A recent study has cited overcomplexity, increasing worker mobility be

Question

A recent study has cited overcomplexity, increasing worker mobility between companies, and poor financial planning in estimating that fewer than half of eligible American workers had contributed the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans .

(A) A recent study has cited overcomplexity, increasing worker mobility between companies, and poor financial planning in estimating that fewer than half of eligible American workers had contributed the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans.

(B) Overcomplexity, increasing worker mobility between companies, and poor financial planning have been cited by a recent study that estimated that over half of eligible American workers do not contribute the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans.

(C) Citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial planning, less than half of eligible American workers had contributed the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans, a recent study estimates.

(D) A recent study of American workers, citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial planning, has estimated that fewer than half of eligible American workers had contributed the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans.

(E) Citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial planning, a recent study has estimated that fewer than half of eligible American workers contribute the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans.

PUNEETSCHDV · Accepted Answer

The original sentence incorrectly utilizes the past perfect tense in its use of “had contributed.” The past perfect tense demands that the simple past tense also be used in the sentence to refer to another action that occurred in the past but after the action referred to by the past perfect tense. Here, the sentence uses the present perfect tense “has cited” and the present participle “estimating,” but does not use the simple past tense to refer to another action in the later past.

(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.

(B) This choice is awkward in its use of the structure “Overcomplexity, increasing mobility . . . , and poor financial planning . . .have been cited” as this structure leads to the use of the passive voice, which is less preferable than the active voice. It is also problematic in its use of both the past tense “estimated” and the present perfect tense “have been cited” to refer to the recent study; the verb tenses should be consistent in their treatment of the study.

(C) This choice incorrectly places the modifying phrase “Citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility . . . and poor financial planning” adjacent to “less than half of American workers,” incorrectly suggesting that it is less than half of American workers, and not a recent study, that cites these factors as causes for a lack of contribution to retirement plans. This choice also repeats the original verb tense error with "had contributed."

(D) This choice repeats the original verb tense error with "had contributed."

(E) CORRECT. This choice correctly uses both the present participle (“Citing . . .”) and the present perfect (“has estimated”) to refer to the recent study, as well as the present tense “contribute” in reference to the study findings. The phrase “Citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility . . . , and poor financial planning,” is correctly used here as a modifier for “a recent study.”

_________________

souvik101990 · Answer

The original sentence incorrectly utilizes the past perfect tense in its use of “had
contributed.” The past perfect tense demands that the simple past tense also be used
in the sentence to refer to another action that occurred in the past but after the action
referred to by the past perfect tense. Here, the sentence uses the present perfect
tense “has cited” and the present participle “estimating,” but does not use the simple
past tense to refer to another action in the later past.

(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.

(B) This choice is awkward in its use of the structure “Overcomplexity, increasing
mobility . . . , and poor financial planning . . .have been cited” as this structure leads
to the use of the passive voice, which is less preferable than the active voice. It is
also problematic in its use of both the past tense “estimated” and the present perfect
tense “have been cited” to refer to the recent study; the verb tenses should be
consistent in their treatment of the study.

(C) This choice incorrectly places the modifying phrase “Citing overcomplexity,
increasing mobility . . . and poor financial planning” adjacent to “less than half of
American workers,” incorrectly suggesting that it is less than half of American
workers, and not a recent study, that cites these factors as causes for a lack of
contribution to retirement plans. This choice also repeats the original verb tense error
with "had contributed."

(D) This choice repeats the original verb tense error with "had contributed."

(E) CORRECT. This choice correctly uses both the present participle (“Citing . . .”)
and the present perfect (“has estimated”) to refer to the recent study, as well as the
present tense “contribute” in reference to the study findings. The phrase “Citing
overcomplexity, increasing mobility . . . , and poor financial planning,” is correctly
used here as a modifier for “a recent study.”

prab · Answer

+ 1 for E, for using active construction and present tense 'Contribute'.

But no way under 1 min, took more than a min to get some sense from the question.

arjunbt · Answer

Agree with E, Here first we need to make sure that "citing, increasing and planning" are parallel. And Fewer should be used instead of less and that leaves us with option E

Hope i am clear. Yes fully underlined statements are difficult to do within a min, but again if we follow MGMAT SC's strategy it will be doable.

nymets5786 · Answer

Citing, increasing, and planning happen to look parallel, but they do not have to be. Citing is a verb, increasing is an adjective (describing the mobility) and planning is a noun. If all three were being used as verbs, they would have to be parallel. However, "Citing overcomplexity,  increased  mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial  plans " would work as well.

