Sulfur dioxide, a major contributor to acid rain, is an especially ser

Question

Sulfur dioxide, a major contributor to acid rain, is an especially serious pollutant because it diminishes the respiratory system's ability to deal with all other pollutants.

(A) an especially serious pollutant because it diminishes the respiratory system's ability to deal

(B) an especially serious pollutant because of diminishing the respiratory system's capability of dealing

(C) an especially serious pollutant because it diminishes the capability of the respiratory system in dealing

(D) a specially serious pollutant because it diminishes the capability of the respiratory system to deal

(E) a specially serious pollutant because of diminishing the respiratory system's ability to deal

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NewYorker, JUN 15, 1987, PAGE 47

https://archives.newyorker.com/?iid=16020&crd=0&searchKey=Sulfur%20dioxide%20is%20a%20particularly#folio=047

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Official Answer

A

goutamread · Accepted Answer

Question: Sulfur dioxide, a major contributor to acid rain, is an especially serious pollutant because it diminishes the respiratory system's ability to deal with all other pollutants.
A. an especially serious pollutant because it diminishes the respiratory system’s ability to deal
B. an especially serious pollutant because of diminishing the respiratory system’s capability of dealing
C. an especially serious pollutant because it diminishes the capability of the respiratory system in dealing
D. a specially serious pollutant because it diminishes the capability of the respiratory system to deal
E. a specially serious pollutant because of diminishing the respiratory system’s ability to deal

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A

Determine whether a PRONOUN is ambiguous or not? (by the 'Ron Purewal')

Note: The content/knowledge was not produced by me; it was merely assimilated from Ron's sessions. ( Please visit https://www.manhattangmat.com/thursdays-with-ron.cfm for more such lessons). I have just compiled various notes , for my convenience,from his videos. (I am just playing a plagiarist).

Ambiguous Pronoun :

(As explained by Aristotle SC grail) Sometimes, a sentence is structured in a way that a pronoun can refer to more than one noun, and as a result the reader is confused about the author‘s intentions - what the pronoun is referring to.

John encouraged Jerry to start a pest control business
because he felt that the residents of the city would be
willing to pay for the same.
Who does 'he‘ refer to, John or Jerry?

John encouraged Jerry to start a pest control business
because John felt that the residents of the city would be
willing to pay for the same.

In this session(please see the attachment), Ron stated that Pronoun ambiguity is NOT an "absolute" rule. He further explained how to determine whether a pronoun is ambiguous or not.

Attachments

Pronoun Ambiguity (by Ron Purewal).docx [423.2 KiB]
Downloaded 1977 times

GMATNinja · Answer

Exactly right. "Specially" means 'for a special purpose.' "Specially for her daughter's third birthday, Amy made unicorns out of icing and placed them atop the 'Fudgy the Whale' ice cream cake." This is a very special birthday indeed. (Presumably, the sulfur dioxide cake would have been a good deal less special.)

"Especially," on the other hand, means "to an increased degree". "Especially toxic pollutants" are  very  toxic pollutants, a meaning that makes perfect sense in the context of the problem.

And I agree with you about "capability" as well. The distinction between "capability" and "ability" feels far too subtle to use as a decision point. We always want to stick with more concrete issues.

Nicely done!

ywilfred · Answer

(A) - it refers to pollutant (which is sulfur dioxide). 
 - 'to deal' is the correct idiom ?? 
(B) - of dealing isn't right
 - 'because of diminishing doesn't seem correct'
(C) - i think deal requires 'to' preceding it
(D) and (E) out. Special appears to suggest one of a kind.

I'll go with A

jallenmorris · Answer

In my opinion, the difference is very little. Here are the definitions I looked up:

a·bil·i·ty Audio Help /əˈbɪlɪti/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation  Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation 
–noun, plural -ties. 1. power or capacity to do or act physically, mentally, legally, morally, financially, etc. 
2. competence in an activity or occupation because of one's skill, training, or other qualification: the ability to sing well. 
3. abilities, talents; special skills or aptitudes: Composing music is beyond his abilities.

ca·pa·bil·i·ty Audio Help /ˌkeɪpəˈbɪlɪti/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation  Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation 
–noun, plural -ties. 1. the quality of being capable; capacity; ability: His capability was unquestionable. 
2. the ability to undergo or be affected by a given treatment or action: the capability of glass in resisting heat. 
3. Usually, capabilities. qualities, abilities, features, etc., that can be used or developed; potential: Though dilapidated, the house has great capabilities.

Hope this helps

temp33 · Answer

IMO A.

I faced the same question when I was taking the paper based SETS.. 
"ability to" is preferred to "capability of" .. Hence only A and E remain..

Between these 2, A is the better choice

kissthegmat · Answer

Sulfur dioxide, a major contributor to acid rain, is  an especially serious pollutant because it diminishes the respiratory system’s ability to deal  with all other pollutants.

A. an especially serious pollutant because it diminishes the respiratory system’s ability to deal
B. an especially serious pollutant  because of diminishing  the respiratory system’s  capability of  dealing
C. an especially serious pollutant because it diminishes  the capability of the respiratory system  in dealing
D. a specially serious pollutant because it diminishes the  capability of the respiratory  system to deal
E. a specially serious pollutant  because of diminishing  the respiratory system’s ability to deal

All the parts in  RED  are awkward and hence wrong. I don't think you have to go for deciding b/w especially and specially.

crick20002002 · Answer

+1 for A.

