A new study published by the Journal of the American Medical Associati

cant find anything wrong with it, other than it is wordy!!

Is there grammatically anything wrong next to the fact that this answer choice is inferior to B ?

Correct answer must be (B) for the highlighted errors in the other options...

who exercise regularly and maintain

should we normally have to add who exercise regularly and who maintain to keep the parallelism ?

Both are alright: In the first, two verbs ( exercise and maintain) are parallel - "who" is OUTSIDE the parallel structure. In the latter, two relative clauses (who exercise.. and who maintain...) are parallel - "who" is INSIDE the parallel structure.
(Remember the once out twice in rule for parallelism.)

"sudden cardiac death during physical exertion that is moderate to vigorous in nature"

Along with being wordy, I also felt 'that' to be an ambiguous reference which can either refer to the cardiac death or to the physical exertion. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Hi,
here 'that' correctly refers to physical exertion as 'that' follows the touch rule to refer the noun. However, the touch rule can be ignored in case the middle phrase between noun and 'that' can not be placed away from the noun it is modifying.

yes it is wordy. Hence B is better.

I also felt prompted for E, than B , but problem with E could be - 'that' in choice E may refer to "cardiac arrest" instead of "physical exertion". General rule so called 'wordy' choices never qualify for a suitable answer.

Abhishek009

Could you please point out why the highlighted portion in E is wrong??

Generally, in case of relative clauses, 'twice in' is preferred over 'once out' rule for parallelism to avoid any ambiguity but in this particular case it is perfectly clear that 'who exercise regularly and maintain' modifies the noun 'women', so both 'once out' and 'twice in' rule will be grammatically correct.

Correct me if I'm wrong.
Thanks

(A) maintained a healthy diet are at low risk of sudden cardiac death during physical exertion that is moderate to vigorous in nature

(B) maintain a healthy diet are at low risk of sudden cardiac death during moderate to vigorous physical exertion

(C) maintain a healthy diet will be at low risk of sudden cardiac death during moderate to vigorous physical exertion

(D) maintained a healthy diet were at low risk of sudden cardiac death during moderate to vigorous physical exertion

(E) maintain a healthy diet are at low risk of sudden cardiac death during physical exertion that is moderate to vigorous in nature


We need "maintain" & "exercise" in parallel. A & D are out.

C is using "will". Unnecessary change of tense. Out.

E. Unnecessarily added a "that" clause at the end. IMO "that clause is also ambiguous a bit.

It seems to convey the meaning, "physical exertion" that is moderate to "vigorous".......

B clears the air quite easily by comparing Adjectival phrases "moderate physical exertion" & vigorous physical exertion".

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Avoid A and E, because it is wordier in nature as compared to other options.
Among B, C, and D, we surely need a present tense that matches exercise.
Therefore, answer should be B.

Hi KarishmaB

Can you please explain why choice E is incorrect?

Hello thereisaFire,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, Option E is not incorrect, it is merely inferior to Option B because Option B is more concise.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

(B) is direct. (E) is indirect and not necessarily perfect. Perhaps "nature" doesn't define "moderate/vigorous" physical exertion? Is intensity the right word? Moderate intensity makes more sense. Option (B) avoids this whole issue. It is clear and concise.
Hence, pick (B).

Official Explanation:

The original sentence incorrectly uses a past tense verb form: “maintained.” This is inconsistent with the present tense verbs “exercise” and "are." The present tense is appropriate here because the study in question asserts that the women who perform certain behaviors on an ongoing basis (present tense) are (present tense) at a low risk of death. Additionally, the phrase “physical exertion that is moderate to vigorous in nature” is unnecessarily wordy. The more concise “moderate to vigorous physical exertion” is preferred.

(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.

(B) CORRECT. The present tense verbs “maintain” and “are” are consistent with the present tense verb “exercise.” Also, the phrase “moderate to vigorous physical exertion” is clear and concise.

(C) This choice incorrectly uses a future tense verb form: “will be.” This is inconsistent with the present tense verbs “exercise” and “maintain.”

(D) This choice incorrectly uses past tense verb forms: “maintained” and “were.” These are inconsistent with the present tense verb “exercise.”

(E) The phrase “physical exertion that is moderate to vigorous in nature” is unnecessarily wordy. The more concise “moderate to vigorous physical exertion” is preferred.