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1000 Sc's question 53

by manishankar » Fri Jul 23, 2010 4:10 am
53. According to the National Pasta Association, per-capita consumption of pasta in the United States, which has already been approaching 19 pounds a year, will achieve 30 pounds a year by the twenty-first century.
(A) According to the National Pasta Association, per-capita consumption of pasta in the United States, which has already been approaching 19 pounds a year, will achieve 30 pounds a year by the twenty-first century.
(B) Already approaching 19 pounds a year in the United States, the National Pasta Association predicts that per-capita consumption of pasta will reach 30 pounds a year by the twenty-first century.
(C) The National Pasta association predicts by the twenty-first century that per-capita consumption of pasta in the United States, which is already approaching 19 pounds a year, will reach 30 pounds a year.
(D) By the twenty-first century, the National Pasta Association predicts that per-capita consumption of pasta in the United States, having already approached 19 pounds a year, will reach 30 pounds a year.
(E) According to the National Pasta Association, per-capita consumption of pasta in the United States is already approaching 19 pounds a year and will reach 30 pounds a year by the twenty-first century.

Correct answer is E, can someone highlight the probelm with option A

Regards,
Mani
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by indiantiger » Fri Jul 23, 2010 4:33 am
(A) According to the National Pasta Association, per-capita consumption of pasta in the United States, which has already been approaching 19 pounds a year, will achieve 30 pounds a year by the twenty-first century.

The placement of which is wrong it seems to be referring to United states. In this case "which" should refer to consumption.

I hope this helps.
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by manishankar » Fri Jul 23, 2010 4:41 am
Thanks, yes that answers my question

Regards,
Mani
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by dinesh19aug » Thu Aug 12, 2010 7:18 pm
Adding more to the discussion -
- "Which" should always refer to "animals or things" and never for people.
- Which should always reer to the noun immediately preceding it.
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by paes » Thu Aug 12, 2010 9:40 pm
Can somebody put more light on 'why A is wrong'.

According to the National Pasta Association, per-capita consumption of pasta in the United States, which has already been approaching 19 pounds a year, will achieve 30 pounds a year by the twenty-first century.

'which' can refer to ', per-capita consumption of pasta' here.

' per-capita consumption of pasta' is a preposition phrase here. So which can refer to it. I don't find any problem here.
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by dinesh19aug » Fri Aug 13, 2010 6:23 am
paes wrote:Can somebody put more light on 'why A is wrong'.

According to the National Pasta Association, per-capita consumption of pasta in the United States, which has already been approaching 19 pounds a year, will achieve 30 pounds a year by the twenty-first century.

'which' can refer to ', per-capita consumption of pasta' here.

' per-capita consumption of pasta' is a preposition phrase here. So which can refer to it. I don't find any problem here.
paes,
The issue with A is that which here is referring to United States. As I mentioned earlier, which should always be preceded by the noun it is referring. Here It is the consumption which us reaching 19 pounds a year and US.

Other way to fix this issue is if we say - "According to the National Pasta Association, per-capita consumption of pasta in the United States's, which has ..........."[/i]
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by paes » Fri Aug 13, 2010 9:51 am
Dinesh,

which always refer to the noun just proceeding it : Not always true.

which can refer to a noun that is before the preposition also.
you ca find many examples in BTG or in OG also.
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by mundasingh123 » Fri Aug 13, 2010 11:18 am
paes wrote:Dinesh,

which always refer to the noun just proceeding it : Not always true.

which can refer to a noun that is before the preposition also.
you ca find many examples in BTG or in OG also.
which can modify a noun phrase too and the noun need not be close to which.
The clue lies in the fact that "has already been approaching"
Ram has been approaching washington.It sounds awkward.can someone point out whats wrong when we say this?
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by GMATGuruNY » Fri Aug 13, 2010 11:28 am
manishankar wrote:53. According to the National Pasta Association, per-capita consumption of pasta in the United States, which has already been approaching 19 pounds a year, will achieve 30 pounds a year by the twenty-first century.
In A, which lacks a clear antecedent.
The INTENDED antecedent is consumption, but the CLOSEST preceding singular noun is United States.
Since other answer choices avoid this confusion, we should eliminate A.
Also, achieve is the wrong word. Consumption can REACH 30 pounds per year, but it cannot achieve it.

I'm troubled by the OA, however:

According to the National Pasta Association, per-capita consumption of pasta in the United States is already approaching 19 pounds a year and will reach 30 pounds a year by the twenty-first century.

Here, we have two future events, one (reaching 30 pounds per year) completed before the other (the arrival of the twenty-first century).
Thus, the FUTURE PERFECT is needed:

By the twenty-first century, per-capita consumption of pasta WILL HAVE REACHED 30 pounds per year.

What is the source of this question?
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by mundasingh123 » Fri Aug 13, 2010 11:48 pm
GMATGuruNY wrote:
manishankar wrote:53. According to the National Pasta Association, per-capita consumption of pasta in the United States, which has already been approaching 19 pounds a year, will achieve 30 pounds a year by the twenty-first century.
The problem with the pronoun which is that we don't know whether it refers to the United States, to pasta, or to consumption. If it's not clear what noun is being replaced by a pronoun, we should eliminate the answer choice. Also, achieve is the wrong word. Consumption can reach 30 pounds per year, but it cannot achieve it.

I'm troubled by E, however:

(E) According to the National Pasta Association, per-capita consumption of pasta in the United States is already approaching 19 pounds a year and will reach 30 pounds a year by the twenty-first century.

The verb will reach really should be in the future perfect tense (will have reached) because the sentence describes two future events, and one future event (reaching 30 pounds a year) is being completed before the other future event (the coming of the twenty-first century):

per-capita consumption...will have reached 30 pounds a year by the twenty-first century .

What is the source of this question?
Thanks mitch
Its from a collection of 1000 SC's created by someone.
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