In reference to the current hostility toward smoking, smokers frequent

In the given text, one point seems to have been missed in general, about the use of ‘anxiety about’ in B, C and D and ‘anxiety that’ in A and E. (Of course B is wrong even otherwise, because of using a past tense for a universal statement.

The idiom ‘anxiety about’ is quite okay in general use , but remember that ‘about’ is a preposition and has to be necessarily followed by a noun or pronoun or a noun or a pronoun phrase. In the text, what you have after ‘anxiety about’ is a full fledged clause, with a subject ‘their prospects’ and a verbal phrase ‘are being stunted’. This is grammatically wrong; that is why B, C and D are eventually wrong.

E avoids this prepositional pitfall by using a subordinate clause that is introduced by the conjunction ‘that’, in addition to using the present tense to mark a general statement. However A is wrong because of the past tense use. E is the right one.

I hope this clears some doubts.
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Hi JenRugani,

When you say "anxiety ABOUT" versus "anxiety THAT, you point out that "idiomatically, a person feels anxious THAT an event will happen or is happening.
MGMAT SC tells us that "anxiaty ABOUT" + noun is OK. Do I understand it correctly, deriving these formulas?


"anxiety THAT" + clause = CORRECT
"anxiaty ABOUT" + clause = NOT CORRECT
"anxiaty ABOUT" + noun = CORRECT

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 by referring to the current hostility toward smoking, smokers frequently express anxiety that their prospects for being hired and promoted are being stunted by their habit.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Grammatical Construction + Tenses

• The simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature.
• The simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past.
• “when” is used to refer to a point in time.
• Prepositions must refer to nouns.

A: This answer choice incorrectly uses the simple past tense verb “expressed” to refer to an action that takes place in the current time frame, as evidenced by the use of the phrase “current hostility”; please remember, the simple present tense is used to refer to actions taking place in the current time frame, and the simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past.

B: This answer choice incorrectly uses the simple past tense verb “expressed” to refer to an action that takes place in the current time frame, as evidenced by the use of the phrase “current hostility”; please remember, the simple present tense is used to refer to actions taking place in the current time frame, and the simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past. Further, Option B incorrectly uses the preposition “about” to refer to the clause “their prospects for being hired and promoted are being stunted by their habit”; remember, prepositions must refer to nouns.

C: Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “When referring”; the use of “when” incorrectly implies that smokers express anxiety that their prospects for being hired and promoted are being stunted by their habit, specifically at the point in time when they refer to the current hostility toward smoking; the intended meaning of this sentence is that by referring to the current hostility toward smoking, smokers frequently express anxiety that their prospects for being hired and promoted are being stunted by their habit; remember, "when" is only used to refer to a point in time. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the preposition “about” to refer to the clause “their prospects for being hired and promoted are being stunted by their habit”; remember, prepositions must refer to nouns.

D: This answer choice incorrectly uses the simple past tense verb “expressed” to refer to an action that takes place in the current time frame, as evidenced by the use of the phrase “current hostility”; please remember, the simple present tense is used to refer to actions taking place in the current time frame, and the simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past. Further, Option D incorrectly uses the preposition “about” to refer to the clause “their prospects for being hired and promoted are being stunted by their habit”; remember, prepositions must refer to nouns.

E: Correct. This answer choice correctly uses the simple present tense verb “express” to refer to an action that takes place in the current time frame, as evidenced by the use of the phrase “current hostility”. Further, Option E uses the phrase “Referring to the current hostility toward smoking”, conveying the intended meaning of the sentence- that by referring to the current hostility toward smoking, smokers frequently express anxiety that their prospects for being hired and promoted are being stunted by their habit. Additionally, Option E correctly uses the conjunction “that” to refer to the clause “their prospects for being hired and promoted are being stunted by their habit”.

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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I think the answer is E.

it should be "smokers frequently express.."

clause doesn't need to start with a "that" always.

In reference to the current hostility toward smoking, smokers frequently expressed anxiety that their prospects for being hired and promoted are being stunted by their habit. (A) In reference to the current hostility toward smoking, smokers frequently expressed anxiety that Incorrect: Here reference means a basis to.....this is better in reference to ___ (B) Referring to the current hostility toward smoking, smokers frequently expressed anxiety about Incorrect : Here Referring means.. When the topic of discusson Hostility toward smoking....the smokers expressed....But the expressed makes the sentence in past...which breaks the rule of tense here.Hence Incorrect. (C) When referring to the current hostility toward smoking, smokers frequently express anxiety about Incorrect: Here the sentence implies that smokers themselves are referring to something. This sentence changes the original meaning of sentence and hence renders it difficult to accept. (D) With reference to the current hostility toward smoking, smokers frequently expressed anxiety about Incorrect: Same problem which was present in option A. (E) Referring to the current hostility toward smoking, smokers frequently express anxiety that COrrect: Here the sentence justifies its meaning. You can read it like....when referring to XYZ..the smokers said ABC.

