Depriving the body of carbohydrates, commonly found in many fad diets

Question

Depriving the body of carbohydrates, commonly found in many fad diets, may aid in the loss of weight, but it can likely lead to ketosis, which results in muscle loss in a process that itself can often account for much observed weight loss.

A) Depriving the body of carbohydrates, commonly found in many fad diets, may aid in the loss of weight, but it can likely lead to ketosis, which results in muscle loss in a process that itself can often account for much observed weight loss.

B) Many diets, because they deprive the body of carbohydrates, can likely lead to ketosis—muscle loss occurs accounting for much of the observed weight loss—though they may aid in the loss of weight.

C) Common in fad diets is the recommendation to deprive the body of carbohydrates, which may aid in weight loss and can likely lead to ketosis, resulting in muscle loss and accounting for much observed weight loss.

D) Depriving the body of carbohydrates, a strategy common in fad diets, may aid in weight loss, but such a regimen can likely lead to ketosis, which can cause muscle loss—a result that can often account for much of the observed weight loss.

E) When the body is deprived of carbohydrates, which is common to fad diets, weight loss may occur, but it can also lead to ketosis, accounting for much of the observed weight loss.

pria131 · Answer

I was confused between D & E but why not E?

Abhishek009 · Answer

Sequence is -

Depriving Carbohydrate ====>Aid in Weight Loss=====> Muscle Loss=====>Observed weight Loss .

A)  Depriving the body of carbohydrates , commonly found in many fad diets,  may aid in the loss of weight , but it can likely lead to ketosis,  which results in muscle  loss in a process  that itself can often account for much observed weight loss.

Loss in a process = Doesn't look good here...

B)  Many diets , because they deprive the body of carbohydrates,  can likely lead to ketosis—muscle loss occurs accounting for much of the observed weight loss—though they may aid in the loss of weight.

Diet ----->lead to ketosis - Out of track.

C)   Common in fad diets is the recommendation to deprive the body of carbohydrates , which may aid in weight loss and can likely lead to ketosis, resulting in muscle loss and accounting for much observed weight loss.

Not at all

D)  Depriving the body of carbohydrates , a strategy common in fad diets,  may aid in weight loss , but such a regimen can likely lead to ketosis,  which can cause muscle loss—a result that can often account for much of the observed weight loss.

Seems perfect.

E)  When the body is deprived of carbohydrates , which is common to fad diets,  weight loss may occur , but it can also lead to ketosis,  accounting for much of the observed weight loss.

The sequence of events -  Depriving Carbohydrate ====>Aid in Weight Loss=====> Muscle Loss=====>Observed weight Loss.  is not followed.

Ps : This is my understanding of the problem would request some experts for their valuable insights please.

minwoswoh · Answer

Hi pria131,

Answer choice E has several errors:
 - "When the body is deprived of carbohydrates,  which   is common to fad diets..."  The word "which" implies that carbohydrates are common in fad diets. In reality, the deprivation of carbohydrates is what is common in fad diets.
 - "...but  it   can also lead to ketosis..."  The pronoun "it" does not have a clear antecedent. The meaning of the sentence attempts to explain that the deprivation of carbohydrates can also lead to ketosis. However, this is not correctly expressed in grammar terms.

Ultimately, answer choice D, however convoluted it may soud, does not contain any grammar error.

Pria, I hope you have found my response useful and my approach elegant.

Best.

tia2112 · Answer

Depriving the body of carbohydrates, commonly found in many fad diets, may aid in the loss of weight, but it can likely lead to ketosis, which results in muscle loss in a process that itself can often account for much observed weight loss.

A)Depriving the body of carbohydrates, commonly found in many fad diets, may aid in the loss of weight, but it can likely lead to ketosis, which results in muscle loss in a process that itself can often account for much observed weight loss.
B)Many diets, because they deprive the body of carbohydrates, can likely lead to ketosis—muscle loss occurs accounting for much of the observed weight loss—though they may aid in the loss of weight.
C)Common in fad diets is the recommendation to deprive the body of carbohydrates, which may aid in weight loss and can likely lead to ketosis, resulting in muscle loss and accounting for much observed weight loss.
D)Depriving the body of carbohydrates, a strategy common in fad diets, may aid in weight loss, but such a regimen can likely lead to ketosis, which can cause muscle loss—a result that can often account for much of the observed weight loss.
E)When the body is deprived of carbohydrates, which is common to fad diets, weight loss may occur, but it can also lead to ketosis, accounting for much of the observed weight loss.

