Sentence Correction

mmslf75 wrote:The reason that certain spicy foods, such as the Habanero pepper, makes some people sweat is because they contain a chemical that stimulates the same nerve endings in the mouth as does a rise in temperature; this stimulation sometimes results in the activation of certain biological cooling mechanisms, one of which is perspiration.

a. The reason that certain spicy foods, such as the Habanero pepper, makes some people sweat is because they contain a chemical that stimulates the same nerve endings in the mouth as does a rise in temperature

b. The reason that certain spicy foods, such as the Habanero pepper, makes some people sweat is that these foods contain a chemical that stimulates the same nerves in the mouth like a rise in temperature

c. Certain spicy foods, such as the Habanero pepper, make some people sweat because they contain a chemical that stimulates the same nerves in the mouth like a rise in temperature does

d. The reason that certain spicy foods, such as the Habanero pepper, make some people sweat is that these foods contain a chemical that stimulates the same nerves in the mouth and on the tongue as does a rise in temperature

e. The reason that certain spicy foods, such as the Habanero pepper, make some people sweat is because they contain a chemical that stimulates the same nerves in the mouth as does a rise in temperature


OA is D




Its mentioned in MGMAT forum that Pronoun ambiguity is tolerable to some extent on GMAT

Why A is rejected here ?

Are we looking at multiple errors for rejecting A...
MGMAT explanation says
the pronoun "they" has an ambiguous referent: it could refer either to "foods" or "people." and 2 other errors


Query is : If were to have only this pronoun error then would A be the right choice??


Source MGMAT CAT 3

Hi, I am happy to help. This is a question testing a few concepts - Redundancy, Subject-Verb Agreement, and Like/As. Let us go through the options:

a. The reason that certain spicy foods, such as the Habanero pepper, makes some people sweat is because they contain a chemical that stimulates the same nerve endings in the mouth as does a rise in temperature - "The reason" and "because" in the same construction is redundant; "Certain spicy foods" is plural, so the singular verb "makes" is incorrect.

b. The reason that certain spicy foods, such as the Habanero pepper, makes some people sweat is that these foods contain a chemical that stimulates the same nerves in the mouth like a rise in temperature - "Like" is incorrect, we need "as" to compare actions. Since "like" can only compare nouns, option B illogically compares "nerves in mouth" with "a rise in temperature". Additionally, "Certain spicy foods" is plural, so the singular verb "makes" is incorrect

c. Certain spicy foods, such as the Habanero pepper, make some people sweat because they contain a chemical that stimulates the same nerves in the mouth like a rise in temperature does - same as B, "like" is incorrect for comparing actions; Also "like" - or any preposition - cannot be followed by a verb.

d. The reason that certain spicy foods, such as the Habanero pepper, make some people sweat is that these foods contain a chemical that stimulates the same nerves in the mouth and on the tongue as does a rise in temperature - this is correct, and rectifies the issues discussed above wrt redundancy, subject-verb agreement, and the usage of "as".

e. The reason that certain spicy foods, such as the Habanero pepper, make some people sweat is because they contain a chemical that stimulates the same nerves in the mouth as does a rise in temperature - same as A

Hope this makes things clearer.