Ryunosuke Akutagawa

This topic has expert replies
User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 377
Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2011 10:45 am
Thanked: 10 times
Followed by:1 members

Ryunosuke Akutagawa

by imskpwr » Sun Jun 17, 2012 5:46 am

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

Ryunosuke Akutagawa's knowledge of the literatures of Europe, China and that of Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing his literary style as much as the content of his fiction.

c Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style and
d Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, as it informed his literary style as much as

OG 13 Q79

C is correct, but Why is "d" incorrect.

Legendary Member
Posts: 784
Joined: Sun Apr 03, 2011 3:51 am
Thanked: 114 times
Followed by:12 members

by patanjali.purpose » Sun Jun 17, 2012 7:29 am

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

imskpwr wrote:Ryunosuke Akutagawa's knowledge of the literatures of Europe, China and that of Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing his literary style as much as the content of his fiction.

c Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style and
d Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, as it informed his literary style as much as

OG 13 Q79

C is correct, but Why is "d" incorrect.
Could you share the complete question pls.

User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 377
Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2011 10:45 am
Thanked: 10 times
Followed by:1 members

by imskpwr » Sun Jun 17, 2012 11:22 pm

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

patanjali.purpose wrote: Could you share the complete question pls.
Just google it.

User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 148
Joined: Sun Apr 29, 2012 1:08 pm
Thanked: 8 times

by jimmyjimmy » Tue Jun 19, 2012 2:24 am

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

Ryunosuke Akutagawa's knowledge of the literatures of Europe, China and that of Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing his literary style as much as the content of his fiction.

that of Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing his literary style as much as
that of Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, and it informed his literary style as well as
Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style and
Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, as it informed his literary style as much as
Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style in addition to

User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 148
Joined: Sun Apr 29, 2012 1:08 pm
Thanked: 8 times

by jimmyjimmy » Tue Jun 19, 2012 2:34 am

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

jimmyjimmy wrote:Ryunosuke Akutagawa's knowledge of the literatures of Europe, China and that of Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing his literary style as much as the content of his fiction.

that of Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing his literary style as much as
that of Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, and it informed his literary style as well as
Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style and
Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, as it informed his literary style as much as
Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style in addition to


From parallelism, we have already eliminated (A) & (B), as discussed above. The subject of the sentence, "knowledge", is singular, so the verb must be singular: "was", not "were." That eliminates (E). This leaves (C) and (D), which have many similarities. One difference is the ending. (C) ends simply with "and", correctly completing the "both ... and" structure. (D) avoids the word "both", and instead ends with "as much as." The phrase "as much as" is a comparative phrase -- "the teacher like me as much as she like you!" - but in this context, we are not performing a comparison. The two items in question are Akutagawa's literary style and the content of his fiction. These both were informed by his vast knowledge of literature, but there's nothing in the sentence that suggests a comparison is in order. (D) also has that awkward phrase "as it informed", instead of the shorter and more direct "informing" in (C). For these reasons, (D) is incorrect, and (C) is by far the best answer choice.-mike (courtesy)

User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 377
Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2011 10:45 am
Thanked: 10 times
Followed by:1 members

by imskpwr » Fri Jun 22, 2012 11:07 pm

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

after a while, I found the real problem with D is that it unnecessarily causes Causation.

Result(Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer), Cause(as it informed his literary style as much as )........INCORRECT MEANING.

CAUSE(Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer), RESULT(informing both his literary style and )...............CORRECT MEANING.

User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 172
Joined: Wed Jul 09, 2008 3:35 am
Thanked: 3 times
Followed by:1 members
GMAT Score:610

by karthikgmat » Sat Jun 23, 2012 1:18 am

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

D is changing meaning of the sentence. Yes causal relationship as imkspwr said.

Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 150
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2012 11:19 pm
Thanked: 4 times

by mv12 » Sat Jun 23, 2012 11:11 am

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

Ans should be C.

User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 287
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2012 12:33 am
Location: Pune,India
Thanked: 60 times
Followed by:6 members

by GMAT Kolaveri » Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:20 pm

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

Ryunosuke Akutagawa's knowledge of the literatures of Europe, China and that of Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing his literary style as much as the content of his fiction.

that of Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing his literary style as much as
that of Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, and it informed his literary style as well as
Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style and
Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, as it informed his literary style as much as
Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style in addition to
U can narrow it down to C and D.