Please please please Kudos :oops:

Cadbury · Answer

Hi tia2112,

A) The initial participle modifier must modify a subject noun, which must be placed after the initial modifier. But, here, the modifier modifies commonly found.... Also, the "it" in the last clause has no antecedent.

B)" can likely lead" is awkward and ungrammatical. Further, the entire construction is ungrammatical.

C)This option suggests that fad diets are doing the recommendation, which is an absurd meaning.

D)The initial participle modifier correctly refers to the subject "a strategy". This construction provides a valid meaning.The last two clauses are presented in a parallel format can lead...an cause. Overall, the structure is grammatical in this option.

E)This option suggests that fad diets are some specific time by the use of the word "when". The "it" in the last clause has no antecedent.

Hence D

thangvietname · Answer

this is very hard.
to succeed on this one we have to realize the meaning error when you read a choice without comparing with other choices.

very hard for non native

Aves · Answer

Correct me if I'm wrong. This is very tough question.

sarthaknav · Answer

Very good question. I'll give it a shot.

First lets understand the sentence - 
  In fad diets   you deprive the body of carbohydrates   depriving of carbohydrates may aid in the loss of weight   but depriving the body of carbohydrates can lead to ketosis   ketosis results in muscle loss   ketosis can account for much observed weight loss

In option A  Depriving the body of carbohydrates  modifies  commonly found...  wrong use of -ing modifier
Option B clearly changes the meaning
Option C also has modifier error - using  which  after  carbohydrates  suggests carbohydrates are responsible for weight loss and ketosis. This makes the sentence logically incorrect.
Option E - the use of  which  after  carbohydrates  suggests carbohydrates are common to fad diets. This is just opposite.
In option C and E -ing modifiers, resulting and accounting, have been used incorrectly. Correct form should modify  ketosis .

Now lets look at option D:
 Depriving the body of carbohydrates  correctly modifies  a strategy  common in fad diets
Use of  such a regimen  clearly suggests we are talking about  Depriving...  leading to  ketosis  followed by  which , meaning ketosis can cause weight loss

sudhirmadaan · Answer

i think "Depriving the body of carbohydrates" is subject and "commonly found...." modifies it correctly. Only error i can see in A is "process that itself can often account for much observed weight loss". Mucel loss is the result which account for weight loss . Indeed D is right here .Feel free to correct me

javykhan · Answer

d all the way...as it does not make any error and is logical and grammatically correct

Guilio · Answer

What about the difference between "for much of observed loss" and "much of  the  observed loss" - there are other more obvious imperfections in A.

However, for the sake of the argument, could something like this also be a differentiating factor between right and wrong answer on the GMAT?

Thank you guys for your explanation.

Best,
Jay

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear Jay, I'm happy to respond. :-)

This question was written by my colleague, Chris Lele. The presence or absence of the definite article " the " is not a mistake here. Both versions are acceptable. Version #1 : " can often account for much observed weight loss " Version #2 : " can often account for much of the observed weight loss " Version #1 is not grammatical wrong, although it is slightly unnatural sounding. Version #2 is a little more nature, but the presence of the definite article deliberately points back to the " weight loss " mentioned earlier in the sentence, thus logical binding the whole sentence together. In other words, we can simply say that having " the " is always right and not having it is always wrong. It depends very much on the connotations for the sentence as a whole, and this is a very hard thing for non-native speaker, especially speakers whose native language doesn't involve the use of articles. The GMAT does not to test articles in isolation. In other words, there never would be a question in which the presence or absence of an article is the only deciding factor between a correct and an incorrect answer choice. As in this SC question, which is a very good question, the article mistake will be mixed in with other mistakes. Overall, (A) is flabby, weak, and bloated, but the OA, (D), is efficient, direct, and powerful. Does all this make sense? Mike :-)

Devlikes · Answer

Hello Mike,

I am a premium magoosh subscriber and this question came up in one of my Magoosh practice sets.

