ngk4mba3236 wrote:Many kitchens today are equipped with high-speed electrical gadgets, such as blenders and food processors, which are able to inflict as serious injuries as those caused by an industrial wood-planing machine.
(A) which are able to inflict as serious injuries as those
(B) which can inflict serious injuries such as those
(C) inflicting injuries as serious as that having been
(D) capable to inflict injuries as serious as that
(E) capable of inflicting injuries as serious as those
On the GMAT,
which + PLURAL VERB must serve to refer to the NEAREST PRECEDING PLURAL NOUN.
To my knowledge, no OA has deviated from this rule.
A:
food processors, which are able to inflict
Here,
which are (
which + plural verb) seems to refer to
food processors (the nearest preceding plural noun), implying that FOOD PROCESSORS are ABLE TO INFLICT injuries.
The intended meaning is that a specific subset of GADGETS can cause injuries, as in the OA:
Kitchens are equipped with high-speed electrical gadgets capable of inflicting injuries.
Food processors are merely an EXAMPLE of this type of high-speed electrical gadget.
Eliminate A.
If the verb attributed to
which can be singular or plural, the referent for
which must be the NEAREST PRECEDING NOUN.
To my knowledge, no OA has deviated from this rule.
B:
food processors, which can inflict
Here,
can inflict could be singular or plural.
As a result,
which can inflict seems to refer to
food processors, implying that FOOD PROCESSORS CAN INFLICT injuries.
The intended meaning is that a specific subset of GADGETS can cause injuries, as in the OA:
Kitchens are equipped with high-speed electrical gadgets capable of inflicting injuries.
Food processors are merely an EXAMPLE of this type of high-speed electrical gadget.
Eliminate B.
In C and D,
that lacks a singular referent.
Eliminate C and D.
The correct answer is
E.
Other errors in A:
On the GMAT, the words
able and
ability should not be ascribed to an inanimate object such as a food processor or a gadget.
A:
to inflict as serious injuries
Here, the portion in red would be appropriate to convey that something is inflicted in the form of a serious injury, as follows:
During the fight, John was able to inflict as serious injuries three very large gashes.
Not the intended meaning.
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