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Not only .. But Also

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by Dean Jones » Mon Dec 26, 2011 3:49 am
Dear Friends,

I was having problems in answering the following question.

By pressing a tiny amount of nitrogen between two diamonds to a pressure of 25 million pounds per square inch, scientists not only were able to transform the gas into a solid, but they also created a semiconductor similar to silicon.

(A) not only were able to transform the gas into a solid, but they also created
(B) not only were able to transform the gas into a solid but also creating
(C) were able not only to transform the gas into a solid but to create
(D) were able not only to transform the gas into a solid but also creating
(E) were not only able to transform the gas into a solid, but they were also able to create


Please help.

OA after some discussions.

Regards
Deano.
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by sk8legend408 » Mon Dec 26, 2011 4:56 am
IMO E. This tests parrallelism.

A - To transform/created - eliminate
B - To transform/creating - eliminate
C - does not follow up not only with but also - eliminate
D - To transform/creating - eliminate
E - Correctly uses to transform/to create and not only...but also - E is the correct answer.
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by limestone » Mon Dec 26, 2011 5:54 pm
IMO E

A: Not only is put before the verb to be "were". This sounds weird to me.

Correct:

He is not only a teacher but also a doctor.

or

He is not only a teacher but he can also cure illnesses.

Never have I heard before:

He not only is a teacher but also a doctor.
or
I not only am a student but I also work as a teaching assistant.

Thus eliminate A

B: The same as A

C: where is the word "also"? Eliminate C as it breaks the pattern of "not only ... but also"

D: the phrase after not only must parallel with the phrase after but also. Thus, to transform must parallel with to create instead of with creating[/b.

E: able to transform perfectly parallels with able to create.
"There is nothing either good or bad - but thinking makes it so" - Shakespeare.
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by shekhar.kataria » Tue Dec 27, 2011 12:56 am
Correct Answer is C here and this is an exception in GMAT. Here is what Ron Says :-

'not only ... but also' in generally preferred, but gmatprep has featured at least one problem featuring 'not only ... but' in the correct answer. here it is:

By pressing a tiny amount of nitrogen between two diamonds to a pressure of 25 milliion pounds per square inch, scientists not only were able to transform the gas into a solid, but they also created a semiconductor similar to silicon

A.
B. not only were able to transform the gas into a solid but also creating
C. were able not only to transform the gas into a solid but to create
D. were able not only to transform the gas into a solid but also creating
E. were able not only to transform the gas into a solid but they were also able to create

the correct answer is c, the only choice that features proper parallelism. it omits the word 'also', but it's still correct.


My Question is Isn't E incorrect because it involves "they were" inside but also. Please prove with examples.??
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by limestone » Tue Dec 27, 2011 1:18 am
Shekhar

You really through some light here.

If we add "also" into C, it will become a perfect answer. Without "also", it seems a little odd. But as you say, there's some time exception.

My cocern is the same as yours, what's is wrong with E?
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by shekhar.kataria » Tue Dec 27, 2011 6:36 am
Not only X but also Y and Not only X also Y both are idiomatic expressions.

I have got my understanding on E as well. Whenever we have 2-part comparison sentences like this, we compare what is followed by not only and but also. It should be parallel both structurally and grammatically. If you see

Not only is followed by an an infinitive ( TO TRANSFORM ) whereas
but also is followed by a clause ( they were also able to create ). this is the reason it is not parallel.

limestone wrote:Shekhar

You really through some light here.

If we add "also" into C, it will become a perfect answer. Without "also", it seems a little odd. But as you say, there's some time exception.

My cocern is the same as yours, what's is wrong with E?
Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress.--Thomas A. Edison

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by Dean Jones » Wed Dec 28, 2011 11:05 am
OA is option C
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