SC : Crack-GMAT Test Q

[jnelson0612]

I rule out choice D) Because of Being.

I feel that the the choices A , B and C are incorrect due to Parallelism issue.

So Apart from the fact that , there is correct usage of "comma + ing" modifier in Choice E) , all the other choices are screwed.

Please let me know your comments on this.

My biggest concerns with A and C are that they both lack verbs. Both of them are currently sentence fragments.

And yeah, I'm extremely suspicious of being. It is *rarely* right.

[heyazhi09]

I'm really confused by the choice B, because i think the verb "extended" is parallel to "was"
"...was the Incan highway and extended..."

In this case, "extended" is used as a past tense. actually it is a helping verb, paralleled with "was".
Also, since the"extended" works as a verb, it means the same as "extending" ( i mean the meaning, not the function.)

correct me, please.
thanks a lot.

[jnelson0612]

I'm really confused by the choice B, because i think the verb "extended" is parallel to "was"
"...was the Incan highway and extended..."

In this case, "extended" is used as a past tense. actually it is a helping verb, paralleled with "was".
Also, since the"extended" works as a verb, it means the same as "extending" ( i mean the meaning, not the function.)

correct me, please.
thanks a lot.

Did you read the explanation on page 1? There is a helpful post there by dbernst as well as some thoughts from other people.

[ashwinkumar96]

In option B, can't "extended" be considered an adjective ? In the MGMAT book there is an example:
A mastodan carcass, thawed only once and still fresh, is on display.

In the above sentence thawed and fresh are considered parallel as they both describe carcass. Can't similar reasoning be applied to this question?

[tim]

does it matter? B is wrong either way.. :)

[bodhisattwabiswas]

Q. 29
The greatest road system built in the Americas prior to the arrival of Christopher
Columbus was the Incan highway, which, over 2,500 miles long and extending from
northern Ecuador through Peru to Southern Chile.
D. Columbus, the Incan highway, being over 2,500 miles in length, was extended

Sorry to dig up the post after so long...
I would like to know --- is D wrong only because of 'being'? if we remove the 'being', will D become a correct sentence?

[jlucero]

Q. 29
The greatest road system built in the Americas prior to the arrival of Christopher
Columbus was the Incan highway, which, over 2,500 miles long and extending from
northern Ecuador through Peru to Southern Chile.
D. Columbus, the Incan highway, being over 2,500 miles in length, was extended

Sorry to dig up the post after so long...
I would like to know --- is D wrong only because of 'being'? if we remove the 'being', will D become a correct sentence?

There's also a different meaning in D. If you take out the first and third parts of the sentence, you're left with:

The greatest road system built in the Americas prior to the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the Incan highway, being over 2,500 miles in length, was extended from northern Ecuador through Peru to Southern Chile.

The main idea of this sentence isn't that the highway was extended. The main idea was telling us how long this road system was.

[bodhisattwabiswas]

Q. 29
The greatest road system built in the Americas prior to the arrival of Christopher
Columbus was the Incan highway, which, over 2,500 miles long and extending from
northern Ecuador through Peru to Southern Chile.
D. Columbus, the Incan highway, being over 2,500 miles in length, was extended

Sorry to dig up the post after so long...
I would like to know --- is D wrong only because of 'being'? if we remove the 'being', will D become a correct sentence?

There's also a different meaning in D. If you take out the first and third parts of the sentence, you're left with:

The greatest road system built in the Americas prior to the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the Incan highway, being over 2,500 miles in length, was extended from northern Ecuador through Peru to Southern Chile.

The main idea of this sentence isn't that the highway was extended. The main idea was telling us how long this road system was.

thanks a lot for the explanation...

[RonPurewal]

Glad we could help.

[calm.jing]

B. Columbus was the Incan highway, over 2,500 miles in length, and extended
-the use of extended in the absence of which was is incorrect; the proper construction should be extending (as extended gives the impression that the road was intentionally lengthened rather than simply existing between two points).

Dear experts,

I chose E for this problem, but I still don't quite understand why B is wrong.

I thought that "and extended" in B was parallel to "was" and acted as another main verb, and that "over 2500 miles in length" was a modifier that gives more info about the Incan highway. That is, I thought the skeleton of B was "the greatest road system ... was the Incan highway... and extended..."

Why is this thinking incorrect? Please help clarify. Thanks in advance! :)

[RonPurewal]

That skeleton doesn't really make sense. When you write "A and B", the "A" and the "B" should be things that actually make sense in parallel"”i.e., "bullet points", or "this and that", or "thing #1 and thing #2".

E.g.,
My brother is Ron and teaches the GMAT.
This sentence is grammatically fine, but "is Ron" and "teaches the GMAT" don't really make sense in parallel. They aren't "bullet points". One is a fundamental identification of who I am; the other is merely something I od.

My brother, Ron, teaches the GMAT and writes articles.
These make sense as "bullet points".

[Tadashi]

Hi Ron,
I have a question about B. I find your explanation always helpful, so I hope you can help me.
Question 1:
May I conclude that a linking verb (is/am/are/prove/turns out/appear/seem/...) CAN NOT parallel an actual verb (work/run/...)?

Question 2:
still confused about the use of the verb: extend.
A road system extends from Hiroshima to Nagasaki.
Is this sentence OK?

ARIGATO.
Tadashi.

[RonPurewal]

Hi Ron,
I have a question about B. I find your explanation always helpful, so I hope you can help me.
Question 1:
May I conclude that a linking verb (is/am/are/prove/turns out/appear/seem/...) CAN NOT parallel an actual verb (work/run/...)?

No. Any verb can be parallel to any other verb, if the context is appropriate.

Leonard is aware of the dog's history of aggression but wants to adopt it anyway.

Question 2:
still confused about the use of the verb: extend.
A road system extends from Hiroshima to Nagasaki.
Is this sentence OK?

Yes.

"Extend" can be confusing, because it can be used in two different ways, with different meanings.

* Without an object: just to describe the length of something (usually something long enough to be noteworthy).
Interstate 90 extends from Seattle to Boston.

* With an object: Something formerly had a certain length, but someone made it longer.
Today BigStore extended the window for customer returns from 30 to 60 days.

Your example works for the first of these.

[Tadashi]

Firstly, Thank you every much.
Then why B is wrong?
The greatest road system is XX and extends from A to B.
I don't understand your words:if the context is appropriate.
How can we judge if the context is appropriate or not? Any rules?


Just add an example ^^
everyone is a moon and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody ----Mark Twain

[RonPurewal]

Firstly, Thank you every much.
Then why B is wrong?
The greatest road system is XX and extends from A to B.
I don't understand your words:if the context is appropriate.
How can we judge if the context is appropriate or not? Any rules?


Just add an example ^^
everyone is a moon and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody ----Mark Twain

It doesn't make sense to express these things as "is A and does B". That kind of parallel structure is used for separate, largely independent observations.

"2500 miles in length" is also not ok. I guess it's just an idiom. (I can't say "My right foot is 12.5 inches in length", but I can say that it's 12.5 inches long.)