I do have a few doubts related to this question and it would be really awesome if you could help me with it:

1.) Aid in/Aid to: As per the Magoosh idioms flashcard, I have understood that if someone gives aid and it helps in an action, the correct idiom is "aid in [gerund]." The word "aid" never takes an infinitive (E.g Aid in planning, Aid in distributing, Aid in making, etc). But here in this particluar sentence, I thought that "aid" is not helping in an action as it was used before a noun (weight loss). I also googled "Weight loss" just to make sure and even there it showed "weight loss" to be a noun. This lead me to mistakenly consider option E as the correct choice.

My Doubt: is "Aid in" + Noun can be idiomatically considered correct ? Also when do we use "Aid to" ?

2.) I also made a mistake in considering "it" in option E as a placeholder "it". But I was wrong in doing so as Chris Lele clearly explained that "It" was illogically referring to "weight loss".

In order to avoid such mistakes in the future, can you please suggest me how to recognize placeholder "it" on the GMAT. Would really appreciate your response !

Thanks,
Devansh

Thanks, Devansh

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear Devansh , I'm happy to respond. :-)

I think you may be slightly misinterpreting what was said in the flashcards, or perhaps we didn't say it clearly enough. It's absolutely true that " aid " does not take an infinitive. The correct idiom is " aid in ." It's true that the object of the preposition is often a gerund, but it also can be a noun----typically the noun form of some action or activity. an aid in GMAT success an aid in economic recovery an aid in physical fitness Here, of course " weight loss " is a noun, the noun form of a process that involves activity and effort. The construct " aid in weight loss " is perfectly correct and in fact is relatively common in American advertising. As for the placeholder "it," a.k.a. the empty "it," here's a blog you may find helpful. The Empty ‘It’ on the GMAT Sentence Correction Some important tips for recognizing the placeholder "it." Rule #1 : More than 95% of the time, the verb following it is a form of the verb " to be ." When the empty "it" appears on the GMAT, the verb immediately after it is a " to be " verb. Sometimes it followed by a feeling verb or something related to thought or emotion: It seems strange that A is B. It excites me to do X. It bothers me that A is B. It makes me feel important to do X. Since those constructions, by their very nature, typically discuss personal emotional states, they are unlikely as topics on the GMAT. The empty "it" is NEVER followed by an action verb. Here the verb is " can ... lead ," which is an action verb: a dead giveaway that the " it " is NOT an empty "it." Rule #2 : when the empty "it" appears before the verb, the real subject is either an infinitive or a " that "-clause following the verb. If there is not an infinitive or " that "-clause following the verb, then the " it " cannot possibly be an empty "it." In (E), we have . . . it can also lead to ketosis , . . . Ignore any modifier after the comma. This is a complete clause right here, and there's no infinite and no " that "-clause to be found. This absolutely cannot be an empty "it." If you hang on to these two rules, it will be very easy to eliminate most false positives for the empty "it." Does all this make sense? Mike :-)

grimbergen · Answer

Hello, Mike!

I am a Magoosh subscriber and I am just loving it so much! Thank you always for your wonderful lectures, blogs, and forum comments.

Although I got this question right, there are many doubts that I have about it.

For answer choice A,
-I am not sure about the part “Depriving the body of carb, commonly found in many fad diets,…” I understand that “found” seems to modify “carb,” but it could also modify “Depriving the body of carb” as a whole. Am I right about this? If so, I think this cannot be a splitter.
- The pronoun “it,” from the “it can likely lead to ketosis,” is not an empty it as you have explained, and this one indicates the whole part “Depriving may aid in the loss of weight.” Is this a correct analysis?
-So, the answer choice A does not seem to have a decisive error, but, compared to right answer choice C, it is just not good.

For answer choice B,
-Can “because” clause break in like this? I think it supposed to be “Many diets, due to their deprivation of carb,” would make sense because “due to” modifies the noun subject “Many diets.”

For answer choice C,
-If it is unclear which part “resulting” is exactly referring to, I guess this means that it could refer to “the recommendation,” or “weight loss,” or “ketosis.” Right?

