SC: By merging its two publishing divisions, the

[thanghnvn]

By merging its two publishing divisions, the company will increase their share of the country's $21 billion book market from 6 percent to 10 percent, a market ranging from obscure textbooks to mass-market paperbacks.
A. their share of the country's $21 billion book market from 6 percent to 10 percent, a market ranging
B. from 6 percent to 10 percent its share of the $21 billion book market in the country, which ranges
C. to 10 percent from 6 percent in their share of the $21 billion book market in the country, a market ranging
D. in its share, from 6 percent to 10 percent, of the $21 billion book market in the country, which ranges
E. to 10 percent from 6 percent its share of the country's $21 billion book market, which ranges

why B is wrong is most beautiful question.

B is not wrong but inferior to E. I am sure that there are many questions in og, in which the situation in B happens and is considered correct . a modifier can modify a far noun if the prepositional phrase following the noun is modifying that noun.

"the book market in the country, which is big "

is correct but inferior to choice E.

in gmatclub, there is an article " slighly far noun" which you can find easily and which say that B is correct.

the problem is that do not consider B wrong because you will see the pattern in B in many official answers in og books. in this forum, Ron explained about the phrase " x of y, which..." many times and this confirm my idea

the comparision between B and E will tell us which choice is OA. E is clearly more beautiful. but remember B is acceptable in other sc question.

[tim]

You've been around this forum long enough to know that you cannot make a claim that B's construction is legit without backing it up with a problem number. :) Please show me a GMAT question where a "which" following a comma doesn't refer to the closest inanimate noun preceding the comma. Until then, I would caution everyone to disregard the post you've just made and instead refer to my post above, where I explain that B is in fact grammatically wrong because it uses "which" incorrectly.

[lzw77_2009]

Dear Instructor,

I think (E) is awkward because the verb increase is followed by a prepositional phrase rather than the direct object its share. So if (A) changes the pronoun for its, (A) will be better.
Am I right?

[thanghnvn]

the following ilustrate what I have just said. Jim

Although she had been known as an effective legislator first in the Texas Senate and later in the United States House of Representatives, not until Barbara Jordan’s participation in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon in 1974 was she made a nationally recognized figure, as it was televised nationwide.
A. later in the United States House of Representatives, not until Barbara Jordan’s participation in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon in
1974 was she made a nationally recognized figure, as it was
B. later in the United States House of Representatives, Barbara Jordan did not become a nationally recognized figure until 1974, when she participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which were
C. later in the Untied States House of Representatives, it was not until 1974 that Barbara Jordan became a nationally recognized figure, with her participation in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which was
D. then also later in the United States House of Representatives, not until 1974 did Barbara Jordan become a nationally recognized figure, as she participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, being
E. then also later in the United States House of Representatives, Barbara Jordan did not become a nationally recognized figure until 1974, when she participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, which was

[tim]

Ah yes, I apologize for oversimplifying the rule before. I should not have said "inanimate". Instead, let's use the more accurate term Ron and I have used many times on the forum: "eligible". An eligible noun is one that is not only inanimate but also agrees in number. So in this case we rule out "Nixon" for not being inanimate AND we rule out "impeachment" for disagreeing in number with the "which were", and we are left with "hearings".

Thanks for posting this example so I could clarify things.

[tim]

Dear Instructor,

I think (E) is awkward because the verb increase is followed by a prepositional phrase rather than the direct object its share. So if (A) changes the pronoun for its, (A) will be better.
Am I right?

I would caution you against ever asking "what if" questions about changing parts of verbal questions, because there are often several interconnected parts that cannot be fully accounted for by a single change. Just focus on why the right answer is right and why all the wrong answers are wrong.

There is nothing wrong with an answer choice sounding "wordy" or "awkward". In fact, I have NEVER seen a GMAT problem for which the only way to eliminate an answer is awkwardness. If you ever use the phrase "wordy and awkward" (or anything else that sounds similar) to explain your reasoning on a SC question, you have done something wrong. If you are willing to eliminate an answer choice because it is awkward, you may end up eliminating the correct choice. There is ALWAYS a real reason why SC answer choices are wrong, and "wordy and awkward" is NEVER that reason. Please note that if you read an explanation that uses the words "awkward" or "wordy", that explanation is wrong - EVEN IF IT IS A DIRECT QUOTE FROM THE OFFICIAL GUIDE.

[lzw77_2009]

Dear Instructor,

I think (E) is awkward because the verb increase is followed by a prepositional phrase rather than the direct object its share. So if (A) changes the pronoun for its, (A) will be better.
Am I right?

I would caution you against ever asking "what if" questions about changing parts of verbal questions, because there are often several interconnected parts that cannot be fully accounted for by a single change. Just focus on why the right answer is right and why all the wrong answers are wrong.

There is nothing wrong with an answer choice sounding "wordy" or "awkward". In fact, I have NEVER seen a GMAT problem for which the only way to eliminate an answer is awkwardness. If you ever use the phrase "wordy and awkward" (or anything else that sounds similar) to explain your reasoning on a SC question, you have done something wrong. If you are willing to eliminate an answer choice because it is awkward, you may end up eliminating the correct choice. There is ALWAYS a real reason why SC answer choices are wrong, and "wordy and awkward" is NEVER that reason. Please note that if you read an explanation that uses the words "awkward" or "wordy", that explanation is wrong - EVEN IF IT IS A DIRECT QUOTE FROM THE OFFICIAL GUIDE.

Dear Tim,
Thanks for your detailed explaination and "caution"! It helps a lot!

