Last visit was: 11 Jul 2025, 02:29 It is currently 11 Jul 2025, 02:29
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
User avatar
daagh
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Last visit: 16 Oct 2020
Posts: 5,264
Own Kudos:
42,345
 [21]
Given Kudos: 422
Status: enjoying
Location: India
WE:Education (Education)
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 5,264
Kudos: 42,345
 [21]
4
Kudos
Add Kudos
17
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
daagh
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Last visit: 16 Oct 2020
Posts: 5,264
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 422
Status: enjoying
Location: India
WE:Education (Education)
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 5,264
Kudos: 42,345
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
methevoid
Joined: 02 Jun 2009
Last visit: 12 Aug 2013
Posts: 79
Own Kudos:
167
 [3]
Given Kudos: 48
Status:Fighting again to Kill the GMAT devil
Location: New Delhi
Concentration: MBA - Strategy, Operations & General Management
 Q44  V28 GMAT 2: 650  Q49  V29 GMAT 3: 650  Q47  V33
WE 1: Oil and Gas - Engineering & Construction
Posts: 79
Kudos: 167
 [3]
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
maryann
Joined: 23 Mar 2009
Last visit: 11 Apr 2012
Posts: 9
Own Kudos:
Posts: 9
Kudos: 172
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Can someone explain why A is wrong.
I went think A:
subject verb and parallelism - the fossil fuels have raised is correct in otion A and also parallelism is correct - the effects are contributing to -- and thereby leading to ---, and bringing down the temperature.
User avatar
daagh
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Last visit: 16 Oct 2020
Posts: 5,264
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 422
Status: enjoying
Location: India
WE:Education (Education)
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 5,264
Kudos: 42,345
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
In A, the burning (of fossil fuels) have raised flouts S-V agreement. It should be has raised or raises in line with the singularity of the burning

As pointed out rightly by almost all, the OA is D.
User avatar
Madhavi1990
Joined: 15 Jan 2017
Last visit: 15 Jul 2021
Posts: 256
Own Kudos:
91
 [1]
Given Kudos: 931
Posts: 256
Kudos: 91
 [1]
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
I am confused between D and E.

(D) Some climatologists, while admitting that the burning of fossil fuels raises the level of CO2 in the atmosphere and causes an increase in the level of global temperature, argue that both these effects contribute to an abundance of plant mass, thereby leading to heightened consumption of CO2 levels, and bringing down the temperature - is D better?

(E) Some climatologists, while admitting that the burning of fossil fuels raise the level of CO2 in the atmosphere and cause an increase in the level of global temperature, argue that both these effects are contributing to an abundance of plant mass and thereby leading to heightened consumption of CO2 levels, bringing down the temperature

Also, what is the role of thereby/ and thereby? Why is E incorrect?
User avatar
AliciaSierra
Joined: 17 Mar 2014
Last visit: 14 Jun 2024
Posts: 748
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 1,350
Products:
Posts: 748
Kudos: 635
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel,

Can you pls add OA to this question.

Thanks,
avatar
acdeshp
Joined: 27 Dec 2018
Last visit: 19 Sep 2019
Posts: 5
Own Kudos:
1
 [1]
Given Kudos: 154
Posts: 5
Kudos: 1
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
I think the answer is E. There is a parallelism error in D.
(D) Some climatologists, while admitting that the burning of fossil fuels raises the level of CO2 in the atmosphere and causes an increase in the level of global temperature, argue that both these effects "contribute" to an abundance of plant mass, thereby leading to heightened consumption of CO2 levels, and bringing down the temperature - is D better

All the other verbs are in ing form. Hence I think that the use of "contribute" is wrong.

Posted from my mobile device
avatar
ballest127
Joined: 18 Aug 2017
Last visit: 27 Dec 2021
Posts: 115
Own Kudos:
42
 [1]
Given Kudos: 599
Posts: 115
Kudos: 42
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Some climatologists, while admitting that the burning of fossil fuels have raised the level of CO2 in the atmosphere and have caused an increase in the level of global temperature, argue that both these effects are contributing to an abundance of plant mass and thereby leading to heightened consumption of CO2 levels, and bringing down the temperature

(A) Some climatologists, while admitting that the burning of fossil fuels have raised the level of CO2 in the atmosphere and have caused an increase in the level of global temperature, argue that both these effects are contributing to an abundance of plant mass and thereby leading to heightened consumption of CO2 levels, and bringing down the temperature - Incorrect

,
(B) While admitting that the burning of fossil fuels raise the level of CO2 in the atmosphere and cause an increase in the level of global temperature, some climatologists argue that both these effects are contributing to an abundance of plant mass and thereby leading to heightened consumption of CO2 levels, bringing down the temperature
- Incorrect
© While admitting that the burning of fossil fuels has raised the level of CO2 in the atmosphere and has caused an increase in the level of global temperature, some climatologists have argued that both these effects have contributed to an abundance of plant mass and thereby have lead to heightened consumption of CO2 levels, having brought down the temperature - Incorrect

