Finally reaching a decision on an issue that has long been politically charged in the Pacific Northwest, politicians decided to postpone by at least five years an ambitious plan to protect wild salmon and other endangered fish, instead of which they proposed a series of smaller steps, by which they intend to protect the fish.
A. politicians decided to postpone by at least five years an ambitious plan to protect wild salmon and other endangered fish, instead of which they proposed a series of smaller steps, by which they intend
B. politicians decided to postpone by at least five years an ambitious plan to protect wild salmon and other endangered fish, proposing instead a series of smaller steps intended.
C. politicians decided to postpone by at least five years an ambitious plan for protecting wild salmon and other endangered fish, and instead they proposed a series of smaller steps, intending.
D. an ambitious plan to protect wild salmon and other endangered fish was postponed by politicians, who instead proposed a series of smaller steps, intending
.
E. an ambitious plan to protect wild salmon and other endangered fish has been postponed by politicians, proposing instead a series of smaller steps intended.
OA: B
Source:GMATPrep EP1
HI Experts,
D & E are eliminated bcoz of modifier error
Can Somebody pls explain A, B & C?
Thanks
Nandish
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Finally reaching a decision on
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ceilidh.erickson
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Here is a breakdown of each answer choice:
A. politicians decided to postpone by at least five years an ambitious plan to protect wild salmon and other endangered fish, instead of which they proposed a series of smaller steps, by which they intend
- "instead of which" seems to refer to "salmon and endangered fish"
- too many modifying clauses in a row - "instead of which... by which..." - is stylistically awkward and not direct enough. We want to convey "they decided to postpone X and instead do Y." A series of modifying non-essential dependent clauses makes this less direct.
B. politicians decided to postpone by at least five years an ambitious plan to protect wild salmon and other endangered fish, proposing instead a series of smaller steps intended.
No error
C. politicians decided to postpone by at least five years an ambitious plan for protecting wild salmon and other endangered fish, and instead they proposed a series of smaller steps, intending.
- "plan to protect" is the correct idiom, not "plan for protecting"
- "intending" seems to refer to the politicians, not to the smaller steps
D. an ambitious plan to protect wild salmon and other endangered fish was postponed by politicians, who instead proposed a series of smaller steps, intending
- modifier error: "reaching a decision... an ambitious plan..."
- unnecessarily passive
E. an ambitious plan to protect wild salmon and other endangered fish has been postponed by politicians, proposing instead a series of smaller steps intended.
- same modifier issue as D
- "proposing" is now modifying the plan, not politicians
The answer is B.
A. politicians decided to postpone by at least five years an ambitious plan to protect wild salmon and other endangered fish, instead of which they proposed a series of smaller steps, by which they intend
- "instead of which" seems to refer to "salmon and endangered fish"
- too many modifying clauses in a row - "instead of which... by which..." - is stylistically awkward and not direct enough. We want to convey "they decided to postpone X and instead do Y." A series of modifying non-essential dependent clauses makes this less direct.
B. politicians decided to postpone by at least five years an ambitious plan to protect wild salmon and other endangered fish, proposing instead a series of smaller steps intended.
No error
C. politicians decided to postpone by at least five years an ambitious plan for protecting wild salmon and other endangered fish, and instead they proposed a series of smaller steps, intending.
- "plan to protect" is the correct idiom, not "plan for protecting"
- "intending" seems to refer to the politicians, not to the smaller steps
D. an ambitious plan to protect wild salmon and other endangered fish was postponed by politicians, who instead proposed a series of smaller steps, intending
- modifier error: "reaching a decision... an ambitious plan..."
- unnecessarily passive
E. an ambitious plan to protect wild salmon and other endangered fish has been postponed by politicians, proposing instead a series of smaller steps intended.
- same modifier issue as D
- "proposing" is now modifying the plan, not politicians
The answer is B.
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
