Unlike the body's inflammatory response to cuts and sprains, with

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Concepts tested here: Pronouns + Grammatical Construction + Verb Forms + Comparisons + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• Statements of universal fact are best conveyed through the simple present tense.
• A comparison can only be made between similar things.

A: Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the present participle ("verb+ing" - "resulting" in this case) to refer to a statement of universal fact; remember, statements of universal fact are best conveyed through the simple present tense. Further, Option A uses the needlessly indirect phrase "with widespread swelling and stiffness immobilizing the injured area until it heals", leading to awkwardness.

B: This answer choice incorrectly refers to "the body’s inflammatory response to cuts and sprains" with the pronoun "where"; please remember, "where" is only used to refer to physical locations. Further, Option B incorrectly compares "the body’s inflammatory response to cuts and sprains" to "sunburn"; remember, a comparison can only be made between similar things. Additionally, Option B uses the passive construction "the injured area is immobilized with widespread swelling and stiffness" and the needlessly wordy phrase "which results instead", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

C: This answer choice incorrectly uses the present participle ("verb+ing" - "resulting" in this case) to refer to a statement of universal fact; remember, statements of universal fact are best conveyed through the simple present tense. Further, Option C incorrectly compares "the body’s inflammatory response to cuts and sprains" to "sunburn"; remember, a comparison can only be made between similar things. Additionally, Option C uses the needlessly indirect phrase "with the injured area immobilized", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

D: Correct. This answer choice acts upon the independent subject noun phrase "the body’s more localized response to sunburn" with the active verb "results" to form a complete thought, leading to a complete sentence. Further, Option D correctly refers to "the body’s inflammatory response to cuts and sprains" with the pronoun phrase "in which". Additionally, Option D correctly uses the simple present tense verb "results" to refer to a statement of universal fact. Moreover, Option D correctly compares "the body’s inflammatory response to cuts and sprains" with "the body’s...response to sunburn". Besides, Option D is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

E: This answer choice fails to form a complete sentence; as "Unlike the body’s inflammatory response to cuts and sprains", "in which widespread swelling and stiffness immobilize the injured area until healing", and "instead, the body’s more localized response to sunburn...the skin" are all dependent clauses, there is no independent subject noun for the modifiers to act upon.

Hence, D is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team

IMO D.

In which + clause is better than with+N+Ving. Parallel "inflammatory response" and "localized response".

using 2/3 split, A, B abd C are ruled out.

Between D and E, "instead" is not necessary.

so //D//.

the comparision should be parallel and logical. Any noun following "the body’s inflammatory response" should be parallel to itself.

so "the body’s more localized response", which is only in D and E, does so. Rest lacks the parallelism.

D.

the comparison is between body's two responses.

and because of the use of unlike it is expected ,after comma ,to have a noun parallel to "body’s inflammatory response to ..."

I am not still clear why D is correct? ...until it has....seems irrelevant usage here. Can someone clarify this?

Unlike the body’s inflammatory response to cuts and sprains, with widespread swelling and stiffness immobilizing the injured area until it heals, the body’s response to sunburn is more localized and resulting in a distinct line dividing affected and unaffected areas of the skin.

A. with widespread swelling and stiffness immobilizing the injured area until it heals, the body’s response to sunburn is more localized and resulting - comparison prob - The comparison is btwn body’s inflammatory response and body's localized response
B. where the injured area is immobilized with widespread swelling and stiffness until it has healed, sunburn generates a more localized response in the body, which results instead - Incorrect comparison btwn body’s inflammatory response and Sunburn
C. with the injured area immobilized by means of widespread swelling and stiffness until healing, sunburn generates a more localized response in the body, one resulting - Incorrect comparison btwn body’s inflammatory response and Sunburn
D. in which widespread swelling and stiffness immobilize the injured area until it has healed, the body’s more localized response to sunburn results
E. in which widespread swelling and stiffness immobilize the injured area until healing, instead, the body’s more localized response to sunburn results - Unlike and instead in the same sentence - Is it required - NOPE

Unlike the body’s inflammatory response to cuts and sprains, with widespread swelling and stiffness immobilizing the injured area until it heals, the body’s response to sunburn is more localized and resulting in a distinct line dividing affected and unaffected areas of the skin.

INCORRECT PORTIONS UNDERLINED..............

