Whereas the use of synthetic fertilizers has greatly expanded agricult

Question

Whereas the use of synthetic fertilizers has greatly expanded agricultural productivity in many parts of the world,  an increase in their use can create serious environmental problems such as water pollution, and their substitution for more traditional fertilizers  may accelerate soil structure deterioration and soil erosion.

(A) an increase in their use can create serious environmental problems such as water pollution, and their substitution for more traditional fertilizers

(B) an increase in their use can create serious environmental problems like water pollution, and if substituted for more traditional fertilizers, it

(C) if these fertilizers are used increasingly, they can create serious environmental problems such as water pollution, and if used as substitutions for more traditional fertilizers, they

(D) the increased usage of these fertilizers can create serious environmental problems such as water pollution, while if substituted for more traditional fertilizers, this substitution

(E) the increased usage of these fertilizers can create serious environmental problems like water pollution, while their substitution for more traditional fertilizers

parker · Accepted Answer

Hey Noburu,

Pronoun ambiguity is one of those irritating things that can sometimes be tolerated, depending on the circumstances. More often than not, a case in which pronoun ambiguity is tolerated has strong structural clues that point to the intended antecedent. Here "of synthetic fertilizers" is specifying a type of  use , so even though the structure shifts slightly, the fact that the word "use" occurs again in the sentence points to "synthetic fertilizers" (the thing that was used in the first part of the sentence. It's not ideal, but that happens sometimes). In general, when I go through splits I try to save pronoun ambiguity for a later sweep.

As mentioned by the above posters, the  like/such as  split is a  concrete  error that is irrefutable by GMAT standards, so B and E are out.

That leaves A, C, and D.

Choice (C)
Whenever something has lots of modifiers or clauses, try to look at the underlying structure of the sentence. What is the skeleton here?

Whereas ..the USE (of S.F)...has expanded productivity,
.. .if  these fertilizers are used...they can create problems
... and if  used....they may accelerate

Structurally, when we see "whereas" we *require* what follows to have a certain form-- " Whereas A does B ,  C does D "--- dependent clause -comma- independent clause . But, as gmattiger points out above, we have a dependent clause (if these fertilizers are used) where we need that independent clause ("C does B"). C is out.

Choice (D)--
The beginning of choice D may at first glance appear more parallel to the non-underlined portion of the sentence than the beginning of choice A.

Whereas..the USE (of S.F)...has expanded productivity...the increased USAGE (of these fertilizers)....can create problems

...BUT the sentence keeps going! The clause beginning with "while if substituted" clearly *means* "if   substituted, but nowhere in the sentence has "synthetic fertilizer" been the SUBJECT of a verb. That phrase only appears as a modifier (in the nonunderlined portion). D has a definable, structural grammar issue--so this choice is out.

Choice (A)
While A has potential pronoun ambiguity, the structural flaws present in the other choices have been weeded out:

Whereas..the USE (of S.F)...has expanded productivity ,... an increase (in their use) can create problems ...AND  their substitution....may accelerate deterioration and erosion.

The structural requirements of "Whereas A does B, C does D" are fulfilled. And the final independent clause (about substitution accelerating deterioration) is appropriately tagged on with a conjunction. So we can tolerate the potential pronoun ambiguity here.

Remember always to go from wrong to right, and that certain things are "more wrong" than others. Hope this helps.

pqhai · Answer

Hi fozzy.

Whereas the use of synthetic fertilizers has greatly expanded agricultural productivity in many parts of the world,  an increase in their use can create serious environmental problems such as water pollution, and their substitution for more traditional fertilizers  may accelerate soil structure deterioration and soil erosion.

A. an increase in their use can create serious environmental problems such as water pollution, and their substitution for more traditional fertilizers
  Correct.   The use of "their" is quite ambiguous, so I don't think this sentence sounds smoothly. A, however is the best among all options.

B. an increase in their use can create serious environmental problems  like  water pollution, and if substituted for more traditional fertilizers,  it 
  Wrong.  
- "like" is incorrect, like = similar to. However, wee need examples here, thus "such as" is appropriate.
- We're talking about "fertilizers" (plural) ==> "it" is wrong.