[tim]

Glad to hear it!

[danli311]

Dear Instructor,

I think (E) is awkward because the verb increase is followed by a prepositional phrase rather than the direct object its share. So if (A) changes the pronoun for its, (A) will be better.
Am I right?

I would caution you against ever asking "what if" questions about changing parts of verbal questions, because there are often several interconnected parts that cannot be fully accounted for by a single change. Just focus on why the right answer is right and why all the wrong answers are wrong.

There is nothing wrong with an answer choice sounding "wordy" or "awkward". In fact, I have NEVER seen a GMAT problem for which the only way to eliminate an answer is awkwardness. If you ever use the phrase "wordy and awkward" (or anything else that sounds similar) to explain your reasoning on a SC question, you have done something wrong. If you are willing to eliminate an answer choice because it is awkward, you may end up eliminating the correct choice. There is ALWAYS a real reason why SC answer choices are wrong, and "wordy and awkward" is NEVER that reason. Please note that if you read an explanation that uses the words "awkward" or "wordy", that explanation is wrong - EVEN IF IT IS A DIRECT QUOTE FROM THE OFFICIAL GUIDE.

Dear Instructors,

I picked the right answer, however, I am not sure whether in choice A "a market ranging" is correct, compared to the non-restrictive clause appears in answer E.

Could you kindly elaborate on whether there is a difference in meaning between the two modifiers? i.e. appositives vs. non-restrictive clauses.

Thanks in advance!

[thanghnvn]

What are the differences between B and E? OA is E

By merging its two publishing divisions, the company will increase their share of the country's $21 billion book market from 6 percent to 10 percent, a market ranging from obscure textbooks to mass-market paperbacks.
A. their share of the country's $21 billion book market from 6 percent to 10 percent, a market ranging
B. from 6 percent to 10 percent its share of the $21 billion book market in the country, which ranges
C. to 10 percent from 6 percent in their share of the $21 billion book market in the country, a market ranging
D. in its share, from 6 percent to 10 percent, of the $21 billion book market in the country, which ranges
E. to 10 percent from 6 percent its share of the country's $21 billion book market, which ranges

B is inferior to E.
you can see that in some other sc problems, "which ..." modifying a far noun can be appear in OA.

why

because that pattern is not incorrect but only inferior. in short, this pattern is correct sometime and incorrect other time. gmat makes us to realize the better choice not the perfect choice

[tim]

thanghnvn, you have been around long enough to know it is almost NEVER the case that the GMAT presents you with a choice between okay and better. "not incorrect but only inferior" pretty much does not happen on the GMAT. Please read some of Ron's and my posts on "which" to see that there are NO exceptions to the rules we have mentioned.

[danli311]

Dear Instructor,

I think (E) is awkward because the verb increase is followed by a prepositional phrase rather than the direct object its share. So if (A) changes the pronoun for its, (A) will be better.
Am I right?

I would caution you against ever asking "what if" questions about changing parts of verbal questions, because there are often several interconnected parts that cannot be fully accounted for by a single change. Just focus on why the right answer is right and why all the wrong answers are wrong.

There is nothing wrong with an answer choice sounding "wordy" or "awkward". In fact, I have NEVER seen a GMAT problem for which the only way to eliminate an answer is awkwardness. If you ever use the phrase "wordy and awkward" (or anything else that sounds similar) to explain your reasoning on a SC question, you have done something wrong. If you are willing to eliminate an answer choice because it is awkward, you may end up eliminating the correct choice. There is ALWAYS a real reason why SC answer choices are wrong, and "wordy and awkward" is NEVER that reason. Please note that if you read an explanation that uses the words "awkward" or "wordy", that explanation is wrong - EVEN IF IT IS A DIRECT QUOTE FROM THE OFFICIAL GUIDE.

Dear Instructors,

I picked the right answer, however, I am not sure whether in choice A "a market ranging" is correct, compared to the non-restrictive clause appears in answer E.

Could you kindly elaborate on whether there is a difference in meaning between the two modifiers? i.e. appositives vs. non-restrictive clauses.

Thanks in advance!

Could someone kindly help on this? Thanks!

[RonPurewal]

I picked the right answer, however, I am not sure whether in choice A "a market ranging" is correct, compared to the non-restrictive clause appears in answer E.

The modifier in choice A is not wrong, although it's a little weird (and a little wordy) compared to "which ranges".

Could you kindly elaborate on whether there is a difference in meaning between the two modifiers? i.e. appositives vs. non-restrictive clauses.

I don't know these terms, so I'm not sure I understand the question.

The modifiers in both of those choices are set off by commas (", which ranges..." and ", a market ranging..."), so both of them serve essentially the same purpose -- just giving extra description of the book market previously mentioned. If you take away either of them, you're still talking about the same book market, albeit less descriptively.

[danli311]

I picked the right answer, however, I am not sure whether in choice A "a market ranging" is correct, compared to the non-restrictive clause appears in answer E.

The modifier in choice A is not wrong, although it's a little weird (and a little wordy) compared to "which ranges".

Could you kindly elaborate on whether there is a difference in meaning between the two modifiers? i.e. appositives vs. non-restrictive clauses.

I don't know these terms, so I'm not sure I understand the question.

The modifiers in both of those choices are set off by commas (", which ranges..." and ", a market ranging..."), so both of them serve essentially the same purpose -- just giving extra description of the book market previously mentioned. If you take away either of them, you're still talking about the same book market, albeit less descriptively.

Got it! Thank you~

[RonPurewal]

You're welcome.