The foundation works to strengthen local and regional agricultural

Question

The foundation works to strengthen local and regional agricultural markets and  cooperating with governments, improving access for farmers for  productive resources such as land and credit.

(A) cooperating with governments, improving access for farmers for 
(B) cooperates with governments to improve access for farmers to 
(C) cooperate with governments for improvements of access for farmers to 
(D) cooperate with governments and improve accessibility for farmers for their 
(E) in cooperation with governments to improve access for farmers for

Agricultural Foundation

(A) Parallelism (X and Y); Idiom ( improve access for X for Y )

(B) CORRECT

(C) Idiom ( cooperate for improvements of access )

(D) Parallelism ( X and Y and Z ); Idiom ( improve access for X for Y )

(E) Parallelism ( X and Y ); Idiom ( improve access for X for Y )

First glance

The underline starts just after the word  and , signaling a parallelism issue. The word at the beginning of the underline ( cooperating , etc) is the Y portion of an X and Y parallel construction. Find the X portion and you’ll know how the Y portion should be formed.

Issues

(1) Parallelism:  X and Y; X and Y and Z

The first glance indicates a parallelism issue. What is the X portion of the parallel construction?

The earlier part of the construction is one of two things:  The foundation works … and cooperating , or  The foundation works to strengthen … and cooperating . You need either a conjugated verb to match works or an infinitive verb to match strengthen. Either way,  cooperating  doesn’t match the X portion, so eliminate answer (A).

Answer (E) uses  in cooperation with , which also isn’t a verb. Eliminate (E).

Answers (B), (C), and (D) are all parallel but use different constructions:

(B)  The foundation works … and cooperates …

(C) & (D)  The foundation works to strengthen … and (works to) cooperate …

There is something a little funny about the meaning of the second one (if you’re  cooperating  with someone, then you’re technically already  working to cooperate  with them—so this is redundant). If you’re not confident that that’s a strong enough reason to eliminate, though, then check the other parts of the remaining answers. This is a judgment call, so the test writers are going to give something else, too.

(2) Idiom:  improve access for X for Y; cooperate for improvements of access

There are a ton of prepositional phrases in this part of the sentence. It’s messy. Here are the stripped-down options:

(A), (D) & (E) improve access for X for doing Y

(B) improve access for X to do Y

(C) cooperate with X for Y

You improve somebody’s access to  something: You now have  better access to  study materials! It’s not acceptable to say that you now have   better access for   study materials. Eliminate choices (A), (D), and (E).

Likewise, in (C), you  cooperate to improve  something: The students  cooperated to earn  a good grade. It’s not acceptable to say that the students   cooperated for earning   a good grade. Eliminate choice (C).

The Correct Answer

Correct answer (B) employs the most logical parallel construction:  The foundation works …  and (the foundation)  cooperates . It also uses the proper idioms:  cooperate to improve access to resources .

Abhishek009 · Accepted Answer

(B) is correct , reasons highlighted below -

The foundation  works   to strengthen local and regional agricultural markets   and   cooperates   with governments to improve access for farmers to productive resources such as land and credit.

The foundation works   to strengthen   local and regional agricultural markets and cooperates with governments   to improve   access for farmers to productive resources such as land and credit.

The foundation works to strengthen local and regional agricultural markets and cooperates with governments to improve   access    for farmers   to   productive resources such as land and credit.

The foundation works to strengthen local and regional agricultural markets and cooperates with governments to improve access for farmers to productive resources   such as land and credit.

DmitryFarber · Answer

TheLordCommander , there's not simple answer to your question. As folks above have mentioned, it can be helpful to have extra markers, such as matched prepositions, to make the parallel items clear, but we won't always have that. Even when those markers do appear, they can shift from one choice to another, forcing us to determine the intended meaning and use that to choose answer.

So yes, there's no reason why the parallel items can't be "strengthen" and "cooperate," at least in theory. How do we know which way to go?

1) The choices that do this are wrong for other reasons. C is a mess of stacked modifiers. D gives us this structure: "The foundation works to strengthen and cooperate and improve." That would need to be a list! In fact, that double "and" is a clue that the second and third items in this list (cooperate and improve) are meant to be a pair, separate from the first.

2) The items need to be logically parallel. When we say that the foundation works to strengthen markets, we mean that strengthening markets is a goal. If we make "cooperate" parallel with "strengthen," we are saying that cooperation with governments is also a goal--something that the foundation is  trying  to do. It makes more sense to see cooperation as a means to an end. The foundation cooperates in order to improve access.

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Hello Everyone!

This is a great example of a GMAT question that has to do with  parallelism ! Before we dive in, here is the original question, with the major differences between each option highlighted in  orange :

The foundation works to strengthen local and regional agricultural markets and  cooperating with governments, improving access for farmers for  productive resources such as land and credit.

