sprained ankle

This topic has expert replies
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 447
Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2009 9:08 pm
Location: Kolkata,India
Thanked: 7 times
GMAT Score:670

sprained ankle

by uptowngirl92 » Wed Sep 16, 2009 1:55 am
It has been said that all one can do for a sprained ankle is leave it alone while it heals itself, ice it, and to lie with it in a slightly elevated position

(A) all one can do for a sprained ankle is leave it alone while it heals itself, ice it, and to
(B) all one can do for a sprained ankle is to leave it alone to heal itself, to ice it, and
(C) all one can do for a sprained ankle is leave it alone while it heals itself, and then ice it and
(D) the only thing that can be done for a sprained ankle is leave it alone while it heals itself, ice it, and
(E) the only thing that can be done for a sprained ankle is to leave it alone while it heals itself, to ice it, and


[spoiler]OA:D??!
HOW?!!?I eliminated D and E at a go c's how can the "only thing" be THREE things?!!![/spoiler]

Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 338
Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2009 1:49 am
Thanked: 9 times
Followed by:3 members

Re: sprained ankle

by kaulnikhil » Wed Sep 16, 2009 4:03 am
uptowngirl92 wrote:It has been said that all one can do for a sprained ankle is leave it alone while it heals itself, ice it, and to lie with it in a slightly elevated position

(A) all one can do for a sprained ankle is leave it alone while it heals itself, ice it, and to
(B) all one can do for a sprained ankle is to leave it alone to heal itself, to ice it, and
(C) all one can do for a sprained ankle is leave it alone while it heals itself, and then ice it and
(D) the only thing that can be done for a sprained ankle is leave it alone while it heals itself, ice it, and ---parallel
(E) the only thing that can be done for a sprained ankle is to leave it alone while it heals itself, to ice it, and to missing
----not parallel


[spoiler]OA:D??!
HOW?!!?I eliminated D and E at a go c's how can the "only thing" be THREE things?!!![/spoiler]
[b[/b]

Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 295
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:07 am
Thanked: 4 times
GMAT Score:690

by vaibhav.iit2002 » Wed Sep 16, 2009 9:40 am
IMO C.
As already said, D and E should be eliminated... :(

Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 31
Joined: Sun Oct 14, 2007 10:57 am
Thanked: 2 times

by bstalling » Wed Sep 16, 2009 10:17 am
The question in my mind was what does one refer to in the three options, since "that" usually precedes a noun clause, the one thing seems more logical as a noun is specifically a person place or thing, while one is ambiguous, although intuitively it refers to a person....

in terms of the parallelism, leave it, ice it, and lie with it...

Thats how it all sounded in my head

Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 256
Joined: Mon Aug 10, 2009 6:31 pm
Thanked: 3 times

by gmatv09 » Wed Sep 16, 2009 2:24 pm
In C, the following part - "...while it heals itself, and then ice it and", doesn't sound correct.

D maintains parallelism (as mentioned in earlier posts)

User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 344
Joined: Mon Sep 14, 2009 5:40 am
Thanked: 28 times
Followed by:3 members
GMAT Score:700

by sunnyjohn » Wed Sep 16, 2009 6:59 pm
Hmm, Well Let me highlight you something unseen here.

i found the meaning is a kind of suggestion here.
SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD.

so clause after That needs to have 'bare' form of the verb. Means if verb is "to be", we need only "be".

So B and E are out, Because of usage of "to leave".

(A) Out : Using "to" in the third element of PARALLEL construction.

Main Contestant are C and D:

(C) all one can do for a sprained ankle is leave it alone while it heals itself, and then ice it and

Parallel elements:
leave it
then ice it
lie with it

(D) the only thing that can be done for a sprained ankle is leave it alone while it heals itself, ice it, and lie with it

Parallel elements:
leave it
ice it
lie with it

I think you know what is answer now..!

User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 434
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2007 9:48 pm
Location: Bangalore
Thanked: 6 times
GMAT Score:600

by viju9162 » Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:00 am
I didnt quite understand the explaination ... first why A,B,C are eliminated ... Is "all one can do ...." usage wrong?
"Native of" is used for a individual while "Native to" is used for a large group

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 2228
Joined: Wed Dec 27, 2006 3:28 pm
Location: Montreal, Canada
Thanked: 639 times
Followed by:694 members
GMAT Score:780

by Stacey Koprince » Wed Sep 23, 2009 8:37 am
Hi, guys - received a PM asking me to respond, but no source is listed. Please cite the author and I'll be happy to respond!
Please note: I do not use the Private Messaging system! I will not see any PMs that you send to me!!

Stacey Koprince
GMAT Instructor
Director of Online Community
Manhattan GMAT

Contributor to Beat The GMAT!

Learn more about me

Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 371
Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2009 2:48 am
Thanked: 27 times
GMAT Score:740

by 2010gmat » Thu Sep 24, 2009 6:29 am
i guess discussion boils down to C and D ... D wins if we apply rules of parallelism but if we apply logic then c wins....as already mentioned we can't list out 3 things after saying that only thing reqd is ....

I dont think this is a GMAT quality ques...all choices have some sort of error...

wats the source??

Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 15
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 7:04 pm

by akhilkathuria » Thu Sep 24, 2009 9:28 am
Hey Stacy,
Can you please explain why C is incorrect.
As far as the E goes. I think if we put to at the end should make the E option correct. am i right?
Please suggest?
(E) the only thing that can be done for a sprained ankle is to leave it alone while it heals itself, to ice it, and to

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 2228
Joined: Wed Dec 27, 2006 3:28 pm
Location: Montreal, Canada
Thanked: 639 times
Followed by:694 members
GMAT Score:780

by Stacey Koprince » Thu Sep 24, 2009 12:41 pm
Can't reply until we get the source... :(
Please note: I do not use the Private Messaging system! I will not see any PMs that you send to me!!

Stacey Koprince
GMAT Instructor
Director of Online Community
Manhattan GMAT

Contributor to Beat The GMAT!

Learn more about me

Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 447
Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2009 9:08 pm
Location: Kolkata,India
Thanked: 7 times
GMAT Score:670

by uptowngirl92 » Thu Sep 24, 2009 8:43 pm
Source:1000SC.We all know that the answers are not relaible but then too a good question to get the concepts straight..
Sorry Stacey I know you advice against 1000Sc cos of the disputed OA :(

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 2228
Joined: Wed Dec 27, 2006 3:28 pm
Location: Montreal, Canada
Thanked: 639 times
Followed by:694 members
GMAT Score:780

by Stacey Koprince » Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:26 am
Yeah, I'm not a fan of 1000 SC. That source does contain old official questions, but even if this one is an old official question, I think it would have long since been dropped. While, in idiomatic English, we can say "the only thing" and then list three grouped things that happen together, this question introduces a non-native-speaker bias for the same reason - so I really don't think something like this would show up on the real test any longer (if it once did).
Please note: I do not use the Private Messaging system! I will not see any PMs that you send to me!!

Stacey Koprince
GMAT Instructor
Director of Online Community
Manhattan GMAT

Contributor to Beat The GMAT!

Learn more about me