Some kinds of quakes are much more likely to cause tsunamis than other

Question

Some kinds of quakes are much more likely to cause tsunamis  than others, the so-called megathrust earthquakes, in which  one side of the fault rides up over the other, are especially likely to generate waves, as occurred in the deadly Good Friday earthquake off the coast of Alaska in 1964.

A. than others, the so-called megathrust earthquakes, in which

B. compared to others, the so called megathrust earthquakes, when

C. compared to others, the so called megathrust earthquakes, in which

D. than others, so-called megathrust earthquakes, when

E. than others; so-called megathrust earthquakes, in which

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

VERITAS PREP OFFICIAL SOLUTION:

This question is primarily testing sentence construction, but you should start by analyzing the obvious comparison decision point (“compared to” vs. “than”) at the start of each answer. Since the comparison in the sentence starts with “much more likely” it must be followed by “than” – “compared to” is both redundant and unidiomatic. This allows you to confidently eliminate (B) and (C).

For the remaining answers, you need to figure out which one properly links the second part of the sentence with the first – you have the choice between “than others, the” in (A), “than others,” in (D), or “than others;” in (E). To see which is correct, simplify the sentence with slash-and-burn and read the core elements only. For (A) and (D) you have “Some quakes are more likely to cause tsunamis than others,   so called megathrust earthquakes are especially likely to generate waves…” This sentence has all kinds of problems! First it is linking together two independent clauses with a comma – a distinct comma splice error that also confusingly makes it seem that “  so called megathrust earthquakes” is modifying “others,” That makes no sense, however, as the “others” would be the ones that DON’T cause waves.

(E) correctly uses a semi-colon to link together two related, but independent clauses: “Some quakes are more likely to cause tsunamis than others; so called megathrust earthquakes are especially likely to generate waves…”

u1983 · Answer

I generally go for Analysis..... But in this case I am going for POE( somehow feeling the errors are obvious- may be wrong , pls correct me if I am )

1.  When  should always point to a  time  
2. comma ',' can not join two independent clause (IC).

Option B: Incorrect  :  when   is pointing to  megathrust earthquakes , which is not a time thing.
 Option D: Incorrect  : Similar to B ;  when   is pointing to  megathrust earthquakes , which is not a time thing.

Option A: Incorrect  :  Some kinds of quakes are........ others  (IC) &  The ME ....are .......waves   (IC) are connected to each other by comma','.... no conjunction.
 Option C: Incorrect  : Similar to A;  Some kinds of quakes are........ others  (IC) &  The ME ....are .......waves   (IC) are connected to each other by comma','.... no conjunction.

Option E: Correct   : only option remained

Hero8888 · Answer

If you go further than underlined portion, you will see "are especially", which has no subject in original sentence as well as in other options. Only E has a subject.

sanpreetsingh · Answer

A. than others, the so-called megathrust earthquakes, in which

B. compared to others, the so called megathrust earthquakes, when

C. compared to others, the so called megathrust earthquakes, in which

D. than others, so-called megathrust earthquakes, when

E. than others; so-called megathrust earthquakes, in which

B,c --> With "more" we need "than"
A,D --> two independent clauses are joined by comma.

Hence, E is the Answer.

lakshya14 · Answer

Isn't the sentence starts with an absolute phrase, hence (A) correct?

DmitryFarberMPrep · Answer

lakshya14

No, the sentence starts with a complete independent clause. The simplified core looks like this: Some kinds are more likely to cause tsunamis.

After that, the sentence introduces a new clause--"the so-called megathrust earthquakes . . . are especially likely to generate waves." We can't start a new clause without some kind of link, so only E works.

I think part of the confusion is that we might read "the so-called megathrust earthquakes" as a modifier for "others." But then there's no subject for "are especially likely" later in the sentence.

VerbalBot · Answer

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Some kinds of quakes are much more likely to cause tsunamis than other

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Some kinds of quakes are much more likely to cause tsunamis than other

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