Why C is correct?
This is one of the most known format on the GMAT [ Clause , +ing form]

In this form the ing form always modifies the clause preceding it. And this could be in any one of the below two formats

The ing form of the verb either describes or presents the results of the clause preceding it.

The company won the $$$ contract, making the company the largest software exporter. [result]
The company won the $$$ contract, using the CEO's contacts.[describes]

Why is D wrong?
This has pronoun error as well as comparison error. I have highlighted this in the option.
Regards and Thanks,
Vinoth@GMAT Kolaveri
https://www.facebook.com/GmatKolaveri
https://gmatkolaveri.tumblr.com/

Click the thank you button if you like my reply :)

Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 79
Joined: Tue Dec 15, 2015 3:56 am
Followed by:1 members
GMAT Score:750

by Nina1987 » Sun May 08, 2016 3:36 am

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

@Mitch, @Brent and other experts:

So is D incorrect simply cause we don't know if 'it' refers to knowledge or development? Thanks

User avatar
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 60
Joined: Tue Oct 13, 2015 9:05 am

by AsadAbu » Sat Oct 29, 2016 10:02 am

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

Ryunosuke Akutagawa's knowledge of the literatures of Europe, China and that of Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing his literary style as much as the content of his fiction.

a)that of Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing his literary style as much as
b)that of Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, and it informed his literary style as well as
c)Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style and
d)Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, as it informed his literary style as much as
e)Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style in addition to

Hi Expert,
Here is the correct sentence:
Ryunosuke Akutagawa's knowledge of the literatures of Europe, China and Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style and the content of his fiction.

It seems from the non-underlined part that Europe, China and X (unknown) is not the list of 3 things because there is no COMMA before the final AND. As the correct answer is C, China and Japan simultaneously modify 'knowledge of the literatures of Europe'. If "China and Japan" simultaneously modify "knowledge of blah blah blah", I can surely say that "China and Japan" is a modifier. So, there should have a COMMA after the word "Japan", right? If there is NO COMMA after "Japan", then "was instrumental in his development as a writer" will be the modifier along with "China and Japan". If "China and Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer" is a modifier, then the "adverbial modifier (informing)" will not make the Cause and effect situation. So, how can we legitimate answer option C as correct?

An Insight from Ron:
x, y, and z are the list of 3 things.
But, (x, y and z) are not the list of 3 things. Alternately, "y and z" simultaneously modify 'X'

Thank you.

User avatar
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 60
Joined: Tue Oct 13, 2015 9:05 am

by AsadAbu » Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:14 am

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

Hi @Marty Murray,
Do you think that THIS sentence is correct? I think THIS sentence doesn't make any sense! Can I've your attention here? Thank you so much for your kind and nice response in another threads.
iMyself wrote:Ryunosuke Akutagawa's knowledge of the literatures of Europe, China and that of Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing his literary style as much as the content of his fiction.

a)that of Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing his literary style as much as
b)that of Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, and it informed his literary style as well as
c)Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style and
d)Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, as it informed his literary style as much as
e)Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style in addition to

Hi Expert,
Here is the correct sentence:
Ryunosuke Akutagawa's knowledge of the literatures of Europe, China and Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style and the content of his fiction.

It seems from the non-underlined part that Europe, China and X (unknown) is not the list of 3 things because there is no COMMA before the final AND. As the correct answer is C, China and Japan simultaneously modify 'knowledge of the literatures of Europe'. If "China and Japan" simultaneously modify "knowledge of blah blah blah", I can surely say that "China and Japan" is a modifier. So, there should have a COMMA after the word "Japan", right? If there is NO COMMA after "Japan", then "was instrumental in his development as a writer" will be the modifier along with "China and Japan". If "China and Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer" is a modifier, then the "adverbial modifier (informing)" will not make the Cause and effect situation. So, how can we legitimate answer option C as correct?

An Insight from Ron:
x, y, and z are the list of 3 things.
But, (x, y and z) are not the list of 3 things. Alternately, "y and z" simultaneously modify 'X'

Thank you.

User avatar
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 60
Joined: Tue Oct 13, 2015 9:05 am

by AsadAbu » Tue Jan 24, 2017 4:19 pm

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

iMyself wrote:Hi @Marty Murray,
Do you think that THIS sentence is correct? I think THIS sentence doesn't make any sense! Can I've your attention here? Thank you so much for your kind and nice response in another threads.
iMyself wrote:Ryunosuke Akutagawa's knowledge of the literatures of Europe, China and that of Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing his literary style as much as the content of his fiction.

a)that of Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing his literary style as much as
b)that of Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, and it informed his literary style as well as
c)Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style and
d)Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, as it informed his literary style as much as
e)Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style in addition to

Hi Expert,
Here is the correct sentence:
Ryunosuke Akutagawa's knowledge of the literatures of Europe, China and Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer, informing both his literary style and the content of his fiction.