(D) Some climatologists, while admitting that the burning of fossil fuels raises the level of CO2 in the atmosphere and causes an increase in the level of global temperature, argue that both these effects contribute to an abundance of plant mass, thereby leading to heightened consumption of CO2 levels, and bringing down the temperature - Correct

(E) Some climatologists, while admitting that the burning of fossil fuels raise the level of CO2 in the atmosphere and cause an increase in the level of global temperature, argue that both these effects are contributing to an abundance of plant mass and thereby leading to heightened consumption of CO2 levels, bringing down the temperature
- Incorrect
avatar
MissionWin
Joined: 19 May 2018
Last visit: 03 Mar 2019
Posts: 38
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 1
Posts: 38
Kudos: 2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
If we take a close look at the options, we soon begin to see some clear errors emerge. Option E has an obvious subject verb disagreement, the ’ verb ‘have’ (plural) is being used with the noun ‘the burning of’ (singular). The confusion here seems to be that the sentence refers to ‘the burning of fossil fuels’. ‘fossil fuels’ is plural but it is not what the verb refers to. B makes a similar error by again pairing ‘the burning’ with a plural verb, ‘raise’. A also makes this mistake with the verb ‘have caused’. C suffers from a meaning error, ‘having bought down the temperature’ implies that the temperature is done dropping, when the sentence is supposed to mean that the heightened consumption of CO2 levels is currently bringing down the global temperatures.



So, D is the correct answer.
avatar
Debashis Roy
Joined: 23 Aug 2017
Last visit: 15 Dec 2019
Posts: 93
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 9
Schools: ISB '21 (A)
Schools: ISB '21 (A)
Posts: 93
Kudos: 20
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
GMATNinja

Could you please explain why E is wrong?

Thanks in advance
User avatar
GMATMBA5
Joined: 07 Aug 2017
Last visit: 08 Dec 2019
Posts: 67
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 23
Location: India
GPA: 4
WE:Information Technology (Consulting)
Posts: 67
Kudos: 203
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Debashis Roy
GMATNinja

Could you please explain why E is wrong?

Thanks in advance

Because 'raise' and 'cause' are not referring to plural subject fossil fuels but they are referring to singular subject 'burning of fossil fuels'. Therefore, 'raises' and 'causes' or 'has raised' and 'has caused' is is expected.

------------------------------------------
Kudos if helpful!
avatar
Debashis Roy
Joined: 23 Aug 2017
Last visit: 15 Dec 2019
Posts: 93
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 9
Schools: ISB '21 (A)
Schools: ISB '21 (A)
Posts: 93
Kudos: 20
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
GMATNinja
My bad regarding that...But I have a question regarding option D.
Is this part : "...thereby leading to heightened consumption of CO2 levels, and bringing down the temperature..", doesnt the use of and leads to the thinking that the heightened CO2 consumption and temperatures brought down are 2 independent things? I thought the sentence actually means that "bringing down the temperature" is an effect of "heightened CO2 consumption"...Therefore I had selected E as the correct answer

Please help! Thanks again
User avatar
GMATNinja
User avatar
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Last visit: 11 Jul 2025
Posts: 7,349
Own Kudos:
68,502
 [4]
Given Kudos: 1,964
Status: GMAT/GRE/LSAT tutors
Location: United States (CO)
GMAT 1: 780 Q51 V46
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Products:
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Posts: 7,349
Kudos: 68,502
 [4]
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
2
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Debashis Roy
GMATNinja
My bad regarding that...But I have a question regarding option D.
Is this part : "...thereby leading to heightened consumption of CO2 levels, and bringing down the temperature..", doesnt the use of and leads to the thinking that the heightened CO2 consumption and temperatures brought down are 2 independent things? I thought the sentence actually means that "bringing down the temperature" is an effect of "heightened CO2 consumption"...Therefore I had selected E as the correct answer

Please help! Thanks again
Good question! I see your point. If I have a choice between, "Tim fell down the stairs, breaking his ankle," and "Tim fell down the stairs and broke his ankle," I'd have a preference for the first construction, since this sentence clarifies that he broke his ankle as a consequence of having falling down the stairs. The second sentence, on the other hand, makes it sound as though the actions might have been distinct, and maybe Tim broke his ankle later when something completely unrelated. However, I wouldn't say that the second sentence is definitively WRONG - it also seems reasonable enough to have poor Tim do both actions as parallel verbs.

I'd want to look for another decision point when comparing (D) and (E). Take another look at (E): "The burning of fossil fuels raise the level of CO2 in the atmosphere and cause..." The subject of the sentence, "the burning", is singular, but the associated verbs, "raise" and "cause", are both plural. So (E) has a definitive error, and it's out.