C. if  these fertilizers are used increasingly , they can create serious environmental problems such as water pollution, and if used as substitutions for more traditional fertilizers, they
  Wrong.  
- Parallelism: The structure of C is: whereas  the use of X  has greatly expanded........, if  X  are used, and if ...... 
==> in order to make a sentence parallel, the structure should be: whereas the use of X greatly expanded......, in increase in their use.......
==> "the use of X" || "their use"
- Meaning: "an increase in the use of synthetic fertilizers" DIFFERS from "the fertilizers are used increasingly"
 For example:  
(1)  The increase  in the use of computers ==> computers become more popular, so many people use them.  (horizontal) 
(2)  The Computers  are used increasingly ==> These particular computers are exploited  (vertical)

D. the increased usage of these fertilizers can create serious environmental problems such as water pollution, while if substituted for more traditional fertilizers, this substitution
  Wrong.  
- Modifier problem: "if substituted for more ..., this substitution may accelerate .........."  Verb-ed modifier + COMMA ==> ALWAYS modify subject.  The subject of the second part is "this substitution" ==> The meaning will be:   if substitution are substituted for more......   ==> Does not make sense at all.
- "While" is subordinating conjunction ==> does not match the overall meaning of the structure. Coordinating conjunction "and" is more appropriate.

E. the increased usage of these fertilizers can create serious environmental problems  like  water pollution,  while  their substitution for more traditional fertilizers 
  Wrong.  
- "like" is wrong ==> "such as" should be correct.
- "while" changes meaning. ==> "and" should be correct

Hope it helps.

mymba99 · Answer

D looks good.
C -The second 'they' is confusing. (fertilizers/substitutions/traditional fertilizers ?)
Between A & D.
'an increase in their use' vs 'the increased usage'
increased usage of fertilizer = You used more fertilizer.
increase in fertilizer's use = we are not using more, but the output / quality of fertilizer is more.
  fertilizer's use   is increased. Fertilizer is giving more output.

For example: An  increase  in cell  phone's use   VS  the  increased usage  of cell phone
increase in cell phone's  use  = there are more features etc.
Usage of cell phone = you know what I mean..

I may be wrong, but for lack of words thats all I can come up with for now.
Thats how I eliminated A.

GMAT TIGER · Answer

A. Best
B. Not "LIKE" but "SUCH AS" is preferred.
C. use of "IF" is not correct as there are two dependednt clasues.
D. Run-on.
E. Not "LIKE" but "SUCH AS" is preferred.

lionheart187 · Answer

Could you explain the rule with two dependent clauses? I thought C could be correct because it correctly uses "if" in a "if...then" statement.

GMAT TIGER · Answer

"Whereas the use of synthetic fertilizers has greatly expanded agricultural productivity in many parts of the world", "if these fertilizers are used increasingly, ....................".

both arre dependent clauses. any clause starts with if, although, however, while, where as, though, even though etc. is dependent clause.

noboru · Answer

Could anybody explain why "their" in A is not ambigous?

For me, it can refer to both fertilizers and parts of the world.

Many thanks in advance.

GMATPill · Answer

Good explanations above. Received a PM for further clarification on (C):

Hi Krishna,

The problem lies in the first few words of your bolded portion: "if these fertilizers are used"

"Whereas the use of X expanded Y, the use of fertilizers blah blah blah"

You can use variations of "the use of fertilizers":
"an increase in their use" (choice A and B)
"the increased usage" (choice D and E)

Answer (C) uses "if these fertilizers are used."
The word "used" is a verb. 
"An increase in their use"--"use" is a noun.
"The increased usage"--again, noun.

You can say "the usage of these fertilizers" but you cannot say "if these fertilizers are used."

Hope that helps.

fluke · Answer

B,E - out for using "like" to show example
C- incorrectly uses "substitutions" instead of "substitutes" -- you can use something as substitute, not substitution.
D- "while if" is awkward. while also suggests that two actions are happening together, which is not the case here.

Ans: "A"

siddhans · Answer

Hey Fluke,

Does isnt 'their' in A ambiguios ?
Does their refer to fertilizers or productivity ?? How do we know ?

daagh · Answer

Their cannot logically refer to anything other than fertilisers; it cannot denote productivity, becos productivity is singular and their is plural; it cannot point to parts of the world,as no one can materially increase parts of the world and leave alone use them to create problems

kinjiGC · Answer

Whereas the use of synthetic fertilizers has greatly expanded agricultural productivity in many parts of the world,  an increase in their use can create serious environmental problems such as water pollution, and their substitution for more traditional fertilizers  may accelerate soil structure deterioration and soil erosion.

The structure is Whereas X, Y -> X and Y should be parallel and should be clauses. 
 
(A) an increase in their use can create serious environmental problems such as water pollution, and their substitution for more traditional fertilizers -> Looks good. this option is parallel -> whereas the use of X, an increases in their use of Y 
 
(B) an increase in their use can create serious environmental problems  like  water pollution, and if substituted for more traditional fertilizers,  it 
 
(C) if these fertilizers are used increasingly, they can create serious environmental problems such as water pollution, and if used as substitutions for more traditional fertilizers, they
 
if used as substitutions for more traditional fertilizers -> what is used? 
The subject of the sentence is ellipsed. So we can repeat that subject as 
if these fertilizers are used increasingly, they do X, and if these fertilizers are used as substitutions for more traditional fertilizers, they do Y . 
Instead of that, we can use "and if these fertilizers are substituted for more traditional fertilizers, they do Y" -> We can eliminate this option based on redundancy. 
 
