Last visit was: 18 Nov 2025, 21:02 It is currently 18 Nov 2025, 21:02
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
User avatar
generis
User avatar
Senior SC Moderator
Joined: 22 May 2016
Last visit: 18 Jun 2022
Posts: 5,273
Own Kudos:
37,384
 [39]
Given Kudos: 9,464
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 5,273
Kudos: 37,384
 [39]
6
Kudos
Add Kudos
33
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Most Helpful Reply
User avatar
generis
User avatar
Senior SC Moderator
Joined: 22 May 2016
Last visit: 18 Jun 2022
Posts: 5,273
Own Kudos:
37,384
 [11]
Given Kudos: 9,464
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 5,273
Kudos: 37,384
 [11]
9
Kudos
Add Kudos
2
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
General Discussion
User avatar
Doer01
Joined: 19 Sep 2017
Last visit: 28 Oct 2021
Posts: 216
Own Kudos:
164
 [3]
Given Kudos: 160
Location: United Kingdom
GPA: 3.9
WE:Account Management (Other)
Posts: 216
Kudos: 164
 [3]
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
minustark
Joined: 14 Jul 2019
Last visit: 01 Apr 2021
Posts: 469
Own Kudos:
398
 [1]
Given Kudos: 52
Status:Student
Location: United States
Concentration: Accounting, Finance
GMAT 1: 650 Q45 V35
GPA: 3.9
WE:Education (Accounting)
Products:
GMAT 1: 650 Q45 V35
Posts: 469
Kudos: 398
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Plunging prices are revealing the extent to which nations, hailed in recent years as having outgrown their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily on these commodities.


A) as having outgrown their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily

B) to have outgrown their roots in natural resources, are still heavily reliant

C) as an outgrowth of their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily

D) to outgrow their roots in natural resources, are still relying heavily

E) as outgrowing their roots in natural resources, still heavily reliant.

I think the sentence requires a present continuous tense as the process is ongoing. We can eliminate A, C & E. Between B & D to have is preferable to to outgrow. IMO B is correct.
User avatar
ankaua
Joined: 22 Jun 2018
Last visit: 10 Sep 2022
Posts: 139
Own Kudos:
182
 [1]
Given Kudos: 294
Location: Ukraine
Concentration: Technology, Entrepreneurship
GMAT 1: 600 Q44 V28
GMAT 2: 630 Q42 V34
GMAT 3: 660 Q48 V34
GPA: 4
GMAT 3: 660 Q48 V34
Posts: 139
Kudos: 182
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Plunging prices are revealing the extent to which nations, hailed in recent years as having outgrown their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily on these commodities.

"Low hanging fruits" are choices E (sentence fragment) and B (action verb "rely" is better than to+be+adjective "are reliant")

B) to have outgrown their roots in natural resources, are still heavily reliant
E) as outgrowing their roots in natural resources, still heavily reliant

Then, I find it difficult to decide among A-C-D as do not fully get meaning, so I'm guessing it is D.

A) as having outgrown their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily
C) as an outgrowth of their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily
D) to outgrow their roots in natural resources, are still relying heavily
avatar
soulcycle
Joined: 21 Oct 2019
Last visit: 10 Apr 2021
Posts: 7
Own Kudos:
5
 [3]
Given Kudos: 63
Posts: 7
Kudos: 5
 [3]
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Plunging prices are revealing the extent to which nations, hailed in recent years as having outgrown their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily on these commodities.


A) as having outgrown their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily

B) to have outgrown their roots in natural resources, are still heavily reliant

C) as an outgrowth of their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily

D) to outgrow their roots in natural resources, are still relying heavily

E) as outgrowing their roots in natural resources, still heavily reliant[/quote]


A - "as having outgrown looks correct" - looks good

B - "to have outgrown" implies the intention on part of the nation.

