The health benefits of tea have been the subject of much research; in

prevent or inhibit correct
prevent and inhibit incorrect

between B and E


E looks concise

The health benefits of tea have been the subject of much research; in addition to its possibilities for preventing and inhibiting some forms of cancer, the brewed leaves of Camellia sinensis may also play a role in reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke.

HIGHLITED PART IS A MODIFIER...HENCE IT IS MODIFYING BREWED LEAVES.
NOW IN THIS MODIFIER

in addition to its possibilities for preventing and inhibiting[/u] some forms of cancer
ITS: THIS IS SINGULAR.....WHILE BREWED LEAVES IS PLURAL....HENCE PRONOUN NUMBER ERROR.
NOW BASIS THIS WE CAN ELIMINATE A/B/C

D. besides the possible preventing and inhibiting of==>MEANING WISE WRONG BECAUSE OF THE USE OFAND

E. besides possibly preventing or inhibiting==>CORRECT

HOPE IT HELPS

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 brewed leaves of Camellia sinensis may prevent or inhibit some forms of cancer, and they may play a role in reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Pronouns + Parallelism + Idioms + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• "possibility + of" and "possibility + that" are the correct, idiomatic constructions.
• Any elements linked by a conjunction ("in addition" and “besides” in this case) must be parallel.

A: This answer choice incorrectly uses the singular pronoun "its" to refer to the plural noun "leaves". Further, Option A fails to maintain parallelism between the verb phrase "play a role" and the noun phrase "its possibilities"; please remember, any elements linked by a conjunction ("in addition" in this sentence) must be parallel. Additionally, Option A uses the unidiomatic construction "possibilities for"; please remember, "possibility + of" and "possibility + that" are the correct, idiomatic constructions. Besides, Option A uses the needlessly wordy phrase "in addition to its possibilities", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

B: This answer choice incorrectly uses the singular pronoun "its" to refer to the plural noun "leaves". Further, Option B fails to maintain parallelism between the verb phrase "play a role" and the noun phrase "its possibilities"; please remember, any elements linked by a conjunction ("in addition" in this sentence) must be parallel. Additionally, Option B uses the unidiomatic construction "possibilities to"; please remember, "possibility + of" and "possibility + that" are the correct, idiomatic constructions. Besides, Option B uses the needlessly wordy phrase "in addition to its possibilities", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

C: This answer choice incorrectly uses the singular pronoun "it" to refer to the plural noun "leaves". Further, Option C alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "prevents and inhibits"; the use of "and" incorrectly implies that the brewed leaves of Camellia sinensis may both prevent and inhibit some forms of cancer; the intended meaning is that the brewed leaves of Camellia sinensis may either prevent or inhibit some forms of cancer. Additionally, Option C fails to maintain parallelism between the verb phrase "play a role" and the noun phrase "the possibility"; please remember, any elements linked by a conjunction ("besides" in this sentence) must be parallel. Besides, Option C uses the needlessly wordy phrase "besides the possibility", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "preventing and inhibiting"; the use of "and" incorrectly implies that the brewed leaves of Camellia sinensis may both prevent and inhibit some forms of cancer; the intended meaning is that the brewed leaves of Camellia sinensis may either prevent or inhibit some forms of cancer. Further, Option D fails to maintain parallelism between the active verb phrase "play a role" and the present participle ("verb+ing" - "preventing" and "inhibiting" in this sentence) phrase "the possible preventing and inhibiting"; please remember, any elements linked by a conjunction ("besides" in this sentence) must be parallel. Besides, Option D uses the needlessly wordy phrase "the possible preventing and inhibiting of", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

E: Correct. This answer choice avoids the pronoun error seen in Options A, B, and C, as it uses no pronouns. Further, Option E uses the phrase "preventing or inhibiting", conveying the intended meaning - that the brewed leaves of Camellia sinensis may either prevent or inhibit some forms of cancer. Additionally, Option E maintains parallelism between the active verb phrases "play a role" and "preventing or inhibiting". Moreover, Option E avoids the idiomatic error seen in Options A and B, as it uses the adverb "possibly" rather than the noun "possibilities". Besides, Option E is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

The health benefits of tea have been the subject of much research; in addition to its possibilities for preventing and inhibiting some forms of cancer, the brewed leaves of Camellia sinensis may also play a role in reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke.


(A) in addition to its possibilities for preventing and inhibiting

(B) in addition to its possibilities to prevent or inhibit

(C) besides the possibility that it prevents and inhibits

(D) besides the possible preventing and inhibiting of

(E) besides possibly preventing or inhibiting

The subject of the second independent clause is - the brewed leaves
It is incorrect to use the singular pronoun “its” to refer to the plural noun “brewed leaves”
Eliminate A, B, and C.

