With a good development team and a dependable brand, the software

Errors in the sentence:
1. Pronoun error (It in the end)- we don't have any reference for "it"
2. operating system's failed attempt- you can't fail without attempting. Failure is itself an attempt. So, failed attempt is redundant.

POE: A and C are out.
B is right grammatically but it's an awkward construction. And, GMAT prefers clear and concise sentences.
D is wrong because of " to try and thrive" - operating system can't fail to try and thrive
So, we are left with E only.

Correct Answer: E

A) failed attempt to thrive, or at least gain a foothold, in a marketplace that is receptive to it

B) failing to thrive, or at least gain a foothold, in a receptive marketplace

C) failed attempt to thrive, or at least gain a foothold, in a receptive marketplace

D) failure to try and thrive, or at least gain a foothold, in a receptive marketplace

E) failure to thrive, or at least gain a foothold, in a receptive marketplace

A. "failed attempt" is redundant. "it" is ambiguous.

B. "failing" and "gain" are not parallel.

C. "failed attempt" is redundant.

D. 'failure to try" is redundant.

E. Correct

I am confused between C and E. Experts please help with proper explanation!

system's ---- this says a noun is needed. We left with D and E.

failure to thrive is the correct usage. E++

IMO E. Failure to thrive and gain a foothold.


Sent from my iPhone using GMAT Club Forum

We need noun to clearly come after operating system

So "failure" is the correct word here so options are restricted to D and E

Try+and is incorrect so D is out

E is correct answer

Posted from my mobile device

Official Explanation

Creating a filter: I read the prompt and it seems fine. On second thought, we're wary about the final word "it." What does this pronoun refer to -- the software giant or the operating system? Its reference is unclear, so it's in error. We look for an answer choice that solves the pronoun problem.

Applying the filter: All of the rest do, so we will have to start over with choice (B) and look for objective defects.

Finding objective defects: The answer choices differ in how they express the failure. Choice (B) gives us "operating system's failing," which is proper grammar but poor style (i.e., awkward). In (C), "failed attempt" is somewhat redundant -- failure involves an attempt. (D) and (E) are better with the simple and clear "failure." Choice (D) is out because the phrase to "try and thrive" something is colloquial English, not proper English. The proper idiom is "try to do something," not "try and do something."

The correct answer is (E).

We need failure over failed or failing
Let's Do POE

A) failed attempt to thrive, or at least gain a foothold, in a marketplace that is receptive to it : wordy, . Moreover failed attempt is incorrect
B) failing to thrive, or at least gain a foothold, in a receptive marketplace : We don't need INR word
C) failed attempt to thrive, or at least gain a foothold, in a receptive marketplace : same issue as A
D) failure to try and thrive, or at least gain a foothold, in a receptive marketplace : Failure to try: Here it seems that operating system is itself trying to thrive, which is not the case.
E) failure to thrive, or at least gain a foothold, in a receptive marketplace : Correct choice, Removed ambiguity generated by Choice D