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First discovered more than 30 years ago

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vishal.pathak Really wants to Beat The GMAT! Default Avatar
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First discovered more than 30 years ago Post Mon Jan 30, 2012 12:04 pm
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  • Lap #[LAPCOUNT] ([LAPTIME])
    First discovered more than 30 years ago, Lina's sunbird, a four-and-a-half-inch animal found in the Phillipines and that resembles a hummingbird, has shimmering metallic colors on its head; a brilliant orange patch, bordered with red tufts, in the center of its breast; and a red eye.

    a. Same as above
    b. found in the Phillipines and that, resembling
    c. found in the Phillipines and resembling
    d. that is found in the Phillipines and it resembles
    e. that is found in the Phillipines, resembling
    OA: C

    In option E, 'resembling' is a verb-ing modifier correctly modifying 'that'. In this option 'that' stands for animal. So what is really wrong with E. In this option, we do not have 'and' (a parallel marker). So why are trying to make 'found' and 'resembling' parallel in E when we do not have any parallel marker

    Regards,
    Vishal

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    Post Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:25 pm
    We have two modifiers here for sunbird. Each should fit in perfectly when used alone.
    Lina's sun bird, a four-and-a-half-inch animal found in the Phillipines
    Lina's sun bird, resembling a hummingbird

    These two should be parallel

    A - found and that resembles are not parallel
    B - found and that - not parallel
    C - parallel construction
    D - that is found and it resembles - not parallel
    E - and is missing - wrong

    IMO C.

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    Post Tue Jan 31, 2012 1:06 pm
    First discovered more than 30 years ago, Lina's sunbird, a four-and-a-half-inch animal found in the Phillipines and that resembles a hummingbird, has shimmering metallic colors on its head; a brilliant orange patch, bordered with red tufts, in the center of its breast; and a red eye.

    a. Same as above
    b. found in the Phillipines and that, resembling
    c. found in the Phillipines and resembling
    d. that is found in the Phillipines and it resembles
    e. that is found in the Phillipines, resembling

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    Whitney Garner GMAT Instructor
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    Post Wed Feb 01, 2012 11:31 am
    vishal.pathak wrote:
    First discovered more than 30 years ago, Lina's sunbird, a four-and-a-half-inch animal found in the Phillipines and that resembles a hummingbird, has shimmering metallic colors on its head; a brilliant orange patch, bordered with red tufts, in the center of its breast; and a red eye.

    a. Same as above
    b. found in the Phillipines and that, resembling
    c. found in the Phillipines and resembling
    d. that is found in the Phillipines and it resembles
    e. that is found in the Phillipines, resembling
    OA: C

    In option E, 'resembling' is a verb-ing modifier correctly modifying 'that'. In this option 'that' stands for animal. So what is really wrong with E. In this option, we do not have 'and' (a parallel marker). So why are trying to make 'found' and 'resembling' parallel in E when we do not have any parallel marker

    Regards,
    Vishal
    Hi Vishal!

    One of the issues in E might help clear this up. Remember that if an SC sentence begins to stack up modifiers, we should check each on carefully:

    (E) First discovered more than 30 years ago, Lina's sunbird, a four-and-a-half-inch animal that is found in the Philippines, resembling a hummingbird, has shimmering metallic colors on its head; a brilliant orange patch, bordered with red tufts, in the center of its breast; and a red eye.

    "a four-and-a-half-inch animal" is correctly modifying the sunbird.
    "that is found" is correctly modifying animal.
    "in the Philippines" is correctly modifying where it was found.
    "resembling a hummingbird" is a modifier that now appears to modify the Philippines rather than the animal - this is an issue!!

    Hope this helps!
    Smile
    Whit

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    vishal.pathak Really wants to Beat The GMAT! Default Avatar
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    Post Mon Mar 12, 2012 2:09 am
    Whitney Garner wrote:
    vishal.pathak wrote:
    First discovered more than 30 years ago, Lina's sunbird, a four-and-a-half-inch animal found in the Phillipines and that resembles a hummingbird, has shimmering metallic colors on its head; a brilliant orange patch, bordered with red tufts, in the center of its breast; and a red eye.

    a. Same as above
    b. found in the Phillipines and that, resembling
    c. found in the Phillipines and resembling
    d. that is found in the Phillipines and it resembles
    e. that is found in the Phillipines, resembling
    OA: C

    In option E, 'resembling' is a verb-ing modifier correctly modifying 'that'. In this option 'that' stands for animal. So what is really wrong with E. In this option, we do not have 'and' (a parallel marker). So why are trying to make 'found' and 'resembling' parallel in E when we do not have any parallel marker

    Regards,
    Vishal
    Hi Vishal!

    One of the issues in E might help clear this up. Remember that if an SC sentence begins to stack up modifiers, we should check each on carefully:

    (E) First discovered more than 30 years ago, Lina's sunbird, a four-and-a-half-inch animal that is found in the Philippines, resembling a hummingbird, has shimmering metallic colors on its head; a brilliant orange patch, bordered with red tufts, in the center of its breast; and a red eye.

    "a four-and-a-half-inch animal" is correctly modifying the sunbird.
    "that is found" is correctly modifying animal.
    "in the Philippines" is correctly modifying where it was found.
    "resembling a hummingbird" is a modifier that now appears to modify the Philippines rather than the animal - this is an issue!!

    Hope this helps!
    Smile
    Whit
    Hi Whit,

    Thanks for your help but I still have this huge doubt. I always thought that comma+verb-ing modifies the subject of the previous clause. In this case, the subject is 'that'. So isn't comma+resembling modifying 'that' instead of Philippines

    Apologies for putting poor questions repeatedly
    Vishal

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    Whitney Garner GMAT Instructor
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    Post Mon Mar 12, 2012 9:13 am
    vishal.pathak wrote:
    Hi Whit,

    Thanks for your help but I still have this huge doubt. I always thought that comma+verb-ing modifies the subject of the previous clause. In this case, the subject is 'that'. So isn't comma+resembling modifying 'that' instead of Philippines

    Apologies for putting poor questions repeatedly
    Vishal
    No Apologies Necessary! Smile

    In fact, I might have been a bit sloppy with the last explanation so let's see if I can clear things up. Let's start with a quick rundown of the uses of the verb+ing form (the present participle).

    (1) Noun: When we use the verb+ing as a noun this is called a "gerund".
    "Swimming is a great way to stay in shape."

    (2) Verb: To be an actual verb, the present participle needs a helping verb such as is/are/was/were/will be/etc.
    "We were swimming at the beach all day."

    (3) Adjective (Noun Modifier): When the present participle is acting as an adjective, we attach it to the noun with NO COMMA (it can appear EITHER before OR after the noun).
    "The fish swimming in the pond are beautiful." - we are describing the fish (they are the ones swimming)
    "The swimming pool is a great place to cool off in the summer." - we are describing the pool (it is the swimming one)

    (4) Adverb (Adverbial Modifier): When the present participle is acting as an adverb (modifying clauses or verbs), we attach it to the noun WITH A COMMA.
    "We had a great day at the beach, swimming in the water and building sandcastles." - now we are describing the great day we had at the beach (it is telling more about the action), and both swimming and building are parallel.

    Now, let's compare these to the answer choices.


    (a) "resembles" is a verb and part of the "that" clause. This is NOT parallel to the noun modifier "found"(which animal? the one found..."). By the way, "found" is a past participle and can do basically the same jobs as a present participle.

    (b) ", resembling" is an adverb, so it must modify the clause or phrase preceding it (that...has shining metallic colors) - so the resembling describes how it has a shining metallic color on its head. This is strange, but more importantly isn't really in line with the meaning of the sentence.

