Less than 400 Sumatran rhinos survive on the Malay peninsula and on th

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that fewer than 400 Sumatran rhinos survive on the Malay peninsula and on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, and they occupy a small fraction of the species’ former range.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers + Grammatical Construction + Idioms

• “few”/”a few” are exclusively used to refer to plural nouns and countable nouns, and “less”/”a little” are exclusively used to refer to singular nouns and uncountable nouns; “any”, “none”, “all”, and “some” can be used to refer to plural and uncountable nouns and singular and countable nouns.
In a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.

A: This answer choice incorrectly uses "Less" to refer to the countable noun "rhinos"; remember, “few”/”a few” are exclusively used to refer to plural nouns and countable nouns, and “less”/”a little” are exclusively used to refer to singular nouns and uncountable nouns.

B: This answer choice incorrectly places information vital to the core meaning of the sentence - the fact that the rhinos survive on the Malay peninsula and on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo - between commas; please remember, information that is vital to the core meaning of the sentence cannot be placed between commas. Further, Option B incorrectly uses "Less" to refer to the countable noun "rhinos"; remember, “few”/”a few” are exclusively used to refer to plural nouns and countable nouns, and “less”/”a little” are exclusively used to refer to singular nouns and uncountable nouns.

C: This answer choice incorrectly uses "Occupying a small fraction of the species’ former range" to modify "the Malay peninsula and the islands of Sumatra and Borneo", illogically implying that the Malay peninsula and the islands of Sumatra and Borneo occupy a small fraction of the Sumatran rhinos' former range; the intended meaning is that the surviving Sumatran rhinos occupy a small fraction of the Sumatran rhinos' former range; remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.

D: Correct. This answer choice correctly uses "Occupying a small fraction of the species’ former range" to modify "fewer than 400 Sumatran rhinos", conveying the intended meaning - that the surviving Sumatran rhinos occupy a small fraction of the Sumatran rhinos' former range. Further, Option D correctly uses "fewer" to refer to the countable noun "rhinos". Additionally, Option D avoids the grammatical construction error seen in Option B, as it places no information between commas.

E: This answer choice incorrectly uses "less" to refer to the countable noun "rhinos"; remember, “few”/”a few” are exclusively used to refer to plural nouns and countable nouns, and “less”/”a little” are exclusively used to refer to singular nouns and uncountable nouns.

Hence, D is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Extra Information Between Commas", you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



To understand the concept of "Phrase Comma Subject" and "Subject Comma Phrase" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team