Some studies support the idea that social media leads to discontent in

Between is always used for 2 things
For more than 2 we use among
Hence A,B,E are out

Between C and D
C is the better option

Could you explain how C is better?

Hi, In option C, "which" refers to the forces i believe? and shouldnt "which" technically be preceded by the noun it is modifying and in this case " forces" is really far from which? so considering this point. how does Option C still make sense?

Could you explain why D is incorrect?

generis Nice Explanation! But I would like to add something or maybe an alternative approach.

Some studies support the idea that social media leads to discontent in teenagers but it is possible that some other forces are behind the increased incidences of dissatisfaction between teenagers, which makes them spend more time on social media.

Meaning analysis--> Some studies 'supports the idea' that social media leads to discontent.
Understand here that studies support the idea they do not confirm anything as per the meaning in choice D.

, But --> is more appropriate usage here. ( As it helps us to identify what follows independent clause).

Also, note the usage of between --> dissatisfaction between teenagers--> wrong here. Among is the correct as it talks about more than two entities.

Between--> used to compare two entities.
Among--> Used to compare more than two entities.

Which --> refers to some other forces here.

Noting, these differences would avoid selecting Choice D.

Choice C is correct. It uses proper grammar and conveys intended meaning.

Can someone again explain why C is correct. I eliminated "C" as "which" can just modify one word before itself/which. And that's teenager in this option. Thus, making it an incorrect choice. can someome explain why - such usage of which is correct.

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SheilyKamra Hey! I would suggest you first read and understand the entire sentence.

read the non-underlined part --> which makes them spend more time on social media.
Ask yourself-> If which = teenagers then do teenagers make themselves spend more time on social media? Does it make sense?
No right!

If you are confused with the usage of relative pronoun modifier such as which and that I would recommend you to go through the articles here https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-club-verbal-advantage-133953.html.

Also, always keep in mind the meaning and logic perspective while solving an SC question.

[quote="akash7gupta11"]Some studies support the idea that social media leads to discontent in teenagers but it is possible that some other forces are behind the increased incidences of dissatisfaction between teenagers, which makes them spend more time on social media.

A. Some studies support the idea that social media leads to discontent in teenagers but it is possible that some other forces are behind the increased incidences of dissatisfaction between teenagers, which makes

B. Some studies support the idea that social media can lead to discontent in teenagers, but it is possible that some other forces behind the increased incidences of dissatisfaction between teenagers make

C. Some studies support the idea that social media leads to discontent in teenagers, but it is possible that some other forces are behind the increased incidences of dissatisfaction among teenagers, which makes

D. Social media can lead to discontent, as per some of the studies conducted on teenagers, but it is possible that some other forces behind the increased incidences of dissatisfaction among teenagers make

E. Social media can lead to discontent is the idea supported by some studies, but it is possible that some other forces are behind the increased incidences of dissatisfaction between teenagers, which makes

AjiteshArun:

This question is another masterclass from GMAC.

Query :

Why the subject can not be "incidences of dissatisfaction" (plural) ?

Why are we considering only "dissatisfaction" as subject?

• POE
• AMONG, not BETWEEN
when we want to describe something shared by a group , we use among.
Between is used for describing relationships that involve individual people or things, usually but not always two.
Eliminate A, B, and E

• Option D is rhetorically and stylistically inferior to C

AS PER v ACCORDING TO
according to is much better than as per
-- In Standard Written English, as per is stilted and antiquated.
-- technically it means "in accordance with" -- meaning, following an already-established guideline or set of instructions.
In accordance with is not the same as "according to." The former means "in compliance with." The studies don't issue rules. They issue conclusions or findings.
-- according to is more straightforward

I understand that many people on this site use the phrase informally, but in SWE it is not used.
See the discussion, for example, HERE.

I would be shocked if even one official question contained the phrase.

ESSENTIAL?
--as per some of the studies conducted on teenagers is flanked by commas, indicating that the phrase is not essential.
So—can we remove the phrase and leaving the core meaning unchanged? Doubtful
By contrast, Option C leaves no doubt: Some studies support the idea that social media leads to discontent in teenagers

SOME STUDIES v SOME OF THE STUDIES
-- SOME studies is better than "some of the studies."
-- Option C uses "some studies," which means "several studies."
-- Option D's usage of "some of the studies" is strained and not contextually appropriate.
"Some of the studies," means "several of a selected or chosen group of studies."
The sentence would be better without OF THE before studies.