C - "as an outgrowth of their roots" - A nation being an outgrowth of it's roots sounds ridiculous. Also "their" should be "its"

D - "to outgrow" implies intention

E - "as outgrowing" implies it's still happening. "their" should be "its"

Answer is A
avatar
suchithra
Joined: 31 Oct 2015
Last visit: 14 Oct 2022
Posts: 90
Own Kudos:
118
 [1]
Given Kudos: 179
Posts: 90
Kudos: 118
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hailed as is used when referring to someone as Y or praising them and this is the most common form I have come across, it is usually followed by a noun . In rare cases, I have seen other uses such as Hail to (Hail to the king or hail the king)

A) as having outgrown their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily
Correct

B) to have outgrown their roots in natural resources, are still heavily reliant
I prefer the verb rely

C) as an outgrowth of their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily
Hailed as an outgrowth is incorrect

D) to outgrow their roots in natural resources, are still relying heavily

E) as outgrowing their roots in natural resources, still heavily reliant
Hailed as outgrowing in incorrect since we are missing a noun

Therefore answer is A
User avatar
exc4libur
Joined: 24 Nov 2016
Last visit: 22 Mar 2022
Posts: 1,686
Own Kudos:
1,447
 [1]
Given Kudos: 607
Location: United States
Posts: 1,686
Kudos: 1,447
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
generis
Plunging prices are revealing the extent to which nations, hailed in recent years as having outgrown their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily on these commodities.

A) as having outgrown their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily
B) to have outgrown their roots in natural resources, are still heavily reliant
C) as an outgrowth of their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily
D) to outgrow their roots in natural resources, are still relying heavily
E) as outgrowing their roots in natural resources, still heavily reliant

MEANING
Plunging prices are revealing the extent that nation still heavily rely on these commodities.
Which nations? Those hailed in the past for having outgrown its dependence on nat resources.

B) "are still reliant on" < "still rely on" - active voice is better; "hailed to" unidiomatic;
C) "nations hailed as an outgrowth" nonsense;
D) "hailed [past] to outgrow their roots" unintended;
E) "the extent to which they still [adj] heavily [adj] reliant [adj]" frag;

Ans (A)
User avatar
mykrasovski
Joined: 17 Aug 2018
Last visit: 17 Apr 2022
Posts: 341
Own Kudos:
323
 [1]
Given Kudos: 253
Location: United States
WE:General Management (Other)
Posts: 341
Kudos: 323
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Quote:
Plunging prices are revealing the extent to which nations, hailed in recent years as having outgrown their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily on these commodities.

After reading the sentence one may conclude that the following subjects are being tested: meaning, tenses, and structure. One needs to understand what is going with the meaning. The prices are revealing [something] the extent [which extent?] to which nations, [blah-blah], rely on something [commodities = resources] even these days. The modifier includes a time indicator - in recent years - that requires Present Perfect (have + Ved) tense.

A) as having outgrown their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily
Let's keep it.

B) to have outgrown their roots in natural resources, are still heavily reliant
Let's keep it.

C) as an outgrowth of their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily
This option is a colossal mess in terms of meaning. Can nations be hailed [thought of] as an outgrowth? Ugh... no way. This option goes to the Trash bin.

D) to outgrow their roots in natural resources, are still relying heavily
to outgrow is not wrong grammatically. Perhaps, something can be projected to outgrow the original projection. However, option (D) has a problem with meaning. The modifier speaks about recent years, so we should have a tense that correlates to what is meant. Prices indicate that something has happened in recent years. We need Present Perfect.

E) as outgrowing their roots in natural resources, still heavily reliant
Again, this option does not make much sense. Nations are hailed in recent years as outgrowing their roots? Ugly.

To be honest, it is hard for me to decide between (A) and (B). While [nations] still rely heavily looks more concise than [nations] are still heavily reliant, I think hailed in recent years to have outgrown their roots works better than hailed in recent years as having outgrown their roots. Therefore, I go with (B).
User avatar
gmatdordie
Joined: 13 Nov 2018
Last visit: 02 Jun 2020
Posts: 87
Own Kudos:
117
 [1]
Given Kudos: 16
Location: India
GMAT 1: 700 Q51 V32
Products:
GMAT 1: 700 Q51 V32
Posts: 87
Kudos: 117
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Plunging prices are revealing the extent to which nations, hailed in recent years as having outgrown their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily on these commodities.


