Although minors are prohibited by federal law to purchase alcohol

Question

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Although minors  are prohibited by federal law to purchase alcohol, legislators have passed a number of laws in recent years designed to combat certain types of marketing that  are seen as directed towards juveniles.

A) are prohibited by federal law to purchase alcohol, legislators have passed a number of laws in recent years designed to combat certain types of marketing that

B) are prohibited from purchasing alcohol by federal law, legislators had passed an amount of laws in recent years designed to combat certain types of marketing that

C) are prohibited from purchases of alcohol, by federal law, legislators have passed a number of laws years designed to combat certain types of marketing which

D) are prohibited by federal law from purchasing alcohol, legislators are passing an amount of laws in recent years designed to combat certain types of marketing that

E) are prohibited by federal law from purchasing alcohol, legislators have passed a number of laws designed to combat certain types of marketing that

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KanishkM · Accepted Answer

So lets see, a number of laws will be passed and not an amount(this is for money)
Eliminate B and D

Lets go over A, C and E

A) are prohibited by federal law to purchase alcohol, legislators have passed a number of laws in recent years designed to combat certain types of marketing that
Prohibited X from y(+ing form) is the correct idiom, wordier ->Incorrect idiom -Out

C) are prohibited from purchases of alcohol, by federal law, legislators have passed a number of laws years designed to combat certain types of marketing which
Illogical construction, passive -> Out

E) are prohibited by federal law from purchasing alcohol, legislators have passed a number of laws designed to combat certain types of marketing that
Prohibited X from y(+ing form) is the correct idiom, Correct Answer

E

anshkool4u · Answer

But in option E,it's nowhere mentioned that the number of laws passed have been in recent years or since time immemorial.

Posted from my mobile device

KanishkM · Answer

Hi  anshkool4u

Though i am not an expert.

Nevertheless, i eliminated A more on the idiom basis, its  forbid   X to do Y, rather than Prohibit X to do Y.

anshkool4u · Answer

Hi KanishkM,
Even I had thought of this option,and the reason behind this...but the reason for me pointing out the issue was,if by any chance,the writer may have missed those few words in the option.

All in all,E is the best choice.

Archit3110 · Answer

Highlighted texts are errors...

IMO E

Although minors  are prohibited by federal law to purchase alcohol, legislators have passed a number of laws in recent years designed to combat certain types of marketing that  are seen as directed towards juveniles.

A) are prohibited by federal law  to purchase alcohol, legislators have passed a number of laws in recent years designed to combat certain types of marketing that : incorrect use of infinitive verb form..

B) are prohibited from purchasing alcohol by federal law, legislators  had passed an amount  of laws in recent years designed to combat certain types of marketing that

C) are prohibited  from purchases of alcohol,  by federal law, legislators have passed a number of laws years designed to combat certain types of marketing which

D) are prohibited by federal law  from purchasing alcohol , legislators are passing an amount of laws in recent years designed to combat certain types of marketing that

E) are prohibited by federal law  from purchasing  alcohol, legislators have passed a number of laws designed to combat certain types of marketing that : purchasing ; prohibited from something is correct...

GKomoku · Answer

Hello KanishkM and anshkool4u even if the original sentence contains "in recent years" it is not mandatory has it in the correct answer. verb tense used here present perfect "have passed" so it implies that action happened some time in the past or just before the current time. omission of "in recent years" doesn't change anything in the meaning of the sentence hope this helps

Arro44 · Answer

I agree with regards to the verb form, however, in my opinion, AC A uses the wrong modifier.

Someone is prohibited  from  rather than prohibited "to do something".

