Gmat Sentence Correction 43, 44

43). The Diary of Anne Frank tells the true story of a young girl and her family that were hidden during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands by a gentile Dutch couple, though they were eventually discovered.

A). that were hidden during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands by a gentile Dutch couple, though they were eventually discovered

B). that were hidden by a gentile Dutch couple during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, though they were eventually discovered

C). whom a gentile Dutch couple hid during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands but were eventually discovered

D). who were hidden by a gentile Dutch couple during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands but were eventually discovered

E). who were hidden by a gentile Dutch couple during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands even though they were eventually discovered

44). Despite the sequel's poor critical reception, most people seeing it find the acting and cinematography at least as good or even better than the original.

A). most people seeing it find the acting and cinematography at least as good or even better than the original

B). most people seeing it find the acting and cinematography at least as good or even better than the original's

C). most people who see the film find the acting and cinematography at least as good as or even better than those in the original

D). most people who see it find the acting and cinematography at least as good or even better than those in the original

E). most people seeing the film find the acting and cinematography at least as good as or even better than those of the original's


Answers -

43). The correct answer is D -- It correctly uses the pronoun "who" to refer to a girl and her family. Additionally, the phrase "by a gentile Dutch couple" is placed immediately after "who were hidden" to clarify the meaning. Finally, the ambiguous pronoun issue is avoided altogether.

A - incorrect -- The original sentence uses the relative pronoun "that" where "who" is preferred because the antecedent is a group of people. Also, the prepositional phrase "by a gentile Dutch couple" is placed in such a way as to suggest that the occupation was carried out by the couple. Finally, the pronoun "they" is ambiguous – it could refer to the family or to the couple.

B - incorrect -- This choice incorrectly uses the relative pronoun "that" to refer to a group of people. Additionally, the pronoun "they" is ambiguous - it could refer to the family or to the couple.

C - incorrect -- The use of the object pronoun "whom" makes "a girl and her family" the object of the clause "a gentile Dutch couple hid;" however "a girl and her family" are the subject of the next clause "were eventually discovered." This is a mismatch.

E - incorrect -- The pronoun "they" is ambiguous - it could refer to the family or to the couple.

44). The correct answer is C -- This choice correctly replaces "it" with "film", adds the missing "as", and makes clear that the acting and cinematography in the sequel are compared to the acting and cinematography in the original.

A - incorrect -- First, the pronoun "it" is used to refer to the film, but the film has not been mentioned in the sentence. Instead "the sequel's poor critical reception" has been mentioned. This is not the same as the film, so the pronoun "it" has no grammatical antecedent and must be changed.
Second, the phrase "at least as good or even better than" is incomplete: there should be another "as" after "good".
Third, the cinematography and acting are being compared to the "original". What is meant here is that the cinematography and acting in the sequel are as good as the cinematography and acting in the original. This must be changed.

B - incorrect -- The pronoun "it" has no grammatical antecedent and the phrase "at least as good or even better" is missing the second "as" after "good."

D - incorrect -- The pronoun "it" has no grammatical antecedent and the phrase "at least as good or even better" is missing the second "as" after "good."

E - incorrect -- This choice introduces the possessive redundancy "those of the original's." One could say either "those of the original" or "the original's", but using both is redundant.