Although in some women, new studies indicate that abnormally

Hi Daagh

what would be the verb of new studies

Thanks
Jatin

In E, new studies is not a subject to have a verb; it is just the object of the preposition despite ; A pronoun can refer to an object also

I would have picked E if there were no comma after women.
Can mikemcgarry / GMATNinja or any other expert please explain the need for the comma after women?

Dear darn,

I'm happy to respond.

My friend, if an answer looks totally right except for where you think a comma should or shouldn't be, it's probably right. Remember, the GMAT does not test punctuation, and it most certainly would not test the presence/absence of a single comma. You would be well advised to hold the commas at a slightly lower level of priority.

Why is that comma needed? This is hard to say. Fundamentally, a comma represents a short pause in spoken language: if you are used to the sound of English being spoken, then this would be clearer. The comma serves to isolate the term "abnormally low levels of melatonin," giving this sophisticated scientific term a little rhetorical boost, and thus adding a little clarity to the sentence. The sentence would not be "wrong" without the comma, but it's a slightly clearer this way.

My friend, there is absolutely no way to get to GMAT SC mastery by learning some mythical "complete" list of rules. No such list exists. You have to develop intuition for the "feel" of the language, and this comes with frequent exposure. See:
GMAT Critical Reasoning and Outside Knowledge
In your case, I also would recommend either listening to well-spoken English (perhaps an academic podcast) or finding an English conversation partner. Having the "feel" of the language ultimately will answer many of these sorts of questions.

Does all this make sense?
Mike

This is a tricky one, but here's my attempt to explain it.

Although in some women, new studies indicate that abnormally low levels of the light-sensitive hormone melatonin in them may contribute to premenstrual depression, doctors are hesitant to recommend light therapy until additional studies have been completed.

A) Although in some women, new studies indicate that abnormally low levels of the light-sensitive hormone melatonin in them
2 problems with this one. 1) Although needs to go with a clause. 2) " Although in some women, new studies indicate that" suggets that the new studies are actually inside ladies. (I'm guessing that's not the type of study we'd like to refer over here)
B) Although new studies indicate that levels of the abnormally low light-sensitive hormone melatonin in some women
levels of low hormone vs. low levels of hormone. This is where I got trapped. These are NOT the same. The study indicates low levels of X attribute to Y, NOT levels of low X attribute to Y. A very sneaky PLACEMENT issue. This is what is meant by people saying "altered the intent" but I hope this displayed more clear here.
C) Although new studies in some women indicate that abnormally low levels of the light-sensitive hormone melatonin
"in some women" has the 2) problem in A.
D) Despite the fact that new studies are indicating abnormally low levels of melatonin, a light-sensitive hormone in some women that
"in some women that contribute to" puts an essential modifier on women, not low levels of hormone.
E) Despite new studies that indicate that in some women, abnormally low levels of melatonin, a light-sensitive hormone,
Extremely awkward sounding..but correct. Don't fall for the awkward elimination trap here. (cuz Damn it, I did)

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-



Choice A: In Option A, we see a case of pronoun ambiguity; the pronoun "them" could refer to either "studies" or "women". Furthermore, we also see a modifier error; the phrase "in some women" incorrectly modifies the noun "new studies". Thus, Option A is incorrect.

Choice B: In Option B, we see a construction error that alters the meaning of the sentence. The term "abnormally low" should be used to modify the "level" of the "light-sensitive hormone melatonin", but in this answer choice it is used to refer to the hormone itself. Therefore, the intended meaning of the overall phrase changes from 'low levels of the particular hormone' to 'a hormone that is sensitive to abnormally low levels of light'. Thus, Option B is incorrect.

Choice C: Option C also displays a construction error that changes the meaning of the sentence. The phrase "new studies in some women" is improperly constructed and implies that the studies were conducted in some women. This meaning is different from the intended meaning and illogical. Thus, Option C is incorrect.

Choice D: Option D also displays a construction error that changes the meaning of the sentence. The phrase "a light-sensitive hormone in some women" implies that melatonin is only present in some women; this is not the intended meaning of the sentence. Thus, Option D is incorrect.

Choice E: Option E displays correct construction throughout the sentence and conveys the intended meaning of the sentence. Thus, Option E is correct.

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of “Avoiding Pronoun Ambiguity on the GMAT”, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team

What is the correct answer? Isn't necessary information caged in commas in option e?

In (E), commas seem to set off the subject of the noun clause "that in some women, abnormally ...." However, actually those commas set off modifiers that surround the subject. So, the subject itself is not set off by commas.

At the same time, there is a comma missing from (E). There should be a comma between "that" and "in." As a result of the fact that that comma is missing, the comma between "women" and "abnormally" seems to set off the subject of the clause.

Here's a correct version of (E) that includes the missing comma:

(E) Despite new studies that indicate that, in some women, abnormally low levels of melatonin, a light-sensitive hormone,

Now it looks better.

A) Although in some women, new studies indicate that abnormally low levels of the light-sensitive hormone melatonin in them
The women were not the subject of the study but they were the one affected by the low level of menatonin

B) Although new studies indicate that levels of the abnormally low light-sensitive hormone melatonin in some women
This gives us the meaning as though levels of some low light elemnt is causing abnormality which just doesn't make any sense

C) Although new studies in some women indicate that abnormally low levels of the light-sensitive hormone melatonin
This gives the meaning as though the womenwere subject to intense srutiny which is not the case butrather it's the light senstive item that was scrutinized

D) Despite the fact that new studies are indicating abnormally low levels of melatonin, a light-sensitive hormone in some women that
This gives the meaning as though women are the cause of depression whereas menatoning is the real reason

E) Despite new studies that indicate that in some women, abnormally low levels of melatonin, a light-sensitive hormone,
This is the intended meaning

Therefore IMO E

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