The only way for growers to salvage frozen citrus is to process them

Question

The only way for growers to salvage frozen citrus is  to process them quickly into juice concentrate before they rot when warmer weather returns .

(A) to process them quickly into juice concentrate before they rot when warmer weather returns

(B) if they are quickly processed into juice concentrate before warmer weather returns to rot them

(C) for them to be processed quickly into juice concentrate before the fruit rots when warmer weather returns

(D) if the fruit is quickly processed into juice concentrate before they rot when warmer weather returns

(E) to have it quickly processed into juice concentrate before warmer weather returns and rots the fruit

The Official Guide for GMAT Review 10th Edition, 2003

Practice Question  
Question No.: SC 4
Page: 653

egmat · Accepted Answer

Hi Dipesh, Let us solve this question using the 3 step process. Meaning : The sentence says that there is only one way for growers to salvage frozen citrus fruits and that way is to process the citrus fruits quickly into juice concentrate before they rot when warmer weather returns. Sentence Structure Analysis : • The only way for growers to salvage frozen citrus is to process them quickly into juice concentrate o before they rot  when warmer weather returns. As you can see, the error in this sentence is the usage of plural pronouns “ them ” and “ they ”. “citrus” is used generically here and is in singular form. It is similar to the following sentence, a. The only way to catch a lion is to lay a trap . Even though the sentence talks about every lion, it still uses the singular noun “lion”. Same is the case with the above official sentence. “Citrus” is used in singular form. Therefore the plural pronouns “ them ” and “ they ” are incorrect. Option Choice Analysis : Option A : Incorrect for the reasons we already discussed. Option B : if they are quickly processed into juice concentrate before warmer weather returns to rot them . Same pronoun errors as in Option A. Moreover, the usage of “ if ” is incorrect. If is used to introduce a condition which is not the case here. Option C : for them to be processed quickly into juice concentrate before the fruit rots when warmer weather returns. Same pronoun error. Plural pronoun “ them ” is used to refer to the singular noun “Citrus”. Option D : if the fruit is quickly processed into juice concentrate before they rot when warmer weather returns. Again, plural pronoun “ they ” is used to refer to the singular noun “citrus”. Also the usage of conditional “ if ” is incorrect. Option E : to have it quickly processed into juice concentrate before warmer weather returns and rots the fruit. This is the correct option . Observe how this option corrects the errors in the previous options without introducing any new errors. Regarding your doubt on parallelism, please note that the entities in Option E are of the form “ X is Y ”. In such a structure, X and Y need to be parallel. Examples : He is a soldier . (“ He ” – Singular Noun; “ a soldier ” – Singular Noun) Murder is a Crime . (“ Murder ” – Singular Noun; “ a Crime ” – Singular Noun) Similarly in Option E, to salvage – to+Verb to have – to+Verb This maintains the parallelism. Hope this helps!

Regards, Krishna

x2suresh · Answer

only E makes sense here.

A,B,C,D -> have Pronoun reference issues. Frozen Citrus is singluar, so you can't use "They, them when refering to Citrus)
C -> fruit rots wrong here. weather rots the fruit

GMAT TIGER · Answer

Agree with E. The use of "them/they", which refer to "the growers", is wrong. 
"It" is required to refer "frozen citrus".

talk2vj · Answer

Construction is : X is to Y
A> "them" - pronoun agreement error.Citrus = singular
B> "they" and them - pronoun agreement error
C> "them" - pronoun agreement error
D> "they" and them - pronoun agreement error

andysimple · Answer

This question took me 5 sec to find the answer. The structure is : the only way TO ... is TO ....
So E is obviously the only one.

alicegmat · Answer

this question calls for parallelism and pronouns.
here, is acts as a linking verb. in that, it does not describe what the subject does but what the subject  is . in other words it does not describe the  action  of the subject but  state  of the subject.

Eg. She is a student. is - linking verb.

