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605-655 (Medium)|   Grammatical/Rhetorical Construction|   Grammatical/Rhetorical Construction|   Parallelism|                              
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Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red su 07 Sep 2021, 23:03
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RajatGMAT777
Hey Community
I am new to Prep on GMAT Club for SC, I am not able to understanding the below explanation from daagh, can you provide any reading material or explain me in depth?
-D Grown from seeds saved during the previous year, heirloom tomatoes appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins. ---------- The two ICs forming the compound sentence are not conjugated with the conjunction and hence is a run-on
daagh EMPOWERgmatVerbal souvik101990
Any suggestion in general for SC will also be appreciated!!
Thank you for the help :please: :please:
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Hi RajatGMAT777,

I think he used conjugated to mean ~joined.

1. HTs appear appetizing, HTs are more flavorful. ← Both HTs appear appetizing and HTs are more flavorful are subject-verb combinations. Because these SV combinations can form complete sentences on their own, they are "independent clauses". A comma alone is not enough to join two independent clauses (this error is called a comma splice).

2. Although HTs appear appetizing, HTs are more flavorful. ← We've added the word although, which is a subordinating conjunction. This sentence no longer relies on a comma to join those two parts of the sentence (Although HTs appear appetizing is something called a "dependent clause").

Finally, many people consider comma splices a subset of run-on sentences, so that's probably what daagh was trying to get at. Option D doesn't use anything except a comma (we don't see an explicit comma in D because of the dashes) to join two independent clauses:

3. Heirloom tomatoes appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins, heirlooms are more flavorful and thus in increasing demand. ← Two independent clauses joined by only a comma. That's a comma splice error.
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Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red su 09 Sep 2021, 10:10
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Correct Option: B
Sentence Exam on:
- Modifier
- Comparison
- Pronoun

1. Although, Despite of, Inspite of, though, but, however - all used to highlight contrast structure in sentence.
2. use of ( - ) - connectivity after Modifier Noun (comma)

Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins, heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year—they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises—heirlooms are more flavorful and thus in increasing demand.

(A) Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins, heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year - Wrong
- Modifier placed wrong (Dangling Modifier), here Appearing less is modifiing "They"
- Appearing is compared to supermarket cousion

(B) Although heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year, appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins - Correct
- heirloom tomatoes modifies They
- Heriloom Tomatoes compared with Red Supermarket cousins

(C) Although they appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins, heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year -
Wrong
- Pronoun Ambiguity (They and Their)
- Modifier Error - they modiefy they after dash
- they comapted with supermarket cousins

(D) Grown from seeds saved during the previous year, heirloom tomatoes appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins :
Wrong
- Modifier Error
- Grown from Seeds compared with Heirloom Tomatoes

(E) Heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year, although they appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousin - Wrong
- Modifier Error
- Use of Although demeans the sentence meaning & gives contrast meaning to "They"
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Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red su 18 Mar 2022, 05:25
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EMPOWERgmatVerbal
Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question, one issue at a time, and narrow it down to the correct choice quickly! To get started, here is the original question with any major differences between the options highlighted in orange:

Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins, heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year—they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises—heirlooms are more flavorful and thus in increasing demand.

(A) Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins, heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year
(B) Although heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year, appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins
(C) Although they appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins, heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year
(D) Grown from seeds saved during the previous year, heirloom tomatoes appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins
(E) Heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year, although they appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins

There is a lot to deal with here, right? If you look carefully at WHY each of these options is so vastly different, you should be able to pick out the grammar concept we need to focus on:

MODIFIERS!

Let's take a look at the original sentence for clues:

Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins, heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year—they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises—heirlooms are more flavorful and thus in increasing demand.

The portion of the sentence in blue is called a parenthetical. It's a non-essential phrase plugged into the sentence between parentheses or dashes to add more information or to emphasize a point.

The portion of the sentence in pink is a modifier. It is another non-essential phrase meant to add more details about heirloom tomatoes, but it's not necessary.

One thing we can try to rule out wrong options is to eliminate the parenthetical and the modifier. If the sentence still makes sense without it, then leave it for later. However, if it doesn't make sense, then eliminate it! Let's see how each option looks with the non-underlined portion added in:

(A) Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins, heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year—they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises—heirlooms are more flavorful and thus in increasing demand.

