Sentence Correction

The Iroquois were primarily planters, but supplementing their cultivation of maize, squash, and beans with
fishing and hunting.

(A) but supplementing
(B) and had supplemented
(C) and even though they supplemented
(D) although they supplemented
(E) but with supplementing

A. We have the past tense "were" so using the present participle "supplementing" is unjustified. Also we are using "comma+but" which is a FANBOYS coordinator between 2 independent clauses. If you notice, the clause beginning with "supplementing" is not independent since it has no main verb.

B. Again the tense is the issue here. These are two things that describe the same time period, so using past perfect is unjustified.

C. And even though they implemented their cultivation, ....? If you notice, when you speak this sentence out loud, you will expect to hear something more. Whenever even though is used, there needs to be a contrasting idea presented. Here it needs to come after this, because we have already used "comma+and" and so need an independent clause.

D. This is perfect. They were primarily planters, although they supplemented .... It presents the contrast and corrects the sentence structure by eliminating the need for a coordinating conjunction.

E. Again, when you have comma+but you MUST have an independent clause following, and "with supplementing..." doesnt have a main verb.

Pick D.

gmat_perfect wrote:The Iroquois were primarily planters, but supplementing their cultivation of maize, squash, and beans with
fishing and hunting.

(A) but supplementing
(B) and had supplemented
(C) and even though they supplemented
(D) although they supplemented
(E) but with supplementing

"were" in the first part of the sentence indicates that the second part of the sentence should also be in past tense.

A- -ing suggests the ongoing nature of things, OUT
B - no need for perfect tense - OUT
C - usage of "and" and "even though" together is incorrect.
D - Correct. Flip the sentence although they supplemented their cultivation of maize, squash, and beans with fishing and hunting, The Iroquois were primarily planters. - Correct.
E - Same as A

Before jumping into verb tense, the first thing to notice here is the use of the conjunctions in the answer choices. A, D, and E all use a conjunction that indicates contrast ("but" and "although") whereas "B" and "C" use a conjunction that indicates continuity "and". To determine the appropriate conjunction, we need to pay attention to the meaning of the sentence. In this case, the second clause (which tells us that the fished and hunted) is providing information that contrasts with the first clause (which tells us that they "were primarily hunters"). So B and C are out. A and E both use the gerund "supplementing," which, by itself, is not a verb. Thus, we can eliminate A, B, C, and E. The correct answer is D.

gmat_perfect wrote:The Iroquois were primarily planters, but supplementing their cultivation of maize, squash, and beans with
fishing and hunting.

(A) but supplementing
(B) and had supplemented
(C) and even though they supplemented
(D) although they supplemented
(E) but with supplementing

Thanks buddies.

OA is D.

but "they" in option D can refer to either Iroquois or planters..? I am confused. Can someone help me please

GYAAN wrote:but "they" in option D can refer to either Iroquois or planters..? I am confused. Can someone help me please

Both are the same

Iroquois are the planters and,
Planters are Iroquois

IMO: D

IMO D

'and' and 'but' need parallel structures. Eliminate them...

The one left is D !

What would have been the answer, had choice C been "even though they supplemented" i.e. removing and from it.

I think in that case both the answers would be considered correct because even though and although are very similar
-Both are conjunctions
-Both are used to provide contrast