Official Solution:

The later generation Roman kings, flamboyant sybarites, held parties in their courts, they sported ethnic delicacies, choicest of cocktails, and randy performances by courtesans

A. The later generation Roman kings, flamboyant sybarites, held parties in their courts, they sported
B. Parties were held in the courts of the later generation Roman kings, flamboyant sybarites, which featured
C. The later generation Roman kings, flamboyant sybarites in their courts, held parties sporting
D. The later generation Roman kings, flamboyant sybarites, held parties in their courts that sported
E. In their courts, the later generation Roman kings, flamboyant sybarites, held parties that sported


A: A run- on sentence

B: flamboyant sybarites, which featured --- Relative pronoun touch rule foul

C: flamboyant sybarites in their courts—wrong diction: If they were sybarites only in their courts, what were they outside their courts?

D: their courts that sported—courts do not sport delicacies

E. held parties that sported --- correct modification and correct choice


Answer: E
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How can that singular pronoun refer to parties "a plural pronoun"??

"That", when used as relative pronoun, can refer to both singular and plural noun. Run a search in OG - you will find plenty of such usages.

I think this is a poor-quality question and I don't agree with the explanation. I do not understand why D is out and E is OK.
In choice D, in explanation, it says that "that" refers to courts. However, I think that "in their courts" is modifier for the noun "parties", so that can refer to "parties" unambiguously. So D should also be a correct answer.

D. The later generation Roman kings, flamboyant sybarites, held parties in their courts that sported
You are absolutely correct that "IN THEIR COURTS" is modifier that is modifying PARTIES. But, PLACEMENT of THAT is incorrect LOGICALLY.

Answer following question,
WHAT sported delicacies, cocktails ????? Is it PARTIES or COURTS....??
I guess your answer would be PARTIES....
But, as per option D, the answer is COURTS...

E. In their courts, the later generation Roman kings, flamboyant sybarites, held parties that sported
In option E, placement of THAT is correct, conveying intended meaning.

Could some one explain me why the answer is E and not D. I Could not understand the previous explanations for the question.

Easy;

ask a question is it court that sported delicacies etc.

or parties that sported ethnic delicacies.

(D says Court that sported and therfore is ambigous)

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Here is my take:
a) Two sentence with clauses connected by a comma- incorrect grammatical constructions.
b) Which needs to refer back to parties: no way is that possible in this option.
c) Incorrect meaning- as if they were only sybarites in the courts.
d) vs e) This one was tough, but I ll say that we see two options- one in which that is very close to the word "parties"- word it needs to modify. Chose the case that does best justice to the construction- chose E.

Right Answer : E
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In option, D held parties in their courts that sported... though it seems like "ethnic delicacies, choicest of cocktails" modify courts, I have seen examples where modifier can be separated by a prepositional phrase( in their courts) when there is no other option.
Option E starts with "in their". Shouldn't there be a pronoun ambiguity? Can a pronoun refer to a noun forwards?

I think a better answer should be
The later generation Roman kings, flamboyant sybarites, in their courts held parties in their courts that sported ethnic delicacies, choicest of cocktails, and randy performances by courtesans.

daagh GMATNinja and other experts,
Maybe a silly question, but someone had to ask! Why 'courts' can't 'sport' but 'parties' can? Sport in verb form means "wear or display", it goes with courts as well as parties, no?

Hi all, my two cents' worth here:

Key things to note from the stem's intended meaning:
1) The parties, NOT the kings, sported ethnic delicacies, cocktails blah blah; The parties were held in the courts of the kings, and not anywhere else.
2) The kings were the flamboyant sybarites, not the parties. The parties could be flamboyant, but the sentence is not trying to refer to the parties as flamboyant (at least not directly).
3) We need to find a sentence that says all of the above.

Error analysis
A) No coordinating conjunction 'FANBOYS' between '...courts, they sported...', leaving 2 independent clauses hanging by themselves. A is out

B) Passive voice suggesting a change of meaning where the parties were not organized by the kings, but simply in the courts of the kings. B is out

C) 'In their courts' modifies flamboyant sybarites, resulting in a change of meaning; the kings were flamboyant only in their courts, but not anywhere else. The parties could have been held anywhere. Answer is OUT

D) Perfect Answer; right modifiers modify the intended subjects (flamboyant sybarites --> kings) and objects (parties held in the kings' courts + parties sporting the delicacies etc.)

E) Same modifier error for 'in their courts' as Option C.

Answer: C