The continental United States receives an average of 30 inches of

Can anyone provide the proper reason to eliminate D? There is no subject verb disagreement here. I see so many here talking about singular verb but that is obviously wrong.
D: with transpiration from soil and from plants to return approximately 21 inches to the atmosphere, the rest of the 9 inches contributes to the flow
Is the second part of the sentence a run on?
Is it that we can't start a sentence after ; with "with" (why not?)
Is it something to do with parallelism?
GMATNinja daagh Can anyone help? Thanks

Hey!

I largely agree with what the very skilled ExpertsGlobal5 has said about this with just a couple of small amendments:

As ExpertsGlobal5 suggested, the infinitive form here (to return) kind of implies that the return is pending in some way (like it's going to happen), a meaning not suited to the general-truth intention. But to build on that, given the with at the beginning of this clause, the construction would probably have to involve returning to be correct. There's also a meaning issue in the second part of (D): the rest of the 9 inches implies that some of those 9 inches have already gone somewhere (leaving the rest of them to contribute to the flow). However, that's not the case here; rather, 21 of the 30 inches have already gone somewhere, and it's the remaining 9 inches that are contributing to the flow.

And ExpertsGlobal5 is again correct on (E). I'll only add that as can be used either as a substitute for because/since or as a time marker meaning at the same time as. Of course, neither meaning is correct here, so no matter what the as will be wrong, but I just thought it should be mentioned. The trap the question is trying to lay with as is that it has an overlap in meaning with while, which can also mean at the same time as. However, that's not the intended meaning of the while that appears in the correct answer; instead, the while in (A) is meant to highlight the contrast between the two parts of the clause after the semicolon.

Hello Sir ryanstarr ,

In ( A) is ‘ while’ working as contrast word or conveying action that is simultaneous with first action of transpiration ? I found the latter meaning to be more logical .

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 the crucial part of this sentence is that transpiration from soil and from plants returns approximately 21 of the 30 inches of precipitation to the atmosphere, and simultaneously the other 9 inches contribute to the flow of streams and rivers.

Concepts tested here: Subject-Verb Agreement + Meaning

• “although” and “despite” are used to show contrast.
• "while" is used to refer to actions that take place simultaneously.

A: Correct. This answer choice correctly refers to the singular nouns "transpiration" and "balance" with the singular verbs "returns" and "contributes", respectively. Further, Option A uses the clause "transpiration...returns...to the atmosphere" and the phrase "while the balance of 9 inches contributes to the flow"; the construction of these phrases and the use of 'while" convey the intended meaning - that transpiration from soil and from plants regularly returns approximately 21 of the 30 inches of precipitation to the atmosphere, and simultaneously the 9 inches of precipitation that remain after transpiration contributes to the flow of streams and rivers.

B: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "remainder" with the plural verb "contribute". Further, Option B alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase"even though"; the use of this phrase incorrectly implies that transpiration from soil and from plants returns approximately 21 of the 30 inches of precipitation to the atmosphere, and in spite of this fact the other 9 inches contribute to the flow of streams and rivers; the intended meaning is that transpiration from soil and from plants returns approximately 21 of the 30 inches of precipitation to the atmosphere, and simultaneously the other 9 inches contribute to the flow of streams and rivers; remember, "while" is used to refer to events that take place simultaneously, and “although” and “despite” are used to show contrast. Moreover, Option B further alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "the flowing"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that the other 9 inches of precipitation contribute to the flow of streams and rivers.

C: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular nouns "transpiration" and "balance" with the plural verbs "return" and "contribute", respectively. Further, Option C alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase"although transpiration..."; the use of "although" incorrectly implies that transpiration from soil and from plants returns approximately 21 of the 30 inches of precipitation to the atmosphere, and in spite of this fact the other 9 inches contribute to the flow of streams and rivers; the intended meaning is that transpiration from soil and from plants returns approximately 21 of the 30 inches of precipitation to the atmosphere, and simultaneously the other 9 inches contribute to the flow of streams and rivers; remember, "while" is used to refer to events that take place simultaneously, and “although” and “despite” are used to show contrast. Moreover, Option C further alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "the flowing"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that the other 9 inches of precipitation contribute to the flow of streams and rivers

D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "with transpiration...to return"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that because transpiration from soil and from plants will return approximately 21 of the 30 inches of precipitation to the atmosphere the other 9 inches contribute to the flow of streams and rivers; the intended meaning is that transpiration from soil and from plants regularly returns approximately 21 of the 30 inches of precipitation to the atmosphere, and simultaneously the other 9 inches contribute to the flow of streams and rivers. Moreover, Option D further alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "the rest of the 9 inches contributes"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that a portion of the 9 inches of precipitation that remain after transpiration contributes to the flow of streams and rivers; the intended meaning is that 9 inches of precipitation that remain after transpiration, out of the total of 21 of the 30 inches, contribute to the flow of streams and rivers.

E: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular nouns "transpiration" and "the rest" with the plural verbs "return" and "contribute", respectively. Further, Option E alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "as transpiration..."; the use of "as" incorrectly implies that because transpiration from soil and from plants returns approximately 21 of the 30 inches of precipitation to the atmosphere the other 9 inches contribute to the flow of streams and rivers; the intended meaning is that transpiration from soil and from plants returns approximately 21 of the 30 inches of precipitation to the atmosphere, and simultaneously the other 9 inches contribute to the flow of streams and rivers. Moreover, Option E further alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "the rest of the 9 inches contribute"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that a portion of the 9 inches of precipitation that remain after transpiration contributes to the flow of streams and rivers; the intended meaning is that 9 inches of precipitation that remain after transpiration, out of the total of 21 of the 30 inches, contribute to the flow of streams and rivers.

Hence, A is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team