A) as having outgrown their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily - issue with as having , makes it unidiomatic and distorts the meaning

B) to have outgrown their roots in natural resources, are still heavily reliant
-makes sense , to have grown their roots in natural resources playing role of adverb, if you remove this line, it connects with are
C) as an outgrowth of their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily
incorrect usage of as, illogical comparison - as can be used either when it is playing some role or comparing one entity to another, illogical meaning
D) to outgrow their roots in natural resources, are still relying heavily

D is tough one, but according to original sentence roots are already grown , so its out

E) as outgrowing their roots in natural resources, still heavily reliant - same reason as in C, incorrect usage of as
User avatar
eakabuah
User avatar
Retired Moderator
Joined: 18 May 2019
Last visit: 15 Jun 2022
Posts: 777
Own Kudos:
1,124
 [2]
Given Kudos: 101
Posts: 777
Kudos: 1,124
 [2]
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Plunging prices are revealing the extent to which nations, hailed in recent years as having outgrown their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily on these commodities.

Meaning: Prices (of natural resources) are going down. These continuous reductions in prices are revealing some information about some nations. These nations were previously believed to no longer depend on natural resources. However, these recent price reductions show that they still rely heavily on natural resources. It can be inferred that the price reductions are having a toll on the economies of these nations.

Split #1: hailed as having outgrown vs hailed to have outgrown
Both idioms are correctly used in options A and B.

Option A: Plunging prices are revealing the extent to which nations, hailed in recent years as having outgrown their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily on these commodities.
There is nothing obviously wrong with this option. Hence, let's keep option A.

Option B: Plunging prices are revealing the extent to which nations, hailed in recent years to have outgrown their roots in natural resources, are still heavily reliant on these commodities.
Grammatically correct. Hence, let's keep this option B also.

Option C: Plunging prices are revealing the extent to which nations, hailed in recent years as an outgrowth of their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily on these commodities.
The right idiom is hailed as having. Hailed as an outgrowth does not make sense. An outgrowth should rather be outgrow. Eliminate option C.

Option D: Plunging prices are revealing the extent to which nations, hailed in recent years to outgrow their roots in natural resources, are still relying heavily on these commodities.
The right idiom is hailed to have. In addition, outgrow should be outgrown. Eliminate option D.

Option E: Plunging prices are revealing the extent to which nations, hailed in recent years as outgrowing their roots in natural resources, still heavily reliant on these commodities.
The right idiom is hailed as having. In addition, outgrowing should rather be outgrown. Eliminate option E.

Between options A and B, the difference is as follows:
Option A: nations still rely heavily on these commodities.
Option B: nations are still heavily reliant on these commodities.
Option A is more concise. The verb rely is more concise than are reliant.
Hence on the grounds of concision, I have chosen option A over option B.

The right answer is option A.


PS: This question reminds me of the question on salads, whereby Babylonians are known to have doused.....
User avatar
TheNightKing
Joined: 18 Dec 2017
Last visit: 20 Mar 2024
Posts: 1,139
Own Kudos:
1,300
 [1]
Given Kudos: 421
Location: United States (KS)
GMAT 1: 600 Q46 V27
GMAT 1: 600 Q46 V27
Posts: 1,139
Kudos: 1,300
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Quote:

Plunging prices are revealing the extent to which nations, hailed in recent years as having outgrown their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily on these commodities.


A) as having outgrown their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily
B) to have outgrown their roots in natural resources, are still heavily reliant
C) as an outgrowth of their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily
D) to outgrow their roots in natural resources, are still relying heavily
E) as outgrowing their roots in natural resources, still heavily reliant

I missed the OA deadline today :(

My first thought was to remove the piece in the middle and focus on the second half. But there is nothing wrong with any of those choices.
Both "still rely heavily" and "are still relying heavily" are fine. One can argue the former is concise but that is not the correct reason to eliminate any answer choice.

