"which amounts to...." vs. "amounting to"

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publicproxy: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 4; Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2008 1:53 am

by publicproxy » Thu Apr 24, 2008 1:56 am

Hi guys,

I am having a hard time discerning between choices A&D. It's a recurring theme, so could someone clarify this once and for all. To me choice A is correct, but apparently it's choice D that is right. Can someone explain why?

For the first time in the modern era, non-Hispanic Whites are officially a minority in California, which amounts to a little less than half the population of the state, down from nearly there-quarters only a decade ago.

A. which amounts to a little less than half the population of the state, down from nearly three-quarters only a decade ago
B. which amounts to a little less than half the population of the state, down from a decade ago, when it was nearly three-quarters
C. and that amounts to a little less than half the population of the state, down from a decade ago, when they were nearly three-quarters
D. amounting to a little less than half the population of the state, down from nearly three-quarters a decade ago
E. amounting to a little less than half the population of the state, down from what it was a decade ago by nearly three-quarters

Last edited by publicproxy on Fri Apr 25, 2008 12:12 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Thu Apr 24, 2008 1:56 am

amitansu: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 294; Joined: Tue Feb 26, 2008 9:05 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 13 times

by amitansu » Fri Apr 25, 2008 12:04 am

In choice 5 "down from what it was a decade ago by nearly three-quarters" is wordy as compared to choice 4 " down from nearly three-quarters a decade ago".

This is what my understanding.
Any expert/s vew here !!

Amit

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publicproxy: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 4; Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2008 1:53 am

by publicproxy » Fri Apr 25, 2008 12:10 am

Thanks Amit. Any general ideas about choices A vs. choice D.

.....California, which amounts to......
.....California, amounting......

I'm not sure about the grammar rules here. Is D absolutely right and A absolutely wrong, or is this an issue of which one is "more correct" (stuff that I dislike about the GMAT)

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celeste.kr: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 2; Joined: Sun Dec 02, 2007 2:32 am

Re: "which amounts to...." vs. "amounting to&

by celeste.kr » Sat Apr 26, 2008 11:38 am

Hello, publicproxy.

I think 'which amouts to' is not at all a problem. This question seems more about clarity.

If we use 'which amounts', it sounds confusing because we are not sure whether 'California' amount or 'non-Hispanic Whites' amounts.
By using 'amounting~', we can specify the subject more clearly, because usually a subject of the participle sentence is the subject of the main sentence.

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publicproxy: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 4; Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2008 1:53 am

by publicproxy » Sat Apr 26, 2008 11:41 am

Hi Celeste,

Yes, now I do see the problem. I guess I take it for granted in daily conversation, but I can see why someone could be confused.

Thanks

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Teaching4life: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 1; Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2010 11:10 am

by Teaching4life » Tue Feb 09, 2010 11:18 am

When you say "which amounts to", "which" refers to the word immediately before the comma. That would be "California", but the verb "amounts" cannot refer to the state. The expression "non-Hispanic Whites" is the subject of the first clause. In this case, "amounting to" is the right choice, since it refers to that subject.". Hope this helps.

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hrishi19884: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 407; Joined: Sun Nov 29, 2009 1:20 amFollowed by: 1 member; Location: India; Thanked: 20 times

by hrishi19884 » Tue Feb 09, 2010 11:21 am

Teaching4life wrote:When you say "which amounts to", "which" refers to the word immediately before the comma. That would be "California", but the verb "amounts" cannot refer to the state. The expression "non-Hispanic Whites" is the subject of the first clause. In this case, "amounting to" is the right choice, since it refers to that subject.". Hope this helps.

You drilled down 2008 post brother ..... I don't think "publicproxy" is still there to read you

Hrishi

"As you sow, so shall you reap"

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mgmt_gmat: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 221; Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2008 6:24 pm; Thanked: 2 times

by mgmt_gmat » Thu Feb 11, 2010 4:31 am

Here, only contenders are D and E..

in A, B , C that and which doesn't prefer previous clause.

E is wordy and misplaced modifier error.

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sumanr84: Legendary Member; Posts: 758; Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2009 9:32 pmFollowed by: 2 members; Location: Bangalore,India; Thanked: 67 times

by sumanr84 » Thu Feb 11, 2010 4:34 am

mgmt_gmat wrote:Here, only contenders are D and E..

in A, B , C that and which doesn't prefer previous clause.

