Sentence Correction

As per the rules of grammar, answer D is perfectly okay.

the pronoun it in answer D has one and only one logical antecedent, and that is honey. Just try to swap all other possible antecedents for it, the sentence would just not make sense.

Half Argentina can't go to US ( maybe half Argentina's population but not Argentina itself!)
neither half exporter can go to the US.

So we are left with only 1 noun -honey.

On the other hand, E is very vague; it does not specify half of what. We always say expressions such as these :

half a slice of bread, half a glass of water, half the number of cars, half the money, and etc. We never say half and the leave the listener of the sentence guessing.

Also going.... in the E choice is a participle phrase ( adjective) that is modifying half. So as the sentence states, it means that half itself went to the US and not 50% of the honey!, resulting in a ridiculous meaning.

Just read MGMAT's pronouns chapter. It clearly states that we can have a multiple nouns in a sentence and still use pronouns so long as the antecedent is a logical one.

I would also go with E option..............

rishab1988 wrote:As per the rules of grammar, answer D is perfectly okay.

the pronoun it in answer D has one and only one logical antecedent, and that is honey. Just try to swap all other possible antecedents for it, the sentence would just not make sense.

Half Argentina can't go to US ( maybe half Argentina's population but not Argentina itself!)
neither half exporter can go to the US.

So we are left with only 1 noun -honey.

On the other hand, E is very vague; it does not specify half of what. We always say expressions such as these :

half a slice of bread, half a glass of water, half the number of cars, half the money, and etc. We never say half and the leave the listener of the sentence guessing.

Also going.... in the E choice is a participle phrase ( adjective) that is modifying half. So as the sentence states, it means that half itself went to the US and not 50% of the honey!, resulting in a ridiculous meaning.

Just read MGMAT's pronouns chapter. It clearly states that we can have a multiple nouns in a sentence and still use pronouns so long as the antecedent is a logical one.

So, is your answer D? I agree with your rationale and I also picked D, but it seems like most people believe that the answer is E here.

+1 for E.

+1 for D ....please post the OA.

rohittk wrote:Please can someone identify the correct option with explanations.

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Q15:
In little more than a decade, Argentina has become the world�s leading exporter of honey,
with nearly 90,000 tons a year sold to foreign markets, almost half of which going to theUnited States.
A. with nearly 90,000 tons a year sold to foreign markets, almost half of which going
B. with the sale of nearly 90,000 tons a year to foreign markets, and almost half of it
that goes
C. with the sale to foreign markets of nearly 90,000 tons a year, with almost half of it
going
D. selling nearly 90,000 tons a year to foreign markets, and almost half of it goes
E. selling nearly 90,000 tons a year to foreign markets, with almost half going

Can someoe please explain in the correct option (E) what is "with" modifier modifying actually?

CaptainM wrote:

rohittk wrote:Please can someone identify the correct option with explanations.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q15:
In little more than a decade, Argentina has become the world�s leading exporter of honey,
with nearly 90,000 tons a year sold to foreign markets, almost half of which going to theUnited States.
A. with nearly 90,000 tons a year sold to foreign markets, almost half of which going
B. with the sale of nearly 90,000 tons a year to foreign markets, and almost half of it
that goes
C. with the sale to foreign markets of nearly 90,000 tons a year, with almost half of it
going
D. selling nearly 90,000 tons a year to foreign markets, and almost half of it goes
E. selling nearly 90,000 tons a year to foreign markets, with almost half going

Can someoe please explain in the correct option (E) what is "with" modifier modifying actually?

Here's some information on proper usage of with posted by Stacey.

https://www.beatthegmat.com/proper-usage ... 45771.html

IMO E.

Experts please help clear the air.

In little more than a decade, Argentina has become the world's leading exporter of honey, selling nearly 90,000 tons a year to foreign markets, with almost half of it going to the United States.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/05/busin ... honey.html

but why cant answer be c, how to make a distinction between a with or a ing modifier,i guess both modifier performs similar function(both adverbial)


this sentence is worng
ron has also said sentence.................... , ing modifier.................. , ing modifier

IMO: D. what is OA?

rohittk wrote:Please can someone identify the correct option with explanations.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q15:
In little more than a decade, Argentina has become the world�s leading exporter of honey,
with nearly 90,000 tons a year sold to foreign markets, almost half of which going to theUnited States.
A. with nearly 90,000 tons a year sold to foreign markets, almost half of which going
B. with the sale of nearly 90,000 tons a year to foreign markets, and almost half of it
that goes
C. with the sale to foreign markets of nearly 90,000 tons a year, with almost half of it
going
D. selling nearly 90,000 tons a year to foreign markets, and almost half of it goes
E. selling nearly 90,000 tons a year to foreign markets, with almost half going

Hi Ron,

Could you take a look at this problem?