Some of the studies sounds like an offhand reference to something we already know.

-- THE studies? Which studies?
We do not use definite articles before studies that we know little about, that have not been defined, and that are not the only studies on teenagers.
We say . . . according to some studies or according to studies.
Not according to [some of] THE studies. We know nothing about them, but D's first mention makes it sound as if we know what they are


Option C is correct

SheilyKamra I do not understand what you are saying.
Option (C) does not contain the word "teenager." Maybe you read it wrong.

What is the reason that "dissatisfaction" is not the antecedent for which?




firas92 , I'm not sure what you mean by isn't dissatisfaction' a noun modifier here?
Yes. I will use the terminology that I know: dissatisfaction is the object of a preposition.

Are you suggesting that a prepositional object cannot be the antecedent of "which"? Why not?

The object of a preposition cannot be the subject of a sentence. Ever.
But the object of a preposition can be the antecedent for a pronoun.

In other words, the object of a preposition can be the antecedent of the relative pronoun WHICH.

In a recent official question, which modifies the object of a preposition (again, what you are calling a noun modifier).


Pronoun antecedents involve grammar, rhetorical effectiveness, and logical meaning.

I chose "dissatisfaction" because no other word agrees with the singular verb following "which" (makes), and dissatisfaction makes sense. No ambiguity is present. "Which" can "reach over" the prepositional phrase among teenagers to refer to dissatisfaction. Done. Or so I thought.

While trying to figure out the source of posters' rejection of dissatisfaction as the antecedent, I found a good description of my approach.

This language comes from a source who is almost always correct (and who is not afraid to make mistakes and say so):
That language can be found in a post by Ron Purewal, HERE.

So which noun is eligible and closest to the comma?
Dissatisfaction.
Which noun makes logical sense?
Dissatisfaction.
Which is the only noun that agrees with the verb makes?
Dissatisfaction.

It's true that which should not be far from what it modifies. Two words away? Not far.
Occasionally I see egmat test a principle to the extreme.
For example, there is an egmat post titled "noun modifiers can modify a slightly far away noun," HERE.
Maybe egmat wrote this question to test that principle about faraway nouns in a way that appears extreme because so many prepositional phrases exist. The "extreme" quality disappears when we look at the meaning of the sentence.

In this sentence, "dissatisfaction" is sensible, logical, and meaningful. A little far away from which? Eh. Choose meaning.

In fact, egmat wrote a post titled, "[Pronoun] Myth #3: The Antecedent of a Pronoun Cannot Lie in a Prepositional Phrase"
That post can be found HERE, in which the author writes, "However, a pronoun can refer to any noun in the sentence as long as the reference is unique and logical."
That post is part of a larger series titled Pronouns - Debunking Popular Myths, which can be found HERE.

We need a singular antecedent. firas92 , you are correct.
The verb after the which is makes, singular.

It's not an accident that the possible antecedents are all plural except for dissatisfaction.
Possible antecedents for WHICH: forces (maybe), incidences, dissatisfaction, and teenagers.

Exactly one singular noun exists in all those words: dissatisfaction

Logically, dissatisfaction makes a whole lot of sense.
It's a synonym for discontent.
Dissatisfaction caused by other factors would lead teenagers to use social media more often.

***************
Hi akash7gupta11 , I wasn't writing a POE. I was answering a question about the antecedent of WHICH in option C.

In option C, the antecedent cannot be forces. The verb makes in "which makes" is singular. Forces are plural.

You posted the question. Is your post the official explanation?

generis

Thank you. Its all clear now! By noun modifier I did mean prepositional object and yes I had wrongly assumed that 'which' cannot refer to an object

It is not necessary that which refers to the preceding word.Here which refers to other factor.

The singular in C is undecipherable to me, can someone please explain what the singular "makes" is for?

If Which refers to some other forces then how come verb 'makes' is the right choice for a plural noun?

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