(A)  cooperating  with governments,  improving  access for farmers  for  
(B)  cooperates  with governments  to improve  access for farmers  to  
(C)  cooperate  with governments  for improvements of  access for farmers  to  
(D)  cooperate  with governments  and improve  accessibility for farmers  for their  
(E)  in cooperation  with governments  to improve  access for farmers  for

After a quick glance over each option, here are a few key differences:

1. cooperating/cooperates/cooperate
2. improving/to improve/for improvements of/and improve
3. for/to/for their

Since we know this is question deals with parallelism, let's make that the focus of our search for the correct option!  If we start with #1 on our list, we can narrow down any options that don't use parallel wording or structure. To figure out which options do this properly, let's ask ourselves:

What does the foundation DO?

We know from the non-underlined portion of the sentence that one of the things the foundation does is this:

"works to strengthen local and regional agricultural markets"

The correct option will use similar verb tenses and wording for the other thing the foundation does. Let's see how each option stacks up:

(A)  works  to strengthen...and  cooperating  with governments, improving access for farmers for 
(B)  works  to strengthen...and  cooperates  with governments to improve access for farmers to 
(C)  works  to strengthen...and  cooperate  with governments for improvements of access for farmers to 
(D)  works  to strengthen...and  cooperate  with governments and improve accessibility for farmers for their 
(E)  works  to strengthen...and  in cooperation  with governments to improve access for farmers for

We can eliminate options A, C, D, and E because they don't use parallel wording! Option B is our correct choice!

I'd love to end the discussion here, but what if you chose to tackle #2 or #3 on the list instead? Here is how each method would break down:

#2: improving/to improve/for improvements of/and improve
 
This is another issue of parallel structure. Remember - both things the foundation does MUST be written using parallel structure!

(A) works  to strengthen ...and cooperating with governments,  improving  access for farmers for 
(B) works  to strengthen ...and cooperates with governments  to improve  access for farmers to 
(C) works  to strengthen ...and cooperate with governments  for improvements of  access for farmers to 
(D) works  to strengthen ...and cooperate with governments  and improve  accessibility for farmers for their 
(E) works  to strengthen ...and in cooperation with governments  to improve  access for farmers for

We can eliminate options A, C, and D because they don't use parallel structure.  Let's move on to our last item.

#3: for/to/for their

Since we already narrowed down to 2 options, let's look at options B & E only. This issue has to do with idiomatic structure. Whenever we give someone "access," we say we give them "access to" something. We don't say that we give people "access from" something. Let's see how each option breaks down:

(B)  cooperates  with governments  to improve  access for farmers  to

This is  CORRECT ! This sentence uses parallel structure by using "cooperates" and "to improve." It also uses the correct idiomatic structure "access to."

(E)  in cooperation with  governments  to improve  access for farmers  for

This is  INCORRECT  for a couple reasons. First, it doesn't use parallel structure when it says "in cooperation with." Second, it uses the phrase "access for," which isn't how we say that in English.

There you have it - no matter which way you choose to tackle this question, option B will always come out as the correct choice!

Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem: 
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that the foundation cooperates with governments to improve access for farmers to productive resources.

Concepts tested here: Subject-Verb Agreement + Meaning + Verb Forms + Idioms + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• The introduction of present participle ("verb+ing"- “improving” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship.
• Present participles ("verb+ing" – “cooperating” in this sentence) are used to modify nouns, refer to ongoing events in any time period, and (when preceded by a comma) express cause-effect relationships.
• Habitual actions are best conveyed through the simple present tense.
• “access + to” is the correct idiomatic construction for referring to the thing to which access is granted.

A:  This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “improving access”; the use of the “comma + present participle (“verb+ing” – “improving” in this case) incorrectly implies that the foundation cooperates with governments, and   as a result  , improves access for farmers to productive resources; the intended meaning is that the foundation cooperates with governments   in order to  , improve access for farmers to productive resources; please remember, the introduction of present participle ("verb+ing"- “improving” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship. Further, Option A incorrectly uses the present participle (“verb+ing” – “cooperating” in this sentence) to refer to a habitual action; please remember, habitual actions are best conveyed through the simple present tense, and present participles ("verb+ing" – “cooperating” in this sentence) are used to modify nouns, refer to ongoing events in any time period, and (when preceded by a comma) express cause-effect relationships. Additionally, Option A incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction “access…for”; please remember, “access + to” is the correct idiomatic construction for referring to the thing to which access is granted.

B:  Correct. This answer choice correctly refers to the singular noun “The Diplomat Corps” with the singular verb “bargains”. Further, Option B uses the phrase “to improve access”, conveying the intended meaning – that the foundation cooperates with governments   in order to  , improve access for farmers to productive resources. Moreover, Option B correctly uses the simple present tense verb "cooperates" to refer to a habitual action. Additionally, Option B correctly uses the idiomatic construction “access…to” to refer to the thing to which “native companies” are granted access. Option B also avoids the pronoun error seen in Option D, as it employs no pronouns. Besides, Option B is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

C:  This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun “The foundation” with the plural verb “cooperate”; please remember, collective nouns are always singular. Further, Option C uses the needlessly indirect phrase “for improvement of access”, leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

D:  This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun “The foundation” with the plural verb “cooperate”; please remember, collective nouns are always singular. Further, Option D alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “and improve accessibility”; the use of “and” incorrectly implies that the foundation cooperates with governments, and   as a separate action  , improves access for farmers to productive resources; the intended meaning is that the foundation cooperates with governments   in order to  , improve access for farmers to productive resources. Additionally, Option D suffers from pronoun ambiguity, as “their” lacks a clear referent.

