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655-705 Level|   Meaning/Logical Predication|   Modifiers|   Pronouns|   Subject Verb Agreement|                              
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 25 Apr 2020, 08:56
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sameeb
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Quote:
A. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle
I don’t have a whole lot to say about (A). The first thing I notice is the modifier “that are the parasite’s hosts” – and that seems like a reasonable way to modify “the freshwater snails.”

The pronoun “its” also jumps out at me, and that would have to refer to “the parasite’s”, since that’s our nearest (and most logical) singular. And that’s fine, too: “…the freshwater snails that are the parasite’s hosts for part of [the parasite’s] life cycle…” Reasonable enough.

So I guess we’ll keep (A).

Quote:
B. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts in part of their life cycle
The biggest difference between (B) and (A) is the plural pronoun “their” in (B). And that’s a problem: “their” is plural, so it has to refer to either “the freshwater snails” or “the parasite’s hosts” – and those are the same thing, anyway. So that gives us: “… the freshwater snails that are the parasite’s hosts in part of [the freshwater snails’] life cycle.”

That’s not WRONG, exactly, if you’re willing to assume that the sentence is trying to explain what happens during the snails’ life cycle. But I think that misses the point: schistosomiasis is the grammatical subject of the sentence, and the sentence is clearly trying to explain why the disease has become more common. So presumably, the sentence is interested in explaining that the snails are hosts during part of the parasite’s life cycle. The snail’s life cycle really isn’t of interest to us, and wouldn’t help explain why the parasite has become more common.

So that’s miserably subtle, but it’s basically all we’ve got, unless you want to make an unnecessarily big deal out of the prepositions. (A) is better than (B), so we can eliminate (B).

Quote:
C. freshwater snails which becomes the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycles
(C) is a little bit easier to eliminate than some of the other options. The phrase “its life cycles” really doesn’t make any sense at all: “its” presumably refers to “the parasite”, since that’s the closest (and most logical) singular noun. But then how is that “the parasite” has multiple “life cycles”? As far as I know, each parasite only has one life cycle. If not, that would be creepy AF.

There’s also a problem with the phrase “freshwater snails which becomes.” Snails are plural, so the verb would have to be “become”, not “becomes.” Plus, “which” is generally a non-restrictive modifier, so it usually follows a comma – though that’s not usually a deciding factor on GMAT questions.

So we have lots of reasons to ditch (C).

Quote:
D. freshwater snails which become the hosts of the parasite during the parasite's life cycles
(D) is a little bit better than (C)… but only a little bit.

I guess it’s nice that “its life cycles” has been changed to “the parasite’s life cycles”, but either way, it’s illogical: a singular parasite presumably has only one life cycle, not multiple “life cycles.”

It’s also nice that the subject-verb issue has been fixed (“snails… become”), but I still don’t think it’s ideal to use “which” in this type of scenario without a comma. But again: the GMAT doesn’t generally make a big deal out of comma placement, and it’s almost never a deciding factor.

And even if you ignore the comma thing, the phrase “parasite’s life cycles” is goofy enough to let us eliminate (D).

Quote:
E. parasite's hosts, freshwater snails which become their hosts during their life cycles
The plural pronoun “their” appears twice in (E), but “parasite’s” is actually singular, so “their” presumably refers to “snails.” And that’s garbage: “… freshwater snails which become [the snails’] hosts during [the snails’] life cycles…”

You could also argue that “which” needs to be preceded by a comma, as we mentioned in (C) and (D) – but again, that’s rarely a deciding factor on the GMAT.

The pronoun thing is a big deal, though. (E) is out, and we’re left with (A).



Does the "which" rule really not matter in GMAT? I would be very concerned if that were the case.

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We've posted an article addressing that very question!

Hopefully that helps (especially from "Usage #4" to the end).
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 26 Apr 2020, 08:18
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GMAT Ninja, while providing a detailed answer, wrote : "...Plus, “which” is generally a non-restrictive modifier, so it usually follows a comma – though that’s not usually a deciding factor on GMAT questions."

My question is - Is that really not a deciding factor on GMAT questions? I mean I would immediately consider an option without a comma with a non-restrictive "which" modifier wrong. Would I be making a mistake?

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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 26 Apr 2020, 23:41
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sameeb

My question is - Is that really not a deciding factor on GMAT questions? I mean I would immediately consider an option without a comma with a non-restrictive "which" modifier wrong. Would I be making a mistake?
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Hi sameeb, this is just a different perspective.

We continue to suggest that this issue can be used for elimination (a big exception is when which is a part of prepositional phrase).

GMAT Ninja is also correct that till date, we have not come across any official question where this issue is the only split between any two options.
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in Updated on: 21 Jun 2020, 18:45
Originally posted by kornn on 06 Jun 2020, 19:04.
Last edited by kornn on 21 Jun 2020, 18:45, edited 6 times in total.
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Dear GMATGuruNY IanStewart MartyTargetTestPrep AjiteshArun GMATNinja GMATRockstar VeritasPrepErika VeritasPrepHailey,

OA : Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in hot, humid climates, and it has become more widespread as irrigation projects have enlarged the habitat of the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hostS for part of its life cycle.

