In October 2001, responding to the devastating attack on New York’s Wo

Question

In October 2001,  responding to the devastating attack on New York’s World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, President Bush  ordered an invasion of Afghanistan in order to remove the Taliban from power, destroy the al-Qaeda terrorist organization, and capture Osama bin Laden.

(A) responding to the devastating attack on New York’s World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, President Bush

(B) the devastation of the attack on New York’s World Trade Center’s Twin Towers occurred and, responding, President Bush

(C) because of the devastating attack on the Twin Towers, part of New York’s World Trade Center, President Bush responded and

(D) in response to the devastating attack on the Twin Towers, part of New York’s World Trade Center, President Bush

(E) New York’s World Trade Center’s Twin Towers were devastatingly attacked, and the response was that President Bush

pqhai · Accepted Answer

Hi spreen.

D is better than A because of the phrase "in response to". The difference between "in response to" and "responding to" is:
- in  response  to: means you response to something that is done. In this question, the devastating attack on the Twin Towers is done. Thus, "in response to" is better than "responding to".
-  responding  to: means you response to something that is still happening at the time of your action.

Similar grammars: "in accordance with" vs. "according to".

Hope it helps.

gmatbull · Answer

Even I chose (A) initially, but a closer look suggests that the OA is correct after all. 
Compare A to D in terms of the description of the twin tower:

A: responding to the devastating attack on New York’s World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, President Bush ordered 
D: in response to the devastating attack on the Twin Towers, part of New York’s World Trade Center, President Bush ordered

"NEW YORK'S WORLD TRADE CENTER'S TWIN TOWERS" ---double possessive (is it?) doesn't sound good
"TWIN TOWER, PART OF NEW YORK'S WORLD TRADE CENTER"--- better
Also look at the expression; its like saying,

A: In Oct. 2001,   responding to ABC, President Bush ordered XYZ  
D: In Oct. 2001,   in response to ABC, President Bush ordered XYZ

A: President Bush acted responding to an attack- this doesn't sound better than option D
D: President Bush acted in response to an attack- better

Verbal gurus, your inputs please.

daagh · Answer

@ guygmat 
The title says it is a modifier problem. Can I know whether the problem is a dangling modifier or a misplaced modifier in choice A?

rajeevrks27 · Answer

hey what's d problem with A..is it that too many possesives..

saikarthikreddy · Answer

@daag-there is no modifier error in this question .
@rajeev-the only reason why A is wrong in the sentence is because it uses a subordinate adjective clause starting with -ing .Whenever we can avoid the '-ing' form and the idea can be conveyed in a better and concise way try to avoid -ing.But check twice before you omit the option with -ing,cause it might be the best among the worst options at times .

rajeevrks27 · Answer

Buddy, i disagree with u on the usage of verb+ ing..i think this form of modifier is used more often than any other form of modifier( be it relative clause or past participle or adjective). There are numerous examples(even in OG 12 n verbal 2) to prove that verb +ing modifiers are correct rather i haven't come across a single explanation that says the use of Verb + ing modifier is not correct or not preferred..
IMO the mistake in choice A is the phrase   New York’s World Trade Center’s Twin Towers    . It is possessive with possessive which is making the sentence awkward.
I think the prepositional phrase in D and the Verb+ ing modifier in A are both correct usage, the problem lies in what is following them.
Do correct me if i am wrong.

BukrsGmat · Answer

A: In Oct. 2001,   responding to ABC, President Bush ordered XYZ  
D: In Oct. 2001,   in response to ABC, President Bush ordered XYZ

In D there are two prepositional phrases separated by comma. Is this construction ok.

prasadkhadpe · Answer

In October 2001,   responding to the devastating attack on  New York’s World Trade Center’s Twin Towers,  President Bush   ordered an invasion of Afghanistan in order to remove the Taliban from power, destroy the al-Qaeda terrorist organization, and capture Osama bin Laden.
responding to the devastating attack on New York’s World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, President Bush

A.

B the  devastation  of the attack on New York’s World Trade Center’s Twin Towers occurred and,  responding , President Bush

C because of the devastating attack on the Twin Towers, part of New York’s World Trade Center, President Bush  responded  and

D in response to the devastating attack on the Twin Towers, part of New York’s World Trade Center, President Bush.----- correct

E New York’s World Trade Center’s Twin Towers were devastatingly attacked, a nd the response was  that President Bush

myselfhari · Answer

In October 2001,  responding to the devastating attack on New York’s World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, President Bush  ordered an invasion of Afghanistan in order to remove the Taliban from power, destroy the al-Qaeda terrorist organization, and capture Osama bin Laden.

A responding to the devastating attack on New York’s World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, President Bush -  "responding to" makes the sentence in past continuous. this was an event that happened (finished event) in the past. 
B the devastation of the attack on New York’s World Trade Center’s Twin Towers occurred and, responding, President Bush -  totally bad sentence formation. 
C because of the devastating attack on the Twin Towers, part of New York’s World Trade Center, President Bush responded and -  again it makes the sentence mean something else entirely. 
D in response to the devastating attack on the Twin Towers, part of New York’s World Trade Center, President Bush -  correct use of idiom "in response to".  
E New York’s World Trade Center’s Twin Towers were devastatingly attacked, and the response was that President Bush -  "and the response", no need to use conjunction 'and' here. too wordy.

VeritasPrepRon · Answer

Answer choices B, C and E all change the meaning to indicate that the attacks took place in October 2001. The grammar on some of them is suspect as well, but the only two that have the correct logical meaning are A and D.

The big difference between these two answer choices is "responding to" vs "in response to", in which "responding" is the wrong verb tense. "Responding" can be used for an ongoing issue (example: lowered interest rates) whereas "in response to" is for an event that was in the past (example: prom night). It has to be D.

Hope this helps!
-Ron

goforgmat · Answer

@sayantanc2k,@chetan2u 
I don't understand what's the problem in A.
is it the Phrase  New York’s World Trade Center’s Twin Towers  Or any other factor.
Please provide your insights.

sayantanc2k · Answer

Yes, you are right - "in response to" and "responding to" both are alright.

leanhdung · Answer

In October 2001,  responding to the devastating attack on New York’s World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, President Bush  ordered an invasion of Afghanistan in order to remove the Taliban from power, destroy the al-Qaeda terrorist organization, and capture Osama bin Laden.

A)responding to the devastating attack on  New York’s World Trade Center’s Twin Towers , President Bush

B)the devastation of the attack on New York’s World Trade Center’s Twin Towers occurred and, responding, President Bush
--> wordy and awkward.

C)because of the devastating attack on the Twin Towers, part of New York’s World Trade Center, President Bush  responded and

D)in response to the devastating attack on the Twin Towers, part of New York’s World Trade Center, President Bush
--> correct.

E)New York’s World Trade Center’s Twin Towers were devastatingly attacked, and the response was that President Bush
--> wordy and awkward.

VerbalBot · Answer

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In October 2001, responding to the devastating attack on New York’s Wo

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In October 2001, responding to the devastating attack on New York’s Wo

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