This doesn't work! Read the sentence with the parenthetical and modifier taken out. It ends up butting the words "heirloom tomatoes" and "heirlooms" next to each other, which sounds awkward. So let's rule this one out because it's clear that the parenthetical and modifier aren't in the right place.

(B) Although heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year, appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins—they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises—heirlooms are more flavorful and thus in increasing demand.

This is OKAY for now! If we read the sentence without the added parenthetical and modifier, it sounds fine. So let's keep it for later.

(C) Although they appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins, heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year—they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises—heirlooms are more flavorful and thus in increasing demand.

This also doesn't work! Read the sentence with the parenthetical and modifier taken out. It ends up butting the words "heirloom tomatoes" and "heirlooms" next to each other, which sounds awkward. So let's rule this one out because it's clear that the parenthetical and modifier aren't in the right place.

(D) Grown from seeds saved during the previous year, heirloom tomatoes appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins—they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises—heirlooms are more flavorful and thus in increasing demand.

This doesn't work because it created a run-on sentence! Both portions in red are independent clauses without any conjunctions or punctuation connecting them. So let's rule this one out because it's actually a very, very long run-on.

(E) Heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year, although they appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins—they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises—heirlooms are more flavorful and thus in increasing demand.

This also doesn't work! The way this is organized creates a major problem. The phrase "although they appear....cousins" was turned into another modifier. If we remove that one as well, this doesn't make sense. So let's toss this one out too!


There you have it - option B is the correct choice! It's the only sentence that uses modifiers and parenthetical phrases correctly! All the other options fall apart because the modifiers are in the wrong position or worded awkwardly. Remember - when dealing with long sentences that have several non-essential phrases, start by crossing them out and seeing what's left over. It's a quick, easy way to spot problems without needing to think too hard about it!


Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
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In options A and C why aren't we cancelling out 'Although they appear..' to check if statement makes sense as its a modifier like we cancel out modifier 'grown ...'
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Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red su 18 Mar 2022, 06:06
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1.Am I correct ? Correct form of using Although is Although X,Y (X and Y should be both independent clause); however Although X is dep clause

2.Also SOURH7WK mentions options A, C and E have no verb for noun 'heirloom tomatoes' as verb is for 'they' but they is a pronoun used for heirloom tomatoes so can't we say h tomatoes do have a verb. They appear, if we ask who does they refer to its 'heirloom tomatoes' and so it does have a verb.

3. Daagh has mentioned in his expln that option B doesn't mention 'heirloom tomatoes' in underlined portion avoiding redundancy but option B - Although h. tomatoes..... is underlined

4. What does information bw dashes modify ? entire clause/phrase before it or preceeding noun
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Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red su 18 Mar 2022, 22:12
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Hi Dhwanii,
Dhwanii
1.Am I correct ? Correct form of using Although is Although X,Y (X and Y should be both independent clause); however Although X is dep clause
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You're on the right track, but it's better not to look at X as an independent clause. Instead, continue looking at although X as a dependent clause. Also, structures that look slightly different are also possible (the subject and verb in X may not be explicitly mentioned in some situations when we start with although).

Dhwanii
2.Also SOURH7WK mentions options A, C and E have no verb for noun 'heirloom tomatoes' as verb is for 'they' but they is a pronoun used for heirloom tomatoes so can't we say h tomatoes do have a verb. They appear, if we ask who does they refer to its 'heirloom tomatoes' and so it does have a verb.
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No. This is a matter of structure, not logic. For example, we don't normally say something like "Dhoni he hit a helicopter shot".

Dhwanii
3. Daagh has mentioned in his expln that option B doesn't mention 'heirloom tomatoes' in underlined portion avoiding redundancy but option B - Although h. tomatoes..... is underlined
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I'm not sure why daagh said that, but yes, it's quite clear that option B includes heirloom tomatoes.

Dhwanii
4. What does information bw dashes modify ? entire clause/phrase before it or preceeding noun
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Dashes are quite flexible, so the strong pause they introduce may be intended to say something about an entire clause or just a noun phrase.
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Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red su 19 Mar 2022, 01:38
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AjiteshArun
Hi Dhwanii,
Dhwanii
1.Am I correct ? Correct form of using Although is Although X,Y (X and Y should be both independent clause); however Although X is dep clause
You're on the right track, but it's better not to look at X as an independent clause. Instead, continue looking at although X as a dependent clause. Also, structures that look slightly different are also possible (the subject and verb in X may not be explicitly mentioned in some situations when we start with although).

