NATO's relationship with Russia was for years one of outright hostility, but it may soon find itself[/u] on the path to offering membership.

A. NATO's relationship with Russia was for years one of outright hostility, but it may soon find itself

B. NATO's relationship towards Russia was for years one of outright hostility, but the organization may soon find itself

C. NATO's relationship with Russia was for years one of outright hostility, but the organization may soon find itself

D. For years, NATO had a relationship with Russia that was one of outright hostility, but soon they may find themselves

E. For years, NATO's relationship with Russia was one of outright hostility, but the organization may soon have found itself[/quote]

Answer should be C

A. NATO's relationship with Russia was for years one of outright hostility, but it may soon find itself.PRONOUN AMBIGUITY

B. NATO's relationship towards Russia was for years one of outright hostility, but the organization may soon find itself.IDIOM ERROR.

C. NATO's relationship with Russia was for years one of outright hostility, but the organization may soon find itself
CORRECT
D. For years, NATO had a relationship with Russia that was one of outright hostility, but soon they may find themselves.MEANING CHANGE

E. For years, NATO's relationship with Russia was one of outright hostility, but the organization may soon have found itself.TENSE ERROR

Ans C

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:
Choice A is guilty of two Pronoun errors. Both pronouns "it" and “itself” should refer back to “NATO”, but because “NATO's” is used as an adjective (preceding “relationship”, which is the noun), neither pronoun is used correctly. Furthermore, the pronoun “it” is unclear in its reference, as it could also modify “Russia”. Because of these errors, answer choice A is incorrect.

Answer choice D is also guilty of a Pronoun error, as it uses the plural pronouns “they” and “themselves” to modify the singular “NATO”. Accordingly, answer choice D is incorrect.

Answer choice E commits a Tense error, as the modifier “soon” implies a future event, and is therefore inconsistent with the verb “have found”, which indicates the recent past. Consequently, answer choice E is incorrect.

Answer choices B and C are similar, but B is incorrect because of an illogical meaning/diction error. NATO has a “relationship with” Russia, and not a “relationship toward” Russia. In situations like this, you may want to test the idiom with your own situation to see which idiom clicks. “I have decided to end my relationship with my ex-girlfriend” is the way you would phrase that situation; “I have decided to end my relationship toward her” should sound awkward in comparison.

Therefore, answer choice B is incorrect, and answer choice C is the correct answer.

Answer C.
A - Pronoun Error. 'it' refers to NATO's relationship. Does not make sense. Eliminate A
B - Idiom Error. NATO's relationship towards Russia. Relationship towards is wrong idiom. Eliminate B
C - No Error. Ideally, the organization must have an antecedant. But then, in GMAT always choose the best of available. So, Hold on to C.
D - Pronoun Error. 'they' does not have a pronoun.
E - Tense error. the organization may soon have found itself In the future, it can only find not found
So, best of available is C. Choose C.

C. NATO's relationship with Russia was for years one of outright hostility, but the organization may soon find itself

Hi,
Could "organisation" refer back to a possessive noun? NATO's??
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1. What does "one" refer to? It must refer to "relationship." Okay, so we have: "NATO's relationship with Russia was for years a relationship of outright hostility,"

All good so far. Let's keep reading.

2. What does "it" refer to? It must refer to "relationship." But does that make logical sense? "but the relationship may soon find itself on the path to offering membership."

Illogical. A relationship can not offer membership.

relationship towards is incorrect.


Logical. No ambiguous or confusing pronouns.


What is "they" referring to? It can't refer to NATO or Russia. Both NATO and Russia are singular proper nouns that should be referred to with singular pronoun "it"

Pronoun error


The verb tense at the end is incorrect. "may soon have found itself on the path to offering membership."

Correct form = "may soon find itself..."
_________________

I agree, it would have been better -
NATO was outright hostile towards Russia for many years, but the organisation may soon find itself...

However, by POE this is the best choice in my opinion.

In (A), it is not clear as to which noun the pronoun "it" is referring. Hence, this sentence remains unclear and is therefore eliminated.

The correct idiom concerning relationship is "relationship with". (B) violates this idiomatic structure and is therefore eliminated.

In (D), it is not clear as to which subject "they" is referring to. Hence, (D) is eliminated.

In (E), the phrases "may soon.. have found" doesnt make any sense grammatically. Hence, this option is eliminated.

Therefore, (C) is the correct choice.

I have a doubt regarding the placement of "for years"..Is not it modifying the relationship? In C it is placed after the Verb was whereas in D and E it is placed correctly. Can somebody please clear the air on this kind of modification error ?

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