gmat_perfect wrote:George Washington Carver dedicated his life to the economic strengthening of the South with improvement of soil and diversification of crops.

(A) the economic strengthening of the South with improvement of soil and diversification of crops
(B) strengthening the economy in the South with soil improvement and the diversification of crops
(C) strengthening the economy of the South through soil improvement and crop diversification
(D) the strengthening of the economy of the South through improving soil and crop diversifying
(E) the economic strengthening in the South with improving soil and diversifying crops

[spoiler]OA: C[/spoiler]

My question is when to use "to + verb" and when to use "to + VerbING"?

Please clarify.

(A) the economic strengthening of the South with improvement of soil and diversification of crops - changes the meaning . strengthening the economy is different from economic strengthening
(B) strengthening the economy in the South with soil improvement and the diversification of crops - economy of X is the correct usage
(C) strengthening the economy of the South through soil improvement and crop diversification - Correct
(D) the strengthening of the economy of the South through improving soil and crop diversifying - he dedicated his life to 'strengthening the economy" and not to just "strengthening"
(E) the economic strengthening in the South with improving soil and diversifying cropschanges the meaning . strengthening the economy is different from economic strengthening

George Washington Carver dedicated his life to the economic strengthening of the South with improvement of soil and diversification of crops.

(A) the economic strengthening of the South with improvement of soil and diversification of crops
(B) strengthening the economy in the South with soil improvement and the diversification of crops
(C) strengthening the economy of the South through soil improvement and crop diversification
(D) the strengthening of the economy of the South through improving soil and crop diversifying
(E) the economic strengthening in the South with improving soil and diversifying crops

Thanks Gmat_perfect for the challenging and rewarding questions. I like them, so keep them coming.

Although the question is primarily testing Parallelism, it is also testing idioms as indicated in splits Of/ In , with / though.

It is idiomatic to say economy of the South , rather than economy in the South.
Its ambigous to say " strengthen the economy with soil improvement" , but " strengthen the economy through soil improvement" .

It will be either A or C.
BUt I doubt
in A: Economic strengthening is same as strengthening the economy?
in C: Can we use To Verb+Ing form? Sounding awkward