can't find a way to delete this. sorry..

'began' is the simple past of action verb 'begin'. So is 'merged' - simple past of merge.

'was' - a linking verb. it's also the simple past of 'be' (was, were)

so in 'B' the comparison is among parallel form of verbs.

Also, if OG mentions 'probably not X but more than likely Y' as an idiom, it's better to stick with it as long as you are in gmatland.


Thanks...

Excellent! I got it. Thanks very much, Mitch!!!

From this question, I know that GMAT doesn't always make sentenses perfectly parallel because sometimes a sentense like this one can hardly be made parallel. I used to think that X and Y should perfectly be parallel. It is not the case.

Thanks again! Learn a lot from this question.

Sorry to restart an old thread, but I am still a little stuck on Mitch's explanation for choice A.

A) ...the early writing was probably....but was more likely to begin...and only later merged. Not parallel

Shouldn't the first "was" be parallel with the second "was"? (As in "but was more likely...")

Is the reason that Mitch marked "to begain" in red b/c "was more likely" is some how acting as a noun, like a simple gerund? (IE: Tracking Satellites is what I do for fun.)

Thanks!

OneTwoThreeFour wrote:Sorry to restart an old thread, but I am still a little stuck on Mitch's explanation for choice A.

A) ...the early writing was probably....but was more likely to begin...and only later merged. Not parallel

Shouldn't the first "was" be parallel with the second "was"? (As in "but was more likely...")

Is the reason that Mitch marked "to begain" in red b/c "was more likely" is some how acting as a noun, like a simple gerund? (IE: Tracking Satellites is what I do for fun.)

Thanks!

In A, was more likely to begin means that there was a high probability that the writing would begin. The intended meaning of the sentence is to discuss not what the writing was likely to do but what it likely did:

...the writing was probably not X...but more than likely began as Y...and only later merged with Z.

To convey the intended meaning, the verbs highlighted in red need to be parallel and in the simple past tense.

Thank you Mitch!

Thanks you Mitch, you had a great explanation. I was struggling with this of diagnostic answer. Agree that compassion structure sometimes are not perfect. Because we have the noun ' the earliest writing' as central noun. Need to compare parallel verbs: .........was......began......merged.....
Eliminated D and E because ' it' make the ' not only....but also' not comparable structure
C : was incorrect verb tense ' began' instead of ' beginning'
A: hard time to elimiate because didn't see the unparalleled verb: ' was...... To begin......'
Tough one

Dear Mith
What about the idiom: "likely" should follow "that" OR ".....is likely to...."
This idiomatic construction is not seen in the correct answer.

pls reply.

krishna239455 wrote:Dear Mith
What about the idiom: "likely" should follow "that" OR ".....is likely to...."
This idiomatic construction is not seen in the correct answer.

pls reply.

Likely typically serves as an ADJECTIVE.

The team is likely to win the game.
Here, likely is an adjective modifying the team.

It is likely that the team will win the game.
Here, likely is an adjective modifying the following clause: that the team will win the game is LIKELY.

In the SC above, likely serves as an ADVERB -- a less common usage.
To be specific, more than likely modifies began: the earliest writing MORE THAN LIKELY began as a separate and distinct system.

This usage of likely is correct.
When likely serves as an adverb, it usually is preceded by another modifier:
MORE THAN likely
QUITE likely
VERY likely
etc.