Dhwanii
2.Also SOURH7WK mentions options A, C and E have no verb for noun 'heirloom tomatoes' as verb is for 'they' but they is a pronoun used for heirloom tomatoes so can't we say h tomatoes do have a verb. They appear, if we ask who does they refer to its 'heirloom tomatoes' and so it does have a verb.
No. This is a matter of structure, not logic. For example, we don't normally say something like "Dhoni he hit a helicopter shot".

Dhwanii
3. Daagh has mentioned in his expln that option B doesn't mention 'heirloom tomatoes' in underlined portion avoiding redundancy but option B - Although h. tomatoes..... is underlined
I'm not sure why daagh said that, but yes, it's quite clear that option B includes heirloom tomatoes.

Dhwanii
4. What does information bw dashes modify ? entire clause/phrase before it or preceeding noun
Dashes are quite flexible, so the strong pause they introduce may be intended to say something about an entire clause or just a noun phrase.
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Thanks a lot for your input, helped me gain a better understanding.
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Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red su 28 May 2022, 00:06
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What does the non essential modifier "—they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises—" modify?
Heirloom tomatoes or cousins?
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Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red su 28 May 2022, 00:54
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nahid78
What does the non essential modifier "—they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises—" modify?
Heirloom tomatoes or cousins?
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Hi nahid78,

I see what you're getting at, but that element ("they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises") is meant to describe heirloom tomatoes. Ambiguity isn't a major problem here, because the cousins have already been described as being "round and red".
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Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red su 30 Aug 2022, 17:52
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Question 1:
The clarify my understanding of the parenthetical clause "-they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises-"... this is modifying heirloom tomatoes, correct?

Question 2:
I watched a Magoosh video on this question (https://gmat.magoosh.com/forum/3561-alt ... an-most-of).
The instructor mentions that when using "although" you need a noun and a verb. You cannot use "although" + a participle. However, in the correct answer choice, there is a modifier that separates the noun from its verb. Can you have several modifiers, as long as there is a verb in there somewhere?

Thank you for your help!
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Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red su 31 Aug 2022, 11:03
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woohoo921

1) Since that part is a clause, it isn't a modifier at all. However, "they" certainly refers to heirloom tomatoes. That is the subject of the sentence as well as the only logical antecedent for "they."

2) The idea is that "although" is typically used to compare clauses. There's no rule about having interruptions or modifiers in the clauses. As for the portion in dashes, it does throw things off a bit, but you can basically treat a pair of dashes like parentheses. It's an interruption in the sentence that should have no effect on the structure on either side.
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Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red su 01 Sep 2022, 16:32
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woohoo921
Question 1:
The clarify my understanding of the parenthetical clause "-they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises-"... this is modifying heirloom tomatoes, correct?
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That part is an explanation, in greater detail, of exactly HOW/WHY heirloom tomatoes "appear less appetizing than their round and red supermarket cousins".

That part immediately follows the underlined part; therefore, the point is to pick a choice that puts the part about "appear(ing) less appetizing than their round and red supermarket cousins" at the end of the underline (so that it abuts the description directly).




Question 2:
Quote:
Can you have several modifiers, as long as there is a verb in there somewhere?

Thank you for your help!
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Sure—just as there can be modifiers between the subject and verb of any other clause.
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Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red su 22 Oct 2022, 16:04
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Quote:
Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins, heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year[/u]—they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises—heirlooms are more flavorful and thus in increasing demand.


(A) Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins, heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year

(B) Although heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year, appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins

(C) Although they appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins, heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year

(D) Grown from seeds saved during the previous year, heirloom tomatoes appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins

(E) Heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year, although they appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins
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Hi, RonTargetTestPrep

(D) Grown from seeds saved during the previous year, heirloom tomatoes appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins—they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises—heirlooms are more flavorful and thus in increasing demand.
if we make the core for choice D, then it is as follows:

Grown from seeds saved during the previous year, heirloom tomatoes appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins—they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises—heirlooms are more flavorful and thus in increasing demand.
The core:
heirloom tomatoes appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins heirlooms are more flavorful and thus in increasing demand.
We did not get any COMMA between these 2 independent sentences. So, how do we consider this sentence as run-on sentence?
Thanks__
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Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red su 23 Apr 2023, 02:48
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The most appropriate option to complete the sentence would be (B) "Although heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year, appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins."