Why is "the parasite's hostS" in choice A. right, whereas "its (the parasite's) life cycleS" in choices C. and D. are wrong?
Do we have to assume that a single parasite has multiple hostS?
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 07 Jun 2020, 09:20
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varotkorn

Why is "the parasite's hostS" in choice A. right, whereas "its (the parasite's) life cycleS" in choices C. and D. are wrong?
Do we have to assume that a single parasite has multiple hostS?
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There's a singular parasite in the sentence, so there must be a singular "life cycle".

"Snails" is plural (and needs to be - the habitat is home to more than one snail) so hosts needs to be plural as well.

The use of the plural "snails" probably makes more sense if you think of the parasite as a species, rather than as a single organism. The sentence is not assuming an individual parasite has multiple hosts.
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 08 Jun 2020, 19:09
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A. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle
I don’t have a whole lot to say about (A). The first thing I notice is the modifier “that are the parasite’s hosts” – and that seems like a reasonable way to modify “the freshwater snails.”

The pronoun “its” also jumps out at me, and that would have to refer to “the parasite’s”, since that’s our nearest (and most logical) singular. And that’s fine, too: “…the freshwater snails that are the parasite’s hosts for part of [the parasite’s] life cycle…” Reasonable enough.

So I guess we’ll keep (A).

Quote:
B. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts in part of their life cycle
The biggest difference between (B) and (A) is the plural pronoun “their” in (B). And that’s a problem: “their” is plural, so it has to refer to either “the freshwater snails” or “the parasite’s hosts” – and those are the same thing, anyway. So that gives us: “… the freshwater snails that are the parasite’s hosts in part of [the freshwater snails’] life cycle.”

That’s not WRONG, exactly, if you’re willing to assume that the sentence is trying to explain what happens during the snails’ life cycle. But I think that misses the point: schistosomiasis is the grammatical subject of the sentence, and the sentence is clearly trying to explain why the disease has become more common. So presumably, the sentence is interested in explaining that the snails are hosts during part of the parasite’s life cycle. The snail’s life cycle really isn’t of interest to us, and wouldn’t help explain why the parasite has become more common.

So that’s miserably subtle, but it’s basically all we’ve got, unless you want to make an unnecessarily big deal out of the prepositions. (A) is better than (B), so we can eliminate (B).

.
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As A and B are very close , Do you think it's a good idea to take hint from other options. As an example option D here mentioned clearly about parasite's life cycles.
[/quote]freshwater snails which become the hosts of the parasite during the parasite's life cycles[/quote]
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 12 Sep 2020, 11:20
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Quote:
A. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle
I don’t have a whole lot to say about (A). The first thing I notice is the modifier “that are the parasite’s hosts” – and that seems like a reasonable way to modify “the freshwater snails.”

The pronoun “its” also jumps out at me, and that would have to refer to “the parasite’s”, since that’s our nearest (and most logical) singular. And that’s fine, too: “…the freshwater snails that are the parasite’s hosts for part of [the parasite’s] life cycle…” Reasonable enough.

So I guess we’ll keep (A).

Quote:
B. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts in part of their life cycle
The biggest difference between (B) and (A) is the plural pronoun “their” in (B). And that’s a problem: “their” is plural, so it has to refer to either “the freshwater snails” or “the parasite’s hosts” – and those are the same thing, anyway. So that gives us: “… the freshwater snails that are the parasite’s hosts in part of [the freshwater snails’] life cycle.”

That’s not WRONG, exactly, if you’re willing to assume that the sentence is trying to explain what happens during the snails’ life cycle. But I think that misses the point: schistosomiasis is the grammatical subject of the sentence, and the sentence is clearly trying to explain why the disease has become more common. So presumably, the sentence is interested in explaining that the snails are hosts during part of the parasite’s life cycle. The snail’s life cycle really isn’t of interest to us, and wouldn’t help explain why the parasite has become more common.

So that’s miserably subtle, but it’s basically all we’ve got, unless you want to make an unnecessarily big deal out of the prepositions. (A) is better than (B), so we can eliminate (B).

.


As A and B are very close , Do you think it's a good idea to take hint from other options. As an example option D here mentioned clearly about parasite's life cycles.
Quote:
freshwater snails which become the hosts of the parasite during the parasite's life cycles
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Interesting point! Generally speaking, it's certainly advisable to compare the differences between various options and to think about how those differences impact the meaning (for more on that, check out our beginner's guide to SC).

So, yes, in that sense, looking at other options for clues can be a good idea. Comparing two options side by side can often reveal subtle issues that you wouldn't have noticed otherwise. Just remember that there is nothing special about the meaning in any particular option (choice D, in this case), so it's up to you to carefully consider the differences and decide what makes the most sense.