Linking verbs demand that subject and object be parallel. hence, way to do X is to Y is the parallel structure here.
Remember, parallelism does not always need parallel markers. Parallelism is called for wherever ideas are logically parallel.
So, A and E are parallel.
Lets see more.
A - process  them ! oh!  cirtus  btw is a collective noun and hence, singular.  them  disagrees!
B - same error!  they ? no.
C -  them  again! no
D -  they ? same error
E - it, correct. fruit, correct.
The tie between A and E that both support parallelism can be solved by pronoun issue.
Note that, without knowing that  citrus  is singular, there was no way to solve this.

TGC · Answer

Although I understood the reasoning behind POE of this answer choice, can anyone enlighten me by justifying the below explanation from OG12.

Parallelism requires that the same word forms
perform the same functions in the sentence. Here,
the linking verb is requires two infinitives: to
salvage … to process (or to have … processed).

Rgds,
TGC!

blueseas · Answer

LINKING VERBS  acts as a  parallelism marker. 
 LINKING VERBS :  IS / AM / ARE / WAS /WERE...So structure before and after should be parallel. 
there are few exception to this...refer parallelism chapter from MANHATTAN SC for exception.
 OTHER LINKING VERBS :  APPEAR / BECOME/FEEL /GROW/LOOK/REMAIN/REPRESENT /RESEMBLE/SEEM /SMELL/SOUND/STAY/TASTE /TURN.
 
 one more feature of linking verbs is ..that ADJECTIVE and not ADVERB follow LINKING VERBS.
If you find adverbs modifying LINKING VERBS then that sentence is WRONG.

example: 
AMY IS FEELING WELL ==>WELL :  ADJECTIVE  MODIFYING NOUN AMY
AMY WRITES WELL ==> WELL:  ADVERB  THAT MODIFIES THE VERB WRITES.

in this case IS ==> THIS IS ACTING AS PARALLELISM MARKER...so we need parallel structure before and after IS....HERE WE NEED INFINITIVES..

hope it helps.

TGC · Answer

I presume you gave me theory when I asked a doubt pertaining to a specific question.

Again from MGMAT SC guide only , it states that SUBJECT and OBJECT must be || when linking verb is involved.

Here SUBJECT is : WAY
Object is :to process them quickly into juice concentrate

Please advise

Rgds,
TGC !

blueseas · Answer

NO THAT IS NOT TRUE. it is not necessary that you need to make parallel subject and object ONLY. But rather you just need to make both sides of linking verb parallel. the particular example you are pointing. The bouquet of flowers WAS a gift of love .==>here there is nothing else to make parallel...so you are making subject and object parallel. so just keep in mind that you need to make parallel whatever is before and after... if there is only subject and object==>make them parallel. if we have infinitive then make infinitives parallel. if we have -ing form parallel..make them parallel. take this example: According to the teachings of the Buddhist and Hindu religions, attaining nirvana is to enter a state of supreme liberation, leaving behind the desires that perpetuate the cycle of death and rebirth. (A) attaining nirvana is to enter (B) to attain nirvana is entering (C) to attain nirvana is (D) to attain nirvana is to enter (E) attaining nirvana is to be entering according-to-the-teachings-of-the-buddhist-and-hindu-81335.html#p610395 here we are checking either both -ing form or both infinitive form....but we dont have -ing form ...so thats why option D is CORRECT. hope it helps

dipeshsalvi · Answer

The only way for growers to salvage frozen citrus is  to process them quickly into juice concentrate before they rot when warmer weather returns .

(A) to process them quickly into juice concentrate before they rot when warmer weather returns

(B) if they are quickly processed into juice concentrate before warmer weather returns to rot them

(C) for them to be processed quickly into juice concentrate before the fruit rots when warmer weather returns

(D) if the fruit is quickly processed into juice concentrate before they rot when warmer weather returns

(E) to have it quickly processed into juice concentrate before warmer weather returns and rots the fruit

The OG answer suggest : Parallelism requires that the same word forms perform the same functions in the sentence. Here, the linking verb is requires two infi nitives: to salvage … to process (or to have … processed).

I don't understand this explanation as why both 'to salvage' and 'to process' needs to be parallel. How to identify such entities?

