GMAT Club Around The World!!! As a result of zealous conservation effo

Expert's Global Official Explanation

Pronouns + Comparison + Idioms + Meaning + Grammatical Construction + Redundancy/Awkwardness

Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that as a result of zealous conservation efforts, the southern white rhinoceros has experienced an impressive revival, as evidenced by the fact that its count is now 10 times greater than the count when the species was placed on the endangered animals list in the 1980s.

• In the “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.
• “greater” is preferred over “more” for referring to numbers/figures/data; in this sentence, the term “count” represents a figure and thus, “greater” is the correct usage.
• A comma cannot join two independent clauses; such usage leads to the error of comma splice; to correct this error, the comma must be replaced with a semicolon or comma followed by a conjunction such as “and”, “but”, etc.

A. Correct. This answer choice correctly uses the singular pronoun “its” to refer to the singular noun “the southern white rhinoceros”. Further, Option A correctly uses the term “greater” to refer to a quantifiable term “count”. Additionally, Option A avoids the modifier error seen in Option D by using the independent clause “its count is now 10 times greater than…”; in doing so Option A conveys the intended meaning of the sentence- that as a result of zealous conservation efforts the southern white rhinoceros has experienced an impressive revival, as evidenced by the fact that its count is now 10 times greater than the count when the species was placed on the endangered animals list in the 1980s. Besides, Option A is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

B. Trap. This answer choice skips the verb “is”, rendering the sentence awkward. Further, this answer choice incorrectly uses the term “more” rather than “greater” to refer to “count”; please remember, “greater” is preferred over “more” for referring to numbers/figures/data.

C. This answer choice incorrectly uses the plural pronoun “they” to refer to the singular noun “the southern white rhinoceros”. Further Option C incorrectly uses a comma to join the independent clauses “the southern white rhinoceros has experienced an impressive revival” and “they now count 10 times greater than…”; please remember, a comma cannot join two independent clauses; such usage leads to the error of comma splice; to correct this error, the comma must be replaced with a semicolon or comma followed by a conjunction such as “and”, “but”, etc.

D. This answer choice incorrectly modifies “revival” using “now with 10 times greater count than…”, illogically implying that the revival has a count 10 times greater than the count the southern white rhinoceros had when it was placed on the endangered animals list in the 1980s; the intended meaning of this sentence is that as a result of zealous conservation efforts, the southern white rhinoceros has experienced an impressive revival, as evidenced by the fact that its count is now 10 times greater than the count when the species was placed on the endangered animals list in the 1980s.

E. Trap. This answer choice uses the needlessly wordy phrase “it now has a count 10 times greater than…”, leading to awkwardness in the sentence and alteration of meaning; the intended meaning is that as a result of zealous conservation efforts, the southern white rhinoceros has experienced an impressive revival, as evidenced by the fact that its count is now 10 times greater than the count when the species was placed on the endangered animals list in the 1980s.

A is the best answer choice.