This option correctly places the introductory phrase "grown from seeds saved during the previous year" immediately after the subject "heirloom tomatoes" to clarify the type of tomatoes being discussed. The main clause then follows with the phrase "appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins," which effectively contrasts the appearance of heirloom tomatoes with their more common counterparts.

Option (A) incorrectly places the introductory phrase at the end of the sentence, making the sentence less clear and harder to follow. Option (C) is also less clear and less effective in contrasting the appearance of heirloom tomatoes with their counterparts. Option (D) incorrectly places the main clause before the subject, making the sentence less clear. Option (E) is also less clear and less effective in contrasting the appearance of heirloom tomatoes with their counterparts.

Therefore, the correct sentence would be:

"Although heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year, appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins, heirlooms are more flavorful and thus in increasing demand."
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Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red su 06 Apr 2025, 11:22
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✅ Original Sentence Structure:
We need to correctly express a contrast between:
  • The appearance of heirloom tomatoes (less appetizing)
  • And their flavor and demand (more flavorful and in demand)
We also need to make sure that:
  1. Modifiers like "grown from seeds saved during the previous year" are correctly placed
  2. The contrast begins clearly with "Although"
  3. The sentence is complete and grammatically sound
[hr]
🔍 Evaluate the Options:
[hr]
(A):
Quote:
Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins, heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year...
Show more
❌ Dangling modifier: "Although appearing..." is not clearly linked to heirloom tomatoes
❌ Sentence is clunky and lacks clarity — not parallel or direct
[hr]
(B):
Quote:
Although heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year, appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins...
Show more
✅ Correct subject-verb structure
✅ Modifier "grown from..." is placed directly next to "heirloom tomatoes"
✅ Clear contrast using "although"
➡️ This is a strong contender!
[hr]
(C):
Quote:
Although they appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins, heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year...
Show more
❌ Pronoun ambiguity: “they” precedes the noun it refers to (“heirloom tomatoes”), making it awkward
❌ Also a bit choppy with misplaced modifier structure
[hr]
(D):
Quote:
Grown from seeds saved during the previous year, heirloom tomatoes appear less appetizing...
Show more
❌ No contrast introduced — missing “Although”
❌ So the meaning changes → not acceptable
[hr]
(E):
Quote:
Heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year, although they appear less appetizing...
Show more
❌ Fragment — no main verb or clear conclusion
❌ Lacks grammatical completion
[hr]
✅ Final Answer: B\boxed{B}B
It is the only option that is:
  • Grammatically correct
  • Clear in meaning
  • Properly structured with "Although" introducing the contrast
  • Has correct modifier placement and subject–verb agreement

macjas
Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins, heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year—they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises—heirlooms are more flavorful and thus in increasing demand.


(A) Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins, heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year

(B) Although heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year, appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins

(C) Although they appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins, heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year

(D) Grown from seeds saved during the previous year, heirloom tomatoes appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins

(E) Heirloom tomatoes, grown from seeds saved during the previous year, although they appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins

OG16 SC118
OG17 SC784
OG18 SC786
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Although appearing less appetizing than most of their round and red su 08 May 2025, 07:33
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Hey GMATclub community, I'm a GMAT Coach based in Santiago, Chile and this is my first reply.

My student sent me a question: "why in b “they are often green and striped, or have plenty of bumps and bruises” refers to the heirloom tomatoes and not to round and red supermarket cousins?? i didn’t choose B because I thought that “they” could be confusing"

Maybe some of you have the same question, so here's my answer:

1. ⁠Take out the non-essential phrase “grown....previous year”. It reads “Although heirloom tomatoes appear less appetizing than most of their round and red supermarket cousins”.
2.⁠ ⁠⁠The closest noun antecedent to the pronoun “their” is “heirloom tomatoes”.
3.⁠ ⁠⁠The antecedent can’t be “round and red supermarket cousins” because, in this sentence, “their” is the adjective that is describing the noun phrase “round and red supermarket cousins”.

For example, if you say: Those people adopted their pets. The antecedent of the adjective “their” must be “Those people”, not “pets” because “their” is describing the noun “pets”.
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