Quote:

B) to have outgrown their roots in natural resources, are still heavily reliant
D) to outgrow their roots in natural resources, are still relying heavily

It boils down to meaning here. "to have outgrown" and "to outgrow" is not the intended meaning. The nations hailed in the recent years because of having outgrown their roots in natural resources. Also try to get a feel of the tense here.

Quote:

A) as having outgrown their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily
C) as an outgrowth of their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily This one should have been an easy elimination because of the usage of "outgrowth of"
E) as outgrowing their roots in natural resources, still heavily reliant Even though outgrowing as a tense is okay to me but meaning changes here.

A is the best we can do. May be I would not have picked A but whenever you are in doubt or cannot find any obvious errors, A is the best you can do. No this is not an Absolute rule, obviously. But one should have a feel of this.
User avatar
Raxit85
Joined: 22 Feb 2018
Last visit: 02 Aug 2025
Posts: 767
Own Kudos:
1,177
 [1]
Given Kudos: 135
Posts: 767
Kudos: 1,177
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Plunging prices are revealing the extent to which nations, hailed in recent years as having outgrown their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily on these commodities.

A) as having outgrown their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily - ...nations, hailed as having outgrown their roots.. seems odd construction even though no other error, hold it & let's check better one.

B) to have outgrown their roots in natural resources, are still heavily reliant - improper usage of adjective

C) as an outgrowth of their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily - Usage of outgrowth looks fishy, but let's keep it.

D) to outgrow their roots in natural resources, are still relying heavily - present continuous tense changes the meaning as the event

E) as outgrowing their roots in natural resources, still heavily reliant - Improper usage of adjective and usage of outgrowing ridiculous.

From option A & C, I'd like to choose option A as GMAC usually prefers verb over Adjective & noun form. In addition to that, original sentence does not indicate intention of outgrown. So, option C could be incorrect.

Imo. A
User avatar
generis
User avatar
Senior SC Moderator
Joined: 22 May 2016
Last visit: 18 Jun 2022
Posts: 5,273
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 9,464
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 5,273
Kudos: 37,384
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
I have posted the official explanation here.
User avatar
TheNightKing
Joined: 18 Dec 2017
Last visit: 20 Mar 2024
Posts: 1,139
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 421
Location: United States (KS)
GMAT 1: 600 Q46 V27
GMAT 1: 600 Q46 V27
Posts: 1,139
Kudos: 1,300
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Quote:
COMMENTS

soulcycle and gmatdordie , welcome to SC Butler. :)

Well, It must have been a hell of a welcome for them :-D Just Kidding, Welcome to this great initiative.

generis, Very nicely explained. :please :please Not that you don't. But this one had a very nice flow to it and was more based on how one should approach the question.

Thank you for all you do, as always!

EDIT: No, I never eliminate any option on any grounds other than strict grammar rules (SV Agreement or Tense may be). Even Pronoun ambiguity is not an absolute rule on GMAT as we know. "Having" and/or "being" may or may not be wrong. You need to be open to consider the possibility that the usage can be right.
User avatar
mykrasovski
Joined: 17 Aug 2018
Last visit: 17 Apr 2022
Posts: 341
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 253
Location: United States
WE:General Management (Other)
Posts: 341
Kudos: 323
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi generis, to answer your question at the very end of your OE. The longer I looked at (A) vs (B), the more I was inclining towards (A), but decided to pick (B) as it was my original answer. I knew the meaning of the word "hailed", but did not know that it goes with "as". However, the compelling part about (A) was its concision.

I guess one may say that "having Ved" is rarely used.

