dreamgmat1 wrote:
Source : GMATPrep Default Exam Pack
With no natural predators and expanses of green suburban neighborhoods that allow no hunting, wildlife officials estimate the New Jersey deer population to have grown to exceed 175,000.
(A) With no natural predators and expanses of green suburban neighborhoods that allow no hunting, wildlife officials estimate the New Jersey deer population to have
(B) With no natural predators and with expanses of green suburban neighborhoods that do not allow hunting, wildlife officials' estimate of deer population in New Jersey has
(C) With no natural predators and with expanses of green suburban neighborhoods where there is no hunting, the deer population in New Jersey, wildlife officials estimate, has
(D) Without natural predators and no hunting allowed in expanses of green suburban neighborhoods, New Jersey has a deer population that wildlife officials estimate to have
(E) Without natural predators and with expanses of green suburban neighborhoods where there is no hunting, wildlife officials in New Jersey estimate a deer population that has
Marger wrote:
For C it seems like " and with expanses of green suburban neighborhoods where there is no hunting" is referring to the Deer Population. Is there a specific rule for this because all of the answers seem wrong here to me as I don't see how that makes sense.
Marger , I do not understand exactly what you are asking.
You write that
with expanses of green suburban neighborhoods where there is no hunting "seems" as if it is referring to
the deer population.
That phrase indeed refers to the deer population.
What do you mean by "this" in "Is there a specific rule for this?" This what?
I wrote a post about introductory phrases that begin with prepositions
here.
In that instance the preposition was
in. In this instance the preposition is
with.
That post contains guidelines. Introductory prepositional phrases differ from five other kinds of introductory phrases.
Stricter rules govern the latter.
And what part, logically, does not "make sense"?
In this statement, both prepositional phrases (with + phrase) modify the subject of the sentence.
Both of the
with phrases give us information that helps to unravel the meaning of the sentence.
• Meaning: The deer population in New Jersey does not contend with forces such as natural predators or hunters in hunting areas that might curb the deer population's growth, and officials estimate that the population has grown to exceed 175,000.
• WITH + phrase is a prepositional modifier The target noun
deer population in New Jersey is preceded by its prepositional descriptors (the "with" statements).
What is true of the deer population in New Jersey?
-- The deer population in New Jersey has no natural predators that would curb deer population growth.
-- The deer population in New Jersey has expanses of suburban neighborhoods in which to roam. Hunting is not allowed
in those neighborhoods, hunting that also would curb deer population growth.
-- Without curbs, the deer population has grown. Officials estimate . . .
• WITH?
Oxford Online U.S. Dictionary,
here, defines
with as
possessing (something) as a feature or accompaniment.Cambridge Online Dictionary,
here, defines with as
having or possessing (someone or something).
In this official question,
here, just as is the case in this question, an introductory phrase headed by the preposition
with modifies a sensible noun.
The deer population in New Jersey
has no curbs on its growth; the population has no natural predators and has roaming areas in which hunting is not allowed.
-- Awkward rewrite: Wildlife officials estimate that the deer population in New Jersey, with no natural predators [that might curb population growth] and with habitats in which to roam where no hunting is allowed [hunting that might curb population growth], has grown to exceed 175,000.
-- The with-clauses are up front to avoid splitting two different subjects:
wildlife officials (estimate that . . . ) and
the deer population (which has grown . . .).
Sometimes "with" modification
is easier to understand if the
with phrase follows the subject.
Example from Oxford dictionary cited above:
After all, people with money and status employ other people to clean up after them.After all, people
who have money and status employ other people to clean up after them.
In the official question cited above, the first part of the sentence, not underlined, is:
With its plan to develop seven and a half acres of shore land,
Cleveland is but one of a large number of communities . . .
Cleveland
has a plan to develop seven and a half acres of shore land . . . .
• No other subject makes senseWhose population is growing?
What noun has no natural predators in New Jersey?Wildlife officials, as in options A, B, and E?
No.
New Jersey, as in option D?
No.
The deer population in New Jersey has no natural predators (and has areas in which to roam where hunting is not allowed).
The deer population has grown because it has no or few curbs on its growth.
Hope that explanation helps.
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