E:  This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction “access…for”; please remember, “access + to” is the correct idiomatic construction for referring to the thing to which access is granted. Further, Option E uses the needlessly wordy phrase "in cooperation with", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

Hence, B is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZj-SubJwsM

To understand the concept of "Comma + Present Participle for Cause-Effect Relationship" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~3 minutes):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVLneikI70Q

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

Divyadisha · Answer

Foundation does two tasks- Works to strengthen markets and cooperates with government. These tasks are done to improve access to the resources.

Works and Cooperates must be parallel and carry singular verb. Only option B is right.

shashanksagar · Answer

I dont understand why E is incorrect, can Foundation, whatever it means, cooperate with the government itself?

sayantanc2k · Answer

Foundation is an organization ( such as Charity Organization),and an organization can cooperate with government. E is wrong because "and" is supposed to join two elements, here two verbs, "works" and another one ("cooperates"). However there is nothing after "and" that could serve the purpose of an element that is joined by the conjunction "and".

Moreover "access  for  resources" is idiomatically incorrect.

keats · Answer

sayantanc2k 
Can we say that sentence E is a fragment? We expect a verb after the "and" part, where as there isn't any?

The foundation works to strengthen local and regional agricultural markets and   in cooperation with governments to improve access for farmers for productive resources   such as land and credit.

sayantanc2k · Answer

Yes, that is one way of eliminating the option. Another way may be:

The conjunction "and" needs to join two items. If we consider "works" the first item, then we need a verb. If we consider "to strengthen" the first item, then we need an infinitive. Instead of either of these two, we see a prepositional phrase ( in cooperation with), which has no element to be matched with.

So the problem can be viewed as a parallelism issue as well.

Celestial09 · Answer

hi
experts..
teamgmatify chetan4u magoosh egmat daagh
kindly share your views on difference between option B & E... access for farmers TO... and ... access for farmers FOR
just difference between TO & FOR usage ...
thnks

OreoShake · Answer

How are we supposed to tell where the parallel structure begins? Apparently the parallel structure begins from 'works', so 'works' and 'cooperates'. However the parallel structure could might as well have began from 'to strengthen' ---- the only reason i think 'cooperate' cannot be parallel to 'strengthen' is that 'cooperate' is NOT preceded by a 'to'.

Experts please confirm whether my reasoning above is right. Thank you for your insights.

Experts please confirm whether my reasoning above is right. Thank you for your insights.

DmitryFarber · Answer

Celestial09 , the correct idiom is that we provide "access to" resources, so we can cut A&E.

OreoShake · Answer

Dmitry, thank you for your great response, looks like meaning is also an issue in this question. Just a follow up query - why are stacked modifers incorrect? 'Harry went to the store to get paint for descorations in Anne's house' - Is this example incorrect? Let me know your thoughts please.

DmitryFarber · Answer

Stacked modifiers aren't inherently wrong, but they can get confusing very fast. Often we'll see a choice between answers with a bewildering series of modifiers and one or more answers that clarify things by reducing the number of modifiers (for instance, by using a verb or a possessive to avoid using one more prepositional phrase).

leanhdung · Answer

The foundation works to strengthen local and regional agricultural markets  and   cooperating with governments, improving access for farmers for  productive resources such as land and credit.

A)  cooperating  with governments ,  improving access for farmers  for

B) cooperates with governments to improve access for farmers to

C) cooperate with governments  for improvements  of access for farmers to
 
D) cooperate with governments  and  improve accessibility for farmers  for  their

E)  in cooperation with  governments to improve access for farmers  for

BillyZ · Answer

We want to say " cooperate TO improve "

When connecting one verb to another (or a verb to an adjective), use generally use "to", the infinitive form.

e.g. " I have to know ", " I need to see ", " I want to help ", " I'm cooperating to improve ".

We're saying " The foundation works TO strengthen X and cooperates with governments TO improve Y ".

Answer :  B

adkikani · Answer

GMATNinjaTwo   GMATNinja   generis

How is TO + Noun form (productive resources) correct in OA?
We usually use always TO + verb and FOR + noun .

EducationAisle · Answer

Hi  adkikani , the correct  idiom  is  access  to  .

Here,  to  is used as a  preposition , and hence, is followed by a noun (For example: I went to New York).

to + verb  is a different usage, the  infinitive , which is a usage that predominantly depicts  intent .

Diwabag · Answer

Hello!

In your examples, you find main differences in the choices THEN decide which difference will give you the most elimination in identifying. If that is the case, do you suggest that I read ALL of the choices, identify the main differences, THEN make eliminations? or do I make eliminations as I read through them one by one at the beginning? The former is more time consuming.

Thanks.

The foundation works to strengthen local and regional agricultural

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The foundation works to strengthen local and regional agricultural

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