Pack 4 Q5: For protection, mongooses use a variety of...

A. that make their body appear large
"that" correctly modifies "defense mechanisms"

B. thus making their bodies appear larger
Changes the meaning. Are the mongooses doing it purposely? We don't know.

C. to make their bodies appear larger
Changes the meaning. Are the mongooses doing it purposely? We don't know.

D. so that the bodies appear larger
Clearly wrong. Whose body?

E. of making their body appear large
Wrong

Large vs Larger Split : To decide this we see the phrase in the non underlined portion. We see 'and more threatening'. Hence we require something parallel to this to maintain parallelism. Hence larger is the clear choice.
So, A and E are out.

In D, 'so that the bodies appear larger', we do not know whose bodies are being referred to. In this we can easily infer that this clause is talking about the bodies and not specifically mongoose's. Hence incorrect.

So now we are left with B and C.
Now in B if you notice, there is a meaning error. Lets join the sentence with the previous part.

mongooses use a variety of defense mechanisms_______thus making their bodies appear larger.

Now Mongooses main aim is to make their bodies appear larger. It is the required effect of using defense mechanisms. This is intentionally done to avoid predators. Hence 'thus making' seems to be mentioning that the mongooses never wanted this effect intentionally but have anyhow got it. Hence incorrect.

Answer is that is why C IMO

Official Explanation:

For protection, mongooses use a variety of defense mechanisms, such as standing up, lifting their tails, and weaving and bobbing, that make their body appear large and more threatening when confronted by a predator.

A. that make their body appear large
B. thus making their bodies appear larger
C. to make their bodies appear larger
D. so that the bodies appear larger
E. of making their body appear large

A quick review of our answer choices shows that we need to decide if the adjective “large” or the comparative “larger” should be used. We also have to decide if we need the singular or plural of “body.” Finally, we need to decide if a relative clause, gerund phrase, infinitive, or an adverb should introduce this phrase.

Since the endings of our answer choices are different, we need to look at the non-underlined portion of the sentence. “And more threatening” follows “large/larger.” “More threatening” is a comparative adjective so we need another comparative adjective to make the sentence parallel. “Larger” is a comparative adjective, and “large” is not. Options A and E cannot be the best answers. These options also used the singular “body,” but the subject is plural (mongooses) so the plural “bodies” should be used.

This sentence has an introductory phrase and a modifying phrase that are nonessential to the sentence. Let’s ignore those for a little while and look at each sentence using our remaining answer choices.

Option B: Mongooses use a variety of defense mechanisms thus making their bodies appear larger.
“Thus” is used to indicate the outcome of some action, but here, it changes the logical meaning of the sentence. We don’t know if these defense mechanisms actually make mongooses appear larger to predators; the point of the sentence is to tell us some of the reasons why mongooses take the actions that they do. When the modifying phrase (such as . . . bobbing) is included in the sentence, it also becomes unclear what the “thus” statement is modifying. Logically, Option B cannot be the best answer.

Option C: Mongooses use a variety of defense mechanisms to make their bodies appear larger.
This sentence makes sense and uses the plural “bodies” and the comparative “larger.” This is probably the correct answer.

Option D: Mongooses use a variety of defense mechanisms so that their bodies appear larger.
This one is a little tricky. “X so that Y” is used to indicate the purpose or intention of Y in relation to X. Technically, this sentence does that. The intention of using some of the defense mechanisms is to make their bodies appear larger. But, “so that,” in this sentence, implies that using the defenses actually makes the body appear larger. We don’t know if the predator sees it that way. One other thing that will completely knock this option out is the use of “the bodies” versus “their bodies.” The pronoun “their” allows us to know that the bodies being referred to are those of the mongooses. However, by using “the bodies,” Option D is not clear on whose bodies, the mongooses or the predators, the sentence is referring to. While we can assume it means the mongooses, there is another option that leaves us in no doubt. Option D cannot be the best answer.

We have successfully eliminated four answer choices. Option C makes logical sense, is grammatical, and leaves no questions about meaning, so it is the best answer.

For protection, mongooses use a variety of defense mechanisms, such as standing up, lifting their tails, and weaving and bobbing, that make their body appear large and more threatening when confronted by a predator.

The meaning of the sentence is mongooses use a variety of defence mechanisms for protections. Examples of these mechanisms include
1. standing up
2. lifting their tails and
3. Weaving and bobbing
The last phrase explains how the above examples help in protection by making their bodies appear larger and more threatening.

