Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
sayantanc2k wrote:
Though being tiny, blind, and translucent, a recently discovered species of catfish lessens their vulnerability with thickened bones and armor plates on their sides.
A. Though being tiny, blind, and translucent, a recently discovered species of catfish lessens their vulnerability with thickened bones and armor plates on their sides.
B. Though tiny, blind, and translucent, a recently discovered species of catfish has thickened bones and armor plates on its sides that lessen its vulnerability.
C. A recently discovered species of catfish has thickened bones and armor plates on its sides that lessen their vulnerability, though tiny, blind, and translucent.
D. Thickened bones and armor plates on their sides lessen the vulnerability of a recently discovered species of catfish that is tiny, blind, and translucent.
E. Tiny, blind, and translucent, thickened bones and armor plates on its sides lessen the vulnerability of a recently discovered species of catfish.
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that a recently discovered species of catfish is tiny, blind, and translucent, but it has thickened bones and armor plates on its sides that lessen its vulnerability.
Concepts tested here: Pronouns + Meaning + Modifiers + Awkwardness/Redundancy• In the “phrase + comma + noun” and “noun + comma + phrase” constructions, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.
• “being” is only to be used when it is part of a noun phrase or represents the passive continuous verb tense; the use of passive continuous must be justified in the context.
A: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "species of catfish" with the plural pronoun "their". Further, Option A incorrectly uses the word "being", leading to awkwardness and redundancy; remember, “being” is only to be used when it is part of a noun phrase or represents the passive continuous verb tense; the use of passive continuous must be justified in the context.
B: Correct. This answer choice correctly refers to the singular noun "species of catfish" with the singular pronoun "its". Further, Option B correctly uses "Though tiny, blind, and translucent" to modify "a recently discovered species of catfish", conveying the intended meaning - that a recently discovered
species of catfish is tiny, blind, and translucent,
but it has thickened bones and armor plates on its sides that lessen its vulnerability. Besides, Option B is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.
C: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "species of catfish" with the plural pronoun "their". Further, Option C incorrectly modifies "thickened bones and armor plates...vulnerability" with "though tiny, blind, and translucent", illogically implying that the
bones and armor plates are tiny, blind, and translucent; the intended meaning is that
the catfish are tiny, blind, and translucent; remember, in the “phrase + comma + noun” and “noun + comma + phrase” constructions, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.
D: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "species of catfish" with the plural pronoun "their". Further, Option D uses the phrase "that is tiny, blind, and translucent"; the omission of a term along the lines of "though" incorrectly implies that a recently discovered species of catfish is tiny, blind, and translucent, and
as a separate action it has thickened bones and armor plates on its sides that lessen its vulnerability; the intended meaning is that a recently discovered species of catfish is tiny, blind, and translucent,
but it has thickened bones and armor plates on its sides that lessen its vulnerability.
E: This answer choice incorrectly uses "Tiny, blind, and translucent" to modify "thickened bones and armor plates", illogically implying that the
bones and armor plates are tiny, blind, and translucent; the intended meaning is that
the catfish are tiny, blind, and translucent; remember, in the “phrase + comma + noun” and “noun + comma + phrase” constructions, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.
Hence, B is the best answer choice.To understand the concept of "Phrase Comma Subject" and "Subject Comma Phrase" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
To understand the use of "Being" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team