The root systems of most flowering perennials either become too crowde

D for 2 reasons:
1.Idiom:either X or Y
2. IIlism: resulting ,producing

822. The root systems of most flowering perennials either become too crowded, which results in loss in vigor, and spread too far outward, producing a bare center.
(A) which results in loss in vigor, and spread
(B) resulting in loss in vigor, or spreading
(C) with the result of loss of vigor, or spreading
(D) resulting in loss of vigor, or spread
(E) with a resulting loss of vigor, and spread

The sentence is using the idiom either X or Y. The only case which satisfies parallelism between X and Y is D -

either become too crowded, <-ing modifier>, or spread too far outward, <-ing modifier>.

The other choices donot satisfy parallelism. B,C use participles and don't have a main verb in X and Y both. A and E use AND instead of OR

The word "either" is great to see, especially in the non-underlined portion of a SC question, because it is part of a reliable idiom. If you see the word 'either' in the non-underlined portion, you know two things:

1) The work 'or' will show up later in the sentence
2) What follows the 'either' and what follows the 'or' will be in parallel form

A and E can be eliminated because they don't have an 'or'.

B and C can be eliminated because what follows the 'or' (spreading) is not parallel with what follows the 'either' (become).

Hello, I have applied the structure here in this question "Either X or Y'". Since this question includes parallelism too, I have applied that too and marked the option B as my answer choice considering "ing" then how my answer became wrong? Please advise.

The parallel structure, as you have correctly identified, is EITHER X OR Y.
Here X = become (a verb). So Y should also be verb.

In B, present participle "spreading" is wrongly made parallel to verb "become".
In D, verb "spread" is correctly made parallel to verb "become".

The root systems of most flowering perennials either become too crowded, which results in loss in vigor, and spread too far outward, producing a bare center.
(A) which results in loss in vigor, and spread
(B) resulting in loss in vigor, or spreading
(C) with the result of loss of vigor, or spreading
(D) resulting in loss of vigor, or spread.....correct option
(E) with a resulting loss of vigor, and spread

Here we can see the usage of idiom either X or Y. The only case which satisfies parallelism between X and Y is D -

The other choices doesnot satisfy parallelism.

EMPOWERgmatVerbal can you please tell whether the usage of "with' is correct here?

In my opinion, the usage of "with" in both C and E should be correct, as "with....." is acting as an adverbial phrase and is telling about the result of the action. If the latter part of these sentences were changed to correct parallel marker, would they have been correct options?

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-


Choice A: In this answer choice, the word "which" is incorrectly used to refer to an action. Furthermore, this answer choice fails to maintain the idiomatic structure "either...or" by using the word "and"; this usage also alters the meaning of the sentence by removing the sense of contrast that this sentence demands. Finally, the phrase "loss in vigor" is unidiomatic; the correct phrase is "loss of vigor". Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice B: This answer choice also uses the unidiomatic phrase "loss in vigor". This answer choice also fails to maintain parallelism between the verbs "become" and "spreading". Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice C: This answer choice repeats the parallelism error found in Option B. Additionally, the use of the phrase "with the result" is needlessly wordy. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice D: Option D maintains parallelism and correct idiom use throughout the sentence and conveys the intended meaning of the sentence. Thus, this answer choice is correct.

Choice E: This answer choice makes the same error of incorrectly using the word "and" in place of "or" that Option A does. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Hence, D is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Which v/s That on GMAT", you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



All the best! Experts' Global Team

CORRELATIVE IDIOMS, MODIFIERS

First, "which" can only be used to refer to nouns (things/concrete), never to actions or verboids. On the other hand the ",ing" is often used as an adverb.

The root systems of most flowering perennials either become too crowded, which results in loss in vigor, and spread too far outward, producing a bare center.

(A) which results in loss in vigor, and spread ------ "Which" can't modify "too crowded". Also, correlative idiom "Either X or Y" is not set correctly.

(B) resulting in loss in vigor, or spreading ------- Wrong parallelism inside correlative idiom EITHER X OR Y... "become" ( vverb in present simple) is not parallel to "spreading" (present participle)

(C) with the result of loss of vigor, or spreading ------- Wrong parallelism inside correlative idiom EITHER X OR Y... "become" ( vverb in present simple) is not parallel to "spreading" (present participle)

(D) resulting in loss of vigor, or spread ----- CORRECT

(E) with a resulting loss of vigor, and spread ----- Correlative idiom "Either X or Y" is not set correctly.

Great question, harsh8686!

The problem with options C & E is that the "either X or Y" idiom doesn't work:

(C) The root systems of most flowering perennials either become too crowded, with the result of loss of vigor, or spreading too far outward, producing a bare center.

...either become too crowded or spreading too far outward... (X and Y aren't parallel)

(E) The root systems of most flowering perennials either become too crowded, with a resulting loss of vigor, and spread too far outward, producing a bare center.

...either become too crowded and spread... (either X and Y isn't idiomatically correct)

The use of "with" in both of these options isn't the biggest problem. The only issue I really have with the two "with" phrases is that they're overly wordy: why say "with the result of" when "resulting in" would say the same thing?

I hope this helps! I think the "which/with/resulting" difference is meant to steal your focus away from the real problem: idioms. The GMAT is tricky like that sometimes.

A&E - use of "either/and" vs "either/or"
B&C - use of "spreading" not parallel with "become"
Finally in B&C respectively, "result in loss in" and "result of loss of" - a minor point but doesn't really make sense to me correct answer is "resulting in loss of".