Sentence Correction

As algae spread in freshwater ponds and lakes, water quality decreases; thus, reducing the nutrients such as phosphorus, that enter a body of water, is central to reducing algae, which thrive on certain pollutants.

A. nutrients such as phosphorus, that enter a body of water, is central to
B. nutrients that enter a body of water such as phosphorus is key to
C. nutrients, such as phosphorus, that enter a body of water plays a major role in
D. nutrients such as phosphorus that enter a body of water are a major part of
E. nutrients such as phosphorus which can enter a body of water, hold the key

oa c

it seems there is SV error in right ans

vipulgoyal wrote:As algae spread in freshwater ponds and lakes, water quality decreases; thus, reducing the nutrients such as phosphorus, that enter a body of water, is central to reducing algae, which thrive on certain pollutants.

A. nutrients such as phosphorus, that enter a body of water, is central to
B. nutrients that enter a body of water such as phosphorus is key to
C. nutrients, such as phosphorus, that enter a body of water plays a major role in
D. nutrients such as phosphorus that enter a body of water are a major part of
E. nutrients such as phosphorus which can enter a body of water, hold the key

oa c

it seems there is SV error in right ans

Looks fine to me.

Subject: reducing the nutrients
Verb: plays

Because of the semi-colon, the second part of this SC is a completely separate stand-alone sentence. i think you might be confusing "algae" as the subject for the verb "enter." But they are in different independent clauses.

The sentence is:

Thus, reducing (subject) the nutrients (object) such as phosphorus, that enter (verb describing nutrients) a body of water, is (main verb) central to reducing algae, which thrive on certain pollutants.

You may also be confusing "phosphorus" with the noun that is supposed to agree with "enter," but notice that phosphorus is in the phrase, "such as phosphorus," so it it mentioned only as a sub-ordinate idea, an example of a TYPE of nutrient.

Unlike, "which," "that" doesn't have to refer to the noun immediately preceding it. "That" has a lot more flexibility on the GMAT.

From a meaning point of view, the sentence is describing what nutrients do in general rather than specifically ONLY focusing on phosphorus. We could delete the phrase "such as phosphorus," and the sentence would still make logical sense. It is not necessary information. We use the word "that" to introduce essential information.

Hope this helps!

Best,
Vivian

As algae spread in freshwater ponds and lakes, water quality decreases; thus, reducing the nutrients such as phosphorus, that enter a body of water, is central to reducing algae, which thrive on certain pollutants.

A. nutrients such as phosphorus, that enter a body of water, is central to
I am apprehensive about COMMA+that because I read somewhere that COMMA + THAT is always incorrect on usage. Otherwise the sentence looks fine to me.
B. nutrients that enter a body of water such as phosphorus is key to
such as should be placed closed to what it describes (nutrients in this case.)
C. nutrients, such as phosphorus, that enter a body of water plays a major role in
same as A. Otherwise the sentence looks fine to me.
D. nutrients such as phosphorus that enter a body of water are a major part of
here the end 'major part of' does not gel with 'reducing algae'. Secondly, that modifies phosphorus instead of nutrients.
E. nutrients such as phosphorus which can enter a body of water, hold the key
here the end 'hold the key' does not gel with 'reducing algae'.

Vivian,

Can you please help me understand the difference between A and C? Also, can you shed some light on COMMA + THAT construction because this is the second question that I have seen a correct option having this type of construction.

Hi Vivian,

Can you please explain which noun does the verb "plays" refer to? since it is singular it cannot point to nutrients.
As the essential modifier "that enter" refers to nutrients (plural), why is "plays" singular ?
I dont understand how C is OA.

prachi18oct wrote:Can you please explain which noun does the verb "plays" refer to? since it is singular it cannot point to nutrients.
As the essential modifier "that enter" refers to nutrients (plural), why is "plays" singular ?
I dont understand how C is OA.

Look closely at the sentence in its entirely, not just the answer choice.

Does the sentence say that "nutrients" play a major role, or is it something else that "plays a major role"?

There are two takeaways here.

One is that getting too rule focused will not always work. The fact that this is a GMAT question does not mean that some obscure rule, rather than common sense and meaning, will determine what the subject is.

The second is that often it's important to read a sentence in its entirety in order to see how the parts work together and thus to get the right answer.

If you still haven't figured out what is the subject of plays, I wrote it in a prior response above, but you would get better practice by figuring it out on your own.

bubbliiiiiiii wrote:As algae spread in freshwater ponds and lakes, water quality decreases; thus, reducing the nutrients such as phosphorus, that enter a body of water, is central to reducing algae, which thrive on certain pollutants.

A. nutrients such as phosphorus, that enter a body of water, is central to
I am apprehensive about COMMA+that because I read somewhere that COMMA + THAT is always incorrect on usage. Otherwise the sentence looks fine to me.
B. nutrients that enter a body of water such as phosphorus is key to
such as should be placed closed to what it describes (nutrients in this case.)
C. nutrients, such as phosphorus, that enter a body of water plays a major role in
same as A. Otherwise the sentence looks fine to me.
D. nutrients such as phosphorus that enter a body of water are a major part of
here the end 'major part of' does not gel with 'reducing algae'. Secondly, that modifies phosphorus instead of nutrients.
E. nutrients such as phosphorus which can enter a body of water, hold the key
here the end 'hold the key' does not gel with 'reducing algae'.

Vivian,

Can you please help me understand the difference between A and C? Also, can you shed some light on COMMA + THAT construction because this is the second question that I have seen a correct option having this type of construction.

A has a problem that the focus is on the phosphorus that enters the water. C correctly focuses on the nutrients that enter the body. Phosphorus is just an example.