The parallelism here is the  nouns  being listed: overcomplexity, mobility, financial planning.

him1985 · Answer

A recent study has cited overcomplexity, increasing worker mobility between companies, and poor financial planning in estimating that fewer than half of eligible American workers had contributed the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans.

Lets break the sentence:
Clause 1: A recent study has cited overcomplexity, increasing worker mobility between companies, and poor financial planning in estimating  :  A recent study is the subject and has cited is the verb. All 3 phrases are parallel. 
Clause 2:  that fewer than half of eligible American workers had contributed the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans :   that is the subject and had contributed is the verb: Had contributed is wrong here, we do not need to show any time line. This clears out A, C and D.

B changes the meaning of the sentence, Hence E is the correct choice.

A) A recent study has cited overcomplexity, increasing worker mobility between companies, and poor financial planning in estimating that fewer than half of eligible American workers  had contributed  the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans.

B) Overcomplexity, increasing worker mobility between companies, and poor financial planning have been cited by a recent study that estimated that  over half of eligible  American workers do not contribute the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans. :  Changes the meaning. Uses over half of eligible, while main sentence says fewer than half of eligible. Moreover when we need to use the comparison then MORE/LESS THAN is more preferable.

Additionally, sentence says two things- X,Y and Z have been cited by the study and Study estimated something , while original meaning is that study gave 3 reasons depending of those it estimated something

C) Citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial planning, less than half of eligible American workers  had contributed  the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans, a recent study estimates.

D) A recent study of American workers, citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial planning, has estimated that fewer than half of eligible American workers  had contributed  the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans.

E)   Citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial planning, a recent study has estimated that fewer than half of eligible American workers contribute the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans.

E has the structure, Citing X, Y, and Z, Study has estimated....., which is correct construction

Lucky2783 · Answer

I think we all know A, B ,C are out of obvious reasons . let me try to demystify the option D and E . 
Option D has no issue with modifier but it has issue with the use of 'had contributed' which suggests that recent study is about some past event.
Ideally it should refer to the current time . 
D. A recent study of American workers, citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial planning, has estimated that less than half of eligible American workers had contributed the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans.

Option E has right tense and modifier. 
Answer E

E. Citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial planning, a recent study has estimated that less than half of eligible American workers contribute the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans.

Lucky2783 · Answer

Hi,

No that is not the case here . the study is indeed about 'american workers' and the modifiers 'citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial planning ' is correctly modifying the study . there is no ambiguity in modifiers usage . 
the first half of the sentence is in present perfect tense 
A recent study of American workers, citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial planning,  has estimated  
and the modifiers 'overcomplexity, increasing mobility ' tells about the recent situation so we do not need a past perfect 'had contributed' in the second part of the sentence. thats the main reason why D is wrong.

thanks
lucky

Lucky2783 · Answer

A recent study has cited overcomplexity, increasing worker mobility between companies, and poor financial planning in estimating that fewer than half of eligible American workers had contributed the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans.

Lets break the sentence:
Clause 1: A recent study has cited overcomplexity, increasing worker mobility between companies, and poor financial planning in estimating : A recent study is the subject and has cited is the verb. All 3 phrases are parallel.
Clause 2: that fewer than half of eligible American workers had contributed the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans : that is the subject and had contributed is the verb: Had contributed is wrong here, we do not need to show any time line. This clears out A, C and D.

B changes the meaning of the sentence, Hence E is the correct choice.

A) A recent study has cited overcomplexity, increasing worker mobility between companies, and poor financial planning in estimating that fewer than half of eligible American workers had contributed the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans.

B) Overcomplexity, increasing worker mobility between companies, and poor financial planning have been cited by a recent study that estimated that over half of eligible American workers do not contribute the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans. : Changes the meaning. Uses over half of eligible, while main sentence says fewer than half of eligible. Moreover when we need to use the comparison then MORE/LESS THAN is more preferable.

Additionally, sentence says two things- X,Y and Z have been cited by the study and Study estimated something , while original meaning is that study gave 3 reasons depending of those it estimated something

C) Citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial planning, less than half of eligible American workers had contributed the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans, a recent study estimates.

