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12 Dec 2021, 00:58
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E
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
65%
(hard)
Question Stats:
42% (01:09) correct
58%
(01:24)
wrong
based on 241
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
A derivative of the North American Echinacea flower, which has been effective in preventing colds, is grown by many small farmers out west.
A) A derivative of the North American Echinacea flower, which has been effective in preventing colds,
B) A derivative, which has been effective in preventing colds, of the North American Echinacea flower,
C) A North American Echinacea flower derivative, which has been effective in preventing colds,
D) The North American Echinacea flower has a derivative which has been effective in preventing colds, that
E) The North American Echinacea flower, a derivative of which has been effective in preventing colds,
12 Dec 2021, 01:01
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OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
A) A derivative of the North American Echinacea flower, which has been effective in preventing colds,
B) A derivative, which has been effective in preventing colds, of the North American Echinacea flower,
C) A North American Echinacea flower derivative, which has been effective in preventing colds,
D) The North American Echinacea flower has a derivative which has been effective in preventing colds, that
E) The North American Echinacea flower, a derivative of which has been effective in preventing colds,[/quote]
• Read carefully and do not assume that you can figure out intended meaning from option A.
Sometimes you must use all five options to understand intended meaning.
• The intended meaning of the sentence is
1) that a derivative of the Echinacea flower is effective in preventing colds and
2) that many small farmers in the west grow the flower.
• Split #1, S/V: What is grown by the farmers?
What is grown by the farmers?
The flower, not the derivative.
In other words, the North American Echinacea flower must be the subject that is attached to the main verb and
predicate is grown by many small farmers out west.
In incorrect options A, B and C, the farmers are growing the derivative rather than the flower.
Eliminate A, B, and C
• Split #2 - Meaning and modifiers
→ What is effective in preventing colds? The derivative of the flower, not the flower itself.
In option D, the antecedent of the that modifier is arguably ambiguous.
That antecedent could be the derivative (the flower has a derivative ... that is grown),
or it could be the flower that is grown.
On the first pass, I advise against elimination on the basis of pronoun ambiguity unless that ambiguity is glaring.
The possible ambiguity is not glaring here; "that" does not often "jump back over a verb" and should be as close as possible to its noun.
Write ambig? on your pad (or whiteboard) and do not cross off option D for this reason.
On the other hand (British English speakers, take note), in option D, the which modifier should have been preceded by a comma.
→ WHICH/THAT
In British English, which and that are interchangeable.
In U.S. English and on the GMAT, which and that are not interchangeable.
→ which introduces nonessential information and is preceded by a comma or set off by commas
→ that introduces essential information and is almost never set off by commas
People debate whether GMAT will continue to observe the distinction between which and that.
In at least one official question in the nonunderlined portion, which was used without commas to introduce essential modifiers.
On the other hand, I have never seen a correct answer choice (i.e., the underlined part) in which the word which introduced essential material and was not set off by commas.
SPOILER ALERT: In addition, in 2020, GMAC published a new official question that tests this very distinction.
The question remains in the 2021 and 2022 Official Guide. You can find that question here.
Option D is eliminated.
The correct answer is E.
Option E conveys the correct meaning; the derivative is now used as an appositive/modifier (a noun phrase that gives more information about another noun, flower). Furthermore, the derivative is not the subject of "what is grown."
Option E correctly suggests that the flower is grown and its derivative is effective in preventing colds.
The relative pronoun which in "a derivative of which" means "a derivative of the flower."
Whenever you wonder about a relative pronoun (that, which, who), replace it with the noun you think it refers to; the sentence should still make sense.
COMMENTS
This question might have frustrated or discouraged a few of you.
You need not worry; the question is a bit unusual, but now you have seen the trap and you will avoid a similar one in the future.
Fight back. Get a little mad at the test.
(When I teach CR, I tell people to be furious at the conclusion, as if it were the dumbest thing they'd ever seen.)
Let's think about test-taking strategy.
Options A, B, and C are almost indistinguishable—unless you are sure that you are looking at a 700+ level question (and even then), three nearly identical options = all three are wrong. (Yes, stylistically, option A is slightly superior to option C, and both are superior to option B, but the three are still so similar that I am immediately suspicious.)
What distinguishes A, B, and C from D and E?
The subject of "is grown."
In A, B, and C, the derivative is grown.
In D and E, the flower is grown.
Farmers do not grow derivatives. Farmers grow flowers.
Now your odds are 50-50: option D or option E?
If you chose D over E because "a derivative of which" seemed strange to you, well, now you know that the phrasing is correct.
Actually, that phrasing is both correct and frequently used in formal writing, so as you read more English prose, you will see "of which" more often.
These answers are good and easy to understand.