    (c) "and resembling" is a noun modifier and is correctly parallel to the noun modifier "found". (which animal? the one resembling a hummingbird.)

    (d) "and it resembles" is a main verb and IS parallel to "is found" BUT the presence of the "it" breaks the overall parallelism within the "that" clause. (I should be able to switch the items in a list...THAT X AND Y....So would we say: "That it resembles and is found"? NO the "it" doesn't work!

    (e) ", resembling" is an adverb, so it must modify the clause or phrase preceding it (that is found in the Philippines"), so now saying "resembling a hummingbird" is telling us more about how it was found in the Philippines, which doesn't make any sense.

    Therefore the only choice that works is choice C.

    I really hope this helps clear up the confusion from my earlier response!
    Smile
    Whit

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    GMAT Instructor & Instructor Developer
    Manhattan Prep

    Contributor to Beat The GMAT!

    Math is a lot like love - a simple idea that can easily get complicated Smile

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    vishal.pathak Really wants to Beat The GMAT! Default Avatar
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    Post Mon Mar 12, 2012 3:04 pm
    Whitney Garner wrote:
    vishal.pathak wrote:
    Hi Whit,

    Thanks for your help but I still have this huge doubt. I always thought that comma+verb-ing modifies the subject of the previous clause. In this case, the subject is 'that'. So isn't comma+resembling modifying 'that' instead of Philippines

    Apologies for putting poor questions repeatedly
    Vishal
    No Apologies Necessary! Smile

    In fact, I might have been a bit sloppy with the last explanation so let's see if I can clear things up. Let's start with a quick rundown of the uses of the verb+ing form (the present participle).

    (1) Noun: When we use the verb+ing as a noun this is called a "gerund".
    "Swimming is a great way to stay in shape."

    (2) Verb: To be an actual verb, the present participle needs a helping verb such as is/are/was/were/will be/etc.
    "We were swimming at the beach all day."

    (3) Adjective (Noun Modifier): When the present participle is acting as an adjective, we attach it to the noun with NO COMMA (it can appear EITHER before OR after the noun).
    "The fish swimming in the pond are beautiful." - we are describing the fish (they are the ones swimming)
    "The swimming pool is a great place to cool off in the summer." - we are describing the pool (it is the swimming one)

    (4) Adverb (Adverbial Modifier): When the present participle is acting as an adverb (modifying clauses or verbs), we attach it to the noun WITH A COMMA.
    "We had a great day at the beach, swimming in the water and building sandcastles." - now we are describing the great day we had at the beach (it is telling more about the action), and both swimming and building are parallel.

    Now, let's compare these to the answer choices.


    (a) "resembles" is a verb and part of the "that" clause. This is NOT parallel to the noun modifier "found"(which animal? the one found..."). By the way, "found" is a past participle and can do basically the same jobs as a present participle.

    (b) ", resembling" is an adverb, so it must modify the clause or phrase preceding it (that...has shining metallic colors) - so the resembling describes how it has a shining metallic color on its head. This is strange, but more importantly isn't really in line with the meaning of the sentence.

    (c) "and resembling" is a noun modifier and is correctly parallel to the noun modifier "found". (which animal? the one resembling a hummingbird.)

    (d) "and it resembles" is a main verb and IS parallel to "is found" BUT the presence of the "it" breaks the overall parallelism within the "that" clause. (I should be able to switch the items in a list...THAT X AND Y....So would we say: "That it resembles and is found"? NO the "it" doesn't work!

    (e) ", resembling" is an adverb, so it must modify the clause or phrase preceding it (that is found in the Philippines"), so now saying "resembling a hummingbird" is telling us more about how it was found in the Philippines, which doesn't make any sense.

    Therefore the only choice that works is choice C.

    I really hope this helps clear up the confusion from my earlier response!
    Smile
    Whit
    Thanks for such a detailed reply, Whit. It really helped Smile Smile Smile

    Regards,
    Vishal

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