Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
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Without adequate amounts of sleep, people's newly acquired skills and also new factual information may not get properly encoded into their memory circuits.
A. Without adequate amounts of sleep, people's newly acquired skills and also
B. Without the adequate amount of sleep they need, people's newly acquired skills and even
C. If they do not have adequate amounts of sleep, people's newly acquired skills and even
D. If people do not get adequate amounts of sleep, newly acquired skills and even
E. If people do not get the adequate amount of sleep they need, newly acquired skills and also
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning of this sentence is key to solving this question; the intended meaning is that in the scenario that people do not get adequate amounts of sleep, newly acquired skills and even new factual information may not get properly encoded into their memory circuits.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Mosidifiers + Awkwardness/Redundancy• 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.
A: This answer choice incorrectly uses "Without adequate amounts of sleep" to modify "people's newly acquired skills and...factual information", illogically implying that in the given scenario the
skills and information are not getting an adequate amount of sleep; the intended meaning is that in the given scenario the
people are not getting an adequate amount of sleep; remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Further, Option A uses the redundant phrase "and also", rendering it awkward and needlessly wordy.
B: This answer choice incorrectly uses "Without the adequate amount of sleep they need" to modify "people's newly acquired skills and...factual information", illogically implying that in the given scenario the
skills and information are not getting an adequate amount of sleep; the intended meaning is that in the given scenario the
people are not getting an adequate amount of sleep; remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Further, Option B uses the needlessly wordy phrase "the adequate amount of sleep they need", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.
C: This answer choice incorrectly uses "If they do not have adequate amounts of sleep" to modify "people's newly acquired skills and...factual information", illogically implying that in the given scenario the
skills and information are not getting an adequate amount of sleep; the intended meaning is that in the given scenario the
people are not getting an adequate amount of sleep; remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.
D: Correct. This answer choice avoids the modifier error seen in Options A, B, and C through its use of the phrase "If people do not get adequate amounts of sleep"; the construction of this phrase conveys the intended meaning - that in the given scenario the
people are not getting an adequate amount of sleep. Further, Option D is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.
E: This answer choice uses the needlessly wordy phrases "the adequate amount of sleep they need" and "and also", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.
Hence, D is the best answer choice.Additional Note: Please note, this is an older question that also tests a now-defunct pronoun rule; Options B and C utilize the subject pronoun "they" to refer to the possessive noun "people's"; such usage was once considered incorrect on GMAT, but is now largely accepted.
To understand the concept of "Phrase Comma Subject" and "Subject Comma Phrase" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team