive error. Immediately, you'd be left with only (B). Take another look at that option:

"Their" certainly seems to be referring to "societies." But societies don't have blood pressure -- people do! So if we decide that "where" is incorrect, we're forced to select an answer that's spectacularly illogical. And that's a good indication that our initial analysis was wrong.

The takeaway: there's an awful lot of gray area on SC questions. If you determine that one element is wrong, but eliminating every answer choice that contains this element leaves you with an option that is definitely wrong, you need to revisit your thought process and focus on other issues.

I hope that helps!

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Concepts tested here: Tenses + Pronouns + Parallelism

• Habitual actions are best conveyed through the simple present tense. 
• The present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to indicate actions whose exact time is not known.

A:  This answer choice suffers from a pronoun error, as the pronouns “they” and “their” lack a clear and logical referent.

B:  This answer choice suffers from a pronoun error, as the pronoun “their” lacks a clear and logical referent. Further, Option B incorrectly uses the present perfect tense verb “have consumed” to refer to a habitual action; please remember, habitual actions are best conveyed through the simple present tense, and the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is also used to indicate actions whose exact time is not known.

C:  Correct. This answer choice avoids the pronoun errors seen in Options A, B, and E, as it uses no pronouns. Further, Option C correctly uses the present perfect tense verb “have…shown” to refer to an action whose exact time is not known. Additionally, Option C correctly uses the simple present tense verb “is consumed” to refer to habitual action.

D:  This answer choice incorrectly uses the present participle (“verb+ing” – “showing” in this sentence) to refer to an action whose exact time is not known; remember, the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to indicate actions whose exact time is not known.

E:  This answer choice suffers from a pronoun error, as the pronouns “they” and “their” lack a clear and logical referent. Further, Option E incorrectly uses the present participle (“verb+ing” – “showing” in this sentence) to refer to an action whose exact time is not known; remember, the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to indicate actions whose exact time is not known.

Hence, C is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATNTtugB9fM

To understand the concept of "Present Perfect Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNmT9obXukI

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

seofah · Answer

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

briks123 · Answer

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.

soul_assassin · Answer

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.

ynk · Answer

Would request you to please underline the sentence properly.

sashaman14 · Answer

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

sashaman14 · Answer

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

ynk · Answer

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)

bunnyb · Answer

(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

Abhishek009 · Answer

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)

Skywalker18 · Answer

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

Hero8888 · Answer

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

yamato · Answer

is "societies" supposed to be it?

kavach · Answer

(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

Annet1524 · Answer

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?

SkyVarma · Answer

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

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

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!

Many population studies have linked a high-salt diet to high rates of

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Many population studies have linked a high-salt diet to high rates of

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