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After increasing steadily for centuries,

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by NandishSS » Tue Apr 10, 2018 11:03 pm
After increasing steadily for centuries, the total annual catch of all wild fish peaked in 1989; since that time, the total catch for most species has declined or plateaued, prompting conservation efforts designed to help prevent population crashes and possible extinctions.

A. fish peaked in 1989; since that time, the total catch for most species has declined or plateaued, prompting
B. fish peaked in 1989, but with the total catch since then declining or plateauing in the case of most species, prompting
C. fish had peaked in 1989; since that time, the decline or plateau of the total catch for most species, which prompted
D. fish, which peaked in 1989, and, in the case of most species, it has declined or plateaued since, prompted
E. fish, which peaked in 1989 but has since declined or plateaued for most species, and this prompted

OA: A

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by GMATGuruNY » Wed Apr 11, 2018 2:36 am
NandishSS wrote:After increasing steadily for centuries, the total annual catch of all wild fish peaked in 1989; since that time, the total catch for most species has declined or plateaued, prompting conservation efforts designed to help prevent population crashes and possible extinctions.

A. fish peaked in 1989; since that time, the total catch for most species has declined or plateaued, prompting
B. fish peaked in 1989, but with the total catch since then declining or plateauing in the case of most species, prompting
C. fish had peaked in 1989; since that time, the decline or plateau of the total catch for most species, which prompted
D. fish, which peaked in 1989, and, in the case of most species, it has declined or plateaued since, prompted
E. fish, which peaked in 1989 but has since declined or plateaued for most species, and this prompted
Generally, COMMA + with serves to introduce something that ACCOMPANIES or FACILITATES the preceding action.
B: the annual total catch...peaked in 1989, but with the total catch since then
Here, the usage of COMMA + but with conveys that the portion in red accompanied the action in blue.
This meaning is nonsensical, implying that the total catch SINCE 1989 accompanied the total catch IN 1989.
Eliminate B.

A semi-colon must serve to connect TWO COMPLETE SENTENCES.
In C, the subject after the semi-colon -- the decline or plateau -- lacks a verb.
The result is an incomplete sentence after the semi-colon.
Eliminate C.

D and E: all wild fish, which peaked in 1989
Here, which seems to refer to all wild fish, implying that ALL WILD FISH peaked in 1989.
This meaning is nonsensical.
Eliminate D and E.

The correct answer is A.

The past perfect (had + VERBed) serves to express an action completed before another past event.
C: the total annual catch of all wild fish had peaked in 1989
Here, the action in red is not completed before another past event.
Thus, the usage of the past perfect is unwarranted.
Eliminate C.
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by Akrita@Jamboree » Thu Apr 12, 2018 4:28 am
NandishSS wrote:After increasing steadily for centuries, the total annual catch of all wild fish peaked in 1989; since that time, the total catch for most species has declined or plateaued, prompting conservation efforts designed to help prevent population crashes and possible extinctions.

A. fish peaked in 1989; since that time, the total catch for most species has declined or plateaued, prompting
B. fish peaked in 1989, but with the total catch since then declining or plateauing in the case of most species, prompting
C. fish had peaked in 1989; since that time, the decline or plateau of the total catch for most species, which prompted
D. fish, which peaked in 1989, and, in the case of most species, it has declined or plateaued since, prompted
E. fish, which peaked in 1989 but has since declined or plateaued for most species, and this prompted

OA: A

Source:GMATPrep EP2
This is a question testing parallelism - the two verbs "declined" and "plateaued" need to be in parallel. Additionally, a semi-colon has to connect two independent sentences. Therefore, the sentence in the underlined portion after the semi-colon should be a complete sentence. Let us go through the options one by one.

A - CORRECT. The two verbs "declined" and "plateaued" are connected in parallel by using the conjunction "or". The sentence after the semi-colon is a separate noun + verb construction - "the total catch..has declined or plateaued". This is absolutely perfect.
B - No verb is present in the second half of the sentence beginning with 'but'. This is an incomplete sentence - INCORRECT
C - Usage of the past perfect - 'had peaked' - is unnecessary; 'the decline' is lacking a verb in the second half - INCORRECT
D - fish, which peaked in 1989, and, in the case of most species, it has declined or plateaued since, prompted - No verb for the subject in the first half "the total catch"; "it" has no clear referent. To indicate an action/consequence relationship, we need an ', + -ing' construction of the form "prompting" - INCORRECT
E. fish, which peaked in 1989 but has since declined or plateaued for most species, and this prompted - same as D; an empty "this" is always incorrect on the GMAT SC - INCORRECT

This leaves us with A as our correct answer.

Please let me know if anything doesn't make sense.
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