Rejecting its argument that the Masters Dog Training Club’s primary

Rejecting its argument that the Masters Dog Training Club’s primary aim was to teach people to train dogs, the court ruled the club ineligible for tax exemption as an educational group.

In a reported speech as this, the reports are always presented in a subordinate clause starting with 'that'. That is the entry point into this topic.

(A) Rejecting its argument that the Masters Dog Training Club’s primary aim was to teach people to train dogs, the court ruled the club ineligible for tax exemption as an educational group. -- That is missing after ruled.

(B) In rejecting the Masters Dog Training Club’s argument that their primary aim was to teach people to train dogs, the court ruled the club ineligible to be exempted of taxes as an educational group.- same problem as in A.

(C) Rejecting the argument that the primary aim of the Masters Dog Training Club was to teach people to train dogs, the court ruled that the club was ineligible for exemption from taxes as an educational group. --- looks okay, must be the correct choice.

(D) The club was not to be exempted of taxes as an educational group, ruled the court by rejecting its argument that the primary aim of the Masters Dog Training Club was teaching people to train dogs.-- Actually the inversed second clause is connected to the first one with a comma-- This is a comma splice


(E) The court ruled the Masters Dog Training Club not eligible to be exempted from taxes as an educational group, rejecting the argument that the primary aim was to teach people to train dogs.--- Missing the connector that.

Rejecting its argument that the Masters Dog Training Club’s primary aim was to teach people to train dogs, the court ruled the club ineligible for tax exemption as an educational group.

(A) Rejecting its argument that the Masters Dog Training Club’s primary aim was to teach people to train dogs, the court ruled the club ineligible for tax exemption as an educational group. - Missing verb

(B) In rejecting the Masters Dog Training Club’s argument that their primary aim was to teach people to train dogs, the court ruled the club ineligible to be exempted of taxes as an educational group. - Incorrect Pronoun their

(C) Rejecting the argument that the primary aim of the Masters Dog Training Club was to teach people to train dogs, the court ruled that the club was ineligible for exemption from taxes as an educational group. - I could see the Verb here, also its is missing, i didnt want to use ambiguity.. removal pf pronoun It is a good thing.. Contender


(D) The club was not to be exempted of taxes as an educational group, ruled the court by rejecting its argument that the primary aim of the Masters Dog Training Club was teaching people to train dogs.
Ruled - Past Participle verb seems to point to the first clause, also the positioning of it could be ambiguous.. not sure still contender

(E) The court ruled the Masters Dog Training Club not eligible to be exempted from taxes as an educational group, rejecting the argument that the primary aim was to teach people to train dogs.

Need that to start of SVO structure

Between C & D - C is better

IMO the best fit is option C as it has no errors and also presents what the author wants to convey in a concise way.

The way you have explained and picked the right option is really good. It helped me learn how to better my approach.

Official Explanation

Rhetorical construction; Diction

As written, the possessive adjective its fails to make clear whether it is to the court or to the club that the argument mentioned is being attributed.

Note that choices B and D are immediately disqualified by their use of the incorrect preposition of immediately following exempted. The correct usages are: exemption from, exempt from, and exempted from.

A. This choice is incorrect for the reasons mentioned above.

B. This choice uses the idiomatically incorrect form exempted of.

C. Correct. This choice uses the idiomatically correct form exemption from and conveys the meaning of the sentence in a clear, concise way.

D. This choice uses the idiomatically incorrect form exempted of.

E. This choice uses the idiomatically incorrect form ruled the . . . club rather than the idiomatically correct ruled that . . . Furthermore, the phrase not eligible to be exempted is wordy and would be more clearly stated ineligible for exemption as in choice C.

The correct answer is C.

(A) Rejecting its argument that the Masters Dog Training Club’s primary aim was to teach people to train dogs, the court ruled the club ineligible for tax exemption as an educational group. - Wrong: 1) Pronoun 2) Structure

(B) In rejecting the Masters Dog Training Club’s argument that their primary aim was to teach people to train dogs, the court ruled the club ineligible to be exempted of taxes as an educational group. - Wrong: 1) Pronoun 2) Structure 3) Idiom

(C) Rejecting the argument that the primary aim of the Masters Dog Training Club was to teach people to train dogs, the court ruled that the club was ineligible for exemption from taxes as an educational group. - Correct

(D) The club was not to be exempted of taxes as an educational group, ruled the court by rejecting its argument that the primary aim of the Masters Dog Training Club was teaching people to train dogs. - Wrong: 1) Idiom 2) Meaning 3) "to teach" is better.

(E) The court ruled the Masters Dog Training Club not eligible to be exempted from taxes as an educational group, rejecting the argument that the primary aim was to teach people to train dogs. - Wrong: 1) Meaning 2) who's aim?

How come 'was' is not a problem in C. The club is still ineligible for tax exemption, right?

Hello Expert,

In option C, what is "as an educational group" modifying.

(C) Rejecting the argument that the primary aim of the Masters Dog Training Club was to teach people to train dogs, the court ruled that the club was ineligible for exemption from taxes as an educational group.

When "as" follows a complete clause, it can convey the idea that the subject performed an action in a certain role. For example:

When Vlade Divac drafted Marvin Bagley over Luka Doncic, he failed as a general manager and as a person.

