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A fire in an enclosed space burns

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by simplyjat » Sun Apr 27, 2008 11:30 pm
A fire in an enclosed space burns with the aid of reflected radiation that preheats the fuel, making ignition much easier and flames spreading more quickly.

(A) flames spreading
(B) flame spreads
(C) flames are caused to spread
(D) causing flames to spread
(E) causing spreading of the flames

OA D
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by barron » Thu May 08, 2008 6:43 am
needs parallelism

so, eliminate A,B and C

'more quickly' modifies 'spread'
so, eliminate E
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by chidcguy » Mon May 12, 2008 8:29 pm
and signals parallelism

making ignition much easier and causing flames to spread is correct
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by vivian16 » Thu Aug 28, 2008 7:49 am
I also choose E.
What is the OA ?
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by anju » Thu Aug 28, 2008 8:19 am
vivian16 wrote:I also choose E.
What is the OA ?
OA is D
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by California4jx » Thu Aug 28, 2008 8:43 am
OA - D --- parallel construction -- making ignition and causing ...
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by MBAboy » Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:58 am
barron wrote:needs parallelism

so, eliminate A,B and C

'more quickly' modifies 'spread'
so, eliminate E
I want with D too, but nice explanation barron
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by jessica.ng1988 » Sat Aug 30, 2008 7:47 am
IMO: D
making ignition much easier....causing flames to spread more quickly.
paralellism, correct idiom: cause ... to do
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by Onell » Mon Dec 13, 2010 5:00 pm
jessica.ng1988 wrote:IMO: D
making ignition much easier....causing flames to spread more quickly.
paralellism, correct idiom: cause ... to do
Guys,

What's wrong with B.... B also seems to be parallel .... making X and Y
X=ignition much easier
Y=flame spreads more quickly.

making ignition much easier and .flame spreads more quickly.
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by Tani » Mon Dec 13, 2010 6:19 pm
In your X-Y example, the items are not parallel.

"ignition" is a noun phrase and "flames spread" is a verb phrase
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by sachin2411 » Tue Dec 14, 2010 9:53 pm
Great explanation Tani..

Now its crystal clear....
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by b2o » Tue Dec 01, 2015 10:19 pm
Hi Guys,

Could someone please explain me why "ignition" and "flames spreading" are not parallel?
As a non-native speaker I see ---, making noun + adjective and gerund (serving as a noun) + adjective. So, it looks quite parallel to me.

Thank you.
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by MartyMurray » Wed Dec 02, 2015 3:41 am
b2o wrote:Could someone please explain me why "ignition" and "flames spreading" are not parallel?
As a non-native speaker I see ---, making noun + adjective and gerund (serving as a noun) + adjective. So, it looks quite parallel to me.
Look at making ignition much easier and flames spreading more quickly.

For clarity we can rewrite it as making ignition much easier and making flames spreading more quickly.

For starters this form does not work. making flames spreading more quickly

What that conveys via making-noun-verb-ing modifier is that flames that spread more quickly are being made, as in making flames. What kind of flames? Flames that are spreading more quickly.

What the sentence is seeking to convey is that the flames are being made to spread more quickly. The way to convey that is the following.

making flames spread more quickly

As far as parallelism goes, to see the issue in the original version look at what we have given the meaning I just outlined.

making ignition easier and flames spreading more quickly

making ignition easier This conveys that the ignition is being changed so that it is easier.

making flames spreading more quickly This conveys that flames are being created.

So essentially two different meanings of make are being used in the same list.

The following is a clearly parallel construction.

making ignition easier and the spread of flames more rapid

I believe the following works also, but I am not 100% sure it does, as ignition easier is noun-adjective, while flames spread more quickly is noun-verb-adverb.

making ignition easier and flames spread more quickly

It looks good to me though.

How is ignition being changed? It is being made easier.

How are flames being changed? They are being made to spread more quickly.

That seems basically parallel.
Last edited by MartyMurray on Wed Dec 02, 2015 3:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by GMATGuruNY » Wed Dec 02, 2015 3:42 am
b2o wrote:Hi Guys,

Could someone please explain me why "ignition" and "flames spreading" are not parallel?
As a non-native speaker I see ---, making noun + adjective and gerund (serving as a noun) + adjective. So, it looks quite parallel to me.

Thank you.
The BARE INFINITIVE is the infinitive form of a verb (to + VERB) with the to omitted.

Certain special verbs (see, hear, watch, make, help) are typically followed by the bare infinitive.
Generally, the construction is as follows:
SPECIAL VERB + DIRECT OBJECT + BARE INFINITIVE.
Examples:
John heard the dog BARK.
Here, bark = bare infinitive (to bark with the to omitted).
Susan is watching her son PLAY baseball.
Here, play = bare infinitive, (to play with the to omitted).
The professor made John STAY after class.
Here, stay = bare infinitive (to stay with the to omitted).

A: making...flames spreading more quickly
Here, the usage of spreading is incorrect.
The usage of making requires the BARE INFINITIVE form of to spread, as follows:
making flames SPREAD more quickly.
Here, spread = bare infinitive (to spread with the to omitted).
Eliminate A.
Last edited by GMATGuruNY on Wed Dec 02, 2015 7:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by binit » Wed Dec 02, 2015 5:49 am
GMATGuruNY wrote:
A: making...flames spreading more quickly
Here, the usage of spreading is incorrect.
The usage of making requires the BARE INFINITIVE form of to spread, as follows:
making flames SPREAD more quickly.
Here, spread = bare infinitive (to spread with the to omitted).
Eliminate A.
Hi Mitch,
Thanks a ton for the insightful post. I knew about Bare Infinitives but was never so clear about them.
Just a small doubt regarding the SC question. I think, even if we replace the underlined part with flames SPREAD, the sentence would not convey a logical meaning.
Verb+ing modifier making refers back to the subject of the previous clause i.e. radiation. Now, radiation can make ignition much easier because it preheats the fuel, but can it (radiation) make flames spread? Little awkward meaning.
I think because of the inconsistency in meaning, another verb, cause, was necessary to introduce. Pls comment on that.
Thanks.
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