In 2000, a mere two dozen products accounted for half the increase in spending on prescription drugs, a phenomenon that is explained not just because of more expensive drugs but by the fact that doctors are writing many more prescriptions for higher-cost drugs.
A. a phenomenon that is explained not just because of more expensive drugs but by the fact that doctors are writing
B. a phenomenon that is explained not just by the fact that drugs are becoming more expensive but also by the fact that doctors are writing
C. a phenomenon occurring not just because of drugs that are becoming more expensive but because of doctors having also written
D. which occurred not just because drugs are becoming more expensive but doctors are also writing
E. which occurred not just because of more expensive drugs but because doctors have also written
Can someone explain me what is wrong with option C
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OG - SC Question 86
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Mission2012
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Hi Mission2012,
In answer C, there are a couple of problems:
1) The two phrases aren't parallel: "drugs that ARE BECOMING more expensive"...."doctors HAVING also written." The verb phrases don't match.
2) The word "also" is redundant.
The phrases need to be parallel and we have to avoid any redundancy. The correct answer is B.
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In answer C, there are a couple of problems:
1) The two phrases aren't parallel: "drugs that ARE BECOMING more expensive"...."doctors HAVING also written." The verb phrases don't match.
2) The word "also" is redundant.
The phrases need to be parallel and we have to avoid any redundancy. The correct answer is B.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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not just because of drugs but because of doctors.Mission2012 wrote: C. a phenomenon occurring not just because of drugs that are becoming more expensive but because of doctors having also written
Can someone explain me what is wrong with option C
Not the intended meaning.
The phenomenon is occurring not because of the drugs and the doctors themselves but because of what the drugs and the doctors are DOING.
not just is the equivalent of not only and must be followed by but also.
doctors having also written.
NOUN + HAVING + past participle is always incorrect.
also is misplaced: here, it must immediately follow but to form the idiom not just X but also Y.
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sinsofgmat
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In option D and E, isn't there a problem with usage of "which" to refer back the entire clause preceding the comma.Mission2012 wrote:In 2000, a mere two dozen products accounted for half the increase in spending on prescription drugs, a phenomenon that is explained not just because of more expensive drugs but by the fact that doctors are writing many more prescriptions for higher-cost drugs.
A. a phenomenon that is explained not just because of more expensive drugs but by the fact that doctors are writing
B. a phenomenon that is explained not just by the fact that drugs are becoming more expensive but also by the fact that doctors are writing
C. a phenomenon occurring not just because of drugs that are becoming more expensive but because of doctors having also written
D. which occurred not just because drugs are becoming more expensive but doctors are also writing
E. which occurred not just because of more expensive drugs but because doctors have also written
Can someone explain me what is wrong with option C
In option C, isn't the tense of modifier "a phenomenon occurring" incorrect?
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Hi sinsofgmat,
Yes, all of the examples that you noted are errors in their respective answer choices.
The word "which" can be used as a pronoun, although it's a rarer issue on the GMAT. In this sentence it's improper to use any pronoun in that spot since there's nothing for the pronoun to refer to (so D and E have the same immediate problem).
Answer C has a couple of problems, including the one that you noted. I was drawn more to the non-parallel elements than to the incorrect use of "occurring."
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Yes, all of the examples that you noted are errors in their respective answer choices.
The word "which" can be used as a pronoun, although it's a rarer issue on the GMAT. In this sentence it's improper to use any pronoun in that spot since there's nothing for the pronoun to refer to (so D and E have the same immediate problem).
Answer C has a couple of problems, including the one that you noted. I was drawn more to the non-parallel elements than to the incorrect use of "occurring."
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Rich
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Hello Everyone!
Let's tackle this question, one problem at a time, and narrow it down to the correct answer! First, here is the original question with any major differences between the options highlighted in orange:
In 2000, a mere two dozen products accounted for half the increase in spending on prescription drugs, a phenomenon that is explained not just because of more expensive drugs but by the fact that doctors are writing many more prescriptions for higher-cost drugs.
(A) a phenomenon that is explained not just because of more expensive drugs but by the fact that doctors are writing
(B) a phenomenon that is explained not just by the fact that drugs are becoming more expensive but also by the fact that doctors are writing
(C) a phenomenon occurring not just because of drugs that are becoming more expensive but because of doctors having also written
(D) which occurred not just because drugs are becoming more expensive but doctors are also writing
(E) which occurred not just because of more expensive drugs but because doctors have also written
While there are a lot of differences between the options, there are a couple glaring differences we can focus on to start:
1. not just... / but... (Idioms)
2. are writing / having also written / are also writing / have also written (Verb Tense & Meaning)
Let's start with #1 on our list: idiom structure. Here is a quick breakdown of the idiom we're using here, and which forms of it are acceptable:
not just X, but also Y = GOOD
not just X, but Y = GOOD
Remember that in any idiom that includes X and Y, they both MUST use parallel structure! Let's take a closer look at each option, and rule out any that don't use the idiom or parallelism correctly:
(A) a phenomenon that is explained not just because of more expensive drugs but by the fact that doctors are writing --> NOT PARALLEL
(B) a phenomenon that is explained not just by the fact that drugs are becoming more expensive but also by the fact that doctors are writing --> PARALLEL
(C) a phenomenon occurring not just because of drugs that are becoming more expensive but because of doctors having also written --> PARALLEL
(D) which occurred not just because drugs are becoming more expensive but doctors are also writing --> NOT PARALLEL
(E) which occurred not just because of more expensive drugs but because doctors have also written --> NOT PARALLEL
We can eliminate options A, D, & E because they don't use parallel structure within the idiom we're using here.
