[700-800] level question

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voodoo_child: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 405; Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2011 1:44 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 3 times

by voodoo_child » Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:01 pm

While crocuses, when ingested, are poisonous and induce severe vomiting in some people, they are often fatal to others, whose immune systems are weakened by liver complications.

(A) they are often fatal to others, whose

(B) they are often fatal to others in that their

(C) for others, they are often fatal because their

(D) for some, it is often fatal in that their

(E) it can often be fatal to others, whose

Please post your answers with explanations, and then I will reply .....

Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:01 pm

garima99: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 217; Joined: Tue May 31, 2011 9:42 pmFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 8 times

by garima99 » Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:14 pm

IMO D

peelamedu: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 25; Joined: Sun May 22, 2011 11:10 pm; Thanked: 4 times

by peelamedu » Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:23 pm

E
Crocuses can't be referred to as 'they' in this context. So option A and B are eliminated.

Option C can be eliminated as the use of 'their' is not explicit to humans or the crocuses.

Both D & E are correct.
The usage of whose, while referring to immune system is more appropriate.
I'll go with E.

singh181: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 121; Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2009 8:44 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 9 times; GMAT Score:610

by singh181 » Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:30 pm

D and E pronoun issue. "it", singular, refers back to "Courcuses", plural.
B and C also make a pronoun issue in that "they" and "their" are ambiguous.

IMO A

Frankenstein: Legendary Member; Posts: 1448; Joined: Tue May 17, 2011 9:55 amFollowed by: 53 members; Location: India; Thanked: 375 times

by Frankenstein » Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:32 pm

Hi,
Crocuses is plural. So, 'it' cannot be used. D and E are out.
"in that" is used to explain the sense in which the preceding description is used.(Incorrect)
"because" is used to show cause-effect relationship.(Incorrect).
whose is used appropriately to refer to others while their is ambiguous in other options.

Hence, A .

Last edited by Frankenstein on Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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smackmartine: Legendary Member; Posts: 516; Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2009 3:22 pmFollowed by: 13 members; Thanked: 112 times

by smackmartine » Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:33 pm

IMO A

(A) they are often fatal to others, whose (parallel in structure to "While crocuses are poisonous and induce... ")

(B) they are often fatal to others in that their ("their" is ambiguous)

(C) for others, they are often fatal because their (awkward,ambiguous "their" could mean crocuses' immune systems are weakened by liver complications. )

(D) for some, it is often fatal in that their ("crocuses" plural so "they" is required, "their" could mean crocuses' immune systems are weakened by liver complications. )

(E) it can often be fatal to others, whose ("crocuses" plural so "they" is required)

voodoo_child: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 405; Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2011 1:44 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 3 times

by voodoo_child » Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:52 pm

All - in B) why is their ambiguous and "they" is not ambiguous ? .....

smackmartine: Legendary Member; Posts: 516; Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2009 3:22 pmFollowed by: 13 members; Thanked: 112 times

by smackmartine » Sun Jun 05, 2011 9:09 pm

voodoo_child wrote:All - in B) why is their ambiguous and "they" is not ambiguous ? .....

they are often fatal to others (some other people)"

"they" definitely cannot refer to "some people" ,because then it would mean "some people are often fatal to some other people". This is nonsensical. Moreover, I also pointed out that :

"crocuses are poisonous and induce severe vomiting in some people" and "they are often fatal to others" are parallel in structure.

"their" in few options appear far from two referents "crocuses" and "some people" , so "their" could refer to any of these.

Hope it's clear.

sanabk: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 174; Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 3:41 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 6 times

by sanabk » Sun Jun 05, 2011 9:13 pm

itsmebharat: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 150; Joined: Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:36 amFollowed by: 2 members; Location: gurgaon; Thanked: 8 times

by itsmebharat » Sun Jun 05, 2011 11:11 pm

IMO A

@smackmartine , has correctly identifies the errors in others...

I am not an Expert, please feel free to suggest if there is an error.

champmag: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 234; Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2011 5:02 amFollowed by: 3 members; Thanked: 5 times

by champmag » Sun Jun 05, 2011 11:42 pm

+1 for A

cans: Legendary Member; Posts: 1309; Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2011 5:34 amFollowed by: 123 members; Location: India; Thanked: 310 times; GMAT Score:750

by cans » Sun Jun 05, 2011 11:59 pm

+1 for A

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voodoo_child: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 405; Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2011 1:44 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 3 times

by voodoo_child » Mon Jun 06, 2011 5:31 am

Kudos to those who said A.

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