In contrast to some fish eggs requiring months to incubate, the Rio Grande silvery minnow produces eggs that hatch in about 24 hours, yielding larvae that can swim in just three to four days.
(A) some fish eggs requiring months to incubate
(B) some fish, whose eggs require months to incubate
(C) some fish that have eggs requiring months to incubate
(D) the requirement of months of incubation for some fish eggs
(E) requiring months of incubation, as some fish eggs do


Why C is not right?

Thanks.

And I think B is not that "parallel" as C

subtle.

if you're a native speaker of english, and especially if you read a lot, you may be able to pick up on the general vibe of "awkwardness" in choice (c). it's just not as well written as choice (b), although i understand that this principle is intangible and therefore frustrating.

here are two non-"awkwardness"-based, mechanical reasons to choose (b) over (c):
1) the second half of the parallel structure says "eggs ... hatch", wherein "hatch" is in the present tense. in choice (b), "require" is also in the present tense, creating parallelism, whereas in choice (c), "requiring" is a participle (not parallel to "hatch").
2) the word "have" in choice (c) creates a slight but noticeable change of meaning (remember that you have to read VERY literally). specifically, it shifts the focus to those fish that have the eggs, i.e., are in literal possession of the eggs. that's not the point of the sentence; the point is just that some fish produce eggs that require months to incubate, whether they "have" those eggs or not.

but, again, this problem is very, very subtle. my advice above all would be to notice the kind of writing that appears in correct answers, vs. the kind of writing that appears in incorrect answers - and adjust your thought processes accordingly.

Ron
wouldn't option b had been better without comma before whose as "whose eggs......incubate" is essential to its meaning.
In contrast to some fish eggs requiring months to incubate, the Rio Grande silvery minnow produces eggs that hatch in about 24 hours, yielding larvae that can swim in just three to four days.

(B) some fish, whose eggs require months to incubate

actually, no, it's not essential. the "in contrast to some" already covers that base.

for instance, consider the following:
in contrast to some other restaurants in the area, Les Jardins only serves beer and wine, not hard liquor.
--> this sentence ALREADY implies that "some other restaurants" serve hard liquor. therefore, if you're going to add that reference for emphasis, you should make it a nonessential modifier:
in contrast to some other restaurants in the area, which serve a range of hard spirits, Les Jardins only serves beer and wine, not hard liquor.

for the same reason, you want commas around this modifier. if you don't have them, the sentence actually becomes redundant!



this would be wrong, because now you're comparing "some fish eggs" to "the ... minnow". that's an illogical comparison (you can't compare eggs to a fish).

it may also be a typing error, since this example has no relationship at all to the subject matter of your previous post.

Yes you are write, it is a typing error. I must double check before posting.

please do