For answer choice E,
-I thought “which is” could imply the whole phrase “When the body is deprived of carb.” Am I wrong?
 
I think this is a wonderful problem; I actually mused about it for so long and ended up having so many questions. I hope my post would not cause you any headache. Please help me out! Many thanks in advance! =)

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear grimbergen , I'm happy to respond. :-)

Thank you for your kind words about Magoosh. :-)

In (A), the " commonly found " logically seems to apply to " depriving ," but it touches " carbs ." This is unclear, and we need to use logical analysis to sort out what the grammar leaves unclear. This is probably not cause to reject this answer alone, but such a construction would be much more characteristic of an answer incorrect for other reasons. The " it " is not an empty it: it is a regular pronoun, by the parallelism of the clauses referring back to the subject of the first clause, " depriving ." That's clear. The part at the end is the real trainwreck: "... muscle loss in a process that itself can often account for ..." This is a indirect wordy disaster. Compare this to the elegant statement in the OA, (D). This, combined with the ambiguity at the beginning of the sentence, is more than enough to reject choice (A). In (B), the " because " cause interrupting the subject and verb is not wrong: it is a bit unusual, but this construction can be used successfully for rhetorical effect. A " due to " construction would also be fine. In (C), of course, the default choice for the target noun of a noun-modifier is the Modifier Touch Rule . Thus, it's relatively clear that " resulting " and " accounting " refer to " ketosis ." What really torpedoes this choice is the subject: " recommendation ." Ideally, the topic should be the subject of the sentence: that's not a hard and fast rule, because sometimes it is rhetorically successful to delay or displace the subject, but there is absolutely no excuse for choosing a lame bland generic word as the subject. This is a wimpy lily-livered choice. We can reject (C). In (E), the word " which " is a pronoun, a relative pronoun, and like all categories of pronouns, it absolutely must have a noun as its antecedent. The pronoun " which " absolutely may not refer to a clause, any more than " it " or " that " could refer to a clause. This is an error quite common in colloquial American English, so the GMAT loves to test it. Does all this make sense? Mike :-)

vandyke1234 · Answer

Depriving the body of carbohydrates, commonly found in many fad diets, may aid in the loss of weight, but it can likely lead to ketosis, which results in muscle loss in a process that itself can often account for much observed weight loss.

(A) Depriving the body of carbohydrates, commonly found in many fad diets, may aid in the loss of weight, but it can likely lead to ketosis, which results in muscle loss in a process that itself can often account for much observed weight loss. -  Depriving the body of carbohydrates is the subject (simple gerund form) modified by commonly found in many fad diets, the word found is inappropriate here because depriving the body.... cant be found in diets but it is a property of such diets. The which modifier modifying ketosis is not clear - ...."muscle loss in a process that itself can..."

(B) Many diets, because they deprive the body of carbohydrates, can likely lead to ketosis—muscle loss occurs accounting for much of the observed weight loss—though they may aid in the loss of weight. -  Meaning problem - the description of ketosis separated by dash is not clear in what it means - though they may seems to refer to ketosis or Many diets.

(C) Common in fad diets is the recommendation to deprive the body of carbohydrates, which may aid in weight loss and can likely lead to ketosis, resulting in muscle loss and accounting for much observed weight loss.  Meaning Problem

(D)  Depriving the body of carbohydrates, a strategy common in fad diets, may aid in weight loss, but such a regimen can likely lead to ketosis, which can cause muscle loss—a result that can often account for much of the observed weight loss. - Correct

(E) When the body is deprived of carbohydrates, which is common to fad diets, weight loss may occur, but  it  can also lead to ketosis, accounting for much of the observed weight loss. -  what is "it" referring to?

grimbergen · Answer

Wow, Mike! Thank you so much for such a detailed explanation! I truly appreciate it that you have addressed all my questions.

About (E), you wrote neither "which," "it," nor "that" could refer to a clause, and I did not know about this at all. I think I have used all of those pronouns referring to a preceding clause, and now I understand that I have been mistaken big time.

Always a big fan of Magoosh!=)

grimbergen · Answer

Thank you for the help, Samcom! =)

Depriving the body of carbohydrates, commonly found in many fad diets

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Depriving the body of carbohydrates, commonly found in many fad diets

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