A. that make their body appear large
we need larger to maintain parallelism.
Moreover, that is too far from "mechanisms". I think the role of that here is modifier which should be close to the noun mechanisms.
B. thus making their bodies appear larger
ING modifier correctly used to explain the result
C. to make their bodies appear larger
D. so that the bodies appear larger
So that is used to express the end result which in this case is protection. ING modifier is better in this case
E. of making their body appear large
Of is incorrect usage here.
The answer is B IMO

Here is my view.

For protection, mongooses use a variety of defense mechanisms, such as standing up, lifting their tails, and weaving and bobbing, that make their body appear large and more threatening when confronted by a predator.

After removing underlined portion I wrote the sentence as below.

For protection, mongooses use a variety of defense mechanisms that make their body appear large and more threatening when confronted by a predator.

Option E is completely wrong. Of making their bodies doesn't grammatically fit within statement. Moreover, "defense mechanism of making their bodies" is not correct.

Now option C and D indicate that the purpose of using defense mechanism is to make theirs bodies large in appearance. This change the meaning of original statement.

Option A tell that defense mechanisms that make their bodies appear large..seems good but not correct. Moreover, we need larger, not large.

Option B- thus making their bodies appear larger is outcome of use of various defense mechanisms by M. and comma+verbing is correctly modifying the previous clause.
B is correct as per my understanding.

For protection, mongooses use a variety of defense mechanisms, such as standing up, lifting their tails, and weaving and bobbing, that make their body appear large and more threatening when confronted by a predator.

LARGE VS LARGER split: if -ER form of adjective is present, we need THAN to be in the sentence, and there is no THAN in non-underlining portion, so B, C, and D are out.

Between A and E, modification in A looks better.

A. that make their body appear large - correct
B. thus making their bodies appear larger
C. to make their bodies appear larger
D. so that the bodies appear larger
E. of making their body appear large

I totally agree with you on OA.

The answer has to be C. It shows the intent that the said effects are done intentionally to avoid predators.
In D their would have been better before bodies to make meaning clearer.
B the time lag is not there between the cause and the effect. The intention is not proper in this sentence.
I would say a very close call between B and C.
C is clear and concise.

Great job, kunalcvrce! You cracked the code on this one!

You were really close on this one, suchithra! The problem with option B is the word "thus." We don't know for sure if those behaviors are 100% successful at making themselves seem larger and more threatening to predators - we only know WHY they do it.

Option C better explains it with the word "to," which indicates the mongoose's intentions, not their results.

I hope that helped! Feel free to tag me at EMPOWERgmatVerbal if you have any other questions!

You were so close, gvij2017!

The intended meaning of the sentence is, in fact, to explain the purpose of why mongooses do those things - they are trying to appear larger and more threatening to predators. We aren't trying to tell readers the result of these actions. Therefore, option C is the best way to indicate intention, rather than results.

I hope that helps! You were on the right track, but got thrown off by the intended meaning. Feel free to tag me at EMPOWERgmatVerbal if you have any questions!

Hello harsh8686!

Thank you for giving this one a try! Please check out my explanation to help you figure out where your explanation gets off track a bit. I think you had the right idea on options D & E, but the rest need some clarification.

Feel free to tag me at EMPOWERgmatVerbal if you have questions!

Well done, adstudy! You cracked the code on this one! I also like your explanation for the split between options B & C!

Kudos to you!

Hi EMPOWERgmatVerbal,

I now know why A is wrong but if A had "their bodies" and "appear larger", would option A be right? In other words, will the usage of "that" would have been right?

Hello harsh8686!

Thanks for your question! Let's look at what option A would look like if you made the changes you suggested:

For protection, mongooses use a variety of defense mechanisms, such as standing up, lifting their tails, and weaving and bobbing, that make their bodies appear larger and more threatening when confronted by a predator.

To be completely honest, I don't think this would be incorrect if you wrote it out this way. One could argue, however, that there is a slight difference in meaning between the two phrases:

to make = mongooses use defense mechanisms with the intention of making their bodies appear larger and more threatening (but can't be 100% sure)
that make = mongooses use defense mechanisms knowing they will make their bodies appear larger and more threatening (and are 100% sure)

I hope that helps! Keep tagging me at EMPOWERgmatVerbal if you have any other questions!

For protection, mongooses use a variety of defense mechanisms, such as standing up, lifting their tails, and weaving and bobbing, that make their body appear large and more threatening when confronted by a predator.

"use" needs a "to" thus the only alternative that continues logically the sentence is (C)

C. to make their bodies appear larger -> Right Answer

just read this line 'mongooses use a variety of defense mechanisms', and then u vil get to know clearly to put up which option in continuity with this. so the most appropriate option is 'c'. also, 'their bodies' is the correct usage as well as 'larger'.
Sid

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