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Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
icandy wrote:
Heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved from the previous year, only look less appetizing than their round and red supermarket cousins, often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises, but are more flavorful.
(A) cousins, often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises, but are
(B) cousins, often green and striped, or with plenty of bumps and bruises, although
(C) cousins, often green and striped, or they have plenty of bumps and bruises, although they are
(D) cousins; they are often green and striped, or with plenty of bumps and bruises, although
(E) cousins; they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises, but they are
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that heirloom tomatoes look less appetizing than their round and red supermarket cousins in that they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises, but these tomatoes are more flavorful.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers + Parallelism• In a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.
• Elements in a sentence should only be parallel if they play the same role in the sentence.
• Any elements linked by a conjunction ("but" and “although” in this case) must be parallel.
A: This answer choice incorrectly modifies "their round and red supermarket cousins" with "often green and striped", incorrectly implying that the heirloom tomatoes'
round and red supermarket cousins are often green and striped; the intended meaning is that the
heirloom tomatoes themselves are often green and striped; remember, in a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Moreover, Option A uses the clause "Heirloom tomatoes...look less appetizing...or have plenty of bumps and bruises"; the parallelism between "look less appetizing" and "have plenty of bumps and bruises" incorrectly implies that heirloom tomatoes
either look less appetizing than their round and red supermarket cousins
or have plenty of bumps and bruises; the intended meaning is that heirloom tomatoes look less appetizing than their round and red supermarket cousins
in that they have plenty of bumps and bruises; remember, elements in a sentence should only be parallel if they play the same role in the sentence. Further, Option A fails to maintain parallelism between "Heirloom tomatoes...look less appetizing..." and "are more powerful"; remember, any elements linked by a conjunction ("but" in this case) must be parallel.
B: This answer choice incorrectly modifies "their round and red supermarket cousins" with "often green and striped", incorrectly implying that the heirloom tomatoes'
round and red supermarket cousins are often green and striped; the intended meaning is that the
heirloom tomatoes themselves are often green and striped; remember, in a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Moreover, Option B uses the phrase "or with plenty of bumps and bruises", leading to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that heirloom tomatoes often have bumps and bruises. Further, Option B fails to maintain parallelism between "Heirloom tomatoes...look less appetizing..." and "more powerful"; remember, any elements linked by a conjunction ("although" in this case) must be parallel.
C: This answer choice incorrectly modifies "their round and red supermarket cousins" with "often green and striped", incorrectly implying that the heirloom tomatoes'
round and red supermarket cousins are often green and striped; the intended meaning is that the
heirloom tomatoes themselves are often green and striped; remember, in a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Moreover, Option C uses the clause "or they have plenty of bumps and bruises"; the parallelism between "Heirloom tomatoes...look less appetizing" and "they have plenty of bumps and bruises" incorrectly implies that heirloom tomatoes
either look less appetizing than their round and red supermarket cousins
or have plenty of bumps and bruises; the intended meaning is that heirloom tomatoes look less appetizing than their round and red supermarket cousins
in that they have plenty of bumps and bruises; remember, elements in a sentence should only be parallel if they play the same role in the sentence.
D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "or with plenty of bumps and bruises"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that heirloom tomatoes often have bumps and bruises. Further, Option D fails to maintain parallelism between "Heirloom tomatoes...look less appetizing..." and "more flavorful"; please remember, any elements linked by a conjunction ("although" in this sentence) must be parallel.
E: Correct. This answer choice avoids the modifier error seen in Options A, B, C, and D, as it uses the independent clause "they are often green and striped", conveying the intended meaning - that "they" (heirloom tomatoes) are often green and striped. Moreover, Option E uses the phrase "or they have plenty of bumps and bruises", correctly maintaining parallelism between "are often green and striped" and "have plenty of bumps and bruises", conveying the intended meaning - that heirloom tomatoes look less appetizing than their round and red supermarket cousins
in that they have plenty of bumps and bruises; parallelism between these two phrases is correct, as both refer to an action taken by "they (heirloom tomatoes)". Further, Option E maintains parallelism between "Heirloom tomatoes...look less appetizing..." and "they are more flavorful".
Hence, E is the best answer choice.To understand the concept of "Phrase Comma Subject" and "Subject Comma Phrase" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1minute):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team