(D) the increased usage of these fertilizers can create serious environmental problems such as water pollution, while if substituted for more traditional fertilizers,  this  substitution

while is used as but for contrast. 
what is substituted? 
Since we have a "while", we can repeat the subject which is "the increased usage of these fertilizers substituted for more traditional Fertilizers" -> Wrong sense. 
this is pronoun and cannot refer to the clause. 
 
(E) the increased usage of these fertilizers can create serious environmental problems  like  water pollution, while their substitution for more traditional fertilizers

chetan2u · Answer

Hi,
what does this Q tests us on;-
 1) such as vs like
 such as is used to give examples and like to show similarity..
here 'such as' is appropriate

2) Contrast:-
usage of 'whereas' points towards CONTRAST between two clauses..

3) parallelism..
 the two clauses in the second part of teh sentence should be parallel and so 'and' should be used to join them.. 
  an increase in their use can create serious environmental problems such as water pollution , and  their substitution for more traditional fertilizers   may accelerate soil structure deterioration and soil erosion

4) 'comma' preceding 'and'..
 As 'and' is joining two independent clauses, it should be preceded by 'comma' ..

ONLY A is left..

Fabiocafarelli · Answer

B. an increase in their use can create serious environmental problems like water pollution, and if substituted for more traditional fertilizers, it

1. This option is incorrect not because it is wordy but because, as the previous post points out, LIKE cannot be used in the GMAT to exemplify. SUCH AS must be used for that purpose. LIKE has to to compare, but here no comparison is intended between environmental problems and water pollution.

2. The other reason that this option is incorrect is that the final IT has no logical antecedent. Grammatically speaking, IT would have to refer to POLLUTION or to INCREASE. Logically speaking, however, it cannot refer to either. This is because IT is preceded here by a clause of condition: if substituted for more traditional fertilizers. (In other words, if it is substituted for more traditional fertilizers.) This clause determines the matter: it says that the thing that IT refers to could be substituted for more traditional fertilizers. Clearly, POLLUTION could not be substituted for more traditional fertilizers, because it is not a fertilizer, and INCREASE could not be substituted for more traditional fertilizers for the same reason. Therefore, the use of IT makes no sense.

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yash88 · Answer

Hello, Can reason why C is wrong. I eliminated it because it seemed wordy to me compared to other option. Rest it seems fine. Am i right. Answer it or give kudos... :punk

sayantanc2k · Answer

The structure of the sentence is: Whereas  A does xxx ,  if P, C does yyy, and if Q, C does zzz, if Q .

Putting the if clauses before the result clauses makes the sentence difficult to understand.

The better structure is: Whereas  A does xxx ,  C does yyy, if P and C does zzz, if Q  .

Moreover the comparison is faulty.

Here A is compared to C, A = the use of fertilizers and C = they (the fertilizers).

Fabiocafarelli · Answer

The present tense in the clause of condition (the IF clause) may be followed by a form of the future tense in the clause of result. But it may also be followed by a form of the present tense. Both forms are equally correct from the grammatical point of view, and the criterion for using one or the other is the intention and time-reference of the sentence.

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BillyZ · Answer

Whereas the use of  synthetic fertilizers  has greatly expanded agricultural productivity in  many parts of the world ,  an increase in  their  use can create serious environmental problems  such as  water pollution, and  their  substitution for more traditional fertilizers  may accelerate soil structure deterioration and soil erosion.

(A) an increase in their use can create serious environmental problems such as water pollution, and their substitution for more traditional fertilizers

(B) an increase in their use can create serious environmental problems like water pollution, and if substituted for more traditional fertilizers, it

(C) if these fertilizers are used increasingly, they can create serious environmental problems such as water pollution, and if used as substitutions for more traditional fertilizers, they

(D) the increased usage of these fertilizers can create serious environmental problems such as water pollution, while if substituted for more traditional fertilizers, this substitution

(E) the increased usage of these fertilizers can create serious environmental problems like water pollution, while their substitution for more traditional fertilizers

Does the pronoun " their " refer to " synthetic fertilizers " or " many parts of the world "?

sayantanc2k · Answer

The pronoun "their" refers to "synthetic fertilizers ". "Use of many parts of the world" does not make sense.

Whereas the use of synthetic fertilizers has greatly expanded agricult

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Whereas the use of synthetic fertilizers has greatly expanded agricult

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