GMAT Sentence Correction - Less Detrimental than the Effects of Bacterial Transformation is the Effects of Bacterial Deterioration

Question:  Less detrimental than the effects of bacterial transformation is the effects of bacterial deterioration: spoilage of food, metals corroding, decay of wood, and other undesirable alterations of substances.

(A) is the effects of bacterial deterioration: spoilage of food, metals corroding
(B) are the effects of bacterial deterioration: spoilage of food, metals corroding
(C) is the effects of bacterial deterioration, which include spoilage of food, metals corroding
(D) are the effects of bacterial deterioration, which includes spoilage of food, corrosion of metals
(E) are the effects of bacterial deterioration: spoilage of food, corrosion of metals

“Less detrimental than the effects of bacterial transformation is the effects of bacterial deterioration” - is a GMAT sentence correction question. These types of questions contain grammatical errors in the underlined sentence and we have to choose the correct statement from the options. GMAT sentence correction is a part of GMAT verbal.

Answer: E
Explanation: The given sentence correction question can be checked by the given-below rules:

• Parallelism
• Comparison of two elements
• Modifiers

Following is the sentence structure:
less harmful than (Comparison marker - so we can expect a comparison as we read on)
The first comparison element is between the consequences of bacterial degradation and the impacts of bacterial transformation (Element 2 of comparison)

Option A: Incorrect

A is the incorrect answer.
We need a plural verb, the linking verb "is" is not sufficient. We can see that the subject of the sentence "effects of bacterial degradation" is plural.
Watch out for the parallelism error as well. Metals corrosion is not parallel, hence their structure is different from that of the other elements on the list. Thus, (A) can be ignored for these two reasons.

Option B: Incorrect

Choice B is incorrect.
Now that we have a "are," the SV mistake has been fixed. However, the parallelism error remains as it is with (A). Therefore, option (B) can be disqualified.

Option C: Incorrect

This option repeats every mistake in (A). We also see that a ", which" has taken the place of the colon (:), which begs the question of what this ", which" modifies. This phrase gives the impression that ", which" changes "effects." Therefore, the verb following "which" must be plural. We are good to go because "including" is plural.

Option D: Incorrect

You'll see that (A) has fixed all of its mistakes. But there is a fresh SV fault now. We require a plural verb after "which" since, as we just discussed, it is followed by the singular verb "including." Option (D) is thus removed.

Option E: Correct

This decision is the right one. No new errors have been added, and all of the mistakes have been fixed. E is the right answer.

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