Dickinson letter

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Dean Jones: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 239; Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2010 8:40 amFollowed by: 2 members; Location: India; Thanked: 5 times; GMAT Score:690

by Dean Jones » Sat Dec 17, 2011 6:26 am

Dear Friends,

I was having problems in answering the following question.

Emily Dickinson's letters to Susan Huntington Dickinson were written over a period
beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to Emily's brother and ending shortly
before Emily's death in 1886, outnumbering her letters to anyone else.

A. Dickinson were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to
Emily's brother and ending shortly before Emily's death in 1886, outnumbering
B. Dickinson were written over a period that begins a few years before Susan's marriage to
Emily's brother and ended shortly before Emily's death in 1886, outnumber
C. Dickinson, written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to
Emily's brother and that ends shortly before Emily's death in 1886and outnumbering
D. Dickinson, which were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's
marriage to Emily's brother, ending shortly before Emily's death in 1886, and
outnumbering
E. Dickinson, which were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's
marriage to Emily's brother and ending shortly before Emily's death in 1886,
outnumber

Please help.

My choice was option A

OA after some discussions.

Regards
Deano.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Sat Dec 17, 2011 6:26 am

GmatVerbal: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 138; Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2009 10:07 amFollowed by: 3 members; Thanked: 19 times

by GmatVerbal » Sat Dec 17, 2011 7:17 am

IMO - E;

Letters outnumber is better than Lets outnumbering.;
b- modifier "outnumber..." modifies 1886;
c- missing verb;
d- missing verb;
e- looks good;

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patanjali.purpose: Legendary Member; Posts: 784; Joined: Sun Apr 03, 2011 3:51 amFollowed by: 12 members; Thanked: 114 times

by patanjali.purpose » Sat Dec 17, 2011 10:26 pm

Dean Jones wrote:Emily Dickinson's letters to Susan Huntington Dickinson were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to Emily's brother and ending shortly before Emily's death in 1886, outnumbering her letters to anyone else.

A. Dickinson were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to Emily's brother and ending shortly before Emily's death in 1886, outnumbering
B. Dickinson were written over a period that begins a few years before Susan's marriage to Emily's brother and ended shortly before Emily's death in 1886, outnumber
C. Dickinson, written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to Emily's brother and that ends shortly before Emily's death in 1886and outnumbering
D. Dickinson, which were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to Emily's brother, ending shortly before Emily's death in 1886, and outnumbering
E. Dickinson, which were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to Emily's brother and ending shortly before Emily's death in 1886, outnumber

A: HER can refers to both Emily Dickinson's and Susan's - AMBIGUITY. Ideally OUTNUMBERING should modify LETTERS but comma+verbing generally modifies the entire previous clause (does not make sense here)

B: HER can refers to both Emily Dickinson's and Susan's - AMBIGUITY. What is the subject of OUTNUMBER?

C: AND THAT....AND OUTNUNMBERING they presents original ideas in different way. AND THAT ENDS intens to show MARRIAGE ENDS. OUTNUMBERING is parallel with which other idea?

D: Lack MAIN VERB; ENDING...AND OUTNUMBRING parallel (differnet from original intend); HER can refers to both Emily Dickinson's and Susan's - AMBIGUITY

E: OUTNUMBER is the main verb; HER clearly refers to Emily Dickinson's (as Susan's is now a modifier)

IMO E

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GmatKiss: Legendary Member; Posts: 2789; Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:19 amFollowed by: 43 members; Location: Chennai, India; Thanked: 206 times; GMAT Score:640

by GmatKiss » Mon Dec 19, 2011 11:14 am

IMO: A

Please share OA and OE[/spoiler]

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GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Mon Dec 19, 2011 2:51 pm

Dean Jones wrote:Dear Friends,

I was having problems in answering the following question.

Emily Dickinson's letters to Susan Huntington Dickinson were written over a period
beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to Emily's brother and ending shortly
before Emily's death in 1886, outnumbering her letters to anyone else.

A. Dickinson were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to
Emily's brother and ending shortly before Emily's death in 1886, outnumbering
B. Dickinson were written over a period that begins a few years before Susan's marriage to
Emily's brother and ended shortly before Emily's death in 1886, outnumber
C. Dickinson, written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to
Emily's brother and that ends shortly before Emily's death in 1886and outnumbering
D. Dickinson, which were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's
marriage to Emily's brother, ending shortly before Emily's death in 1886, and
outnumbering
E. Dickinson, which were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's
marriage to Emily's brother and ending shortly before Emily's death in 1886,
outnumber

Please help.

My choice was option A

OA after some discussions.

Regards
Deano.

A present participle (VERBing) preceded by a comma implies CONTEMPORANEOUS action: an action taking place AT THE SAME TIME as the action of the preceding clause. Emily Dickinson's letters to Susan Huntington Dickinson were WRITTEN over a period beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to Emily's brother and ending shortly before Emily's death in 1886. Thus, quite a few years must have passed before these letters were OUTNUMBERING Emily Dickinson's letters to anyone else. Since the two actions were not contemporaneous, the present participle OUTNUMBERING does not convey the intended meaning. Eliminate A.

In B, begins should not be in the present tense, since the period BEGAN a few years before Susan's marriage. Eliminate B.

In C, beginning and that ends are not parallel. Eliminate C.

In D, letters (subject) lacks a verb. Eliminate D.

The correct answer is E.

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GmatKiss: Legendary Member; Posts: 2789; Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:19 amFollowed by: 43 members; Location: Chennai, India; Thanked: 206 times; GMAT Score:640

by GmatKiss » Tue Dec 20, 2011 11:14 am

Was between A and E, Guru had the solution for it

Thanks..

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