The existence of water on Mars has been the focus of intense

Question

The existence of water on Mars has been the focus of intense investigation;  in addition to the possible holding of small quantities in subsurface deposits and deep pits , the planet is also expected to retain large amounts of water in its polar ice caps.

(A) in addition to the possible holding of small quantities in subsurface deposits and deep pits
(B) in addition to the possibility to hold small quantities in subsurface deposits and deep pits
(C) besides the possibility that it holds small quantities in subsurface deposits or deep pits
(D) besides possibly holding small quantities in subsurface deposits or deep pits
(E) beside possibly holding small quantities in subsurface deposits or deep pits

Jp27 · Answer

hey can you please tel us the source of this question?

Marcab · Answer

Yes. Please do mention the source. A and B are incorrect because of misplaced modifier. The not underlined part is the ",the planet...". Hence the underlined part must modify the planet. But how could "in addition to possible holding" and "in addition to the possibility". C is incorrect and could have been correct only if the not underlined part also talked about of another possibility. E is incorrect because it incorrectly uses "beside" which means to set aside. +1 D. Hope that helps. -s For more such type of modifier questions, please see: two-contradictory-type-of-modifier-questions-141640.html

actleader · Answer

Sure, it's GoGMAT question :wink:

Jp27 · Answer

very good question. this is modeled from another gmat prep question. Lots of take ways here +1 to u

actleader · Answer

I'd like to understand is holding here a gerund?
 "besides possibly  holding  small quantities in subsurface deposits or deep pits"

Jp27 · Answer

I think it's being used as an adjective modifying "the planet"

for example : Holding the handrails, jake walked down the snow filled stairwell.

HTH

Cheers

actleader · Answer

Now I see, you mean it is a participle

very well thnx

brianboru03 · Answer

how can the OA be D? it changes the intended meaning of the sentence by replacing 'and' with 'or'.

Am I missing something obvious here?

Also, does the phrase 'the planet is also expected to retain large amounts of water' imply that the planet does not currently retain the water? should it not read 'it is expected that the planet retains large amounts of water' ?

I'm a little confused on this one. Maybe Mars is entering a new Ice Age

I'm a little confused on this one. Maybe Mars is entering a new Ice Age

TARGET730 · Answer

Is there anything grammatically wrong with option C?

TARGET730 · Answer

Is there anything grammatically wrong with option C?

EliLTG · Answer

"Or" is definitely correct here--it's more logical. We're discussing possibilities of water, after all. Unless water in subsurface deposits somehow  necessitates  that water also be in deep pits, then we're looking for water in one location, the other, or both--not necessarily in the first location  and  the second.

Here, the phrase "expected to" really means "expected to  ..." That is to say, the expectation refers to future scientific evidence establishing the current state. For that reason, the present tense is acceptable. This level of idiomatic omission is never going to be tested in the underlined portion on the GMAT--but it's definitely correct for the non-underlined portion.

Hope this helps!

sheolokesh · Answer

Could someone show light on options B,C and D?

I am confused here.. I felt B was good... I felt "in addition to the possibility to hold" goes well with "expected to retain". Also, I felt planet has the possibility to hold and thought "in addition to the possibility to hold" modifies planet. If not, then what it modifies then?

In C, "besides the possibility that  it  holds small quantities", doesn't IT modifies the planet? If so, it should be correct...

In D, I need further clear explanation..

Why in "addition to" in not preferred over "besides" here?

Please share your thoughts..

thangvietname · Answer

hard and good question.
to fully understand this question, we need to understand of doing as participle.

daagh · Answer

I do not think the use of in addition to or besides is a real split here. After all, both are synonymous and interchangeable. Secondly, in structure, all the five choices are modifiers, legally modifying the planet. Hence, there is no issue about modification.

The issue whether it should be in both the locations or in any one of them is of little relevance since the focus of the text is to probe whether water ever exists on the planet at ll.

Therefore, the problem lies in the idiomatic description of the modifier itself.

There are five distinct choices for us to tackle now.
1. the possible holding of – the possible holding is unidiomatic
2. the possibility to hold – unidiomatic 
3. the possibility that it holds – I can’t find anything wrong with this noun + noun modifier
4. possibly holding – This is also good enough. 
5. beside possibly holding – beside is wrong diction in the context.

I would think that the problem with this question is that they are two correct expressions as in both C and D unless one would stand to say that D is preferable because it is less wordy. Anyway skating on very thin ice.

sairam595 · Answer

Why option C is incorrect here?

Pasharma1 · Answer

Options A and B suffer from modifier error. The underlined part does not properly refer to the subject, ‘the planet’.

C is similarly wrong.

E misuses a word. ‘beside’ means ‘to set aside’.

So, D is the right answer.

VerbalBot · Answer

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.

The existence of water on Mars has been the focus of intense

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

The existence of water on Mars has been the focus of intense

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards