GMAT Question of the Day – 19/1/2021

ANSWER SELECTION

(A) the more challenging strategy of three-handed canasta makes it more popular with experienced card players than

(B) three-handed canasta has a more challenging strategy, which makes it more popular with experienced card players than (THIS IS CORRECT!)

(C) the more challenging strategy of three-handed canasta makes it the more popular with experienced card players than with

(D) three-handed canasta’s more challenging strategy makes it the more popular with experienced card players than with

(E) three-handed canasta has a more challenging strategy, making it more popular with experienced card players than with

ANSWER EXPLANATION

The opening phrase of this sentence must modify the noun that directly follows it, but the comparative “than four-handed canasta” makes it clear that three-handed canasta, not the strategy, must follow the comma. Eliminate (A) and (C).

(A) and (C) begin with “the more challenging strategy,” (B) and (E) begin with “three-handed canasta,” and (D) begins with “three-handed canasta’s more challenging strategy.” Use this 2-2-1 split to begin eliminating choices.

Eliminate (A), (C), and (D). They all compare “four-handed canasta” to “strategy.” (D) might have been a contender, but its use of the possessive “three-handed canasta’s” effectively makes canasta into an adjective, not a noun, and four-handed canasta is being compared to a “more challenging strategy.”

(B) and (E) both begin with the correct “three-handed canasta.” However, (E) doesn’t fit correctly into the original sentence. “… than with” at the end of (E) sets up an incorrect comparison between the “card players” and the “other versions of the game.”

(B) is the only remaining choice, and it is correct.

Clever Academy