Sentence Correction

An interior decorator that specializes in color claims from a one-hour interview with her clients that he can determine which colors will create the best atmosphere for the inhabitants of the space.

A. from a one-hour interview with her clients that he can determine

B. from a one-hour interview with her clients he has the ability of determining

C. the ability, from a one-hour interview with her clients, of determining

D. to be able, from a one-hour interview with her clients, to determine

E. being able to access, from a one-hour interview with her clients,

OA - D

Please explain..!!

First off, I imagine that the genders actually agree? That it's "she" throughout?

The basics of this sentence are "An interior decorator claims ___________."

You can't claim FROM something. You can claim TO DO something, you can claim THAT something, you can claim A NOUN, but you cannot claim FROM something. Eliminate A and B.

the ability...of determining is not correct. Idiomatically, it's the ability TO determine (not -ing). Eliminate C

E has the dangerous "being", and you cannot claims being--that makes zero sense, eliminate E.

**

As for D, erase what's between the commas and the prepositional clauses and you have a lovely sentence:

An interior decorator...claims to be able...to determine which colors will create the best atmosphere.



Good luck!
Brightwinds

sKazi wrote:An interior decorator that specializes in color claims from a one-hour interview with her clients that he can determine which colors will create the best atmosphere for the inhabitants of the space.

A. from a one-hour interview with her clients that he can determine we cannot say claims from in this context

B. from a one-hour interview with her clients he has the ability of determining we cannot say claims from in this context

C. the ability, from a one-hour interview with her clients, of determining we cannot say claims the ability of determining. It must be the ability TO determine

D. to be able, from a one-hour interview with her clients, to determine This is correct because it use the form to be able to determine correctly

E. being able to access, from a one-hour interview with her clients, on the GMAT the form being is almost always incorrect

If we would have said "claims that from a one hour..." that would have been correct. Does this answer you question? Please ask if you have others.

looks like it is infinitive vs gerund.

Can someone please throw some deeper insights on C vs D,i.e.,
the ability of determining vs to be able to determine.

confuse mind wrote:looks like it is infinitive vs gerund.

Can someone please throw some deeper insights on C vs D,i.e.,
the ability of determining vs to be able to determine.

The ability of determining is a grammatical stretch. We have the ability to do something. Others have said it before, so I'm just repeating that it's most idiomatic to say it this way.

sKazi wrote:An interior decorator that specializes in color claims from a one-hour interview with her clients that he can determine which colors will create the best atmosphere for the inhabitants of the space.

A. from a one-hour interview with her clients that he can determine

B. from a one-hour interview with her clients he has the ability of determining

C. the ability, from a one-hour interview with her clients, of determining

D. to be able, from a one-hour interview with her clients, to determine

E. being able to access, from a one-hour interview with her clients,

OA - D

Please explain..!!

The idiom is claims to be able,( ........... ),to determine .

Straight D