I'm not sure about the precise usage of "with sth doing", for the " sell 90,000 tons a year to foreign markets" part, can both "with sth doing" and "comma +Ving" be right in meaning? if not, what's the meaning if we use them respectively?

about the second part "half of the exported honey",

firstly, could "it" or "them" be used to mean "90,000 tons a year"?

secondly,I found in many other SC problems that if there are 2 plural nouns in a short clause , the plural pronoun after them must be tested for ambiguity and it's 100% in the wrong answers.

Therefore, I guess, here the choice E is trying to avoid using plural pronoun as there are 2 plural nouns before(tons, markets), am I right?

I'm just not sure wheter the "almost half" can act as a pronoun, and it does't arouse ambiguity,can/does it?

Thank you very much!

lunarpower wrote:

Kajiabeat wrote:

rohittk wrote:Please can someone identify the correct option with explanations.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q15:
In little more than a decade, Argentina has become the world�s leading exporter of honey,
with nearly 90,000 tons a year sold to foreign markets, almost half of which going to theUnited States.
A. with nearly 90,000 tons a year sold to foreign markets, almost half of which going
B. with the sale of nearly 90,000 tons a year to foreign markets, and almost half of it
that goes
C. with the sale to foreign markets of nearly 90,000 tons a year, with almost half of it
going
D. selling nearly 90,000 tons a year to foreign markets, and almost half of it goes
E. selling nearly 90,000 tons a year to foreign markets, with almost half going

Hi Ron,

Could you take a look at this problem?

I'm not sure about the precise usage of "with sth doing", for the " sell 90,000 tons a year to foreign markets" part, can both "with sth doing" and "comma +Ving" be right in meaning? if not, what's the meaning if we use them respectively?

about the second part "half of the exported honey",

firstly, could "it" or "them" be used to mean "90,000 tons a year"?

secondly,I found in many other SC problems that if there are 2 plural nouns in a short clause , the plural pronoun after them must be tested for ambiguity and it's 100% in the wrong answers.

Therefore, I guess, here the choice E is trying to avoid using plural pronoun as there are 2 plural nouns before(tons, markets), am I right?

I'm just not sure wheter the "almost half" can act as a pronoun, and it does't arouse ambiguity,can/does it?

Thank you very much!

is this problem taken directly from OG, OG supplement, or GMAT PREP software?
if not, i would withhold judgment about the "with + noun + verb-ing" construction; that is a construction that is accepted by some authorities but rejected by others. if it has not been judged either way in one of those three official sources, then it's impossible to give a definitive opinion about this problem.

Hi Ron,

when reviewing other SC problems, I saw another one which has "with + N + doing" in it.

Because of wireless service costs plummeting in the last year, and as mobile phones are increasingly common, many people now using their mobile phones to make calls across a wide region at night and on weekends, when numerous wireless companies provide unlimited airtime for a relatively small monthly fee.

A. Because of wireless service costs plummeting in the last year, and as mobile phones are increasingly common, many people
B. As the cost of wireless service plummeted in the last year and as mobile phones became increasingly common, many people
C. In the last year, with the cost of wireless service plummeting, and mobile phones have become increasingly common, there are many people
D. With the cost of wireless service plummeting in the last year and mobile phones becoming increasingly common, many people are
E. While the cost of wireless service has plummeted in the last year and mobile phones are increasingly common, many people are


the SC problem from this thread, well, sorry but I don't know the source...

P.S. I also found the orignal passage in NYtimes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/05/busin ... honey.html

I'm just wondering whether such kind of phrase as "820,000 square meters", "9000 tons" can be the precedent of "it".

Please help~thank you very much!

Well, In choice between D&E, there are a lot of argues here in this question.
While E seems little bit odd and looks little bit unclear because the choice omits object after "half", the usage of "and" in choice D is clearly inferior than "with" usage in my opinion.

And, guyz! this "with" phrase in choice #E is hanging selling participle and the participle is talking about honey. So, this omit seems possibly (even not preferred) be admitted comparing other flaws in other options.

Just my opinion. LOL