warrior1991 · Answer

GKomoku · Answer

Although minors are prohibited by federal law to purchase alcohol, legislators have passed a number of laws in recent years designed to combat certain types of marketing that are seen as directed towards juveniles. Meaning of the original sentence: Sentence presents some contrast. 1. Although minors are prohibited by federal law from purchasing alcohol 2. Legislators have passed a number of laws not directly directed towards minors 3. But through combating certain types of marketing that are directed towards minors Errors of the original sentence: A.JPG I'm not good at idioms, but correct one here prohibit X from doing Y -- X and Y are not necessarily // If you don't know the idiom no problem, go further --> V-ed.JPG v-ed modifier "designed" supposed to modify "laws" now it modifies "years" even if we allow it to jump over the "in recent years" modifier - letting this modifier be essential, it is NOT! "in recent years" is not essential modifier that cannot be placed anywhere in the sentence by not distorting the intended meaning. To me "in recent years" seems redundant, because we have "present perfect tense" to suggest the meaning conveyed by this modifier. POE A) are prohibited by federal law to purchase alcohol, legislators have passed a number of laws in recent years designed to combat certain types of marketing that B) are prohibited from purchasing alcohol by federal law, legislators had passed an amount of laws in recent years designed to combat certain types of marketing that ("had passed" - sentence talk about current situations, and actions that took place some time in the past or just before the current time, past perfect is wrong, "laws" - countable - amount - uncountable) C) are prohibited from purchases of alcohol, by federal law, legislators have passed a number of laws years designed to combat certain types of marketing which (too many strange things in this answer, not need to devide "by federal law" by comma, but it don't change anything, I don't know what did "year" forget between "laws" and "designed"??? "that" seems better than "which" in this sentence) D) are prohibited by federal law from purchasing alcohol, legislators are passing an amount of laws in recent years designed to combat certain types of marketing that ("are passing" again wrong this is not the intended meaning of the sentence, "laws" - countable - amount - uncountable) E) are prohibited by federal law from purchasing alcohol, legislators have passed a number of laws designed to combat certain types of marketing that E.JPG So if you don't know the idiom prohibit X from doing Y -- X and Y are not necessarily // as I said no problem, go further --> We are able to eliminate (B), (C) and (D) on solid grounds. Between (A) and (E) A) are prohibited by federal law to purchase alcohol, legislators have passed a number of laws in recent years designed to combat certain types of marketing that E) are prohibited by federal law from purchasing alcohol, legislators have passed a number of laws designed to combat certain types of marketing that You can still easily eliminate (A) because of v-ed modifier, and (E) clear and concise in comparison with wordy and wrong (A) E is the answer

Ashokshiva · Answer

IMO E

A) are  prohibited  by federal law  to  purchase alcohol, legislators have passed a number of laws in recent years designed to combat certain types of marketing that

Prefer the idiom ''prohibited from'' than ''prohibited to''

B) are prohibited from purchasing alcohol by federal law, legislators had passed an  amount  of laws in recent years designed to combat certain types of marketing that

Laws are countable - Hence use of ''amount'' is incorrect

C) are prohibited from purchases of alcohol, by federal law, legislators have passed a number of laws  years  designed to combat certain types of marketing  which

''which'' should be preceded by a comma

D) are prohibited by federal law from purchasing alcohol, legislators are passing an  amount  of laws in recent years designed to combat certain types of marketing that

Laws are countable - Hence use of ''amount'' is incorrect

E) are  prohibited  by federal law  from  purchasing alcohol, legislators have passed a number of  laws designed  to combat certain types of marketing that

correct

generis · Answer

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MY ANALYSIS

Although minors  are prohibited by federal law to purchase alcohol, legislators have passed a number of laws in recent years designed to combat certain types of marketing that  are seen as directed towards juveniles.

A) are  prohibited  by federal law  to  purchase alcohol, legislators have passed a number of laws in recent years designed to combat certain types of marketing that 
 • Correct idiom is  Prohibit X from Y , and not prohibit X to Y

B) are prohibited from purchasing alcohol  by federal law , legislators  had passed  an  amount  of laws in recent years designed to combat certain types of marketing that 
•  laws are countable. Countable things take a number of: a number of laws. 
•  had passed  requires that there be a time marker or at least one simple past tense verb, because 
had passed is past perfect construction, "the past of the past." No time marker and no simple past tense, hence  had passed  is wrong 
-- Verb in the prompt,  are , is present tense. 
-- First verb in B is  are , present tense. 
•  by federal law  is misplaced. It sounds as if minors are trying to buy alcohol via federal law, or with the help of federal law

C) are prohibited from  purchases of  alcohol  , by federal law,  legislators have passed a number of laws years designed to combat certain types of marketing  which  
 • no need to set off  by federal law  with commas
•  which  needs a preceding comma, or to be the word  that 
--  which  as a relative pronoun requires a comma before it 
--  which  without commas should not take the place of  that  without commas. 
--  that  without commas is correct and indicates an essential modifier.
• in the idiom Prohibit X from Y, very frequently, Y is an -ING word. "Purchase of" should be "purchasing." 
See the link below for more information about the idiom.

