The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced

Question

Project SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC2) 
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The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, cited his worsening health, and ended the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.

A) The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, cited his worsening health, and ended the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.

B) The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation citing his worsening health to end the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.

C) Citing his worsening health, the C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, which ends the reign of the man holding the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.

D) Citing his worsening health, the C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, ending the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.

E) Ending the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else, the C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company, under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth, has announced his resignation citing his worsening health.

generis · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Project SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC2)

THE PROMPT  
 
• Meaning? 
The CEO has announced his resignation in part because his health is worsening.
That resignation ended the CEO's long reign. Under his charge, the company grew into a behemoth.

• Issue
→ Well, the biggest issue is fairly subtle: you must recognize the way in which COMMA + participle phrase (a verbING phrase) is a good way to present the result or outcome of the previous clause.
GMAT writers really like these participle phrases placed in that role.
This participle usage is sophisticated. 
→ Don't worry if you did not understand how to choose among A, C, and D.
You'll get a sense for these participial modifiers.
Read the explanation. Read  this blog post, here, and the comment section. 
 
  THE OPTIONS  
 
• Meaning issue 
→ The CEO did not end the reign. The CEO's resignation ended the reign.

• Parallelism trap
→ From other options and from context, we can see that  announced, cited,  and  ended  do not need to be parallel. That setup is a trap.
→  cited his health  makes more sense when rewritten as  citing his health.  
Per the latter, the resignation takes center stage in that phrasing.
KEEP, but look for a better answer
 
• although infinitives do not always suggest purpose, in this context, the infinitive  to end   does  sound purposeful—and ridiculously so.
The CEO did not resign  in order  to end his long reign. The end of his reign was simply a natural result of his resignation.

•  citing his health  should probably be set off by commas
→ at the moment,  citing  seems to be modifying  resignation,  but citing 
The verbING phrase carries much less weight than the verb  announced,  is intended to explain the reason for the resignation, and without a preceding comma, seems to be modifying  resignation .
But the resignation is not citing his health. The CEO is doing so.
ELIMINATE B

•  holding  and  under whose charge  both define  man  as essential modifiers, but they are not parallel
→  holding  should be the restrictive relative pronoun construction  who held  to match the restrictive relative pronoun construction  under whose charge the company grew.  ( Whose  is the only restrictive relative pronoun in the English language, btw)
→ this error is not horrible.
KEEP, but look for a better answer

• I do not see any errors
→  ending the reign . . .  refers logically to the outcome of the resignation
→  who held  and  under whose charge  are parallel restrictive (essential) relative modifiers

• Compared to options A and C? Option D wins.
Option D is not plagued with the issues, however small, in options A and C.
In terms of strategy, if we accept option A we almost certainly must accept option C and vice versa.
That situation is problematic. They can't both be correct.
Option D is better than options A and C. ELIMINATE A and C.
KEEP D.

•  under whose charge  is closer to  man  in the other options and the modifier makes more sense that way.
→ in this option,  under whose charge  could easily be mistaken as describing  the company  rather than the man
• meaning issue
The CEO's resignation, not the CEO per se, is ending the reign of the CEO.
• compare to option D? Option D wins; it's not riddled with dubious or weird constructions
ELIMINATE E

The best answer is D.

COMMENTS

Makesh89   EDIT:  and  Gknight5603  , welcome to SC Butler.

I am glad to see everyone, including a couple of people whom I haven't seen lately.
I like the dialogue.
These answers range from very good to excellent.
Critical reasoning skills are incisive. Impressive.

Nice work. Stay safe, everyone.

beeblebrox · Answer

The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, cited his worsening health, and ended the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.

A) The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, cited his worsening health, and ended the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.
 Option A implies that CEO 1. Announced resignation 2. Cited health issues 3. And ended the reign of some man.
The statement intends to state that The C.E.O. resigned by citing health issues, which ended the reign of CEO himself...
Hence option (A) is incorrect

B) The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation citing his worsening health to end the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.
 This statement does not clearly indicate whose reign does the CEO wants to end. Hence incorrect.

C) Citing his worsening health, the C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, which ends the reign of the man holding the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.
 IMO this is correct.

D) Citing his worsening health, the C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, ending the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.

E) Ending the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else, the C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company, under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth, has announced his resignation citing his worsening health.

Both D & E do not convey the clear and intended meaning.

Gknight5603 · Answer

In c: which can't be used to refer to a clause.

D is better for using -ing verb cause effect relationship

Posted from my mobile device

beeblebrox · Answer

Isn't which referring to resignation?

Just a thought.

Gknight5603 · Answer

i think the resignation itself can end his reign.
it was the act of announcing the resignation that ended his reign.

so the proceeding modifier should refer this action.

jhavyom · Answer

The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, cited his worsening health, and ended the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.

A) The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, cited his worsening health, and ended the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.

This option says that the CEO did three different things.
He announced his resignation.
He cited his worsening health.
He ended the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else.
But 'ended the reign' is the result of the announcement, not a separate thing.