D) A recent study of American workers, citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial planning, has estimated that fewer than half of eligible American workers had contributed the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans.

E) Citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial planning, a recent study has estimated that fewer than half of eligible American workers contribute the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans.

E has the structure, Citing X, Y, and Z, Study has estimated....., which is correct construction

Lucky2783 · Answer

yeah , you are right in saying that 'have been' is correct tense here. But, the other issue still exists in B. I overlooked .

B. Overcomplexity, increasing worker mobility between companies, and poor financial planning have been cited by a recent study that estimated that over half of eligible American workers do not contribute the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans.
 'Overcomplexity' , ' increasing worker mobility between companies' and and poor financial planning should modify study , but in B it sounds that these are the results of the study. 
I do not have an example sentence to clarify this doubt.

mvictor · Answer

A. A recent study has cited overcomplexity, increasing worker mobility between companies, and poor financial planning  in estimating  that less than half of eligible American workers  had contributed  the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans.
wrong tense
cited in estimating - ouch

B. Overcomplexity, increasing worker mobility between companies, and poor financial planning have been  cited by a recent study  that estimated that over half of eligible American workers do not contribute the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans.
changes the meaning

C.  Citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial planning , less than half of eligible American workers had contributed the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans, a recent study estimates.
incorrect usage of ing modifier

D. A recent study of American workers, citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial planning, has estimated that less than half of eligible American workers  had contributed  the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans.
wrong tense

E. Citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial planning, a recent study has estimated that less than half of eligible American workers contribute the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans. 
looks good

Chemerical71 · Answer

A,B, and C are out because of modifier issues...D is out because of verb tense..E is the correct choice.

dabhishek87 · Answer

A recent study has cited overcomplexity, increasing worker mobility between companies, and poor financial planning in estimating that fewer than half of eligible American workers had contributed the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans.

A) A recent study has cited overcomplexity, increasing worker mobility between companies, and poor financial planning in estimating that fewer than half of eligible American workers  had contributed  the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans. 
 B) Overcomplexity, increasing worker mobility between companies, and poor financial planning have been cited by a recent study that estimated that  over half  of eligible American workers  do not  contribute the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans. 
C) Citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial planning, less than half of eligible American workers  had contributed  the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans, a recent study estimates.  also wronly placed modifier Citing....planning 
D) A recent study of American workers, citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial planning, has estimated that fewer than half of eligible American workers  had contributed  the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans. 
E) Citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial planning, a recent study has estimated that fewer than half of eligible American workers contribute the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans.  correct

chesstitans · Answer

"had" of past perfect tense helps to eliminate A,C,D.
B is passive and makes nonsense.
E is left.

thangvietnam · Answer

one point normally tested on sc is doing

it is hard to realize that two actions are not separate and use a main verb doing to show this unseparate relation. we have to choose between this relation and another relation such as "do and do" or "do ... which do".

when ever we see the split ask outself " are two actions separable? "

frp · Answer

But why do we need to us present perfect tense here? Why won't simple paste tense work? 
For option E?
A recent study estimated or
A recent study has estimated?

DeepanshuGupta · Answer

Hi guys. I understand why others are wrong. But I am unable to figure out that why "e" is correct as per meaning clarity. According to meaning clarity, "d" makes more sense, though I know it is wrong for other reasons, but I am talking only about the meanins aspect here. " A recent study, citing X , Y & Z , has estimated that...... Citing X, Y & Z , a recent study estimates. The former makes much more sense. Kindly throw some light.

Sahil2208 · Answer

souvik101990 
In option D,  "A recent study of American workers, citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial planning,  has estimated  that fewer than half of eligible American workers  had contributed  the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans."

The phrase  study  has estimated   would have occurred after the phrase  American workers  had contributed  . Hence, past perfect won't be an issue. While citing is a modifier the clause  A recent study of American workers . Please guide me why option D is wrong.

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Hello  DeepanshuGupta ,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, there is actually no practical difference in meaning between Options D and E; D uses the "noun ("recent study") + comma + phrase ("citing...planning")", and E uses the "phrase ("Citing...planning") + comma + noun ("recent study")" construction, but both constructions convey the exact same meaning.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

A recent study has cited overcomplexity, increasing worker mobility be

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

A recent study has cited overcomplexity, increasing worker mobility be

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