Although just inside the orbit of Jupiter, amateur astronomers with go

Question

Although just inside the orbit of  Jupiter, amateur astronomers with good telescopes should be able to see the comet within the next few weeks.

(A) Although just inside the orbit of
(B) Although it is just inside the orbit of
(C) Just inside the orbit of
(D) Orbiting just inside
(E) Having orbited just inside

GMATPill · Accepted Answer

Good question.  If "comet" were placed right after the comma--then that would make almost all of the answer choices from (A) to (E) contenders to be the correct answer.  The GMAT guys wouldn't leave so many possible correct answers for you to choose from.

Instead, they tried to trick you here by getting you to automatically associate the phrase with "amateur astronomers." Those who got this correct would have noticed that this combination just doesn't make sense.

Since the main part of the sentence starting with "amateur astronomers" is NOT underlined, we have to assume that part of the sentence cannot be changed. So any answer choice that is structurally placed to describe "amateur astronomers" and does not make sense should be eliminated.

(A) "Although just inside the orbit of Jupiter, amateur astronomers..."  Nope! Doesn't make sense. Astronomers are not just inside the orbit of Jupiter. Well, maybe crazy astronauts--but usually not astronomers. 
(C) "Just inside the orbit of Jupiter, amateur astronomers..." -- Nope! Doesn't make sense. Again, astronomers are not just inside the orbit of Jupiter. 
(D) "Orbiting just inside Jupiter, amateur astronomers..." - -Nope! Doesn't make sense. Astronomers don't orbit Jupiter! 
(E) "Having orbited just inside Jupiter, amateur astronomers..."  Nope! Doesn't make sense. Astronomers don't orbit Jupiter!

What's special about (B)?   Well, as mentioned earlier,  (B) includes the infamous "it."  We don't really know what "it" is referring to until later in the sentence when "comet" is mentioned. But (B) is the only answer choice with the "it" that makes it a better answer choice than all the other ones.

So (B) is the answer.

Hope that helps!

sudeep · Answer

B for me - clause *with subject(it) and verb(is)

others are modifier for comet.

ichha148 · Answer

B for me as well

(B) Although it is just inside the orbit of - it refers to Comet

perfectstranger · Answer

The other choices except B is wrong because they do not modify comet. The true construction should be as  Although just inside the orbit of Jupiter , the comet .... . However answer B fills the gap by introducing it . Since astronomers are plural and cannot be it there is no doubt that it clearly refers to comet. Clearly B

daagh · Answer

Who is inside the orbit of Jupiter? Astronomers? Absurd. All choices except B flaunt this fatal modification error. B is the only one, which by using a subordinate clause with a pronoun  'it' , referring to the comet, amends this error.

whichscore · Answer

since the opening clause modifies "comet", why is the "comet" not placed right after the comma ?

Onell · Answer

A.  Although just inside the orbit of jupiter 
 This is a phrase and should modify the word immediately following comma.
(B) Although it is just inside the orbit of jupiter
 This is a dependent clause..so need not modify the word following comma.
 Eg: Although they were under the radar until recently, Joule Unlimited, the firm in Mass has two issued and at least three pending U.S. Patents.
(C) Just inside the orbit of
 Same as A
(D) Orbiting just inside
 Same as A
(E) Having orbited just inside
 Same as A

TheNightKing · Answer

You need something other than astronomers inside the orbit of Jupiter.
A,C,D and E don't have it. 
The "it" in be is a saviour and hence is the right answer.!

gvij2017 · Answer

Could I expect such SC problems in actual GMAT? 
Such SC problems might test our knowledge but should not be scoring question.

emcheeks · Answer

uhhh another meaning game here.

the astronomers are not "inside the orbit of Jupiter". Instead, the comet is. Therefore, we should have a "it" precedent to refer to "comet". Otherwise, the meaning is changed.

bansalgaurav · Answer

I love this question because, at first sight, I interpreted the wrong meaning.
So before I propose the solution, would like to talk of the pitfalls/mistakes that one may do(As I did)::

Pitfalls :
1: Assuming the first phrase to be a modifier for "amateur astronaut": In the first go, it seems as if "just inside the ... of Jupiter" modifies the astronomer. Technically many are conditioned in such a manner. The moment we see a phrase, we presume it to be a modifier.

