Sentence Correction

lunarpower wrote:

CaptainM wrote:In the options A and C the usage of "the" is wrong because the term- "pension liabilities"- is not stated earlier in the sentence.("the growing pension liabilities")

(A)the growing pension liabilities; this leads

(C)the growth in their pension liabilities, which leads

So Why the usage of "the" is right in the OA(E) of a different question:

Five hundred million different species of living creatures have appeared on Earth,
nearly 99 percent of them vanishing.


D. Of five hundred million different species of living creatures that have appeared on
Earth, nearly 99 percent of them have vanished.

E. Of the five hundred million different species of living creatures that have appeared on
Earth, nearly 99 percent have vanished.(OA)

first, before we start this discussion:
i've NEVER seen an official problem on which the word "the" was explicitly tested.
in other words, in all the hundreds and hundreds of official problems that i've seen for this test, not a single one has required the student to master the uses of articles. in fact, now that i think about it, i don't think i've seen any of the articles (a, an, the) tested in official problems.
therefore, all of the following discussion should be regarded as "enrichment topics".

lunarpower wrote:

papgust wrote:I'm not sure what exactly you are asking, but iamcste has stated the correct reason in my opinion.

actually it's possible for "which" in (c) to refer to the noun phrase "growth in their pension liabilities".

here's the basic summary:
if you have "X + preposition + Y, which..."
then:
* if Y works (in terms of both grammar and common sense) as the antecedent of "which", then "which" should stand for Y.
* if Y doesn't work as the antecedent, but "X + prep + Y" DOES work, then "which" can stand for "X (+ prep + Y)".

see this problem for an example of the latter.

this problem fits the same template, so it's quite possible that this "which" would be allowed. (that answer choice still has other issues, though.)

Hi Ron,

Got your point.Gr8 Explanation!!!
Please explain the role of "Which" in the following MGMAT question

The coloration of insects can serve as camouflage, as in the case of green insects that spend their lives in or near foliage, or to warn predators, as in the case of insects colored in yellow and black, which often signals that it is poisonous.

(c)or as a warning to predators, as in the case of insects bearing a combination of yellow and black, which often signals that they are poisonous. (OA)