Thanks much for an awesome explanation!
User avatar
Raxit85
Joined: 22 Feb 2018
Last visit: 02 Aug 2025
Posts: 767
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 135
Posts: 767
Kudos: 1,177
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi, generis,

Very nicely explained as usual!! :)

I did not straightforwardly rejected option A because of word 'having' although sound weird meaning and usage. I thought let me park it and find the better option if available. After reviewing all options, i kept option A and C as an contenders as i could not nailed the meaning of original sentence. Ultimately i relied on VAN rule and chose A, which is fortunately correct. In some good questions, such fortune may not be with me. Whenever i stuck between two options and don't understand the meaning, then i go with preferences. I know i must have clear meaning in mind or it can cost me at later stage because preferences are not absolutes.

Regards,
Raxit T.
User avatar
TheNightKing
Joined: 18 Dec 2017
Last visit: 20 Mar 2024
Posts: 1,139
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 421
Location: United States (KS)
GMAT 1: 600 Q46 V27
GMAT 1: 600 Q46 V27
Posts: 1,139
Kudos: 1,300
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Raxit85
Hi, generis,

Very nicely explained as usual!! :)

I did not straightforwardly rejected option A because of word 'having' although sound weird meaning and usage. I thought let me park it and find the better option if available. After reviewing all options, i kept option A and C as an contenders as i could not nailed the meaning of original sentence. Ultimately i relied on VAN rule and chose A, which is fortunately correct. In some good questions, such fortune may not be with me. Whenever i stuck between two options and don't understand the meaning, then i go with preferences. I know i must have clear meaning in mind or it can cost me at later stage because preferences are not absolutes.

Regards,
Raxit T.

Raxit85, Hello!
I don't know what the VAN rule was but I googled and found this: "When a word is used in several ways (as Noun, Adjective, Verb) preference goes as per VAN rule (Verb>Adjective>Noun)". Is that what you are talking about?

Can you give an example or explain with the help of this question only?

Thank you!
User avatar
Raxit85
Joined: 22 Feb 2018
Last visit: 02 Aug 2025
Posts: 767
Own Kudos:
1,177
 [1]
Given Kudos: 135
Posts: 767
Kudos: 1,177
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi, TheNightking,

Yes, i was talking the same what you mentioned above, i.e. Verb>Adjective>Noun, but it's not absolute rule. We can resort on such rule if we could not infer the meaning or if we need to rush to maintain the pace.

I'd like to present some examples expressing VAN rule.

He has the ability to juggle Vs He is able to juggle Vs He can juggle (Last one is more elegent, having verb form).

1) Prefer a Verb to an (Action) Noun.
e.g. His conception of money was as a goal Vs He conceived of money as a goal.
Her example was an inspiration to me Vs Her example inspired me.
2) Prefer a Verb to an Adjective
e.g. The artist WAS INFLUENTIAL TO the movement Vs The artist INFLUENCED the movement.
This rash is aggravating to the pain Vs This rash aggravates the pain.
3) Prefer an Adjective to a Noun
e.g. THERE IS AN ABUNDANCE OF funds for school construction Vs Funds for school construction ARE ABUNDANT.
We have a disinclination to stay Vs We are disinclined to stay.

As action, outgrow their roots..., can refer to the nations and it must be in the verb form.
A) as having outgrown their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily - Here, action outgrow is correctly mentioned in verb form
C) as an outgrowth of their roots in natural resources, still rely heavily - Here, action outgrow is mentioned in noun form.

The similar patterns of VAN rule can be observed in many official questions.

Hope it helps.

Regards,
Raxit.
User avatar
TheNightKing
Joined: 18 Dec 2017
Last visit: 20 Mar 2024
Posts: 1,139
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 421
Location: United States (KS)
GMAT 1: 600 Q46 V27
GMAT 1: 600 Q46 V27
Posts: 1,139
Kudos: 1,300
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Raxit85

While I have applied some of these techniques, I never knew these exist as a rule called VAN.

Thank you for explaining it to me!
 1   2   
Moderators:
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7445 posts
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
234 posts
188 posts