Sentence Correction

Hurricanes at first begin traveling from east to west, because that direction is the way the prevailing winds in the tropics blow, but they then veer off toward higher latitudes, in many cases changing direction toward the east before dissipating over the colder, more northerly waters or over land.

(A) Hurricanes at first begin traveling from east to west, because that direction is the way the prevailing winds in the tropics blow, but
(B) At first, hurricanes travel from east to west, because that is the direction of the prevailing winds in the tropics, but
(C) While hurricanes travel from east to west at first, the direction of the prevailing winds blowing in the tropics, and
(D) Because hurricanes at first travel from east to west, since it is the direction of the prevailing winds in the tropics,
(E) Hurricanes, beginning by traveling from east to west, because this is the direction of the prevailing winds in the tropics,

OAB

Please explain.

The first choice is wrong because it's redundant. We needn't say "At first..." with "begins" because the concept of initially is already contained in the word "begins".

(B) solves the above-mentioned problem and tightens up the wording in the second half. This is a good candidate for the best answer.
(C) involves two incompatible conjunctions "While" and "and." In addition the modifier "the direction of the prevailing winds" seems to modify the phrase "at first."
(D) contains the multiple conjunctions "because" and "since." Although the conjunctions are not incompatible, they are redundant and one of them should be eliminated. Additionally, the pronoun "it" lacks an antecedent.
(E) Contains a subject "Hurricanes" but never provides a verb to go with it. In addition, the pronoun "this" lacks an antecedent.

rsarashi wrote:Hurricanes at first begin traveling from east to west, because that direction is the way the prevailing winds in the tropics blow, but they then veer off toward higher latitudes, in many cases changing direction toward the east before dissipating over the colder, more northerly waters or over land.

(A) Hurricanes at first begin traveling from east to west, because that direction is the way the prevailing winds in the tropics blow, but
(B) At first, hurricanes travel from east to west, because that is the direction of the prevailing winds in the tropics, but
(C) While hurricanes travel from east to west at first, the direction of the prevailing winds blowing in the tropics, and
(D) Because hurricanes at first travel from east to west, since it is the direction of the prevailing winds in the tropics,
(E) Hurricanes, beginning by traveling from east to west, because this is the direction of the prevailing winds in the tropics,

A: Hurricanes at first begin...because that direction is the way
Here, at first and begin are redundant, as are direction and way.
Eliminate A.

C lacks an independent clause.
The entire answer choice constitutes one long introductory while-modifier.
Eliminate C.

D: Because hurricanes travel at first from east to west, since it is the direction of the prevailing winds in the tropics, they then veer off toward higher latitudes.
Here, the implication is that traveling at first from east to west CAUSES hurricanes then to veer off.
The intention of the original sentence is to express not causation but CONTRAST, as follows:
AT FIRST, hurricanes travel from east to west, BUT they then veer off.
Also, a reader might wonder whether the since-clause modifies the preceding action (hurricanes travel at first) or the following action (they then veer off).
Eliminate D.

In E, hurricanes (subject) lacks a verb.
Eliminate E.

The correct answer is B.

C lacks an independent clause.
The entire answer choice constitutes one long introductory while-modifier.
Eliminate C.

Hi GMATGuruNY ,

Thank you so much for your reply sir.

Just a quick question. Can you please explain the role WHILE in option C? If there will be an independent clause, then the uses of WHILE will be fine?

Please explain.

rsarashi wrote:Hi GMATGuruNY ,

Thank you so much for your reply sir.

Just a quick question. Can you please explain the role WHILE in option C? If there will be an independent clause, then the uses of WHILE will be fine?

Please explain.

I do not agree that (C) is one long modifier. Modifiers are phrases, and phrases do not contain subjects and verbs. Since the initial part of (C) contains a subject and a verb (hurricanes travel), it is a clause. Thus, the problem with (C) is exactly as I outlined initially: It joins two complete sentences with two conjunctions. For example, the sentence:

Although John was late, but his boss wasn't angry with him.

...is wrong. You should not use both although and but. One or the other is sufficient. Similarly:

While John washed the car, and Mary made dinner.

...is wrong. Eliminate either while or and.


As for the proper usage of while, generally speaking, there are two uses. The first is to say that two things happen simultaneously:

While John washed the car, Mary made dinner (simultaneous actions).

The other use is to show contrast:

While John studied and earned an "A", Mary partied every night and failed the course.

elias.latour.apex wrote:Modifiers are phrases, and phrases do not contain subjects and verbs.

A clause can certainly serve as a modifier.
SC126 in the OG15:
The use of lie detectors is based on the assumption that lying produces emotional reactions.
Here, the portion in blue -- which contains a subject (lying) and a verb (produces) -- is an adjective serving to modify assumption.

I do not agree that (C) is one long modifier.

Generally, a dependent while-clause functions as an adverb modifying the main clause.
C: While hurricanes travel from east to west...and they then veer off toward higher latitudes...
Here, there is no main clause.
As a result, the entire answer choice seems to constitute one long, ill-constructed introductory adverbial modifier intended to lead to a main clause -- a main clause that never appears.

GMATGuruNY wrote:A clause can certainly serve as a modifier.
SC126 in the OG15:
The use of lie detectors is based on the assumption that lying produces emotional reactions.
Here, the portion in blue -- which contains a subject (lying) and a verb (produces) -- is an adjective serving to modify assumption.

The phrase in blue is not a modifier. It's a defining relative clause. That said, if the fiction that it is a modifier helps your students get the GMAT score they need, then more power to you.

elias.latour.apex wrote:

GMATGuruNY wrote:A clause can certainly serve as a modifier.
SC126 in the OG15:
The use of lie detectors is based on the assumption that lying produces emotional reactions.
Here, the portion in blue -- which contains a subject (lying) and a verb (produces) -- is an adjective serving to modify assumption.

The phrase in blue is not a modifier. It's a defining relative clause. That said, if the fiction that it is a modifier helps your students get the GMAT score they need, then more power to you.

Since a relative clause serves to modify a noun, it is generally considered a modifier -- not only by me but also by most grammar resources.
Grammar resources typically define a modifier as a word, phrase or clause that serves to describe another portion of the sentence.
A relative clause falls under this definition.

GMATGuruNY wrote:Hurricanes at first begin traveling from east to west, because that direction is the way the prevailing winds in the tropics blow, but they then veer off toward higher latitudes, in many cases changing direction toward the east before dissipating over the colder, more northerly waters or over land.

(B) At first, hurricanes travel from east to west, because that is the direction of the prevailing winds in the tropics, but
B.

Can the pronoun 'that' alone be used for relative pronoun on GMAT as used in Choice B.

that direction->okay
that boy->okay but 'that' is the direction' or ' that is the boy' seems to be very awkward for GMAT.

gocoder wrote:Can the pronoun 'that' alone be used for relative pronoun on GMAT as used in Choice B.

that can serve as a DEMONSTRATIVE pronoun.
A demonstrative pronoun refers to an antecedent noun or noun phrase and can stand alone.
Do not consider this usage an error, as long as the antecedent for that is clear.

OA: Hurricanes travel from east to west, because that is the direction of the prevailing winds in the tropics.
Here, that clearly serves to refer to east to west.
No other interpretation is possible.
Thus, this usage of that is acceptable.