E is wordy and misplaced modifier error.

E is wrong not coz of misplaced modifier but coz of ambiguousIT

I am on a break !!

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thang: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 111; Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2007 2:50 am; Thanked: 11 times

by thang » Fri Apr 10, 2015 8:29 pm

why A is wrong ? this is most important inhere.

A is wrong not because of mechanic error-which is far from it antecedent- but because of logic error.

pls, help point out

expert Hunt, Please, help us

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Tmoni26: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 29; Joined: Thu Aug 15, 2013 7:29 am; Thanked: 1 times

by Tmoni26 » Sat Apr 18, 2015 7:30 am

A is wrong because of the word "which"

",which" should modify the noun just before it and also (someone please correct me if I am wrong), which should not modify people...

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GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Sun Apr 19, 2015 3:49 am

For the first time in the modern era, non-Hispanic Whites are officially a minority in California, which amounts to a little less than half the population of the state, down from nearly there-quarters only a decade ago.

A. which amounts to a little less than half the population of the state, down from nearly three-quarters only a decade ago
B. which amounts to a little less than half the population of the state, down from a decade ago, when it was nearly three-quarters
C. and that amounts to a little less than half the population of the state, down from a decade ago, when they were nearly three-quarters
D. amounting to a little less than half the population of the state, down from nearly three-quarters a decade ago
E. amounting to a little less than half the population of the state, down from what it was a decade ago by nearly three-quarters

In A and B, which seems to refer to California, implying that CALIFORNIA amounts to a little less than half the population -- a nonsensical meaning.
Eliminate A and B.

In C, that lacks a clear antecedent.
Eliminate C.

In E, it lacks a clear antecedent.
Eliminate E.

The correct answer is D.

Here, amounts and amounting serve different grammatical functions.
The subject of amounts in A, B and C is the preceding pronoun (which/that).
The result is a nonsensical/unclear meaning.
But COMMA + VERBing refers to the SUBJECT OF THE PRECEDING CLAUSE.
Thus, in the OA, amounting refers to non-Hispanic Whites, conveying the intended meaning: that NON-HISPANIC WHITES are AMOUNTING to a little less than half the population.

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kutlee: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 90; Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2007 3:58 am; Thanked: 2 times

by kutlee » Tue Apr 21, 2015 10:11 pm

E also changes the meaning by reducing the amount BY three quarters. Amount was reduced from 3 quarters.

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thang: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 111; Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2007 2:50 am; Thanked: 11 times

by thang » Mon Sep 14, 2015 2:34 am

GMATGuruNY wrote:
For the first time in the modern era, non-Hispanic Whites are officially a minority in California, which amounts to a little less than half the population of the state, down from nearly there-quarters only a decade ago.

A. which amounts to a little less than half the population of the state, down from nearly three-quarters only a decade ago
B. which amounts to a little less than half the population of the state, down from a decade ago, when it was nearly three-quarters
C. and that amounts to a little less than half the population of the state, down from a decade ago, when they were nearly three-quarters
D. amounting to a little less than half the population of the state, down from nearly three-quarters a decade ago
E. amounting to a little less than half the population of the state, down from what it was a decade ago by nearly three-quarters
In A and B, which seems to refer to California, implying that CALIFORNIA amounts to a little less than half the population -- a nonsensical meaning.
Eliminate A and B.

In C, that lacks a clear antecedent.
Eliminate C.

In E, it lacks a clear antecedent.
Eliminate E.

The correct answer is D.

Here, amounts and amounting serve different grammatical functions.
The subject of amounts in A, B and C is the preceding pronoun (which/that).
The result is a nonsensical/unclear meaning.
But COMMA + VERBing refers to the SUBJECT OF THE PRECEDING CLAUSE.
Thus, in the OA, amounting refers to non-Hispanic Whites, conveying the intended meaning: that NON-HISPANIC WHITES are AMOUNTING to a little less than half the population.

which can modify a far noun , it is not neccessary that which alway modify immediately preceding noun

A is wrong because we need a causal/explanatary relation between two ideas as in D

am I correct?

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