The shift from traditional dentistry to cosmetic dentistry to cosmetic

(A) dentistry to cosmetic dentistry is due to adults getting fewer cavities and becoming
Consice , however the contrast isn't displayed with the addition as in the case of D therefore out

(B) dentistry to cosmetic dentistry is happening because fewer adults are getting cavities and they are also becoming
THey might refer back to cavities therefore out

(C) dentistry to cosmetic dentistry is because of adults who are getting both fewer cavities and becoming

(D) dentistry to cosmetic dentistry is taking place because adults are getting fewer cavities and are also becoming
Even though wordy the meaning is perfectly conveyed therefore out

(E) dentistry to cosmetic dentistry occurs because of adults getting fewer cavities and becomes
Becomes isn't the ideal usage therefore out

Therefore IMO D

The shift from traditional dentistry to cosmetic dentistry is due to adults getting fewer cavities and becoming more conscious of their looks.


(A) dentistry to cosmetic dentistry is due to adults getting fewer cavities and becoming

(B) dentistry to cosmetic dentistry is happening because fewer adults are getting cavities and they are also becoming

(C) dentistry to cosmetic dentistry is because of adults who are getting both fewer cavities and becoming

(D) dentistry to cosmetic dentistry is taking place because adults are getting fewer cavities and are also becoming

(E) dentistry to cosmetic dentistry occurs because of adults getting fewer cavities and becomes


Hi Experts

GMATNinja @VeritasKarishma EducationAisle ChrisLele mikemcgarry AjiteshArun egmat sayantanc2k RonPurewal DmitryFarber MagooshExpert avigutman EMPOWERgmatVerbal MartyTargetTestPrep ExpertsGlobal5 IanStewart
other experts AnthonyRitz

I am facing difficulty in identifying where to use less , few, lower. lesser and many others
Can someone please help me in clearing this doubt?

I marked ans B for the above question as i thought cavity is a uncountable noun (Initially I was confused between B and D but ultimately marked ans B because of the mentioned reason)

Hello Vatsal7794,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, “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.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:
Please stop making decisions based on stupid nonsense like idioms!


The problem with B is that the pronoun "they" is a failure. What does it refer back to? "adults"? Maybe, but the adjective "fewer" will come along for the ride, and it will end up sounding like "fewer adults are becoming more conscious of their looks." This is nonsense, of course.

If you must know, cavities are countable, since I can say "how many cavities?" and you can answer, for instance, "eight cavities." But really, please, try to avoid making decisions about such things!
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I think you're right.

More generally, this problem is a mess. There are at least 3 significant issues:

• The correctly parallel structures are needlessly wordy (as sherxon points out above).

• The underline is too long.
GMAC's underlines always go precisely from the FIRST DIFFERENCE to the LAST DIFFERENCE. You will never, ever, EVER see the same words at the beginning or end of all 5 underlines.
Thus, the words "dentistry to cosmetic dentistry" should NOT be underlined. The underlined part needs to start at is/is/is/is/occurs.

• Choice A isn't wrong enough.
The only issue in A is the "due to" modifier, which mistakenly attributes the shift to the "adults" (= dental patients) THEMSELVES rather than to the given trends in their dental hygiene and personal priorities.
When GMAC has misused this type of modifier in official problems, that error has always co-occurred with other issues; I've never seen an official wrong answer that's only wrong for this reason (and I'm quite confident I won't see one going forward, since this type of issue—which rests on a lesser-known modifier rule that has to be memorized—is exactly the kind of thing that GMAC has purged from the test in recent years to ensure fairness for non-native English learners).

Treat other problems from this source with great caution. Getting accustomed to problem-writing conventions that are wildly different from GMAC's is definitely something you want to avoid.