Sentence Correction

theCodeToGMAT wrote:{A} - CORRECT
{B} - INCORRECT; "their"
{C} - INCORRECT; "that" is preferred as per the requirement..
{D} - INCORRECT; "that" is preferred as per the requirement..
{E} - INCORRECT; "their"

Is it [spoiler]{A}[/spoiler]?

Mike@Magoosh wrote:Dear sahilchaudhary,

I'm happy to help. This is question # 92 from the Verbal Review - 2nd Edition of the Official Guide - Sentence Correction (page 310).

Split #1: restrictive vs. non-restrictive clauses. See:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/that-vs-which-on-the-gmat/
The modifier following snails is not set off by a comma, so it must be a restrictive modifier, and for the GMAT, we must use "that", not "which". Choice (C) & (D) & (E) make this mistake.

Split #2: the pronoun before "life cycle" seems to refer to the "parasitic worm", not the "freshwater snail." It's true, the word "parasite" appears in the possessive, so it would not be a proper antecedent for a pronoun, but earlier in the sentence, "a parasitic worm" is mentioned. That's singular, so the pronoun must be singular. Choice (A) & (C) get this correct. For more on pronouns, see:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2013/gmat-pronoun-traps/

It would seem the answer is [spoiler](A)[/spoiler], which is what they list as the OA.

Could one argue that maybe they are talking about the snail's life cycle, not the worm's life cycle? Perhaps. It seems to me that the question does not provide conclusive evidence that we should choose the latter over the former. Perhaps choice (D) is meant to communicate this, but it would be highly unusually for a crucial ambiguity to be resolved only in one of the answer choices, a choice other than (A). I suspect this question would not pass the vetting process to make it all the way to the real GMAT. For an official question, this contains a rare instance of ambiguity affecting answer choice.

Does all this make sense?

Mike

sahilchaudhary wrote:Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in hot, humid climates, and it has become more widespread as irrigation projects have enlarged the habitat of the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle.

(A) the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle
(B) the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts in part of their life cycle
(C) freshwater snails which become the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycles
(D) freshwater snails which become the hosts of the parasite during the parasite's life cycles
(E) parasite's hosts, freshwater snails which become their hosts during their life cycles

Mike@Magoosh wrote:

sahilchaudhary wrote:Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in hot, humid climates, and it has become more widespread as irrigation projects have enlarged the habitat of the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle.

(A) the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle
(B) the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts in part of their life cycle
(C) freshwater snails which become the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycles
(D) freshwater snails which become the hosts of the parasite during the parasite's life cycles
(E) parasite's hosts, freshwater snails which become their hosts during their life cycles

OA will be posted later.
I have read the explanations provided for this question on this site, but not satisfied with that.
Expert help is deeply appreciated.

Dear sahilchaudhary,

I'm happy to help. This is question # 92 from the Verbal Review - 2nd Edition of the Official Guide - Sentence Correction (page 310).

Split #1: restrictive vs. non-restrictive clauses. See:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/that-vs-which-on-the-gmat/
The modifier following snails is not set off by a comma, so it must be a restrictive modifier, and for the GMAT, we must use "that", not "which". Choice (C) & (D) & (E) make this mistake.

Split #2: the pronoun before "life cycle" seems to refer to the "parasitic worm", not the "freshwater snail." It's true, the word "parasite" appears in the possessive, so it would not be a proper antecedent for a pronoun, but earlier in the sentence, "a parasitic worm" is mentioned. That's singular, so the pronoun must be singular. Choice (A) & (C) get this correct. For more on pronouns, see:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2013/gmat-pronoun-traps/

It would seem the answer is [spoiler](A)[/spoiler], which is what they list as the OA.

Could one argue that maybe they are talking about the snail's life cycle, not the worm's life cycle? Perhaps. It seems to me that the question does not provide conclusive evidence that we should choose the latter over the former. Perhaps choice (D) is meant to communicate this, but it would be highly unusually for a crucial ambiguity to be resolved only in one of the answer choices, a choice other than (A). I suspect this question would not pass the vetting process to make it all the way to the real GMAT. For an official question, this contains a rare instance of ambiguity affecting answer choice.

Does all this make sense?

Mike

Winner2013 wrote:Sorry to refer to an old question,but I have a query. In option A - it feels like 'its' is ambiguous. Can someone please explain how it refers to parasite because parasite is used in possessive form right before 'its'.

Thanks,
Pooja

Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasitic worm, is prevalent in hot, humid climates, and it has become more widespread as irrigation projects have enlarged the habitat of the freshwater snails that are the parasite's hosts for part of its life cycle

Mike@Magoosh wrote:

Resp007 wrote:If any one can please comment on the split between options A and B, i.e. between "hosts for" vs "hosts in" ?

Dear Resp007,
I'm happy to help.

That's a false split. Those two ways of saying this are both perfectly fine, and they mean the same thing.
hosts in part of their lifecycle
hosts for part of their lifecycle
Both of these denote that part of the lifecycle is the time when the snails are the hosts.
Does this make sense?
Mike