Here, the portion in red follows the complete clause "he failed." In what role did Vlade Divac fail? As a general manager and as a person. We can say that the "as" phrase is modifying the entire previous clause or that it's giving context for the action performed by the subject of that clause. Either way, it makes sense.

Same deal in the official example. Take another look at the relevant portion:


Again, the phrase to be modifying the previous clause. How was the club ineligible? In the role of an educational group. This is perfectly logical: because the club didn't quality as an educational group, it was denied the tax exemption. Once you decide that the modifier works, move on to other issues.

I hope that helps!

GMATNinja what is wrong with answer choice A? Is the missing "that" the only thing that makes A wrong?

(A) Rejecting its argument that the Masters Dog Training Club’s primary aim was to teach people to train dogs, the court ruled the club ineligible for tax exemption as an educational group.
its: refer to ? club?
ruled the club seems X ruled Y ( control )

Take another look at (A):


The sentence begins with the modifying phrase, "rejecting its argument," which seems to be describing "the court." But that doesn't make any sense. Why would the court reject its own argument? We can eliminate (A), because it's illogical.

Contrast that with (C), in which the court is rejecting "the argument," rather than its argument. Now it seems as though that the court is rejecting an argument proposed by one of the parties in a case, rather than something it came up with itself. Much better.

Correct option : C

Full Underline statement always indicate a modifier error and SV agreement

(A) Rejecting its argument that the Masters Dog Training Club’s primary aim was to teach people to train dogs, the court ruled the club ineligible for tax exemption as an educational group
> worng,
- usage of "ITS" is ambiguity>> Pronoun error
- "Rejecting the argument" must modify "the primary aim of the Masters Dog Training Club" not "the Masters Dog Training Club’s" >>Modifier Error

(B) In rejecting the Masters Dog Training Club’s argument that their primary aim was to teach people to train dogs, the court ruled the club ineligible to be exempted of taxes as an educational group> wrong
- underline bold, creates meaning error

(C) Rejecting the argument that the primary aim of the Masters Dog Training Club was to teach people to train dogs, the court ruled that the club was ineligible for exemption from taxes as an educational group. > Correct

(D) The club was not to be exempted of taxes as an educational group, ruled the court by rejecting its argument that the primary aim of the Masters Dog Training Club was teaching people to train dogs> wrong
- Bold underline creates meaning error

(E) The court ruled the Masters Dog Training Club not eligible to be exempted from taxes as an educational group, rejecting the argument that the primary aim was to teach people to train dogs
> wrong
- Bold Underline creates meaning error
- Bold italic font, misplace of statement creates sentence structure error

Rejecting its argument that the Masters Dog Training Club’s primary aim was to teach people to train dogs, the court ruled the club ineligible for tax exemption as an educational group.

In this what does club refer to?
Also, why can't its refer club?

GMATNinja

Hello Shankey94,

We hope this finds you well.

Here, "club" refers to "Masters Dog Training Club". Further, "its" does in fact refer to "club", as the meaning is that the court rejected the Masters Dog Training Club's argument.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

If you're asking whether we can assume that the "the club" is referring to "the Masters Dog Training Club" the answer is yes. There's nothing else in the sentence it could be!

As for "its," there's no rule about what the pronoun can refer to, but it's part of a modifier that is clearly describing "the court," so this appears to be the most likely referent.

Consider another example:

Deciding that he needed to improve his form after a disastrous performance in the playoffs, Ben Simmons hired a shooting coach and showed up to training camp with a great attitude, a renewed sense of purpose, and a profound sense of respect for his teammates.

Here, the modifier "deciding that he needed to improve..." is clearly describing Ben Simmons, so it makes sense to assume that "he" is also referring to Simmons. Could you argue that "he" might refer to the shooting coach? I suppose, but it would be awfully strange to write the sentence this way if that was the intent.

At best, it's confusing in the same way that option (A) is confusing. (C), which removes the pronoun altogether, is clearer, and therefore, better.

I hope that clears things up!

Rejecting its argument that the Masters Dog Training Club’s primary aim was to teach people to train dogs, the court ruled the club ineligible for tax exemption as an educational group.

(A) Rejecting its argument that the Masters Dog Training Club’s primary aim was to teach people to train dogs, the court ruled the club ineligible for tax exemption as an educational group.

'its' illogically refers to court
"court ruled the club" No.. Club ruled that the...(ruled this idea/order ….not club)

(B) In rejecting the Masters Dog Training Club’s argument that their primary aim was to teach people to train dogs, the court ruled the club ineligible to be exempted of taxes as an educational group.
their : SV agreement
"court ruled the club" No.. Club ruled that the...(ruled this idea/order ….not club)


(C) Rejecting the argument that the primary aim of the Masters Dog Training Club was to teach people to train dogs, the court ruled that the club was ineligible for exemption from taxes as an educational group.
correct answer

(D) The club was not to be exempted of taxes as an educational group, ruled the court by rejecting its argument that the primary aim of the Masters Dog Training Club was teaching people to train dogs.

"court ruled the club" No.. Club ruled that the...(ruled this idea/order ….not club) since "the club" is the recipient of verbed modifier
" primary aim of the Masters Dog Training Club was teaching people" __aim was teaching ?

(E) The court ruled the Masters Dog Training Club not eligible to be exempted from taxes as an educational group, rejecting the argument that the primary aim was to teach people to train dogs.

"court ruled the club" No.. Club ruled that the...(ruled this idea/order ….not the club)