Hmn,

Is B written as they are, grammatically incorrect? Or we just think that it has to be in the present tense?

Because if B is not grammatically incorrect as it is then I think we should follow A when compare the meaning, the original sentence want us to treat the first part in the past tense and I think we should respect that.

@gautrang : Your concern is justified and I see the pointers you are raising.
But I think, Present tense is justified for quoting any fact or opinion.Use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is repeated or usual. The action can be a habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or something that often happens.
The Simple Present can also indicate the speaker believes that a fact was true before, is true now, and will be true in the future.
Please correct me if I am mistaken. This tense concept is getting on the nerves !!!

Good discussion on this one! Interestingly, the title of the post asks whether we need "in reference to" or "referring to," but we can actually get to the correct answer with totally different errors. It's easy to get hung up on one distinction among answer choices, but don't forget that there is often more than one issue at work -- if you feel stuck, try looking for other errors.

roshanaslam correctly notes that we need the present tense to describe the "current" event, which leaves us with C and E. Between those two answer choices, there's another error that nobody has mentioned yet: "anxiety ABOUT" versus "anxiety THAT." Idiomatically, a person feels anxious THAT an event will happen or is happening.

Yep, Financier, that's correct!

I expressed anxiety ABOUT the test.
I expressed anxiety THAT I would not do well on the test.

The distinction is between noun and clause, as you identified.

I think the word ‘smoker’ in E is a typo. It should be the plural ‘smokers’. With that impediment removed, the answer must be clearly E . In addition, C uses a full fledged clause after the preposition “about”, which is not grammatical. E sets it right by using a subordinate conjunction ‘that, justifying the use of a clause after that.
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That makes sense. Thanks. What are the 'things' in English which can be followed by a clause in a context such as this...
Other than a "that" what else would work as a substitute?

Posted from my mobile device

Can you re-check the option E written here.. because i think its smokerS in the option E.

E should be the correct answer.. .if the option E mentions smokers , let me know i will explain the same. between A and E , A uses past tense where non underlined part require usage of present tense

I prefer to take reference from the non underlined part whenever i am stuck or wheni am not getting any clue on how to proceed

When you read the sentence after removing the prepositional phrase " for being hired and promoted". The sentence is in present tense.
This eliminates choices: (A) (B) (D)- since they use "expressed"

How would you choose between choices (C) and (E)?

My question is how to differentiate in :
1.Referring to the current hostility toward smoking, smokers frequently express anxiety that
2. When referring to the current hostility toward smoking, smokers frequently express anxiety that (note this is not a given choice in OG Answers but still how to get this done)?
one explanation says :
When worrying about her future, Rebecca frequently wakes up in the middle of the night --> this just means that rebecca gets poor sleep on those occasions when she is worrying about her future. it doesn't mean that she generally misses out on good sleep.
Worrying about her future, Rebecca frequently wakes up in the middle of the night --> this means that rebecca wakes up in the middle of the night in general; the initial modifier is just telling us the reason why.
So question is how get which type we are referring here?

Hi Aditya,

The context of the sentence tells us what kind of Modifier we are talking about. This official sentence presents a general fact. It says that smokers are aware of the fact that their habit is considered "bad", and because of this "bad" habit, there chances of getting a job or being promoted in a job is restricted.

Choice C denotes that smokers express anxiety only when they refer to the current hostility towards smoking. All the other times, they are free of anxiety for not having a job or not getting a promotion. This meaning is non-sensical because in general people are hostile towards smokers, and the smokers have to bear the brunt professionally.

Choice E clearly depicts this meaning - of a general fact and hence, is the correct answer. So always go by the context of the sentence. That will help you select the correct answer choice.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha
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'Anxiety that' is preferred than 'anxiety about' because smokers are anxious for something and not anxious about their prospects.

B, C abd D are out.

Out of A and E- 'Referring to the current hostility toward smoking' correctly modifies 'smokers' in option E.

And hence is the correct choice.


P.S- Choice E has been modified.

Hi all,
I am confused with the opening word "Referring to";it seems as if the smokers themselves refer to the current hostility.
Did I miss anything?

Please advise.
Thanks

Your understanding is alright. The smokers themselves refer to the hostility. (This is an example of a present participle modifier referring to the subject of the main clause.)

This question is a typical example of the importance of the part of the sentence outside the underlined segment.

"their prospects for being hired and promoted are being stunted by their habit" (correcting the typo in the question - "promote" to "promoted")

This part of the sentence is a clause which requires "that" to connect it to the main clause - "smokers frequently expressed anxiety". Choices using "about" require a phrase and not a clause.

For example, Smokers frequently express anxiety about their prospects of being hired and promoted, which are being stunted by their habit.

Between option A and E, the word "currently", gives the clue for the tense - present tense and hence option E.