shark-one more good question

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pradeepkaushal9518: Legendary Member; Posts: 1309; Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:41 pm; Thanked: 33 times; Followed by:5 members

shark-one more good question

by pradeepkaushal9518 » Sat May 22, 2010 12:08 am

Only seven people this century have been killed by the great white shark, the man-eater of the movies-less than those killed by bee stings.

a. movies-less than those
b. movies-fewer than have been
c. movies, which is less than those
d. movies, a number lower than the people
e. movies, fewer than the ones

plz explain

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Sat May 22, 2010 12:08 am

jitendra_mulchandani: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 37; Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 11:43 am; Thanked: 2 times

by jitendra_mulchandani » Sat May 22, 2010 12:19 am

IMO B.

The sentence is trying to compare the number of people killed by the two animals...

a. movies-less than those - people killed can be counted.
b. movies-fewer than have been - Correct and parallel
c. movies, which is less than those - same as A
d. movies, a number lower than the people - This is comparing the number with people, incorrect
e. movies, fewer than the ones - comparing number with people, incorrect

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Patrick_GMATFix: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1052; Joined: Fri May 21, 2010 1:30 am; Thanked: 335 times; Followed by:98 members

by Patrick_GMATFix » Sat May 22, 2010 11:13 pm

Essentially, because we're discussing the number of people killed, we must use "fewer" rather than "less". This leaves us with B or E. Get rid of the junk between the two commas and consider this:

B) 7 ppl have been killed by the shark--fewer than have been killed by bees
E) 7 ppl have been killed by the shark.., fewer than the ones killed by bees.

Since this sentence is making a comparaison, parallel structurs should be maintained. B does the better job, so it's correct.

To better understand, have a look at a detailed solution: This is GMATPrep question 2225

If you have trouble with this type of question, use the Solutions Engine to identify and study similar questions from GMATPrep

-Patrick

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concept: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 58; Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 5:26 am; Thanked: 2 times; GMAT Score:770

by concept » Sun May 23, 2010 4:28 am

Can someone please explain the logic behind using a hyphen. I understand that placement of modifier is not right in E.

Also can some one tell me whether the sentence would be correct if it were like this,

'Only seven people, fewer than those killed by bees, were killed by sharks.'

I suspect 2 problems here - one with the usage/placement of the modifier and the other with the comaprision[whether '7 people' can be comapred to 'those killed by bees'].

Changed wrongly typed D to E

Last edited by concept on Sun May 23, 2010 11:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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ansumania: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 301; Joined: Sun Mar 21, 2010 3:18 pm; Thanked: 4 times

by ansumania » Sun May 23, 2010 8:52 pm

IMO E;

a. movies-less than those : apositive should be separated by comma on both sides
b. movies-fewer than have been : apositive should be separated by comma on both sides
c. movies, which is less than those :wrongly modifies shark
d. movies, a number lower than the people : no. compared to people
e. movies, fewer than the ones

OA pl.......

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paes: Legendary Member; Posts: 995; Joined: Tue Apr 13, 2010 11:56 pm; Thanked: 31 times; Followed by:1 members

by paes » Tue May 25, 2010 12:06 am

IMO E

OA plz

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pradeepkaushal9518: Legendary Member; Posts: 1309; Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:41 pm; Thanked: 33 times; Followed by:5 members

by pradeepkaushal9518 » Tue May 25, 2010 3:33 am

Oa is C

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Patrick_GMATFix: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1052; Joined: Fri May 21, 2010 1:30 am; Thanked: 335 times; Followed by:98 members

by Patrick_GMATFix » Tue May 25, 2010 7:26 am

pradeepkaushal9518 wrote:Only seven people this century have been killed by the great white shark, the man-eater of the movies-less than those killed by bee stings.

a. movies-less than those
b. movies-fewer than have been
c. movies, which is less than those
d. movies, a number lower than the people
e. movies, fewer than the ones

pradeepkaushal9518 wrote:Oa is C

Thanks for posting the question and the OA Pradeep. Please check the OA again to be sure. Answer C has 2 really big problems:

"which" incorrectly modifies shark (or possibly "the man-eater of the movies") instead of the # of people killed (relative pronouns attach themselves to whatever is close)