Verbal questions from any Manhattan Prep GMAT Computer Adaptive Test. Topic subject should be the first few words of your question.
ghong14
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Recent studies suggest that an intake of vitamin E in excess

by ghong14 Sun Mar 25, 2012 5:56 pm

Recent studies suggest that an intake of vitamin E in excess of that found naturally in a balanced diet may actually increase the risk of developing certain illnesses, despite the claims of thousands of people who swear by it as a dietary supplement.
Recent studies suggest that an intake of vitamin E in excess of that found naturally in a balanced diet may actually increase the risk of developing certain illnesses
Recent studies suggest that taking vitamin E in excess of that found naturally in a balanced diet actually increases the risk of developing certain illnesses
Certain illnesses may be at a higher risk of development if vitamin E is taken in excess of a balanced diet, according to recent studies
According to recent studies, the intake of vitamin E, if in excess of that found naturally in a balanced diet, may actually increase developing certain illnesses
Vitamin E, recent studies suggest, if in excess of that found naturally in a balanced diet, may actually increase the development risk of certain illnesses


The correct answer is A however, why is B not correct. I think the subject of the sentence intake corresponds correctly with the verb increases rather than increase (in answer choice A).
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Re: Recent studies suggest that an intake of vitamin E in excess

by arnabgangully Mon Mar 26, 2012 3:34 am

In B the taking changes the meaning of the sentence it looks like that the recent study nis recommending the intake of excessive vitamin E.
ghong14
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Re: Recent studies suggest that an intake of vitamin E in excess

by ghong14 Sat Mar 31, 2012 5:03 pm

However, changing the meaning is subordinate to a grammatical error. Any chances you can explain why the subject verb issue that I pointed out is not a grammatical error?
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Re: Recent studies suggest that an intake of vitamin E in excess

by tim Tue Apr 24, 2012 6:55 am

"may increase" is a verb that can be both singular and plural. you certainly wouldn't say that "intake ... may increases", would you?
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Re: Recent studies suggest that an intake of vitamin E in excess

by alexcey Wed Jan 02, 2013 12:52 am

"Recent studies suggest that an intake of vitamin E in excess of that found naturally in a balanced diet may actually increase the risk of developing certain illnesses, despite the claims of thousands of people who swear by it as a dietary supplement."

This question puzzles me with respect to the antecedent for the relative pronoun That.

I think the intention of the answer choice A is to make "that" refer to vitamin E "found naturally in a balanced diet". However, it seems to be that, according to the grammar, phrase "that found naturally" actually points to "intake of vitamin E", thus creating an ambiguous statement that "intake is found naturally in a balanced diet". Intake implies a process, and it's the vitamin itself that's found in a diet and not the act of finding it.

From what I've seen so far, pronoun that is used in conjunction with a parallel structure that helps the reader identify the intended antecedent. Yet this sentence does not have such a parallel structure. For instance:

"The money spent by her parents is less than that spent by her children"

II. As for answer choice B, is the usage of gerund "taking" acceptable here? Does the usage imply that the studies are actually doing the action of taking?
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Re: Recent studies suggest that an intake of vitamin E in excess

by tim Thu Jan 03, 2013 4:59 pm

ah, so we're faced with two possible antecedents, one of which makes sense and one which doesn't. just go with the one that makes sense! :) anytime there are two possible interpretations for something on SC and only one makes sense, go with the one that makes sense. obviously if both don't make sense, the answer choice is wrong. in the unlikely event they both make sense, you may be dealing with an ambiguity issue..

as for your second question, i don't see a problem with using "taking"; it most definitely does not imply that the studies are doing the taking..
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Re: Recent studies suggest that an intake of vitamin E in excess

by ramukmarkrish Tue Aug 27, 2013 10:39 am

Sir,
I couldnt understand how u say that the meaning is changed by the use of "Taking" instead of "intake of"
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Re: Recent studies suggest that an intake of vitamin E in excess

by jlucero Fri Sep 13, 2013 9:41 pm

There are sentences in which "intake" or "taking" could each be correct. There are bigger issues in B. First, taking is wrong in B because of the pronoun "that", which follows:

Recent studies suggest that taking vitamin E in excess of that found naturally...

