Kritesh wrote:
More and more couples wait before trying to start a family, the average age of first-time parents is increasing.
A. More and more couples wait before trying to start
B. As more and more couples wait before trying to start
C. As more and more couples wait before trying and starting
D. Although more and more couples wait before trying to start
E. Being that more and more couples are waiting before trying to start
Dear
Kritesh,
I'm happy to respond.
This SC practice question is not bad. Here's my analysis.
First of all, after the comma, in the non-underlined section, we have an independent clause. That could stand as a complete sentence all by itself:
The average age of first-time parents is increasing.
There's no conjunction at the comma, so what comes before the comma has to be a dependent clause (a.k.a a subordinate clause). Choice (A), makes the first part another independent clause, so this version has a comma splice, which is a symptomatic of a kind of
run-on sentence. This is wrong.
(B) is problem free, and correctly formulated with the first part as a dependent clause.
In (C), "
trying and starting" is a colloquial construction that is never appropriate for the GMAT. This is incorrect.
Choice (D) is 100% grammatical correct, but logically wrong. If couples are waiting longer before starting to have kids, then this would be consistent with the average age increasing. Having the contrast word "although" doesn't make logical sense. This is incorrect.
Choice (E) is so awkward that it should be taken out back and shot. This is incorrect.
The only possible answer is
(B). This question is solid but easy: I could see where it might be challenging for non-native speakers, but for native English speakers, this would be relatively straightforward.
Here's a more challenging SC practice question.
Senator Charles SumnerDoes all this make sense?
Mike