1000 SC #947

[gter]

947. Young female ballet dancers and gymnasts sometimes fail to maintain good eating habits caused by the desire to be as thin as possible.
(A) Young female ballet dancers and gymnasts sometimes fail to maintain good eating habits caused by the desire to be as thin as possible.
(B) Good eating habits sometimes fail to be maintained by young female ballet dancers and gymnasts caused by desiring to be as thin as possible.
(C) Because they desire to be as thin as possible, good eating habits are sometimes not maintained by young female ballet dancers and gymnasts.
(D) Because they desire to be as thin as possible, young female ballet dancers and gymnasts sometimes fail to maintain good eating habits.
(E) Young female ballet dancers and gymnasts sometimes fail to maintain good eating habits because they desire to be as thin as possible.

Can someone please explain why the answer is D instead of E?

[dbernst]

gter,

The primary problem with choice E concerns pronoun ambiguity: the "they" could refer either to dancers and gymnasts (correctly) or habits (incorrectly). Since choice D clarifies the antecedent of "they" it is a more grammatical response.

947. Young female ballet dancers and gymnasts sometimes fail to maintain good eating habits caused by the desire to be as thin as possible.
(A) Young female ballet dancers and gymnasts sometimes fail to maintain good eating habits caused by the desire to be as thin as possible.
(B) Good eating habits sometimes fail to be maintained by young female ballet dancers and gymnasts caused by desiring to be as thin as possible.
(C) Because they desire to be as thin as possible, good eating habits are sometimes not maintained by young female ballet dancers and gymnasts.
(D) Because they desire to be as thin as possible, young female ballet dancers and gymnasts sometimes fail to maintain good eating habits.
(E) Young female ballet dancers and gymnasts sometimes fail to maintain good eating habits because they desire to be as thin as possible.

Can someone please explain why the answer is D instead of E?

[gter]

Dan,

how can habits "desire to be as thin as possible."? Only people can do this. I know you are correct, but this is a poor question.

thanks as always for the explanation though.

[RonPurewal]

Read the correct answer choice again. The modifier - "because they desire to be as thin as possible" - must modify the noun that comes FIRST after the comma, which is "young female ballet dancers and gymnasts." This sentence is not trying to say that habits want to be thin, because, if it did, it'd be very wrong indeed (no matter how grammatically sound it might be).