D) are prohibited by federal law from purchasing alcohol, legislators  are passing  an  amount  of laws  in recent years  designed to combat certain types of marketing that 
 •  an amount of  is incorrect, as in option B
•  are passing  and  in recent years  do not match. 
--  are passing  means right now.  in recent years  means in the  past  few years.
-- to show continuous action that started in the past and continues to the present, or whose effects continue to now,
use  have been passing   .
The legislators started in recent years.  Have been  indicates a start in the past.  Passing  indicates that the laws continue to be passed.

E) are prohibited by federal law from purchasing alcohol, legislators have passed a number of laws designed to combat certain types of marketing that 
 •  have passed  is present perfect. That construction  correctly  conveys 
-- a completed action in the past whose effects are still relevant or
-- an action in progress until recently
• minors are prohibited from purchasing correctly follows the idiom Prohibit X from Y

Option E is correct.

**For more on the idiom Prohibit X from Y, see  mikemcgarry  ,  HERE

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

•   this question is testing the correct idiom for  prohibited.

• The correct phrasing is  prohibited from  an action  (often an --ING word)** 
  Idiom: Prohibit X from Y

• Options A and D   incorrectly   say   prohibited . . . to purchase.  
Eliminate A and D

• Comparing   B, C, and E, one major difference is the placement of the phrase  by federal law 
Option B moves the phrase to after alcohol, making it sound as if someone is trying to purchase alcohol by means of federal law,
which changes the meaning (and doesn't really make sense).

Eliminate B

• Between C and E, the easiest difference to work with is probably that versus which at the end of the underlined portion
In order to use which, you have to have a comma, and there is no comma in option C. Eliminate C.

• The correct answer is E

This OE uses "splits."

Split #1:  a number of  vs.  an amount of . Countable noun takes "a number of." Eliminates A and D
Split #2:  by federal law . Misplaced in option B. Eliminate B.
Split #3:  which  vs.  that .  Which  requires a comma. Eliminate C. Answer: E

"Splits" and how to use them are discussed  in this SC Butler Post .

Choose the grammatical errors that are most obvious to  you  or that are incorrect every time.

COMMENTS

I am thrilled to see dialogue between and among forum members.

Collective learning frequently demonstrates a process of elimination that is helpful
to forum members who read later.

I like generosity. A lot. I think generosity shows strength of character. Helping is generous.

Further, dialogue forces people to articulate ideas.
If you can articulate an idea—that is, explain its content, not merely assert its content—you are
forced to distill a clear conception of the idea yourself.

Everyone who engaged in dialogue gets a smiley face.  Ashokshiva  and  KanishkM  get smiley faces for very good answers.
 GKomoku  wrote the best answer. Kudos! Nice work, everyone.

GKomoku · Answer

generis generally generous person

also sounds

generis · Answer

GKomoku - thank you for the compliment! Much appreciated. I needed to change my username, so I chose a term from the law. I figured that since I had withstood an onslaught of Latin terms while reading legalese, I might as well make use of having learned a few. I like your pun!

(I am so used to Latin phrases that I did not think about the fact that the handle's pronunciation would . . . um. . . sound like a word in English. I know. Writers and editors can be absent-minded professors.) True story: In my section at HLS, professors tried to impale students on the horns of a dilemma. (Professors tried to get a student to commit to one argument. That move then allowed the professor to make a devastating opposite argument, at which point the student looked foolish. The purpose of the approach derives in part from the Socratic method: students understand that most legal questions do not have a "correct" answer. Quickly.

) As a first year, I refused to answer, directly, one grouchy professor's question. Professors at HLS in my section called directly on students. He asked some hideous question about contracts. I replied, "If I answer with X, you will say Y. If I answer with Y, you will say X. I decline to answer." His eyes got big. His face got red. "You cannot decline to answer!" Reply: "I just did, sir." Ten seconds of silence. Then he announced with a grin, "You are sui generis. Very loose translation: peculiar and without precedent." I just nodded. I'd said enough. You, too, are generous. You share materials, encourage others, and give out kudos frequently. In short, you and others set a very good example. I appreciate the latter. Thanks again.

GKomoku · Answer

now I know the story behind "generis"

anud33p · Answer

In addition to all the things that folks have mentioned before, I would just like to add, rather emphasise, on another possible issue with A.

A) are prohibited by federal law to purchase alcohol, legislators have passed a number of laws in recent years  designed to combat certain types of marketing  that

^ designed to combat certain types appears to modify recent years and that is another reason to rule out A - just in case, you are not too confident about the exact idiom (prohibit X from Y).

VerbalBot · Answer

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Although minors are prohibited by federal law to purchase alcohol

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Although minors are prohibited by federal law to purchase alcohol

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