After determining that the young woman was a match for the victim's bl

After determining that the young woman was a match for the victim's blood type, the donor's delicate organs and their soft tissues were protected and extracted by the surgeon.

Modifier (after... type), redundancy..

A. the donor's delicate organs and their soft tissues were protected and extracted by the surgeon - Incorrect modifier. Delicate organs did not determined but Surgeon did. Easy out
B. the surgeon extracted the donor's delicate organs and also protected their soft tissues - 'and' & 'also' means the same. Out
C. the surgeon protected the soft tissues of the donor's delicate organs , extracting them - we need some preposition before extracting them. Incorrect
D. the donor's delicate organs were extracted by the surgeon, protecting their soft tissues - Incorrect modifier. Delicate organs did not determined but Surgeon did. Easy out
E. the surgeon extracted the donor's delicate organs, protecting their soft tissues - Correct
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Option E

A) "the donor's delicate organs and their soft tissues were protected and extracted by the surgeon". INCORRECT! Wrong positioning of the subject. Surgeon should com first
B) "the surgeon extracted the donor's delicate organs and also protected their soft tissues". INCORRECT! And also is redundant
C) "the surgeon protected the soft tissues of the donor's delicate organs , extracting them" INCORRECT! Them is ambiguous
D) "the donor's delicate organs were extracted by the surgeon, protecting their soft tissues" INCORRECT! Same as A)
E) "the surgeon extracted the donor's delicate organs, protecting their soft tissues" CORRECT
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After determining that the young woman was a match for the victim's blood type, the donor's delicate organs and their soft tissues were protected and extracted by the surgeon.


A. the donor's delicate organs and their soft tissues were protected and extracted by the surgeon

B. the surgeon extracted the donor's delicate organs and also protected their soft tissues

C. the surgeon protected the soft tissues of the donor's delicate organs , extracting them

D. the donor's delicate organs were extracted by the surgeon, protecting their soft tissues

E. the surgeon extracted the donor's delicate organs, protecting their soft tissues,

Let's dismiss A and D for misplaced modification. We have to appreciate that the surgeon did only one corejob i.e., extracted the organs while in the process protected the soft tissues. That is the reason E is precise in verbing the main task, while modifying the incidental task of protecting. C unwittingly reverses the role of the main task and the incidental task. B, on the contrary, makes the act of protection another new task and verbs it.

E is the answer
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NOTES: Who determined what? The surgeon. "And also" is redundant.

Ans (E)

E is the right answer.

A and D can be eliminated for modification error because an organ is incapable of determining whether the woman was match for the victim’s blood.

In B, the pronoun their does not have any logical antecedent. Per the meaning of the sentence, it is supposed to refer to donor, which is singular possessive pronoun.

In C, what does them refer to? Does it refer to tissues or organs? In addition, the meaning of the sentence is lost in C as the main idea is expressed as a modifier while what is supposed to be a modifier is expressed with the main verb.

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Ans: E

a) & D) determining should modify surgeon..so a & d are wrong
b) and also..wrong
c)them can refer both soft tissues and organs..wrong
e)correct

A. the donor's delicate organs and their soft tissues were protected and extracted by the surgeon

B. the surgeon extracted the donor's delicate organs and also protected their soft tissues

C. the surgeon protected the soft tissues of the donor's delicate organs , extracting them

D. the donor's delicate organs were extracted by the surgeon, protecting their soft tissues

E. the surgeon extracted the donor's delicate organs, protecting their soft tissues

Initial Modifier should be followed by a Subject "the surgeon" since he is the one determining. So A and D are out

in B "and also" is incorrect

in C "them" is used as an object pronoun for a possessive noun

in E a possesive pronoun is used for a possessive pronoun. Moreover, it makes more sense to say that surgeon extracted the organs after determining the right match than surgeon protected the tissues after determining the match.

Hence E - Answer

After determining that the young woman was a match for the victim's blood type, the donor's delicate organs and their soft tissues were protected and extracted by the surgeon.


A. the donor's delicate organs and their soft tissues were protected and extracted by the surgeon-the surgeon does not literally protect the soft tissues, extraction of the organ does

B. the surgeon extracted the donor's delicate organs and also protected their soft tissues-the surgeon does not literally protect the soft tissues, extraction of the organ does

C. the surgeon protected the soft tissues of the donor's delicate organs, extracting them- confusing same as B, the surgeon does not literally protect the soft tissues, extraction of the organ does

D. the donor's delicate organs were extracted by the surgeon, protecting their soft tissues -modifier does not clearly show what it is modifying

E. the surgeon extracted the donor's delicate organs, protecting their soft tissues -correct

E

(B) the surgeon extracted the donor's delicate organs and also protected their soft tissues.

The correct subject was modified and correct parallel.

Choice B
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Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-



Choice A: This answer choice suffers from a modifier error; the first clause incorrectly refers to "delicate organs", implying that the organs determined that the young woman's and victim's blood types matched. As this implication is clearly illogical, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice B: This answer choice suffers from a redundancy error, due to the use of the phrase "and also"; the word "also" need not be included in this phrase, as "and" is sufficient conjunction on its own. This answer choice also alters the meaning of the sentence, slightly, by separating the act of protecting the donor's organ's "soft tissues" into an action independent of the extraction. The intended meaning is that the surgeon extracted the organs, and in doing so protected the soft tissues. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice C: This answer choice suffers from an error of meaning; by reversing the order of the verbs, this answer choice modifies the phrase "the surgeon protected..." with the phrase "extracting them" to imply that in protecting the soft tissues, the surgeon extracted them. Additionally, it is not clear whether the pronoun "them" refers to "tissues" or "organs". Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice D: This answer choice suffers from the same modifier error found in Option A. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice E: This answer choice conveys the intended meaning of the sentence, avoids redundancy, and maintains proper pronoun use. Thus, this answer choice is correct.

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

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



All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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