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hognose snake

by metallicafan » Mon Sep 23, 2013 2:47 pm
The hognose snake puts on an impressive bluff, hissing and rearing back, broadens the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does, feigning repeated strikes, but, having no dangerous fangs and no venom, eventually, if its pursuer is not cowed by the performance, will fall over and play dead.
A. broadens the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does, feigning repeated strikes, but, having no dangerous fangs and no venom,
B. broadens the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does and feigns repeated strikes, but with no dangerous fangs and no venom,
C. broadening the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does and feigning repeated strikes, but it has no dangerous fangs and no venom, and
D. broadening the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does and feigns repeated strikes, but with no dangerous fangs and no venom, and
E. broadening the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does, feigning repeated strikes, but with no dangerous fangs and no venom, and

OA is __C.__

Why does C have a comma after venom? It's clear that the and after that comma will connect the working verb "has" with "fall over" and "play". :S
Is it necessary that comma? It is confusing because it seems they want to include a new clause :S
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by Mike@Magoosh » Mon Sep 23, 2013 3:51 pm
metallicafan wrote:Why does C have a comma after venom? It's clear that the and after that comma will connect the working verb "has" with "fall over" and "play". :S
Is it necessary that comma? It is confusing because it seems they want to include a new clause :S
Dear metallicafan,
I'm happy to respond. :-) Apparently, this is a question from GMAT Prep.

Here's version (C)
The hognose snake puts on an impressive bluff, hissing and rearing back, broadening the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does and feigning repeated strikes, but it has no dangerous fangs and no venom, and eventually, if its pursuer is not cowed by the performance, will fall over and play dead.
That comma after "venom" is 100% absolutely essential. Think about what comes immediate before it --- a list of what the snake doesn't have --- "... has no dangerous fangs and no venom" . Now, think about if we put the word "and" after that with no comma -----
"... has no dangerous fangs and no venom and ...."
We would expect another thing on the list, another dangerous feature the snake doesn't have. Even better, add the clause without the comma ----
"... has no dangerous fangs and no venom and eventually, if its pursuer is not cowed by the performance, ...."
Now, we really would be expecting some rare other feature on the same list
(a) no dangerous fangs
(b) no venom
(c) eventually, if its pursuer is not cowed by the performance, ??????
It's hard to imagine what biological feature the snake might be lacking that would fit this context.
Instead, at this point in the sentence, the reader would encounter a verb "will fall over ...", which would be entirely confusing. On the GMAT, a well-written sentence causes absolutely no confusion.
This is precisely why we need a comma, to say --- OK, we are done with the list, and now we are going to shift directions slightly and talk about a new action.

Does all this make sense?
Mike :-)
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https://gmat.magoosh.com/
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by sukkhi » Sat Jun 28, 2014 4:33 am
metallicafan wrote:The hognose snake puts on an impressive bluff, hissing and rearing back, broadens the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does, feigning repeated strikes, but, having no dangerous fangs and no venom, eventually, if its pursuer is not cowed by the performance, will fall over and play dead.
A. broadens the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does, feigning repeated strikes, but, having no dangerous fangs and no venom,
B. broadens the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does and feigns repeated strikes, but with no dangerous fangs and no venom,
C. broadening the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does and feigning repeated strikes, but it has no dangerous fangs and no venom, and
D. broadening the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does and feigns repeated strikes, but with no dangerous fangs and no venom, and
E. broadening the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does, feigning repeated strikes, but with no dangerous fangs and no venom, and

OA is __C.__

Why does C have a comma after venom? It's clear that the and after that comma will connect the working verb "has" with "fall over" and "play". :S
Is it necessary that comma? It is confusing because it seems they want to include a new clause :S
hving a hard time understanding the parallel components here... xplanation pls??
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by GMATGuruNY » Sat Jun 28, 2014 6:14 am
The hognose snake puts on an impressive bluff, hissing and rearing back, broadens the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does, feigning repeated strikes, but, having no dangerous fangs and no venom, eventually, if its
pursuer is not cowed by the performance, will fall over and play dead.
A. broadens the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does, feigning repeated strikes, but, having no dangerous fangs and no venom,
B. broadens the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does and feigns repeated strikes, but with no dangerous fangs and no venom,
C. broadening the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does and feigning repeated strikes, but it has no dangerous fangs and no venom, and
D. broadening the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does and feigns repeated strikes, but with no dangerous fangs and no venom, and
E. broadening the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does, feigning repeated strikes, but with no dangerous fangs and no venom, and
A and B: PUTS ON an impressive bluff...BROADENS the flesh behind its head
Here, the parallel tenses -- puts on and broadens -- imply that the second action is distinct from the first.
Not so.
The intended meaning is that the second action is HOW the first action is performed:
How does the snake PUT ON AN IMPRESSIVE BLUFF?
By BROADENING THE FLESH BEHIND ITS HEAD.
To make it clear that the second action is not distinct from the first, the OA correctly expresses the second action as a VERBing modifier:
The hognose snake puts on an impressive bluff, BROADENING the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does.
In the OA, it's clear that the VERBing action -- broadening the flesh behind its head -- is HOW the snake puts on an impressive bluff.
Eliminate A and B.

In D, broadening and feigns are not parallel.
Eliminate D.

In E, the list of actions is not parallel: broadening...feigning...and will fall over.
Eliminate E.

The correct answer is C.

In C, all of the actions are parallel:
...HISSING and REARING, BROADENING and FEIGNING...
...but it HAS...and will FALL..and PLAY...
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