Simply because they are genetically engineered does not make it any more likely for plants to become an invasive or persistent weed, according to a decade-long study published in the journal Nature.


(A) because they are genetically engineered does not make it any more likely for plants to

(B) because it is genetically engineered does not make a plant any more likely to

(C) being genetically engineered does not make it any more likely that plants will

(D) being genetically engineered does not make a plant any more likely to

(E) being genetically engineered does not make a plant any more likely that it will



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D it is. A,C have SV issues and E is awkward.

Between B and D "because it is genetically engineered" vs "being genetically engineered" I am leaning towards D here after relying on my ear .. +1 for a good question.

Simply because they are genetically engineered does not make it any more likely for plants to become an invasive or persistent weed, according to a decade-long study published in the journal Nature.

A. because they are genetically engineered does not make it any more likely for plants to
B. because it is genetically engineered does not make a plant any more likely to
C. being genetically engineered does not make it any more likely that plants will
D. being genetically engineered does not make a plant any more likely to
E. being genetically engineered does not make a plant any more likely that it will become

Format of the sentence - Independent clause, dependent clause

A - they, it , plants -- awkward
B - sounds OK
C - pronoun issue - it and plants
D - sounds OK
E - wordy and awkward

On exam day I would have picked up B.
But I remember reading that GMAT folks generally doesnt like to use pronoun first for the subject of the sentence before introducing the actual noun. This is the case in B.

I think the answer here is D.

Answer should be D.

B. because it is genetically engineered does not make a plant any more likely to
D. being genetically engineered does not make a plant any more likely to

D makes a better choice because in B, the pronoun is used first(before the actual noun).

the use of being is not wrong, but it is usually not preferred. In this case, choice D is a better than choice B.

Adverbs are words that modify:

*a whole clause.
*a verb (He drove slowly. — How did he drive?)
*an adjective (He drove a very fast car. — How fast was his car?)
*another adverb (She moved quite slowly down the aisle. — How slowly did she move?)
As we will see, adverbs often tell when, where, why, or under what conditions something happens or happened. Adverbs frequently end in -ly; however, many words and phrases not ending in -ly serve an adverbial function and an -ly ending is not a guarantee that a word is an adverb. The words lovely, lonely, motherly, friendly, neighborly, for instance, are adjectives.
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This one really vexed me especially B Vs D.
Below if what I figured out, after some Google.Sharing it with the fraternity:
Regards.

Simply because they are genetically engineered does not make it any more likely for plants to become an invasive or persistent weed, according to a decade-long study published in the journal Nature.

1: The non underlined part "an invasive or persistent weed" need to refer a singular noun => a plant.

A) because they are genetically engineered does not make it any more likely for plants to
B) because it is genetically engineered does not make a plant any more likely to
>> Out.Read the below notes:
C) being genetically engineered does not make it any more likely that plants will
D) being genetically engineered does not make a plant any more likely to
>>Correct. Being used here as a Gerund.
E) being genetically engineered does not make a plant any more likely that it will

Quick Notes from Manhattan forum:
#1
Basically, there are 3 things in the world that can be subjects of a verb:
1/ nouns,
2/ pronouns, and
3/ clauses with "that" in front of them.

I'll assume #1 and #2 are self-explanatory.
An example of #3 is "That you were on time was a surprise to everyone". In that sentence, the entire italicized thing is the subject.

#2:
you can't say "because SUBJECT VERB ... is ...". this sentence is trying to use "(simply) because it is genetically engineered" as a subject.
in fact, you cannot use ANY clause starting with a conjunction (either a coordinating or subordinating conjunction -- look these up if you need to refresh yourself on what they are) as a subject.

I chose B, despite noticing the ambiguity of 'it' in the sentence.
Only for the reason of BEi ng.

'being' is strongly abhorrent word in GMAT.

So why the OA is D???

Simply because they are genetically engineered does not make it any more likely for plants to become an invasive or persistent weed, according to a decade-long study published in the journal Nature.

(A) because they are genetically engineered does not make it any more likely for plants to - many plants become "an invasive or persistent weed" (singular) ; 'it' is a pronoun that refers to the idea of "because the plants are genetically engineered" usage is incorrect
(B) because it is genetically engineered does not make a plant any more likely to - because it is genetically engineered" as a subject CAN'T be the subject --in fact, you cannot use ANY clause starting with a conjunction (either a coordinating or subordinating conjunction -- look these up if you need to refresh yourself on what they are) as a subject. ever.
(C) being genetically engineered does not make it any more likely that plants will - "plants" (plural) can become "an invasive or persistent weed" (singular). since multiple plants can't become one weed, that's incorrect.
(D) being genetically engineered does not make a plant any more likely to - Correct
(E) being genetically engineered does not make a plant any more likely that it will -- more likely that is undiomatic

(B) is also wrong for a much more tangible reason: it doesn't have a subject. Same problem with (A).

Choices A and B are trying to use "Simply because xxxxx" as a subject.

Basically, there are 3 things in the world that can be subjects of a verb:
1. nouns,
2. pronouns, and
3. clauses with "that" in front of them.

An example of #3 is "That you were on time was a surprise to everyone". In that sentence, the entire italicized thing is the subject.

Answer D
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