Beavers

[BlueDragon2010]

Although beavers can still be found throughout the western United States, their number has declined compared with the eighteenth century, when the abundance of beavers lured armies of European trappers into the Rocky Mountain region to slaughter them for their pelts.

(A) their number has declined compared with

(B) their numbers have declined compared with

(C) their numbers have declined since

(D) their numbers have declined in comparison to those of

(E) the number of them declined since

[Patrick_GMATFix]

"their numbers" is the proper way to refer to the number of individuals in a population (idiomatic). In addition, only similar things can be compared so it doesn't make sense to write "their numbers have declined compared with the 18th century" (we cannot compare the number of beavers to the 18th century). The full solution below is taken from the GMATFix App.



-Patrick

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Hi BlueDragon2010,

This SC is based on a couple of standard grammar rules:

1) Modification - The opening phrase and comma (before the underlined portion begins) is a common way to test Modification. The opening phrase describes what comes directly after the comma - in this case, the reference to "beavers" describes "their numbers." Eliminate A and E.

2) Comparison - Comparison rules dictate that we must compare LIKE things. So if we're going to do a comparison, we must compare "number of beavers" to "number of beavers." Unfortunately, the words after the underlined portion are "the eighteenth century", so a direct comparison of "number" to "number" isn't possible. We'll need to choose an answer that describes how the number has "declined" since the eighteenth century. Eliminate B and D.

Final Answer: C

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich