Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
I3igDmsu wrote:
Sales of wines declined in the late 1980s, but
they began to grow again after the 1991 report that linked moderate consumption of alcohol, and particularly of red wine, with a reduced risk of heart disease.
(A) they began to grow again after the 1991 report that linked moderate consumption of alcohol, and particularly of red wine, with a reduced risk of heart disease
(B) after the 1991 report that linked a reduced risk of heart disease with a moderate alcohol consumption, particularly red wine, they began growing again
(C) in a 1991 report, moderate alcohol consumption, and particularly of red wine, which was linked with a reduced risk of heart disease, caused them to begin to grow again
(D) with a reduced risk of heart disease linked in a 1991 report with moderate alcohol consumption, in particular red wine, they began growing again
(E) a reduced risk of heart disease linked to moderate alcohol consumption in a 1991 report, and in particular red wine, started them growing again
First GlanceA long underline with multiple commas points to potential Modifier, Meaning, and Parallelism issues.
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Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that there was a report in 1991 that linked moderate consumption of alcohol, particularly the consumption of red wine, with a reduced risk of heart disease, and after this report was made sales of wine began to grow.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers + Grammatical Construction• In a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.
• Information vital to the core meaning of the sentence can never be placed between commas.
A: Correct. This answer choice uses the clause “they began to grow again after the 1991 report”, conveying the intended meaning – that sales of wine began to grow after a report on moderate alcohol consumption was made. Further, Option A correctly modifies “moderate consumption of alcohol” with “and particularly of red wine”, conveying the intended meaning – that the consumption of red wine is a form of alcohol consumption. Additionally, Option A only places extra information between commas. Besides, Option A is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.
B: This answer choice incorrectly modifies “a moderate alcohol consumption” with “particularly red wine”, illogically implying that red wine is a form of alcohol consumption; the intended meaning is that the consumption of red wine is a form of alcohol consumption; please remember, in a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.
C: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the clause “moderate alcohol consumption...caused them to begin to grow again”; the construction of this clause incorrectly implies that moderate alcohol consumption caused sales of wine to grow; the intended meaning is that sales of wine began to grow after a report on moderate alcohol consumption was made. Further, Option C incorrectly modifies “a moderate alcohol consumption” with “particularly red wine”, illogically implying that red wine is a form of alcohol consumption; the intended meaning is that the consumption of red wine is a form of alcohol consumption; please remember, in a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Additionally, Option C presents information that is vital to the core meaning of the sentence – the fact that moderate consumption of alcohol was linked with a reduced risk of heart disease – between two commas; remember, information vital to the core meaning of the sentence can never be placed between commas.
D: This answer choice incorrectly modifies “a moderate alcohol consumption” with “particularly red wine”, illogically implying that red wine is a form of alcohol consumption; the intended meaning is that the consumption of red wine is a form of alcohol consumption; please remember, in a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.
E: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the clause “a reduced risk of heart disease…started them growing again”; the construction of this clause illogically implies that a reduced risk of heart disease made sales of wines grow; the intended meaning is that sales of wine began to grow after a report on moderate alcohol consumption was made. Further, Option C incorrectly modifies “a moderate alcohol consumption” with “particularly red wine”, illogically implying that red wine is a form of alcohol consumption; the intended meaning is that the consumption of red wine is a form of alcohol consumption; please remember, in a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Additionally, Option E uses the passive voice construction “started them growing again”, leading to awkwardness and redundancy.
Hence, A is the best answer choice.To understand the concept of "Phrase Comma Subject" and "Subject Comma Phrase" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
To understand the use of commas on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~4 minutes):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team