It seems from the non-underlined part that Europe, China and X (unknown) is not the list of 3 things because there is no COMMA before the final AND. As the correct answer is C, China and Japan simultaneously modify 'knowledge of the literatures of Europe'. If "China and Japan" simultaneously modify "knowledge of blah blah blah", I can surely say that "China and Japan" is a modifier. So, there should have a COMMA after the word "Japan", right? If there is NO COMMA after "Japan", then "was instrumental in his development as a writer" will be the modifier along with "China and Japan". If "China and Japan was instrumental in his development as a writer" is a modifier, then the "adverbial modifier (informing)" will not make the Cause and effect situation. So, how can we legitimate answer option C as correct?

An Insight from Ron:
x, y, and z are the list of 3 things.
But, (x, y and z) are not the list of 3 things. Alternately, "y and z" simultaneously modify 'X'

Thank you.
Hi Expert,
can i have a response in this question?
Thank you all...

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 15539
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pm
Location: New York, NY
Thanked: 13060 times
Followed by:1906 members
GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Wed Jan 25, 2017 4:47 am

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

iMyself wrote:It seems from the non-underlined part that Europe, China and X (unknown) is not the list of 3 things because there is no COMMA before the final AND.
This is SC79 in the OG13.
In my edition of the OG13, a comma appears after China, as follows:
Ryonosuke Akutagawa's knowledge of the literatures of Europe, China, and that of Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing his literary style as much as the content of his fiction.

A) that of Japan were instrumental in his
development as a writer, informing his literary
style as much as
(B) that of Japan was instrumental in his
development as a writer, and it informed both
his literary style as well as
(C) Japan was instrumental in his development as a
writer, informing both his literary style and
(D) Japan was instrumental in his development as a
writer, as it informed his literary style as much as
(E) Japan were instrumental in his development as
a writer, informing both his literary style in
addition to
In A and E, were (plural) does not agree with knowledge (singular).

as well as is a PREPOSITION.
It cannot serve as a substitute for and, which is a CONJUNCTION.
B: both his literary style as well as the content
Here, as well as incorrectly serves as a substitute for and.
Incorrect: both X as well as Y
Correct: both X and Y
Eliminate B.

D: Ryonosuke Akutagawa's knowledge...was instrumental in his development, as it informed his literary style
Here, it is not crystal clear whether it serves to refer to knowledge or to development.
Since C avoids this issue and is free of errors, eliminate D and choose C.

The correct answer is C.
Last edited by GMATGuruNY on Wed Jan 25, 2017 8:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
Private tutor exclusively for the GMAT and GRE, with over 20 years of experience.
Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.

As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.

For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at [email protected].
Student Review #1
Student Review #2
Student Review #3

GMAT/MBA Expert

GMAT Instructor
Posts: 272
Joined: Wed Nov 09, 2016 11:11 am
Location: Lahore, Pakistan
Thanked: 87 times
Followed by:204 members

by Ali Tariq » Wed Jan 25, 2017 7:14 am

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

Ryonosuke Akutagawa's knowledge of the literatures of Europe, China, and that of Japan were instrumental in his development as a writer, informing his literary style as much as the content of his fiction.

A) that of Japan were instrumental in his
development as a writer, informing his literary
style as much as
(B) that of Japan was instrumental in his
development as a writer, and it informed both
his literary style as well as
(C) Japan was instrumental in his development as a
writer, informing both his literary style and
(D) Japan was instrumental in his development as a
writer, as it informed his literary style as much as
(E) Japan were instrumental in his development as
a writer, informing both his literary style in
addition to

Major issue with D is not the pronoun ambiguity but the ambiguity in comparison.
in GMAT SC pronoun ambiguity is not an issue, If you can tell the referent of a pronoun from context.
Ambiguity in comparison is.

Because of ambiguity in comparison, two interpretations are possible.
As the comparison is not crystal clear in D, cross it out.
_________________
www.GMAT.pk

Contact for drastic improvement in just a few days.