Let’s look at options D and E-

(D) besides the possible preventing and inhibiting of
As the noun forms of “preventing” and “inhibiting” exist, the use of gerunds is not preferred.
(E) besides possibly preventing or inhibiting
The adverb “possibly” correctly modifies the verb “preventing” and “inhibiting”


VP
GMAT SME

tough one.

B. prefer "in addition to" over "besides"
prefer "possibilities to" over "possibilties for".

Choice B seems to be correct. Preventing and inhibiting is in negative sense so "possibilities for" does not sound good.

Hi there
can you give reasons for

prevent or inhibit correct
prevent and inhibit incorrect


thanks

It cannot do both "preventing" and "inhibit" so "or" is preferred over "and"

That leaves us with B and E. In B "its" is awkward. E is parallel as well IMO E.

Official answer per GMAT prep is (E).

or vs. and should be main split and then "possibilities to" is not a correct idiom (possibilities for is correct), E is concise as well.

A. in addition to its possibilities for preventing and inhibiting
B. in addition to its possibilities to prevent or inhibit
C. besides the possibility that it prevents and inhibits <prevent and inhibit at the same time?>
D. besides the possible preventing and inhibiting of
E. besides possibly preventing or inhibiting<correcto>

The health benefits of tea have been the subject of much research; in addition to its possibilities for preventing and inhibiting some forms of cancer, the brewed leaves of Camellia sinensis may also play a role in reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke.
A. in addition to its possibilities for preventing and inhibiting
B. in addition to its possibilities to prevent or inhibit
C. besides the possibility that it prevents and inhibits
D. besides the possible preventing and inhibiting of
E. besides possibly preventing or inhibiting

Not concerned about answer but can pronoun in second clause joined with ";" refer noun in first clause.
In the above problem can "its" can refer tea's.

A short answer would be that yes, an "its" - or other similar pronoun - can be placed after a semicolon while referring to something before the semicolon. Here is an example sentence:

"Superman is the greatest superhero ever made; his ideals and strong sense of morality make him a solid role model even in modern times."

In this particular sentence, however, the "its" would actually more accurately refer to the "brewed leaves of Camellia sinensis", as opposed to the general "tea" found within the first part of the sentence.

Can someone provide a detailed analyis on this question. Thanks! why isn't "and" used here?

The health benefits of tea have been the subject of much research; in addition to its possibilities for preventing and inhibiting some forms of cancer, the brewed leaves of Camellia sinensis may also play a role in reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke.

The "subject" of the underlined portion is "the brewed leaves": PLURAL => it/its have no reference. We can eliminate A B C.

D. besides the possible preventing and inhibiting of<== this is not idiomatic
E. besides possibly preventing or inhibiting

To answer you question about "and", I think it's more logical to say
prevent OR inhibit, just because you cannot do both things at once: you can either prevent OR inhibit.

The health benefits of tea have been the subject of much research; in addition to its possibilities for preventing and inhibiting some forms of cancer, the brewed leaves of Camellia sinensis may also play a role in reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Here its refers to The brewed Leaves, which is plural - Wrong.
This clears - A, B and C

A. in addition to its possibilities for preventing and inhibiting
B. in addition to its possibilities to prevent or inhibit
C. besides the possibility that it prevents and inhibits
D. besides the possible preventing and inhibiting of - preventing and inhibiting is wrong. It can either prevent or inhibit. Use of possible is also wrong.
E. besides possibly preventing or inhibiting - Correct choice

IMO your assumption that preventing and inhibiting can-not go hand in hand is incorrect. Its used extensively in articles and papers and colloquial speech

Some Examples using that (from articles)

Method of preventing and inhibiting corrosion.
Method and means for preventing and inhibiting type iii secretion in infections caused by gram-negative bacteria.
In addition to its possibilities for preventing and inhibiting.

BTW for Approach, if you understand the meaning and read it with the main subject (clause 2), correct answer stands out on its own

Camellia sinensis ... can do what ?

(1) CS ... besides possibly preventing or inhibiting some forms of cancer ---> E
(2) CS ... may also play a role in reducing the risk

(1) CS ... besides the possibility that it prevents and inhibits ---> C
(2) CS ... may also play a role in reducing the risk

(1) CS ... besides the possible preventing and inhibiting of ---> D
(2) CS ... may also play a role in reducing the risk

A B and C are out for SV errors.

For D and E
D. besides the possible preventing and inhibiting of
E. besides possibly preventing or inhibiting

Possible is used in D and possibly in E. Possible is an adjective and adjectives can only modify nouns.
also, "the preventing of" and "the inhibiting of" could have been considered nouns only if the equivalent action nouns did not exist.
But since prevention and inhibition exist, they are not nouns and therefore cannot be modified by an adjective
to be correct, D should have read: besides the possible prevention and inhibition of

E on the other hand correctly uses the adverb possibly to modify preventing and inhibiting