I hope that helps a bit!
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 08 Nov 2020, 03:52
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Pls, explain why 'that' is correct to refer to the (plural) snails?
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 08 Nov 2020, 08:37
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Stormcool
Pls, explain why 'that' is correct to refer to the (plural) snails?
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Hello, Stormcool. The context of the sentence allows us to appreciate that a certain type of snail—one living in freshwater, as opposed to another habitat—becomes the host for the parasitic worm. The relative pronoun that can serve in either a singular or plural capacity.

1) The freshwater snails that host a parasite... (again, a subcategory of snails altogether)

2) The cat that scratched me... (as opposed to any other cat that did not scratch me)

3) The dog(s) that chased the fox lost the scent. (Either version could work without modification.)

I hope that helps. If you have further questions, feel free to ask. Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 13 Apr 2021, 15:56
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in hot, humid climates, and it has become more widespread as irrigation projects have enlarged the habitat of the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle.


A. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle

B. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts in part of their life cycle

C. freshwater snails which become the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycles

D. freshwater snails which become the hosts of the parasite during the parasite's life cycles

E. parasite's hosts, freshwater snails which become their hosts during their life cycles



in the question above, is it ok to use which without the comma before which?
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 13 Apr 2021, 21:09
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abuc0112
in the question above, is it ok to use which without the comma before which?
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Agree abuc0112, the absence of a comma before which (in some of the options) do make these options less preferable.
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 24 May 2021, 11:20
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Hi EducationAisle.

In a single clause such as this, can we have "it" and "its" referring to 2 different things? In OA: First 'It" is referring to "Schistosomiasis", while 'Its" is referring to "Parasite".
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 25 May 2021, 01:17
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Mayank221133
Hi EducationAisle.

In a single clause such as this, can we have "it" and "its" referring to 2 different things? In OA: First 'It" is referring to "Schistosomiasis", while 'Its" is referring to "Parasite".
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Well, the two instances of it are not in a single clause here Mayank.

"that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle" is a separate clause (relative clause).
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 15 Nov 2021, 11:03
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in hot, humid climates, and it has become more widespread as irrigation projects have enlarged the habitat of the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle.


A. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle - correct

B. the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts in part of their life cycle - Pronoun reference error. The use of their is referring back to parasitic worm.

C. freshwater snails which become the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycles - Cannot use which without a comma or use preposition +which without a comma

D. freshwater snails which become the hosts of the parasite during the parasite's life cycles -Cannot use which without a comma or use preposition +which without a comma
E. parasite's hosts, freshwater snails which become their hosts during their life cycles -Cannot use which without a comma or use preposition +which without a comma
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 24 Nov 2021, 01:33
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Hi Experts

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In the non underlined portion. It is referring to Schistosomiasis but in the underlined portion "its " is referring to "parasite's hosts" . Can it and it's refer to the two different things?
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 24 Nov 2021, 05:44
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Vatsal7794

In the non underlined portion. It is referring to Schistosomiasis but in the underlined portion "its " is referring to "parasite's hosts" . Can it and it's refer to the two different things?
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https://gmatclub.com/forum/schistosomia ... l#p1678135

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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 25 Nov 2021, 04:00
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Vatsal7794
Hi Experts

GMATNinja VeritasKarishma EducationAisle ChrisLele mikemcgarry AjiteshArun egmat sayantanc2k RonPurewal DmitryFarber MagooshExpert avigutman EMPOWERgmatVerbal MartyTargetTestPrep ExpertsGlobal5 IanStewart
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In the non underlined portion. It is referring to Schistosomiasis but in the underlined portion "its " is referring to "parasite's hosts" . Can it and it's refer to the two different things?
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Vatsal7794 - Just goes to show that there are very few "rules" that one can follow blindly in SC. It is a question of what works best in the context.
The "its" is very close to parasite's and logically stands in for it. There is no meaning ambiguity.
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 28 Dec 2021, 09:38
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@E-gmat
Hi Team, I rejected choice A because of the usage of "that". In the e-gmat videos, it was mentioned that "that" can be used to refer only things. Is this an exception or am I missing something?
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 28 Dec 2021, 22:20
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Shalini9241
@E-gmat
Hi Team, I rejected choice A because of the usage of "that". In the e-gmat videos, it was mentioned that "that" can be used to refer only things. Is this an exception or am I missing something?
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Hi Shalini9241,

In case it helps, that is used to refer to people (rarely; on the GMAT, maybe never), animals and plant life (common), and inanimate objects (common). Who is used to refer to people (common) and animals (less common).

In short:
1. Relative who: people, maybe animals, but not inanimate objects and plant life
2. Relative that: animals, plant life, and inanimate objects, but most likely not people
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Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in 29 Dec 2021, 06:45
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Shalini9241
@E-gmat
Hi Team, I rejected choice A because of the usage of "that". In the e-gmat videos, it was mentioned that "that" can be used to refer only things. Is this an exception or am I missing something?
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Hello Shalini9241,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, it would be more accurate to say that "that" cannot be used to refer to human beings.

"that" CAN be used to refer to any living thing other than human beings, in addition to all non-living things, and "who" and "whom" are only used to refer to humans.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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