B) The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his  resignation citing his worsening health  to end the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.
 resignation citing his worsening health  means his resignation cited his worsening health, which is not an intended meaning.

C) Citing his worsening health, the C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, which ends the reign of the man holding the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.
Here, 'which' is used to modify the previous clause.
Incorrect

D) Citing his worsening health, the C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, ending the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.
Correct

E) Ending the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else, the C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company, under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth, has announced his  resignation citing his worsening health . 
Same as B

Choice D is the answer.

zhanbo · Answer

My answer is  (D) . It took me 01:41.

(A) "his worsening health" is the reason given for the resignation announcement. It cannot be juxtaposed with "has announced his resignation".

(B) Without a comma before "citing his worsening health", we interpret that "his resignation" somehow is "citing his worsening health", which is nonsensical.

(C) Both "which" (in "which ends the reign") and "whose" (in "under whose charge") should have the same antecedent, presumably "his resignation". But it is wrong to say "under his resignation's charge".

(E) Without a comma before "citing his worsening health", we interpret that "his resignation" somehow is "citing his worsening health", which is nonsensical.

DinoPen · Answer

The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, cited his worsening health, and ended the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.

A) The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, cited his worsening health, and ended the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.
 'cited' should be 'citing'. Incorrect use of past participle. Also, how does the CEO 'announced' his resignation and 'ended' the reign of the man..? You can't do these two things at once. One is an affect of the other.

B) The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation citing his worsening health to end the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.
 'citing his worsening health' should be surrounded by commas since this is not critical information. Also, 'to end the reign..' is an intent. The CEO did not resign to end the reign of his rule... Out.

C) Citing his worsening health, the C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, which ends the reign of the man holding the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.
 Under the resignation's charge, the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth? This does not make sense. Out.

D) Citing his worsening health, the C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, ending the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.
 This is fine. I don't see anything wrong with this choice.

E) Ending the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else, the C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company, under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth, has announced his resignation citing his worsening health.
 It seems as if the man is not the CEO. (Which we know the pronoun 'man' refers to the CEO). Also, 'citing his worsening health' should be surrounded by commas since this is not critical to the statement.

ramlala · Answer

The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, cited his worsening health, and ended the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.

A) The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company  has announced  his resignation,  cited  his worsening health,  and ended  the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.
 parallelism not logically correct

B) The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation citing his worsening health  to end the reign  of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.
 meaning error. not conveys intended meaning

C) Citing his worsening health, the C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced  his resignation, which  ends the reign of the man holding the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.
 modifier error. not conveys intended meaning

D) Citing his worsening health, the C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation,  ending the reign  of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.
 participle phrase modifies entire act of previous clause.
No remarks

E)  Ending the reign  of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else,  the C.E.O.  of the nation’s largest real estate company, under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth, has announced his resignation citing his worsening health.
 modifier error

IMO D

Makesh89 · Answer

A) The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, cited his worsening health, and ended the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth. 
Cited, ended.... does not fit. It is a past tense.

B) The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation citing his worsening health to end the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.
Citing his worsening health.... To end... Is wrong. Mix of tenses
C) Citing his worsening health, the C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, which ends the reign of the man holding the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.
Seems convincing but if you look closely the intended meaning is not clear. 
D) Citing his worsening health, the C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, ending the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.
Correct

E) Ending the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else, the C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company, under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth, has announced his resignation citing his worsening health.
Sounds awkward. 
The correct answer is D

Posted from my mobile device

TarunKumar1234 · Answer

The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, cited his worsening health, and ended the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.

A) The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, cited his worsening health, and ended the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.

This option says that the CEO did three different things.
He announced his resignation.
He cited his worsening health.
He ended the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else.
But 'ended the reign' is the result of the announcement, not a separate thing.

B) The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation citing his worsening health to end the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.
resignation citing his worsening health means his resignation cited his worsening health, which is not an intended meaning.

C) Citing his worsening health, the C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, which ends the reign of the man holding the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.
Here, 'which' is used to modify the previous clause.
Incorrect

D) Citing his worsening health, the C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced his resignation, ending the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else and under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth.
Correct

E) Ending the reign of the man who held the top job longer than anyone else, the C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company, under whose charge the company grew into a multibillion-dollar global behemoth, has announced his resignation citing his worsening health.
Same as B

Choice D is the answer.

generis · Answer

The official explanation is  here .

avinash07 · Answer

I got it D.

But still not able to figure out that whether it should be.

who held the top job longer than anyone else 
Or 
who held the top job longer than anyone else did.

Anyone pl clarify .

Posted from my mobile device

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Hello  avinash07 ,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, both of these phrases are correct.

Here, "did" stands in for the verb phrase "held the top job", so the second phrase essentially reads "who held the top job longer than anyone else held the top job", however, when comparing actions, we can remove any repeated instances of the same verb phrase for conciseness, so this phrase can, indeed, be written as "who held the top job longer than anyone else"; the second instance of "held the top job" is implied.

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

VerbalBot · Answer

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The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

The C.E.O. of the nation’s largest real estate company has announced

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