Sentence Correction

In 2000, a mere two dozen products accounted for half the increase in spending on prescription drugs, a phenomenon that is explained not just because of more expensive drugs but by the fact that doctors are writing many more prescriptions for higher-cost drugs.

A. a phenomenon that is explained not just because of more expensive drugs but by the fact that doctors are writing
B. a phenomenon that is explained not just by the fact that drugs are becoming more expensive but also by the fact that doctors are writing
C. a phenomenon occurring not just because of drugs that are becoming more expensive but because of doctors having also written
D. which occurred not just because drugs are becoming more expensive but doctors are also writing
E. which occurred not just because of more expensive drugs but because doctors have also written

OA: B

Dear GMATGuru,

In OA above, 'a phenomena....' is appositive phrase. As per definition, the appositive phase should be side by side with noun which modifies. But I do not where the noun it modifies. Is there any deviation of role ??

thanks

Let me try to break this down for you.

First: yes, the noun that begins an appositive phrase can -- and often does -- refer to the noun immediately preceding it.

For example: In 2000, a mere two dozen products accounted for half the increase in spending on prescription drugs, medications that are heavily featured in television commercials and marketed to physicians by pharmaceutical company representatives.

In the sentence above, "medications" clearly refers back to "drugs," the noun that immediately precedes it. I'm assuming that this is the version of the rule you're familiar with.

However, things aren't always this straightforward.

A noun that begins an appositive phrase does not have to refer to a specific noun that precedes it. Sometimes, the noun that begins an appositive can refer to an entire idea expressed in the previous clause.

When this is the case, the appositive typically begins with an abstract noun -- a noun that refers to something non-tangible such as an idea or a concept or, in this case, a phenomenon.

These types of nouns are also known as compression nouns because they "compress" a lot of information into a single word.

In this case, the compression noun "phenomenon" refers to the fact that a mere two dozen products accounted for half the increase in spending on prescription drugs.

Because "phenomenon" can be understood to refer to that entire idea, no specific noun is needed.

Mo2men wrote:Dear GMATGuru,

In OA above, 'a phenomena....' is appositive phrase. As per definition, the appositive phase should be side by side with noun which modifies. But I do not where the noun it modifies. Is there any deviation of role ??

thanks

The phrase to which your referring is a SUMMATIVE MODIFIER.
I explain this type of modifier here:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/scientists-h ... 83854.html
https://www.beatthegmat.com/abstract-nou ... 74454.html
https://www.beatthegmat.com/absolute-phr ... 78196.html (last post)