Thanks,
Dipesh

abid1986 · Answer

Hi,I understand that pronoun it refers to the noun in the infinitive to frozen citrus,but what is the main subject & its object here.
Can sentence have it main subject in infinitive construction?
or is it the phrase "The only way....citrus" the subject of the sentence?
and if the phrase is the subject of the sentence ,then pronoun antecedent can exist in subject phrase?

egmat · Answer

Hi Abid, Thanks for posting your doubt here. :-)

In this official sentence, The Subject of the main clause is "The only way" and the Verb is "is". Now the antecedent of a pronoun can be in any part of the sentence. There is no rule for the placement of a the antecedent of a pronoun. The most important thing to keep in mind about pronouns is that they must refer to a logical antecedent. Now this antecedent can be placed anywhere in the sentence. Please go through the following article for more details on the usage of pronouns: pronouns-debunking-popular-myths-intro-160811.html Hope this helps. :-)

Thanks. Shraddha

smartyguy · Answer

The only way for growers to salvage frozen citrus is  to process them quickly into juice concentrate before they rot when warmer weather returns .

(A) to process  them  quickly into juice concentrate before  they  rot when warmer weather returns
 Subject -verb disagreement -- fruit/them+usage of "they" is wrong

(B) if  they  are quickly processed into juice concentrate  before warmer weather returns to rot them 
 Same as + before warmer weather returns to rot them shows the intent of the weather which is awkward

(C) for  them  to be processed quickly into juice concentrate  before the fruit rots when warmer weather returns 
 Same as A + before fruit rots when weather returns awkward

(D) if the fruit is quickly processed into juice concentrate before  they  rot when warmer weather returns
 same as C

(E) to have it quickly processed into juice concentrate before warmer weather returns and rots the fruit
  Correct

Hence E
Ans

Regards
SG

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Notice that the truth is that all of the answer choices other than E contain clear errors that involve well known, basic concepts and meaning issues, and so actually you don't have to know how to identify the type of parallelism that appears in E.

In A, B, and C, the plural pronoun "they" incorrectly refers to the singular noun "citrus". D pairs "a way" with "if" to create "The only way is if ...", which conveys a nonsensical meaning, and D also has plural pronoun "they" referring to "fruit", which is apparently singular, as "fruit" uses singular verb "is".

That you don't have to identify the parallelism in order to find the correct answer is likely no accident, and the need for that type parallelism is not the point of the question.

GMAT Sentence Correction is not meant to be a test of knowledge of grammar rules. So, in most cases, getting the right answers to GMAT SC questions does not require knowledge of little known concepts. As is the case in this situation, using basic rules and concepts and seeing what makes sense and what does not make sense are much more important.

daboo343 · Answer

All four options A, B, C, and D have pronoun ambiguity. they or them cannot refer to citrus as citrus is singular.
Hence we are left with only one option E. and E is indeed our answer.

ydmuley · Answer

The only way for growers to salvage frozen citrus is  to process them quickly into juice concentrate before they rot when warmer weather returns .

(A) to process  them  quickly into juice concentrate before  they  rot when warmer weather returns

(B)  if they are quickly processed  into juice concentrate before warmer weather returns to rot  them

(C)  for them  to be processed quickly into juice concentrate before the fruit rots when warmer weather returns

(D)  if the fruit is quickly processed  into juice concentrate before  they  rot when warmer weather returns

(E)  to have it quickly processed into juice concentrate before warmer weather returns and rots the fruit

eka9045 · Answer

How is the structure 'the only way to'? Isn't it 'the only way FOR' and if that is the case it would make us choose the wrong option i.e. C as in C, We can clearly see, it is 'the only way FOR................is FOR'

EducationAisle · Answer

Hi  eka9045 , the big issue with C is the usage of  them .  them  can only refer to  growers , but then, the sentence would be non-sensical ( growers  cannot be  processed ).

The only way for growers to salvage frozen citrus is to process them

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

The only way for growers to salvage frozen citrus is to process them

Prep Toolkit

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

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From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

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