Now that we've narrowed it down to only 2 options, let's tackle #2 on our list: verb tense & meaning. Read over each option carefully, and make sure that the meaning is clear and logical:
(B) a phenomenon that is explained not just by the fact that drugs are becoming more expensive but also by the fact that doctors are writing
This is CORRECT! The idiom "not just X, but also Y" is used correctly and has parallel structure throughout. The verb "are writing" is also clear and makes sense here logically.
(C) a phenomenon occurring not just because of drugs that are becoming more expensive but because of doctors having also written
This is INCORRECT. While the idiom is used correctly, and it uses parallel structure, there's a problem with the verb at the end. By adding in the word "also," the sentence now suggests that the doctors did more than one thing - but we don't know what the other thing is! WHAT did they do in addition to writing prescriptions? It's unclear, so let's rule this out because it's not logical to say doctors "also" did something when we only see one action in the sentence.
There you have it - option B is the correct choice! By focusing on the simple, yet obvious differences first, we were able to narrow down our options significantly to make the process go quickly!
Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
Let's tackle this question, one problem at a time, and narrow it down to the correct answer! First, here is the original question with any major differences between the options highlighted in orange:
In 2000, a mere two dozen products accounted for half the increase in spending on prescription drugs, a phenomenon that is explained not just because of more expensive drugs but by the fact that doctors are writing many more prescriptions for higher-cost drugs.
(A) a phenomenon that is explained not just because of more expensive drugs but by the fact that doctors are writing
(B) a phenomenon that is explained not just by the fact that drugs are becoming more expensive but also by the fact that doctors are writing
(C) a phenomenon occurring not just because of drugs that are becoming more expensive but because of doctors having also written
(D) which occurred not just because drugs are becoming more expensive but doctors are also writing
(E) which occurred not just because of more expensive drugs but because doctors have also written
While there are a lot of differences between the options, there are a couple glaring differences we can focus on to start:
1. not just... / but... (Idioms)
2. are writing / having also written / are also writing / have also written (Verb Tense & Meaning)
Let's start with #1 on our list: idiom structure. Here is a quick breakdown of the idiom we're using here, and which forms of it are acceptable:
not just X, but also Y = GOOD
not just X, but Y = GOOD
Remember that in any idiom that includes X and Y, they both MUST use parallel structure! Let's take a closer look at each option, and rule out any that don't use the idiom or parallelism correctly:
(A) a phenomenon that is explained not just because of more expensive drugs but by the fact that doctors are writing --> NOT PARALLEL
(B) a phenomenon that is explained not just by the fact that drugs are becoming more expensive but also by the fact that doctors are writing --> PARALLEL
(C) a phenomenon occurring not just because of drugs that are becoming more expensive but because of doctors having also written --> PARALLEL
(D) which occurred not just because drugs are becoming more expensive but doctors are also writing --> NOT PARALLEL
(E) which occurred not just because of more expensive drugs but because doctors have also written --> NOT PARALLEL
We can eliminate options A, D, & E because they don't use parallel structure within the idiom we're using here.
Now that we've narrowed it down to only 2 options, let's tackle #2 on our list: verb tense & meaning. Read over each option carefully, and make sure that the meaning is clear and logical:
(B) a phenomenon that is explained not just by the fact that drugs are becoming more expensive but also by the fact that doctors are writing
This is CORRECT! The idiom "not just X, but also Y" is used correctly and has parallel structure throughout. The verb "are writing" is also clear and makes sense here logically.
(C) a phenomenon occurring not just because of drugs that are becoming more expensive but because of doctors having also written
This is INCORRECT. While the idiom is used correctly, and it uses parallel structure, there's a problem with the verb at the end. By adding in the word "also," the sentence now suggests that the doctors did more than one thing - but we don't know what the other thing is! WHAT did they do in addition to writing prescriptions? It's unclear, so let's rule this out because it's not logical to say doctors "also" did something when we only see one action in the sentence.
There you have it - option B is the correct choice! By focusing on the simple, yet obvious differences first, we were able to narrow down our options significantly to make the process go quickly!
Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
