Recent studies suggest that an intake of vitamin E in excess

[jamiet580]

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.

Hello,

I noticed this difference when i answered the question
but i chose B at the end

i thought "may" and "actually" is awkward to exist at the same time..
"may" expresses possibility but "actually" expresses certainty

Please help to explain which part of my thinking is wrong

Thank you so much

[BrandonM892]

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

Hey Tim,

Based on your explanation, I understand how THAT differs in pronoun usage for the example.

A) THAT - refers to 'vitamin E'
B) THAT - refers to 'taking vitamin E'

Can you explain further - or provide an additional example. Does the presence of 'OF' in 'OF vitamin E' and 'OF that found' lead you to pick a certain phrase to plug in for the pronoun.

Thanks

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

Look at the comparison in answer A: it's between 'an intake of vitamin E' and 'that found in a balanced diet'. We're comparing two amounts of vitamin E, all good. In answer B, the comparison is between 'taking vitamin E' (an action) and 'that found in a balanced diet'. This doesn't work.

To be honest, I spent 15 minutes puzzling over your question of what 'that' refers to and what the rule is here. We can avoid the whole issue by following the logic above.

[AnnaRoberts1987]

Is it okay to use recent studies suggest "that taking vitamin E"
I use to think that after THAT you need a noun
so ing after THAT is wrong?
Is that true?
I eliminated the answer choice B based on that logic.
But now I see "THAT" was used twice in the sentence and the 2nd that cannot refer to VitE.
Regardless my question is can "-ing" be used after THAT?

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

Regardless my question is can "-ing" be used after THAT?

Certainly you can, so you can't eliminate B for this reason. The word 'that' can easily be followed by many different words. Some correct examples:
She thinks that running is boring.
They suggested that we watch a film.

You need to watch out here for different uses of 'that'. In the examples above, it's part of an idiom after certain "thinking" verbs. However, it can also be used as a pronoun (i.e. to stand in for a noun), particularly in comparisons. A correct example (even though it sounds a bit formal):
Jim's house is bigger than that of his neighbour.

[FaysalT485]

" people who swear by it as a dietary supplement"

The "it" should refer to "Vitamine E" ? or to the "Intake of Vitamine E" ?

To me its logical to refer to the former, that's why I went with answer choice B.

Please help,

Thanks,

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

I agree that 'it' refers most logically to 'Vitamin E'. How did that lead you to answer choice B, though?

[FaysalT485]

The contenders here are A and B.

in A: "it" refers to "intake of vitamin E" and "dietary supplement" refers to "it", so -> "dietary supplement" refers to "intake of vitamin E" which is wrong. Vitamin E is a dietary supplement not the intake of it.

in B: "it" refers to "vitamin E" and "dietary supplement" refers to "it", so -> "dietary supplement" refers to "vitamin E" which is right.

Am i missing something here ?

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

I think I see the confusion here. Are you assuming that 'it' has to refer to 'intake' in answer A because 'Vitamin E' is in a prepositional modifier (i.e. after the word of)? If so, you don't need to. The pronoun 'it' can refer to 'Vitamin E' in answer choice A.

In general, when we're interpreting sentences, we should apply the principle of charity. Although we need to watch out for ambiguity and illogical meanings, we should take care not to willingly pervert the meaning of the sentence. In the sentence above, you have a number of nouns that the pronoun 'it' could refer to: intake, Vitamin E, diet, risk. We should be reasonable in assessing which noun it's really referring to, and the only sensible one is 'Vitamin E'.

[Yuguang]

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).

Instructor, I have a question about this old thread. "prep+doing+sth." could be highly suspecious, though the OA is risk of developing certain illness. Even though I also found OG says the chances of causing disease. I am confused whether I should use "prep+doing+sth." here. Please suggest. Thank you

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

I'm not sure I understand your questions.

"prep+doing+sth." could be highly suspecious

Where did you get this idea from? The construction PREPOSITION + VERB-ing is a very common idiom. Let me give you a few examples:
I'm tired of working hard.
She's keen on skiing.
They have an interest in investing.

Even though I also found OG says the chances of causing disease.

Please explain what this sentence means.