Recent studies suggest that an intake of vitamin E in excess

[ghong14]

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).

[arnabgangully]

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]

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?

[tim]

"may increase" is a verb that can be both singular and plural. you certainly wouldn't say that "intake ... may increases", would you?

[alexcey]

"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?

[tim]

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..

[ramukmarkrish]

Sir,
I couldnt understand how u say that the meaning is changed by the use of "Taking" instead of "intake of"

[jlucero]

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.

[RonPurewal]

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...".

[RonPurewal]

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.)

[RonPurewal]

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.

[HemantR606]

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?

[jnelson0612]

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.

[HaomingH436]

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"?

[tim]

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