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26 Jun 2020, 00:13
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Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
35%
(medium)
Question Stats:
64% (01:31) correct
36%
(01:38)
wrong
based on 538
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Once common across southwest Asia, the Indian cheetah was driven nearly to extinction during the late 1900s, and only a small amount of animals now reside in their remaining original habitat.
A) and only a small amount of animals now reside in their remaining original habitat
B) only a small number of animals are now residing in their remaining original habitat
C) and only a small number of animals now reside in what remains of their original habitat
D) with only a small number of animals that now reside in their present remaining habitat
E) and only a small amount of animals reside in their original habitat that presently remains
26 Jun 2020, 00:16
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OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
THE PROMPT
→ a countable noun requires that we use number (or a "small" number of):
-- a great number of macarons at the patisserie
-- a small number of samosas as an appetizer
-- a limited number of people
→ an uncountable noun requires that we use amount:
-- a large amount of bread
-- a small amount of ice cream
-- a remarkable amount of restraint
THE OPTIONS
Eliminate A
Kritisood , sagarsoni , and dracarys007 : nice catch
• to splice in English means to join two or more parts together
Film editors cut out scenes they do not like and splice together the remaining parts of the film.
→ We cannot stick two independent clauses together with nothing more than a comma.
If we do so, we have improperly spliced the independent clauses (sentences) together with a comma.
→ If we use a comma when we join two independent clauses, we must also use a coordinating conjunction such as and, but, or
• are now residing is clunky in style and but probably not ungrammatical. (The verb tense in this case is not the big problem.)
Eliminate B
• what remains of their original habitat is acceptable
-- the italicized words are called a "noun clause" or a "substantive clause."
-- this noun clause is the object of the preposition in, but GMAC uses noun clauses as subjects fairly often
KEEP C
• as a very general rule, with does not usually take a that-clause containing a verb. Rather, with is typically followed by a noun and in this particular context, by a gerund (verbING).
-- again, in general, the word with is not really "hefty" enough to add a lot of substantive detail to a sentence.
What I write is a guideline, not an ironclad rule.
Eliminate D
• that presently remains is clunky and sounds redundant in context; remains is a present tense verb. At what other time than the present would the original habitat remain?
→ I do not eliminate option on the basis of style until the very end of my analysis, which is also when I investigate potential pronoun ambiguity.
→ I add pink to stress style issues or issues that are not slam-dunk error.
Eliminate E
The answer is (C)
In order to prevent people from eliminating an answer because they think that the meaning of option A cannot be changed: option A does not determine intended meaning.
I have written about this issue in quite a few posts.
One of them is here. I point out that I agree with Ron Purewal, Dmitry Farber, and GMATNinja. I cite examples.
COMMENTS
sagarsoni and kawal27 , welcome to SC Butler.
( kawal27 , I had to edit my OE after I posted it because you posted while I was writing this. Glad to have you.)
I am glad to see all of you.
Nice work.
THE PROMPT
Quote:
Once common across southwest Asia, the Indian cheetah was driven nearly to extinction during the late 1900s, and only a small amount of animals now reside in their remaining original habitat.
• number vs. amount?→ a countable noun requires that we use number (or a "small" number of):
-- a great number of macarons at the patisserie
-- a small number of samosas as an appetizer
-- a limited number of people
→ an uncountable noun requires that we use amount:
-- a large amount of bread
-- a small amount of ice cream
-- a remarkable amount of restraint
THE OPTIONS
Quote:
A) and only a small amount of animals now reside in their remaining original habitat
• animals are countable, so the word amount should be numberEliminate A
Quote:
B) [AND] only a small number of animals are now residing in their remaining original habitat
• as sagarsoni notes, this option creates a comma splice. Kritisood , sagarsoni , and dracarys007 : nice catch
• to splice in English means to join two or more parts together
Film editors cut out scenes they do not like and splice together the remaining parts of the film.
→ We cannot stick two independent clauses together with nothing more than a comma.
If we do so, we have improperly spliced the independent clauses (sentences) together with a comma.
→ If we use a comma when we join two independent clauses, we must also use a coordinating conjunction such as and, but, or
• are now residing is clunky in style and but probably not ungrammatical. (The verb tense in this case is not the big problem.)
Eliminate B
Quote:
C) and only a small number of animals now reside in what remains of their original habitat
• number correctly refers to countable animals, as most of you note, vipulshahi and dushyantkanal included• what remains of their original habitat is acceptable
-- the italicized words are called a "noun clause" or a "substantive clause."
-- this noun clause is the object of the preposition in, but GMAC uses noun clauses as subjects fairly often
KEEP C
Quote:
D) with only a small number of animals that now reside in their present remaining habitat
• now and present are redundant• as a very general rule, with does not usually take a that-clause containing a verb. Rather, with is typically followed by a noun and in this particular context, by a gerund (verbING).
-- again, in general, the word with is not really "hefty" enough to add a lot of substantive detail to a sentence.
What I write is a guideline, not an ironclad rule.
Eliminate D
Quote:
E) and only a small amount of animals reside in their original habitat that presently remains[/color]
• same problem as that in (A): amount should be number• that presently remains is clunky and sounds redundant in context; remains is a present tense verb. At what other time than the present would the original habitat remain?
→ I do not eliminate option on the basis of style until the very end of my analysis, which is also when I investigate potential pronoun ambiguity.
→ I add pink to stress style issues or issues that are not slam-dunk error.
Eliminate E
The answer is (C)
In order to prevent people from eliminating an answer because they think that the meaning of option A cannot be changed: option A does not determine intended meaning.
I have written about this issue in quite a few posts.
One of them is here. I point out that I agree with Ron Purewal, Dmitry Farber, and GMATNinja. I cite examples.
COMMENTS
sagarsoni and kawal27 , welcome to SC Butler.
( kawal27 , I had to edit my OE after I posted it because you posted while I was writing this. Glad to have you.)
I am glad to see all of you.
Nice work.
26 Jun 2020, 00:36
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generis
Once common across southwest Asia, the Indian cheetah was driven nearly to extinction during the late 1900s, and only a small amount of animals now reside in their remaining original habitat.
A) and only a small amount of animals now reside in their remaining original habitat
B) only a small number of animals are now residing in their remaining original habitat
C) and only a small number of animals now reside in what remains of their original habitat
D) with only a small number of animals that now reside in their present remaining habitat
E) and only a small amount of animals reside in their original habitat that presently remains
we can count cheetahs; one cheetah, two cheetahs, etc hence "small number of" would be correct here. eliminate A and E.
We need an "and" after the 1900's + remaining original habitat is verbose. eliminate B.
The "with" in D is incorrect + present remaining habitat is again verbose.
Remaining is C. This choice corrects all the above.
