In addition to containing more sentences than page six does

Hi, i don`t agree on the kaplan in this one for me the answer to this question is clearly B

in addition to containing more sentences than page six does, (so the subject will be a page ,eliminate A, C and D; now i will try B) page seven has sentences that are more understanble than (than what? so probably the sentences on page six) those on. Look's good, i'll keep it.
Lets see answer E : page seven has sentences more understanble than those on. hmm E says the same as B, but E is more concise because B introduces a relative clause that just makes it woordy

Answer: E

That is a demonstrative pronoun and it is referring to the entire bunch of sentences on pages 7 and comparing it to THOSE on page 6... I dont see any kind of category to which that is pointing to. further comparison is also fine in option B.

One can say they E is better than B bcz E is concise. .. But E sounds bit unnatural.. a type which we don't use common writing.

Some expert must comment on the differences between these two options.

Hi guys,

I think that THAT is used as an essential modifier here , so the answer should be B .
Can anyone shed some light on this please .

That is an essential modifier, hence it changed the intended meaning of the sentence.
B portrays as if it is referring to a particular set on the page 6.
Hence the answer is D

The option B is grammatically correct, but as you said - THAT is used as an essential modifier. Hence, THAT refers to a group of sentences (not all sentences) on page seven.
E is not only grammatically correct, but also doesn't change the meaning of original sentence. Hence, we have to go with E.

you will NEVER see such questions on actual GMAT.
such questions only harm one's preparations for the test.
seriously?? kaplan?

In addition to containing more sentences than page six does, the sentences on page seven are more understandable than those on page six, with better words and grammar.

I don't understand the significance of "DOES" in here. is it really required?
Shouldn't the comparison be between page 6 and page 7. It seems as if some action of page 6 is compared to page 7.
Can experts please clarify?

hwgmat2015,

First consider the simpler case:
I love chocolates more than Jane.
The sentence could mean the following:
meaning 1: I love chocolates more than Jane loves chocolates.
meaning 2: I love chocolates more than I love Jane.

The first sentence (meaning 1) could also be written as:
I love chocolates more than Jane does.
The verb love is replaced by the verb does in order to avoid repetition.
Observe that when we distinctly mention does at the end, there remains no longer any ambiguity in the meaning.

Now consider the following:
Page 7 contains more sentences than page 6.

The sentence may have 2 meanings:

Meaning 1: Page 7 contains more sentences than page 6 does.
Meaning 2: Page 7 contains more sentences than it contains page 6. ......... i.e. Page 7 contains both sentences and page 6, but number of sentences is more than page 6. (No matter how practically absurd one meaning is, the grammatical ambiguity still remains.)

Page 7 contains more pages than page 6 does....... this construction eliminates the ambiguity.

Now sentence in the question does not use the verb contain directly for page 7, rather it uses the action containing in the form of a present participle. Nonetheless the comparison remains ambiguous as explained above.

Could someone please clarify why "that" is redundant in (B)? Thanks!

Very difficult to eliminate B on a solid ground. Though I can see some attempts in posts above to justify the OA, stating a shift in meaning, I have doubts whether such distinction is expected in the real test.

in choice B, which needs to be used instead of that. E is the best answer.

One hack for why B is incorrect. Please correct me if I am wrong.

page seven has sentences that are more understandable than those on page six.

that is referring to sentences (a bit odd) and then comparing "that" with "those" on page six.

Hi ! Can some of the experts explain this one in detail ?
I feel like both B and E should be correct but on the basic rules of what I've studied for SC, "that" is kind of necessary. Please help!!

Would agree Pranjal. Hard to imagine these two options on a real GMAT question.

I read everybody's opinion but still unable to understand why A is wrong. Can anybody help please??

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 page seven contains more sentences than page six does, and the sentences on page seven are more understandable than the sentences on page six are.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• 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.
• "on + page" is the correct, idiomatic construction.

A: This answer choice incorrectly uses "In addition to...six does" to modify "the sentences on page seven", illogically implying that the sentences on page seven contain more sentences than page six does; the intended meaning is that page seven itself contains more sentences than page six does; please remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.

B: This answer choice uses the needlessly wordy phrase "that are more understandable", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

C: This answer choice incorrectly uses "In addition to...six does" to modify "the sentences on page seven", illogically implying that the sentences on page seven contain more sentences than page six does; the intended meaning is that page seven itself contains more sentences than page six does; please remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Moreover, Option C further alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "than they are in"; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that the same sentences are more understandable on page seven than they are on page six; the intended meaning is that the sentences practically on page seven are more understandable than the sentences practically on page six are. Additionally, Option C incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "in + page"; please remember, "on + page" is the correct, idiomatic construction.

D: This answer choice incorrectly uses "In addition to...six does" to modify "sentences", illogically implying that sentences in general contain more sentences than page six does; the intended meaning is that page seven contains more sentences than page six does; please remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Moreover, Option D further alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "than they are on"; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that sentences in general are more understandable when they are not on page six; the intended meaning is that the sentences practically on page seven are more understandable than the sentences practically on page six are.

E: Correct. this answer choice correctly uses "In addition to...six does" to modify "page seven", conveying the intended meaning - that page seven itself contains more sentences than page six does. Further, Option E uses the phrase "than those", conveying the intended meaning - that the sentences practically on page seven are more understandable than the sentences practically on page six are. Additionally, Option E correctly uses the idiomatic construction "on + page". Besides, Option E is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

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