2: Wrong meaning: Some may confuse an astronomer for an astronaut and interpret that astronomer is orbiting Jupiter and while he/she does so notices the comet.

Solution 
Kindly note the following pointers::
1: "Although" is conjunction, hence the first phrase should in fact be a clause. This means "ALTHOUGH" should be followed by SUBJECT + VERB. This can also be taken as a rule.  I repeat, pls note:: For sentences containing "ALTHOUGH" immediately look for "sub+verb" after "although"

2: "ALTHOUGH" showcases a contrast and it generally does so by using a comma " , ". So if a sentence with "ALTHOUGH" has only one comma, it's highly probable that the two statements (before and after the comma)
in the sentence have to be contrasting statements. Also, the two statements have to be clauses each with a sub + verb.

Only one choice adds subject to the dependent clause. Hence, answer - B

0Lucky0 · Answer

Dear Experts,
I have read all the explanations but I can't understand why C is inferior to B. In my opinion, C can very well modify "Amateur Astronomers with good telescopes" and solve the problem of ever needing a pronoun.
Any thoughts?
Thanks

IanStewart ,  GMATNinja ,  egmat ,  MartyTargetTestPrep ,  KyleWiddison ,  zhanbo ,  DmitryFarber ,  GMATGuruNY

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Here's the (C) version:

Just inside the orbit of Jupiter , amateur astronomers with good telescopes should be able to see the comet within the next few weeks.

We see that it conveys that amateur astronomers are "just inside the orbit of Jupiter."

At least in today's world, there's no way amateur astronomers would be "just inside the orbit of Jupiter," since amateur astronomers don't have space vehicles to get to that location. Thus, we can deem the meaning that amateur astronomers are just inside the orbit of Jupiter illogical and eliminate (C).

0Lucky0 · Answer

lol, Sorry, I updated the question to make it much more clear.

Well, can't "Just inside the orbit of Jupiter" modify "Amateur astronomers with good telescopes" ? As in, Amateur astronomers with good telescopes should be able to see the comet "Just inside the orbit of Jupiter". This does make sense now? doesn't it?

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Hello  0Lucky0 ,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, in the sentence formed by Option C "Just inside the orbit of Jupiter" modifies "amateur astronomers"; this implies that the astronomers are orbiting Jupiter; although this may not technically be entirely impossible, it is not a logical interpretation of this sentence.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

0Lucky0 · Answer

sorry, I updated the question to make it much more clear.

Well, can't " Just inside the orbit of Jupiter " modify " Amateur astronomers with good telescopes" ? As in, Amateur astronomers with good telescopes should be able to see the comet " Just inside the orbit of Jupiter". This does make sense now? doesn't it?

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Hello  0Lucky0 ,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, "Just inside the orbit of Jupiter" cannot modify "comet"; in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

kop18 · Answer

Amateur astronomers cannot be just inside/outside/around the orbit. The GMAT Guru -  GMATNinja  - suggests that one must always be very careful and literal with the meaning in such modifiers questions. If the question had instead said Astronomers in rockets are able to orbit around Jupiter it would make sense for the opening modifier here to modify the astronomers, however, astronomers with telescopes leaves a dangling meaning behind. Are these astronomers using telescope from earth because if they are then there is no way these guys can orbit around Jupiter or are they using this telescope while they are in their rockets because in this case they may be able to orbit around a planet. 
Hence, in my opinion there is ambiguity in this question around who's doing what. When we add the "it" - the pronoun directly refers to the comet and gives a clearer and more readily believable noun that may be doing the orbiting.

VerbalBot · Answer

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Although just inside the orbit of Jupiter, amateur astronomers with go

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Although just inside the orbit of Jupiter, amateur astronomers with go

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