I hope that helps!
avatar
Debashis Roy
Joined: 23 Aug 2017
Last visit: 15 Dec 2019
Posts: 93
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 9
Schools: ISB '21 (A)
Schools: ISB '21 (A)
Posts: 93
Kudos: 20
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
GMATNinja

Thanks again for your nice and concise explanation!
Helped a lot.Cheers
User avatar
mohagar
Joined: 14 Aug 2017
Last visit: 15 May 2021
Posts: 65
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 136
Location: India
Concentration: Other, General Management
GMAT 1: 640 Q48 V29
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Madhavi1990
I am confused between D and E.

(D) Some climatologists, while admitting that the burning of fossil fuels raises the level of CO2 in the atmosphere and causes an increase in the level of global temperature, argue that both these effects contribute to an abundance of plant mass, thereby leading to heightened consumption of CO2 levels, and bringing down the temperature - is D better?

(E) Some climatologists, while admitting that the burning of fossil fuels raise the level of CO2 in the atmosphere and cause an increase in the level of global temperature, argue that both these effects are contributing to an abundance of plant mass and thereby leading to heightened consumption of CO2 levels, bringing down the temperature

Also, what is the role of thereby/ and thereby? Why is E incorrect?


here in D see the words: abundance of plant mass, thereby leading . here thereby leading .... and bringing down modifies the plant mass.
whereas in E O2 bringing down the temperature modifies the CO2 levels , which is wrong
avatar
sam9312
avatar
Current Student
Joined: 24 Oct 2017
Last visit: 28 Dec 2024
Posts: 15
Own Kudos:
25
 [1]
Given Kudos: 57
Location: India
GMAT 1: 700 Q49 V36
WE:Engineering (Computer Software)
GMAT 1: 700 Q49 V36
Posts: 15
Kudos: 25
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hello daagh
This is an old thread; sorry to open it again. I am facing some jitters while solving this one.

I will list down my doubts.

1) Can you please explain me the parallelism for both in the question? How are the entities parallel?
both these effects are contributing to an abundance of plant mass and thereby leading to heightened consumption of CO2 levels

2) "Some climatologists argue that ..., bringing down the temperature" - bringing down the temperature is modifying the whole clause... (creating a CAUSE and EFFECT). Some Climatologists bring down the temp? Doesn't make sense to me.

3) Burning of fossil fuels raises/have raised .... which one do you prefer and why? Isn't this a fact, so we should directly look for a present tense?

4) In option (D) why is there a comma before and? Doesn't then it has to be an independent clause? (COMMA + AND --> joins to IC)

Please help.
User avatar
Crytiocanalyst
Joined: 16 Jun 2021
Last visit: 27 May 2023
Posts: 951
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 309
Posts: 951
Kudos: 202
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
(A) Some climatologists, while admitting that the burning of fossil fuels have raised the level of CO2 in the atmosphere and have caused an increase in the level of global temperature, argue that both these effects are contributing to an abundance of plant mass and thereby leading to heightened consumption of CO2 levels, and bringing down the temperature
This was runner up however i eleminated for the pure reason for using and along with therby because of which it provides ambigious reasoning there may be other reasons this may be one among many

(B) While admitting that the burning of fossil fuels raise the level of CO2 in the atmosphere and cause an increase in the level of global temperature, some climatologists argue that both these effects are contributing to an abundance of plant mass and thereby leading to heightened consumption of CO2 levels, bringing down the temperature
This gives us the reasoning as though the climatologists argument is what's leading to heightened consumption of co2 level

(C) While admitting that the burning of fossil fuels has raised the level of CO2 in the atmosphere and has caused an increase in the level of global temperature, some climatologists have argued that both these effects have contributed to an abundance of plant mass and thereby have lead to heightened consumption of CO2 levels, having brought down the temperature
Similar reasoning as b and wrong use of tenses

(D) Some climatologists, while admitting that the burning of fossil fuels raises the level of CO2 in the atmosphere and causes an increase in the level of global temperature, argue that both these effects contribute to an abundance of plant mass, thereby leading to heightened consumption of CO2 levels, and bringing down the temperature
This nails the reasoning as feels like the fit let us hang onto it

(E) Some climatologists, while admitting that the burning of fossil fuels raise the level of CO2 in the atmosphere and cause an increase in the level of global temperature, argue that both these effects are contributing to an abundance of plant mass and thereby leading to heightened consumption of CO2 levels, bringing down the temperatur
e
This has tense issues such as 'cause an increase '
Hence IMO D
User avatar
VerbalBot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 01 Oct 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 18,438
Own Kudos:
Posts: 18,438
Kudos: 953
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
Moderators:
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7349 posts
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
235 posts