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souvik101990
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Alum
Joined: 19 Mar 2012
Last visit: 15 Aug 2026
Posts: 4,309
Given Kudos: 2,326
Location: United States (WA)
Concentration: Leadership, General Management
Schools: Ross '20 (M)
GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V42
GMAT 2: 740 Q49 V42 (Online)
GMAT 3: 760 Q50 V42 (Online)
GPA: 3.8
WE:Marketing (Non-Profit and Government)
Products:
Expert reply
04 Aug 2015, 22:36
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During her thesis defense, the audience had a mixed reaction to the conclusions of the graduate student, who paid careful attention to it.
A. the audience had a mixed reaction to the conclusions of the graduate student, who paid careful attention to it.
B. the audience had a mixed reaction to the graduate student’s thesis, and she paid careful attention to it.
C. the graduate student paid careful attention to her audience, who had a mixed reaction to her conclusions.
D. the graduate student paid careful attention to her audience experiencing a mixed reaction to her conclusions.
E. the graduate student paid careful attention to her audience’s reactions to her conclusions, which were mixed.
A. the audience had a mixed reaction to the conclusions of the graduate student, who paid careful attention to it.
B. the audience had a mixed reaction to the graduate student’s thesis, and she paid careful attention to it.
C. the graduate student paid careful attention to her audience, who had a mixed reaction to her conclusions.
D. the graduate student paid careful attention to her audience experiencing a mixed reaction to her conclusions.
E. the graduate student paid careful attention to her audience’s reactions to her conclusions, which were mixed.
souvik101990
Expert
Alum
Joined: 19 Mar 2012
Last visit: 15 Aug 2026
Posts: 4,309
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 2,326
Location: United States (WA)
Concentration: Leadership, General Management
Schools: Ross '20 (M)
GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V42
GMAT 2: 740 Q49 V42 (Online)
GMAT 3: 760 Q50 V42 (Online)
GPA: 3.8
WE:Marketing (Non-Profit and Government)
Products:
Expert reply
04 Aug 2015, 22:36
Kudos
Bookmarks
Official Solution:
During her thesis defense, the audience had a mixed reaction to the conclusions of the graduate student, who paid careful attention to it.
A. the audience had a mixed reaction to the conclusions of the graduate student, who paid careful attention to it.
B. the audience had a mixed reaction to the graduate student’s thesis, and she paid careful attention to it.
C. the graduate student paid careful attention to her audience, who had a mixed reaction to her conclusions.
D. the graduate student paid careful attention to her audience experiencing a mixed reaction to her conclusions.
E. the graduate student paid careful attention to her audience’s reactions to her conclusions, which were mixed.
(A) The sentence has an incorrect modifier. During her thesis defense should refer to the graduate student instead of the audience
(B) This sentence has the same modifier error as choice A. Also, the audience’s mixed reaction should be to the student’s conclusions, not to her thesis
(C) CORRECT. The opening clause correctly modifies the graduate student; the pronoun who correctly refers to audience
(D) This sentence incorrectly implies that the student paid careful attention to the audience experiencing a mixed reaction, rather than to the mixed reaction itself
(E) This sentence incorrectly implies that the student’s conclusions were mixed, instead of the audience’s reactions
Answer: C
During her thesis defense, the audience had a mixed reaction to the conclusions of the graduate student, who paid careful attention to it.
A. the audience had a mixed reaction to the conclusions of the graduate student, who paid careful attention to it.
B. the audience had a mixed reaction to the graduate student’s thesis, and she paid careful attention to it.
C. the graduate student paid careful attention to her audience, who had a mixed reaction to her conclusions.
D. the graduate student paid careful attention to her audience experiencing a mixed reaction to her conclusions.
E. the graduate student paid careful attention to her audience’s reactions to her conclusions, which were mixed.
(A) The sentence has an incorrect modifier. During her thesis defense should refer to the graduate student instead of the audience
(B) This sentence has the same modifier error as choice A. Also, the audience’s mixed reaction should be to the student’s conclusions, not to her thesis
(C) CORRECT. The opening clause correctly modifies the graduate student; the pronoun who correctly refers to audience
(D) This sentence incorrectly implies that the student paid careful attention to the audience experiencing a mixed reaction, rather than to the mixed reaction itself
(E) This sentence incorrectly implies that the student’s conclusions were mixed, instead of the audience’s reactions
Answer: C
24 Aug 2016, 11:49
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souvik101990
Hi Souvik,
I wanted to check on the following. In option C the way who is used is slightly confusing.
Does not the option mean that the graduate student was selectively paying careful attention to ONLY those people in the audience who had a mixed reaction and not to everyone.
1) Is my understanding correct?
2) If Yes. Isnt this a change in meaning ?
3) If no. Can you please guide me how i can avoid this mistake in future. What concept am I missing ?
24 Aug 2016, 13:00
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korhiyatryinghard
Option C is alright and the meaning you indicated would be conveyed if there were no comma before "who". Let me briefly summarize the difference between essential and non-essential modifiers:
Essential modifier:
mandatory- required to define the noun it refers to - no comma - removal of the modifier changes the meaning of the sentence.
example: I hate men who brag.
meaning: Say there are 100 men and 30 of them brag. I hate only those 30 bragging men ("selectively" as you mentioned).
Removal of the modifier would imply that I hate all 100 men rather than just those 30 bragging men - meaning changes.
Non-essential modifier:
not mandatory - says something extra about the noun it refers to - comma required - removal of the modifier does not change the meaning of the sentence.
example: I hate men, who brag.
meaning: Say there are 100 men. I hate all 100 of them. Extra information- those 100 men brag.
Removal of the modifier would still imply that I hate all 100 men - the meaning does not change.