There are three possible antecedents of "it":

1) Sulphur dioxide

2) acid rain : the phrase containing acid rain is mentioned as a modifier(seperated by commas) - a classic middleman. It is not the subject of the sentence and if you remove it from the sentence, the sentence will still hold. Hence ruled out as antecedent.

3) pollutant: pollutant in the sentence is used as a category/type and not as a specific entity. It refers to a specific entity, hence pollutant can't be the antecedent.

So "it" indeed refers to Sulphur dioxide.

___________________________________________________________________________

INCORRECT :John encouraged Jerry to start a pest control business because he felt that the residents of the city would be willing to pay for the same.

Here the issue is the ambiguous answer to the question "Who felt that the residents ....?". Was it John or was it Jerry. Since the answer can be any of the two, usage of "he" is ambiguous here.

Crick

Swoosh617 · Answer

Answer choice D does sound a little awkward, but I think the bigger issue is the difference between "especially" and "specially"

https://englishplus.com/grammar/00000287.htm

That site is a pretty quick description of the difference, but basically you use especially to describe something that has an extraordinary characteristic (as in this case, the pollutant is extraordinarily serious). Specially is used when the thing you are describing has a purpose to be described that way (those shoes were specially made for running.)

GMATPill · Answer

If you replace the word "capability" with "ability" you're left with "ability of the respiratory system to deal with..." - similar to "the respiratory system's ability to deal with..."

On the GMAT the answer will be the "best" answer choice. Simpler is better on the GMAT exam. THe use of ability vs capability can be debatable - but what is clear is that "the respiratory system's ability to deal with" is simpler than the "ability of the respiratory system to deal with..."

It eliminates many phrases that end in "OF", for example "capability OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM" to deal with. The topic here is "ability" so by rephrasing as "respiratory system's ability to deal with..." we capture it in the simplest way - which is preferred for the GMAT.

vdbhamare · Answer

nice explanation by ron

https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/post30983.html

hi -

normally you're supposed to, at a minimum, ask some sort of question about the problem. you're not supposed to just post it with no commentary, as if it had accidentally fallen out of a grocery bag.

this problem is a pure test of word choice / idiomatic expression. that's a situation that i don't see often on official problems; it's almost as though the gmat is taking cheap potshots at the (great many) non-native speakers of english who take the test.

* "specially", which means "in a special way", is incorrect here. (example of correct use: "the specially crafted exclusive edition of this car costs more than the standard edition") you want "especially", which means "in particular" or "more so than all the others". therefore D and E are gone.

* "capability of ____ing" and "capability in ____ing" are unidiomatic, so B and C are gone.

those two are enough, but note also:
* "because of ____ing", where ____ing is a noun, is unidiomatic, so B and E are gone.

NOTE: be careful with this elimination. if ____ing is an adjective, not a participle, then "because of ____ing NOUN" is a perfectly acceptable structure, as in "because of diminishing returns, i don't get as much interest from my bank account anymore".

MunniB · Answer

Hi Goutamread, pls post more such posts like these. Interesting theory.

carcass · Answer

if you want to see all the study hall go here https://www.manhattangmat.com/thursdays-with-ron.cfm though the docx is useful

bagdbmba · Answer

Why we've discarded E...? it's grammatically and logically fine I believe and more concise as compared to A.

Experts, can you please step in to clarify it.
Much appreciate your help.

goutamread · Answer

E is incorrect :

1)  Incorrect idiom   : Because of VERBing (Correct Idiom: Because of Noun   Because Clause)

2)  Other issue in the problem  :
* ESPECIALLY vs. SPECIALLY
“especially” = “to an unusually high degree” or “more so than comparable things”
These paintings are all attractive, but that one is especially attractive because of its use of chiaroscuro .
“specially” = "done in a special manner"
This dish, which is not on the normal menu, was specially prepared for our guest.

Zarrolou · Answer

especially or specially?
I would choose "especially", Sulphur Dioxide is not "special"...

A(...)because it diminishes
B(...)because of diminishing --- "because of"+ noun is correct, out B
C(...)because it diminishes

A(...)the respiratory system's ability to deal --- I pick A, is more clear. "ability to deal" should be correct
C(...)the capability of the respiratory system in dealing --- "the capability in dealing" doesn't sound good

IMO A

venkat18290 · Answer

I want to know why C is wrong and the difference between ability to deal and the capability in dealing.

pqhai · Answer

Hi venkat

C is wrong because:

(1)  idiom problem:  "capability....  in  doing" is wrong. The correct ones are: capability of doing / capability to do
(2)  Meaning problem:  ability vs capability. In general, both  ability  and  capability  refer to the power to do something. But,  capability  refers to  the measure  of someone's ability. On the other hand,  capability  is more particular than ability
 For example: 
The computer has ability to calculate very complex equations 
The computer has capability to calculate one hundred complex equations in 1 minute.

But in this question, we're only talking about "ability" in general, thus "ability" is more appropriate.

Hope it helps.

addyudit · Answer

Hi. I am not sure but isn't " respiratory system's  " in the option A is wrong because we cannot use possessive case with non-living things. I personally have never seen a possessive case with organs. Do give back a reply.

KyleWiddison · Answer

Interesting point. Though it might seem strange, using a possessive with inanimate objects (non-living things), is perfectly fine grammatically (and logically). Something doesn't have to be a person to possess things. A car's weight, a tree's color, India's various climates, etc.

KW

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Sulfur dioxide, a major contributor to acid rain, is an especially ser

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