Well done.
Happy Holidays!
Quote:
A) A derivative of the North American Echinacea flower, which has been effective in preventing colds,
B) A derivative, which has been effective in preventing colds, of the North American Echinacea flower,
C) A North American Echinacea flower derivative, which has been effective in preventing colds,
D) The North American Echinacea flower has a derivative which has been effective in preventing colds, that
E) The North American Echinacea flower, a derivative of which has been effective in preventing colds,[/quote]
• Read carefully and do not assume that you can figure out intended meaning from option A.
Sometimes you must use all five options to understand intended meaning.
• The intended meaning of the sentence is
1) that a derivative of the Echinacea flower is effective in preventing colds and
2) that many small farmers in the west grow the flower.
• Split #1, S/V: What is grown by the farmers?
What is grown by the farmers?
The flower, not the derivative.
In other words, the North American Echinacea flower must be the subject that is attached to the main verb and
predicate is grown by many small farmers out west.
In incorrect options A, B and C, the farmers are growing the derivative rather than the flower.
Eliminate A, B, and C
• Split #2 - Meaning and modifiers
→ What is effective in preventing colds? The derivative of the flower, not the flower itself.
In option D, the antecedent of the that modifier is arguably ambiguous.
That antecedent could be the derivative (the flower has a derivative ... that is grown),
or it could be the flower that is grown.
On the first pass, I advise against elimination on the basis of pronoun ambiguity unless that ambiguity is glaring.
The possible ambiguity is not glaring here; "that" does not often "jump back over a verb" and should be as close as possible to its noun.
Write ambig? on your pad (or whiteboard) and do not cross off option D for this reason.
On the other hand (British English speakers, take note), in option D, the which modifier should have been preceded by a comma.
→ WHICH/THAT
In British English, which and that are interchangeable.
In U.S. English and on the GMAT, which and that are not interchangeable.
→ which introduces nonessential information and is preceded by a comma or set off by commas
→ that introduces essential information and is almost never set off by commas
People debate whether GMAT will continue to observe the distinction between which and that.
In at least one official question in the nonunderlined portion, which was used without commas to introduce essential modifiers.
On the other hand, I have never seen a correct answer choice (i.e., the underlined part) in which the word which introduced essential material and was not set off by commas.
SPOILER ALERT: In addition, in 2020, GMAC published a new official question that tests this very distinction.
The question remains in the 2021 and 2022 Official Guide. You can find that question here.
Option D is eliminated.
The correct answer is E.
Option E conveys the correct meaning; the derivative is now used as an appositive/modifier (a noun phrase that gives more information about another noun, flower). Furthermore, the derivative is not the subject of "what is grown."
Option E correctly suggests that the flower is grown and its derivative is effective in preventing colds.
The relative pronoun which in "a derivative of which" means "a derivative of the flower."
Whenever you wonder about a relative pronoun (that, which, who), replace it with the noun you think it refers to; the sentence should still make sense.
COMMENTS
This question might have frustrated or discouraged a few of you.
You need not worry; the question is a bit unusual, but now you have seen the trap and you will avoid a similar one in the future.
Fight back. Get a little mad at the test.
(When I teach CR, I tell people to be furious at the conclusion, as if it were the dumbest thing they'd ever seen.)
Let's think about test-taking strategy.
Options A, B, and C are almost indistinguishable—unless you are sure that you are looking at a 700+ level question (and even then), three nearly identical options = all three are wrong. (Yes, stylistically, option A is slightly superior to option C, and both are superior to option B, but the three are still so similar that I am immediately suspicious.)
What distinguishes A, B, and C from D and E?
The subject of "is grown."
In A, B, and C, the derivative is grown.
In D and E, the flower is grown.
Farmers do not grow derivatives. Farmers grow flowers.
Now your odds are 50-50: option D or option E?
If you chose D over E because "a derivative of which" seemed strange to you, well, now you know that the phrasing is correct.
Actually, that phrasing is both correct and frequently used in formal writing, so as you read more English prose, you will see "of which" more often.
These answers are good and easy to understand.
Well done.
Happy Holidays!
12 Dec 2021, 01:27
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My answer is (E). It took me 01:14.
(A) "A derivative" cannot be grown directly by many farmers.
(B) See above.
(C) See above.
(D) If "that" is supposed to introduce a relative clause, it should be "which".
Or, if "that" is supposed to act as a subject of an independent clause, it results in a comma splice error.
(A) "A derivative" cannot be grown directly by many farmers.
(B) See above.
(C) See above.
(D) If "that" is supposed to introduce a relative clause, it should be "which".
Or, if "that" is supposed to act as a subject of an independent clause, it results in a comma splice error.
