In the southern outskirts of Dar es Salaam, a towering, two-million-sq

Question

In the southern outskirts of Dar es Salaam, a towering, two-million-square-meter factory compound jointly owned by several top European fashion labels, manufactures  shoes and handbags for retailers around the world.

A. In the southern outskirts of Dar es Salaam, a towering, two-million-square-meter factory compound jointly owned by several top European fashion labels, manufactures

B. Jointly owned by several top European fashion labels is a towering-two-million-square-meter factory compound in the southern outskirts of Dar es Salaam, which manufactures

C. In the southern outskirts of Dar es Salaam, a towering, two-million-square-meter factory compound jointly owned by several top European fashion labels manufacture

D. In the southern outskirts of Dar es Salaam, a towering, two-million-square-meter factory compound jointly owned by several top European fashion labels manufactures

E. Jointly owned by several top European fashion labels, a towering-two-million-square-meter factory compound in the southern outskirts of Dar es Salaam, manufacture

sayantanc2k · Accepted Answer

The comma after "labels" is incorrect. A comma should not be there between a subject and the verb. However the following would be correct:

In the southern outskirts of Dar es Salaam, a towering, two-million-square-meter factory compound, jointly owned by several top European fashion labels, manufactures .....

In this case "jointly owned by several top European fashion labels" is a non-essential modifier separated by two commas.

Note: In the real GMAT, it is not expected that an option would be wrong just because of punctuation issues.

Kurtosis · Answer

A. In the southern outskirts of Dar es Salaam, a towering, two-million-square-meter factory compound jointly owned by several top European fashion labels, manufactures - Illogical.

B. Jointly owned by several top European fashion labels is a towering-two-million-square-meter factory compound in the southern outskirts of Dar es Salaam, which manufactures - Passive.

C. In the southern outskirts of Dar es Salaam, a towering, two-million-square-meter factory compound jointly owned by several top European fashion labels manufacture - Subject verb agreement error.

D. In the southern outskirts of Dar es Salaam, a towering, two-million-square-meter factory compound jointly owned by several top European fashion labels manufactures - Correct.

E. Jointly owned by several top European fashion labels, a towering-two-million-square-meter factory compound in the southern outskirts of Dar es Salaam, manufacture - Illogical

Answer: D

sleepynut · Answer

Hi,
In my 2 cents,a towering is a factory which manufactures shoes and handbags.
Thus,we need a pair of comma to set off long modifier--"two-million.....labels".
Did I miss anything?

Thanks

Nightmare007 · Answer

Hi ,
 I got a doubt in option A

A.  In the southern outskirts of Dar es Salaam , a towering,  two-million-square-meter factory compound jointly owned by several top European fashion labels , manufactures ...

Why this option is wrong . The 2nd red clause is modifying "a towering" . 
Am i missing anything in the meaning or grammar can you please guide me.

I don't understand why A is wrong, even though i agree D is right.

broall · Answer

towering is an adjective. So the sentence should be like this
A.  In the southern outskirts of Dar es Salaam ,  a towering, two-million-square-meter factory compound   jointly owned by several top European fashion labels ,  manufactures ...

imyuva · Answer

Can anyone explain why D is correct?

I think A is better.

Sent from my KIW-L22 using  GMAT Club Forum mobile app

TheGMATcracker · Answer

I think when a modifier is placed between two "," ( commas ) its a non-essential modifier. therefore per sentence A - a towering.... manufactures which is illogical.

Prashant10692 · Answer

Can anyone please tell why B is wrong?

EducationAisle · Answer

Hi  Prashant10692 , couple of issues with B:

i) B needlessly uses an  inverted  sentence structure (verb is used  before  the subject)

ii)  which  modifies  Dar es Salaam , while it is intended to modify  factory compound

p.s. Our book    EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana    discusses  modifier issues of "which" , its application and examples in significant detail. If someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.

Bunuel · Answer

VERITAS PREP OFFICIAL SOLUTION:

What looks here at first to be a subject-verb agreement problem (note the last-word differences between "manufacture" and "manufactures") is actually a modifier problem. Only one of the answer choices (choice C) specifically botches a subject-verb agreement, but you might notice that as you search for the subjects in answer choices A and E, you actually cannot find a direct subject for that verb. Each of those answer choices places the verb manufacture(s) right after a comma, meaning that you'll need to look back before a modifier to find the subject. And when you get to the opposite side of the modifier, you'll notice in both cases that the only thing there is another modifier. So choices A and E are incorrect, and you should turn your attention to modifier errors in this problem as your next decision point.

Choice B, then, can be eliminated given the restrictive "which" relative pronoun. That would suggest that it is Dar es Salaam (the city) doing the manufacturing, and not the factory compound.

Only choice D is left standing, and you should notice that its only difference from choice A is that D does not include a comma before "manufactures." This means that you're not dealing with a modifier separating the "manufactures" from its subject. As you work back you'll find that the subject is "factory compound," a singular subject, so "manufactures" is the correct verb and D is the correct answer.

MikeHelios · Answer

I was confused between B and D.
after the explanation I have understood it.

sid0791 · Answer

EducationAisle

Hi,

I agree that B uses the inverted sentence, but is that a reason enough to discard option B?

And can you please explain, why 'Which' should be a problem?

" towering-two-million-square-meter factory compound in the southern outskirts of Dar es Salaam, which manufactures"

"in the southern outskirts of Dar es Salaam" is basically modifying "factory compound", "which" is a noun modifier, and a noun modifier can jump through other modifiers.

EducationAisle · Answer

Hi  sid0791 ,  which  almost always modifies the  nearest grammatically eligible  word, in this case  Dar es Salaam , thereby making the sentence  nonsensical .

This is an important concept. I am providing few official examples (along with official explanations) that will illustrate this point further.

Official example #1:

Correct sentence:

There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, but the most extensively used method has been that bricks were formed from mud or clay, which, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, were laid in the wall in mud mortar.

Incorrect sentence (option E):

There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, but the most extensively used method has been  that bricks were formed from mud or clay,  which , after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, were laid  in the wall in mud mortar.
 
 Official Explanation for incorrect option E : The relative clause beginning with  which  apparently (but nonsensically) describes the closest nouns  mud or clay , rather than  bricks .

Official example #2:

Correct sentence:

Marconi conceived of the radio as a tool for private conversation that could substitute for the telephone; instead, it has become  precisely the opposite, a tool for communicating with a large, public audience.
 
 Incorrect sentence (option D):

Marconi conceived of the radio to be a tool for private conversation, a substitute for the telephone,  which  has become  precisely the opposite, a tool for communicating with a large, public audience.
 
 Official Explanation for incorrect option D : Versions of the sentence that use the relative pronoun  which  indicate that the  telephone  has become a mass medium.

Official example #3:

Correct sentence:

Though called a sea, the landlocked Caspian is actually the largest lake on Earth, covering  more than four times the surface area of its closest rival in size, North America's Lake Superior.

Incorrect sentence (option A):

It is called a sea, but the landlocked Caspian is actually the largest lake on Earth,  which  covers  more than four times the surface area of its closest rival in size, North America's Lake Superior.

Official Explanation for incorrect option A : - Because  Earth  immediately preceded  which , the sentence appears to say, illogically, that  Earth  covers more than four times the surface area of Lake Superior.

p.s. Our book    EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana    discusses  modifier issues of "which" , their application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.

VerbalBot · Answer

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In the southern outskirts of Dar es Salaam, a towering, two-million-sq

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In the southern outskirts of Dar es Salaam, a towering, two-million-sq

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

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Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

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