That as a pronoun is tricky, but if we use it to replace the subject of that clause, you'd get:

Recent studies suggest that taking vitamin E in excess of taking vitamin E found naturally...

Wrong.

Second, there is a subtle but significant difference between a study suggesting that something MAY actually increase the risk vs actually increase the risk. The second option is much too strong for this sentence, and is another reason to eliminate B.
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Re: Recent studies suggest that an intake of vitamin E in excess

by RonPurewal Mon Apr 14, 2014 7:48 am

The problem isn't an issue of pronoun reference. I.e., in the phrase "taking vitamin E", then there's no problem with making it = "vitamin E", if necessary in context.

The problem with "taking vitamin E in excess of that found..." is that there's no acceptable noun for "that".
See, "in excess of" implies a comparison of two quantities"”so, here, "that" would have to stand for some sort of quantity word (amount, dosage, intake, etc.) Here, no such word is present.

In fact, the same issue is present in the part before "in excess of".
Taking vitamin E does not represent a quantity, so it's nonsense to use taking vitamin E in front of "in excess of...".
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Re: Recent studies suggest that an intake of vitamin E in excess

by RonPurewal Mon Apr 14, 2014 7:48 am

Note that the issue above is rectified in the correct answer, since an intake is actually a numerical quantity. (E.g., my daily intake of protein is about 300 grams.)
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Re: Recent studies suggest that an intake of vitamin E in excess

by RonPurewal Mon Apr 14, 2014 12:02 pm

m1a2i3l Wrote:Thanks Ron.
You may have noticed that I have a poor understanding of the words such as rate/dosage/intake...
Perhaps because I am a not a native speaker..
Anyway, no excuse. Keep fighting!


That's a good attitude to have.
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Re: Recent studies suggest that an intake of vitamin E in excess

by HemantR606 Wed Jul 16, 2014 2:06 am

jlucero Wrote:Second, there is a subtle but significant difference between a study suggesting that something MAY actually increase the risk vs actually increase the risk. The second option is much too strong for this sentence, and is another reason to eliminate B.


Hi,
can anyone explain further what the difference is?
Is it always essential to use words like 'May' in suggesting some scientific theory?
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Re: Recent studies suggest that an intake of vitamin E in excess

by jnelson0612 Sat Nov 01, 2014 9:58 pm

HemantR606 Wrote:
jlucero Wrote:Second, there is a subtle but significant difference between a study suggesting that something MAY actually increase the risk vs actually increase the risk. The second option is much too strong for this sentence, and is another reason to eliminate B.


Hi,
can anyone explain further what the difference is?
Is it always essential to use words like 'May' in suggesting some scientific theory?


Let's consider what the word "may" means. Consider these sentences:
Zinc may help us avoid getting the flu.
VS.
Zinc helps us avoid getting the flu.

"may" softens the language. Zinc *MAY* help us, or it may not. The second sentence say that it definitely does help us, which is a much stronger meaning.

And no, using "may" is not always essential, although "may" is often seen in these kinds of statements.
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Re: Recent studies suggest that an intake of vitamin E in excess

by HaomingH436 Fri Jun 12, 2015 10:39 pm

RonPurewal Wrote:The problem isn't an issue of pronoun reference. I.e., in the phrase "taking vitamin E", then there's no problem with making it = "vitamin E", if necessary in context.

The problem with "taking vitamin E in excess of that found..." is that there's no acceptable noun for "that".
See, "in excess of" implies a comparison of two quantities"”so, here, "that" would have to stand for some sort of quantity word (amount, dosage, intake, etc.) Here, no such word is present.

In fact, the same issue is present in the part before "in excess of".
Taking vitamin E does not represent a quantity, so it's nonsense to use taking vitamin E in front of "in excess of...".



Ron, do you mean that the "that" following "in excess of" refers to "intake" ? Is the "that" following "in excess of" in choice B grammatically refers to "vitamin E" rather than "taking vitamin E"?
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Re: Recent studies suggest that an intake of vitamin E in excess

by tim Fri Jun 19, 2015 6:39 pm

The "that" in the correct answer choice refers to "Vitamin E". Let me know if you have any further questions.
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