Spicy

[mmslf75]

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

[papgust]

If i'm not wrong, MGMAT says that pronoun referent error could be tolerable if that choice does not have any grammatical errors and if that choice does not distort its meaning. Further, other choices should NOT be error-free. If all the conditions are met, then we can probably ignore the pronoun referent error.

Guess I've answered your query.

[Mylogin]

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, make some people sweat is because they contain a chemical that stimulates the same nerve endings in the mouth as does a rise in temperature

I am bit confused here as option A is not same as the original sentence.

Assuming that there is a typo in option A, A is wrong as make should be used here and not makes, since "certain spicy foods" is plural.

[hrishi19884]

Yes, the original question and choice A looks to be different with word "makes" and "make".

But still D is the best choice.

[thephoenix]

a. 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 nerve endings in the mouth as does a rise in temperature.....(the reason that ...becoz...redundant)

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..( need plural verb)...needs as

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
correct
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 ...........redundant

[lunarpower]

hi -

i think the best approach, regarding pronoun ambiguity, is simply to realize that pronoun ambiguity is not an absolute rule, and to use it as a last-ditch effort.
i.e., don't eliminate anything based on pronoun ambiguity unless
* (a) the pronoun clearly points to the wrong noun (i.e., is grammatically parallel to the wrong noun, and NOT grammatically parallel to the intended noun -- see #68 in the second edition verbal supplement / #71 in the first edition verbal supplement).
OR
* (b) you simply can't find any other basis on which to eliminate choices.

they are all over the map with regard to pronoun ambiguity. there are even problems like this one from GMATPREP --
https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/pos ... tml#p35595
...in which the pronoun ambiguity is allowed, even though the pronoun isn't grammatically parallel to the intended antecedent.

sigh... i wish we could be more definitive here. in fact, WE are still learning exactly where these people stand on this issue... stay tuned.

[mmslf75]

hi -

i think the best approach, regarding pronoun ambiguity, is simply to realize that pronoun ambiguity is not an absolute rule, and to use it as a last-ditch effort.
i.e., don't eliminate anything based on pronoun ambiguity unless
* (a) the pronoun clearly points to the wrong noun (i.e., is grammatically parallel to the wrong noun, and NOT grammatically parallel to the intended noun -- see #68 in the second edition verbal supplement / #71 in the first edition verbal supplement).
OR
* (b) you simply can't find any other basis on which to eliminate choices.

they are all over the map with regard to pronoun ambiguity. there are even problems like this one from GMATPREP --
https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/pos ... tml#p35595
...in which the pronoun ambiguity is allowed, even though the pronoun isn't grammatically parallel to the intended antecedent.

sigh... i wish we could be more definitive here. in fact, WE are still learning exactly where these people stand on this issue... stay tuned.

Thanks RON, wonderful explanation out there on MGMATforum

I am with you on this one.!!

"sigh... i wish we could be more definitive here. in fact, WE are still learning exactly where these people stand on this issue... stay tuned."

Same applies to option E (correct one in OG 12 question 6th)

Here, the author uses THEM in C and D and says that THEM refers to tourists illogically
But with E, THEM seems not to be an issue

Am i getting it right Ron ?!

[lunarpower]

Same applies to option E (correct one in OG 12 question 6th)

Here, the author uses THEM in C and D and says that THEM refers to tourists illogically
But with E, THEM seems not to be an issue

Am i getting it right Ron ?!

heh. yeah.

i've found that the OG sentence correction explanations are, in general, just not very good. in some places, they are downright inconsistent. (by contrast, most of the problems themselves are quite well written.)

i see what you mean.
in that problem, though, you shouldn't have to worry about the pronoun issue; you should be able to eliminate (b), (c), and (d) fairly quickly (flagrant non-parallelism at the end of the sentence).

[kissthegmat]

D is correct answer.

A and B are also wrong because of S - V agreement issue. The Reason ............ makes some people sweat ------> Wrong construction.

It's not "the reason" that "makes some people sweat" but "spicy foods" do. Spicy foods is plural so we need MAKE here. We can down this to C D and E.

C is out for changing the meaning change.

In choice E, The reason that ...... because is wrong.

Answer is D.

[Andijansky]

seems like C

[amitakalra88]

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

The part in bold has not been mentioned in the original sentence?!
Is (d) still the correct answer?

[Vorskl]

My option is E
I am surprised by D: it's the only option where we talk not only about a mouth, but also about a tongue. Is not this a signal of something wrong with the answer, if new information appears in it???

[aizen]

A and B are eliminated for subject agreement "makes".

C is eliminated for wrong use of "like".

D talks about tongue which modify the original sentence.

E is concise and grammatical correct. E is the correct answer choice.

[mithilesh.vnit85]

(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
S-V agreement error

(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
S-V agreement error

(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

Incorrect usage of like...

(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
Correct

(E) The reason that certain spicy foods, such as the Habanero pepper, make some people sweat is because they contain a chemical [spoiler]that stimulates the same nerves in the mouth as does a rise in temperature
[/spoiler]

If we hide two clause, the main sentence is awkward and illogical. Hence E is wrong.

[ugoyal]

IMO the answer is D.

All other options either have a subject-verb agreement or they have a pronoun with a wrong antecedent