A. withwidespread swelling and stiffness immobilizing the injured area until it heals, the body’s response to sunburn is more localized andresulting
B.where the injured area is immobilized with widespread swelling and stiffness until it has healed, sunburn generates a more localized response in the body, which results instead......COMPARING RESPONSE TO SUNBURN...
C.with the injured area immobilizedby means ofwidespread swelling and stiffness until healing, sunburn generates a more localized response in the body, one resulting....COMPARING RESPONSE TO SUNBURN...
D. in which widespread swelling and stiffness immobilize the injured area until it has healed, the body’s more localized response to sunburn results.......[color=#00a651].....CORRECT....[/color]
E. in which widespread swelling and stiffness immobilize the injured area until healing, instead, the body’s more localized response to sunburn results

Hi Gmat Tiger,

What I was confused about was the comparison between body's inflammatory response, to body's more localized response. I didn't see how these are parallel.
What confused me was the word "more", as I thought that we were comparing body's response.
If you could shed some light on that, it would be awesome.

Much appreciated,
Regards,
Yela

Hi e-gmat

I know that we use the "ing" modifier to modify the preceding clause. I further know that we should not use "which" to modify a clause. However, when are we allowed to use "in which" to modify the preceding clause, as is the case with this sentence?

Regards

Unlike the body’s inflammatory response to cuts and sprains, with widespread swelling and stiffness immobilizing the injured area until it heals, the body’s response to sunburn is more localized and resulting in a distinct line dividing affected and unaffected areas of the skin.

A. with widespread swelling and stiffness immobilizing the injured area until it heals, the body’s response to sunburn is more localized and resulting
We need a verb to make it parallel to the clause "the body’s response to sunburn is more localized"

B. where the injured area is immobilized with widespread swelling and stiffness until it has healed, sunburn generates a more localized response in the body, which results instead

1) Where -> is a specific place . Here we require a modifier which explains "cuts and sprains"
2) sunburn and body's response is not comparable

C. with the injured area immobilized by means of widespread swelling and stiffness until healing, sunburn generates a more localized response in the body, one resulting
1) SunBurn and Body's response are not comparable

D. in which widespread swelling and stiffness immobilize the injured area until it has healed, the body’s more localized response to sunburn results
Correct

E. in which widespread swelling and stiffness immobilize the injured area until healing, instead, the body’s more localized response to sunburn results
1) Until healing -> looks like as if there is a level. Better would be to use the clause "it has healed" as in option D)
2) Instead is not required and structurally it is wrong as we already have "Unlike"

Indeed we are comparing body's response. Basically the sentence is saying:

(i) body’s response to cuts and sprains is widespread
(ii) body’s response to sunburn is localized

more is just a modifier and doesn't change the basic structure of the sentence: Two noun phrases, each about body's response, are being compared.

The pronoun 'it' in -it heals- has no reference. Therefore, remove A, B, and D. Between C and E, the 'instead' has no locus standi in E and therefore, C is the correct choice.

Hello Sir,

Choice C presents illogical comparison between the body’s inflammatory response and sunburn. Then the modifier with the injured area... fails to make any logical connection with cuts and sprains. Use of healing is also incorrect in this choice.

The correct answer choice is Choice D. In this choice, the pronoun it logically refers to injured area. The choice presents logical comparison between the body’s inflammatory response and the body’s more localized response.


Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha

Hello Verbal Experts,

Could you please explain why options A and E are wrong here. I am confused why they are eliminated here.

Also, what does 'it' refer to in the correct option D?

Please let me know. Thanks in advance!

A. The modifier "with widespread swelling and stiffness immobilizing the injured area until it heals" is wrong because it is not clear which noun this modifier refers to. In general the following construction would be wrong in GMAT:
modifier 1 + modifier 2 + noun A
modifier 1 = "Unlike the body’s inflammatory response to cuts and sprains"
modifier 2 = "with widespread swelling and stiffness immobilizing the injured area until it heals"
noun A = "the body’s response to sunburn"
In this case the modifer 2 may refer to the another noun in modifier 1 ("cuts and sprains") or the noun A.
This ambiguity makes such construction wrong.

E. The word "instead" is redundant. The word "unlike" already denotes the contrast.

D. The pronoun "it" refers to "the injured area".

Are we discarding option A only because "resulting" is awkward ?

Can you please throw some more light on option A and option D ?

chetan2u , VeritasKarishma GMATNinja