eybrj2 wrote:
The Statue of Liberty's defects in its supporting structure that led to its deterioration have been corrected, according to the firm of consulting engineers.
A) The Statue of Liberty's defects in its supporting structure that led to its deterioration.
B) The Statue of Liberty's defects in its supporting structure, leading to its deterioration.
C) leading to its deterioration, the Statue of Liberty's defects in its supporting structure.
D) The defects that the Statue of Liberty had in its supporting structure that led to its deterioration.
E) The defects in the supporting structure of the Statue of Liberty which led to its deterioration.
How is OA correct?
My doubt about OA : 1. Doesn't "which" modify only preceding words in the GMAT world?
2. When "which" is used, should't there be a comma before "which"?
Also, I have several other questions.
1. What's wrong with b and c? I think that the Statue of Liberty's defect IS LEADING its deterioration.
Is "its" before deterioration a problem? Does it have a ambiguity issue?
2. If "which" or "that" doesn't modify only preceding words like "which" in the OA, can't a be the OA?
What's wrong with a?
Remember one rule: Nouns in the possessive case (before 's) and after preposition are poor antecedents. So we are very clear why OA is E:
A) The Statue of Liberty's defects in its supporting structure that led to
its deterioration.
"Its" here refers to defects , not the Statue of Liberty . Defects can not be deteriorated.
B) The Statue of Liberty's defects in its supporting structure, leading to
its deterioration.
The same mistake to A
C) leading to its deterioration, the Statue of Liberty's defects in
its supporting structure.
The same mistake to A
D) The defects that the Statue of Liberty had in its supporting structure that led to its deterioration.
Second "that" modifies "supporting structure " or " defects" ? Ambiguous.
E) The defects in the supporting structure of the Statue of Liberty which led to its deterioration.
OA: "which" modifies "defects" , not "Statue of Liberty" because "Statue of Liberty" is after the preposition "of".
"which" in this case is essential to clear the meaning , therefore we do not put commas there.
Hope it helps