Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
giddi77 wrote:
Television programs developed in conjunction with the marketing of toys, which was once prohibited by federal regulations, are thriving in the free market conditions permitted by the current Federal Communications Commission.
(A) Television programs developed in conjunction with the marketing of toys, which was once prohibited by federal regulations, are
(B) Television programs developed in conjunction with the marketing of toys, a practice that federal regulations once prohibited, is
(C) Developing television programs in conjunction with the marketing of toys, as once prohibited by federal regulations, is
(D) Federal regulations once prohibited developing television programs in conjunction with the marketing of toys, but they are
(E) Federal regulations once prohibited developing television programs in conjunction with the marketing of toys, but such programs are
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 developing television programs in conjunction with the marketing of toys was once prohibited under federal regulations, but such programs are thriving in the free market conditions permitted by the current Federal Communications Commission.
Concepts tested here: Subject-Verb Agreement + Meaning + Modifiers + Pronouns• "who/whose/whom/which/where", when preceded by a comma, refer to the noun just before the comma.
• In a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.
A:1/ This answer choice incorrectly refers to "the marketing of toys" with the phrase "which was once prohibited by federal regulations", incorrectly implying that the practice of
marketing toys was once prohibited; the intended meaning is that the practice of
developing television programs in conjunction with the marketing of toys was once prohibited; remember, "who/whose/whom/which/where", when preceded by a comma, refer to the noun just before the comma.
B: Trap.
1/ This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun "Television programs" with the singular verb "is".
2/ Option B incorrectly modifies "the marketing of toys" with the phrase "a practice that federal regulations once prohibited", incorrectly implying that the practice of
marketing toys was once prohibited; the intended meaning is that the practice of
developing television programs in conjunction with the marketing of toys was once prohibited; remember, in a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.
C:1/ This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the clause "Developing television programs...is thriving..."; the construction of this clause incorrectly implies that the practice of developing television programs in conjunction with the marketing of toys was once prohibited under federal regulations, but
this practice is thriving in the free market conditions permitted by the current Federal Communications Commission; the intended meaning is that the practice of developing television programs in conjunction with the marketing of toys was once prohibited under federal regulations, but
such programs are thriving in the free market conditions permitted by the current Federal Communications Commission.
D:1/ This answer choice suffers from pronoun ambiguity, as it is unclear whether "they" refers to "television programs" or "toys".
E: Correct.1/ This answer choice correctly refers to the plural noun "programs" with the plural verb "are".
2/ Option E uses the clause "Federal regulations once prohibited developing television programs in conjunction with the marketing of toys", avoiding the modifier errors seen in Options A and B and conveying the intended meaning - that the practice of
developing television programs in conjunction with the marketing of toys was once prohibited.
3/ Option E uses the clause "but such programs are thriving...Commission", conveying the intended meaning - that the practice of developing television programs in conjunction with the marketing of toys was once prohibited under federal regulations, but
such programs are thriving in the free market conditions permitted by the current Federal Communications Commission.
4/ Option E avoids the pronoun ambiguity seen in Option D, as it uses no pronouns.
Hence, E is the best answer choice.To understand the concept of "Which", "Who", "Whose", and "Where" on GMAT you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
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