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Difficult SC

by mundasingh123 » Wed Aug 17, 2011 7:53 am
The diet of the ordinary Greek in classical times was largely vegetarian--vegetables, fresh cheese, oatmeal,and meal cakes, and meat rarely.
(A) and meat rarely
(B) and meat was rare
(C) with meat as rare
(D) meat a rarity
(E) with meat as a rarity

Could some one explain which choice is correct and how does the choice work in the sentence as a whole
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by crick » Wed Aug 17, 2011 8:03 am
E for me here.

Since there is already an "and" in the non-underlined part, another and is not correct. A and B are out.

We still need a conjunction to connect the last portion to rest of the sentence. So D is out.

We need rarity and not rare (we need a noun). So C is out.

Left with E
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by mundasingh123 » Wed Aug 17, 2011 8:22 am
crick wrote:E for me here.

Since there is already an "and" in the non-underlined part, another and is not correct. A and B are out.

We still need a conjunction to connect the last portion to rest of the sentence. So D is out.

We need rarity and not rare (we need a noun). So C is out.

Left with E
Crick
What i need to know is how does the conjunction / preposition or whatever in the answer choices modifies & what does it modify subject/verb in the non-underlined sentence .
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by GmatKiss » Wed Aug 17, 2011 9:16 am
A,B fails with extra and
C with meat as rare -- as what?
was held up with D and E
D does not have the with. with actually bonds it with the statement.

IMO: E
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by mundasingh123 » Wed Aug 17, 2011 10:39 am
GmatKiss wrote:A,B fails with extra and
C with meat as rare -- as what?
was held up with D and E
D does not have the with. with actually bonds it with the statement.

IMO: E
Most prepositions , conjunctions and subordinators bond something to something but they each have their functions .
With ... is a prepositional phrase . What does it modify ?
I am not really convinced by the replies .However, I appreciate the efforts .
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by zander21 » Wed Aug 17, 2011 11:08 am
mundasingh123 - the correct answer is E
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by aspirant2011 » Wed Aug 17, 2011 11:33 am
mundasingh123 wrote:The diet of the ordinary Greek in classical times was largely vegetarian--vegetables, fresh cheese, oatmeal,and meal cakes, and meat rarely.
(A) and meat rarely
(B) and meat was rare
(C) with meat as rare---- changes the meaning
(D) meat a rarity----- wrong because list of things has already got over and this doesn't act as a modifier also
(E) with meat as a rarity ---- we need a cordinating conjunction i.e which combines the items mentioned in the list (vegetables, fresh cheese, oatmeal,and meal cakes) with something extra i.e meat

Could some one explain which choice is correct and how does the choice work in the sentence as a whole
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by mundasingh123 » Wed Aug 17, 2011 12:41 pm
parleybaldwin wrote:mundasingh123 - the correct answer is E
Why do you think the correct answer is E - parleybaldwin
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by GMATGuruNY » Wed Aug 17, 2011 2:17 pm
I posted an explanation here:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/the-diet-of- ... 61331.html
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by mundasingh123 » Wed Aug 17, 2011 11:15 pm

The diet of the ordinary Greek in classical times was largely vegetarian-vegetables, fresh cheese, oatmeal, and meal cakes, and meat rarely.

(A) and meat rarely
(B) and meat was rare
(C) with meat as rare
(D) meat a rarity
(E) with meat as a rarity



When you see conjunctions such as and, but, or, etc. changing in the answers, ask yourself:

Is the correct conjunction being used?
Is the conjunction in the right place?

In the original sentence above, the list of vegetarian items is vegetables, fresh cheese, oatmeal, and meal cakes. Meat is not included in this list, so we can't say and meat rarely because the conjunction and is incorrect. We need a conjunction that indicates contrast.

Eliminate A and B.

A conjunction is needed in D. Eliminate D.

Answer choice C changes the meaning. The phrase meat as rare suggests meat that was cooked only for a short period. The intended meaning of the sentence is that meat was uncommon. Eliminate C.

The correct answer is E.

GmatGuruNY , can we assume that E is a prepositional phrase and the preposition with modifies the action in the preceding clause
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by GMATGuruNY » Thu Aug 18, 2011 2:14 am
mundasingh123 wrote:

The diet of the ordinary Greek in classical times was largely vegetarian-vegetables, fresh cheese, oatmeal, and meal cakes, and meat rarely.

(A) and meat rarely
(B) and meat was rare
(C) with meat as rare
(D) meat a rarity
(E) with meat as a rarity



When you see conjunctions such as and, but, or, etc. changing in the answers, ask yourself:

Is the correct conjunction being used?
Is the conjunction in the right place?

In the original sentence above, the list of vegetarian items is vegetables, fresh cheese, oatmeal, and meal cakes. Meat is not included in this list, so we can't say and meat rarely because the conjunction and is incorrect. We need a conjunction that indicates contrast.

Eliminate A and B.

A conjunction is needed in D. Eliminate D.

Answer choice C changes the meaning. The phrase meat as rare suggests meat that was cooked only for a short period. The intended meaning of the sentence is that meat was uncommon. Eliminate C.

The correct answer is E.

GmatGuruNY , can we assume that E is a prepositional phrase and the preposition with modifies the action in the preceding clause
In E, with meat as a rarity is functioning as an adverb: the diet...was largely vegetarian...with meat as a rarity.
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by mundasingh123 » Thu Aug 18, 2011 2:20 am
GmatGuruNY
Doesnt C convey the same Meaning as E ?
Both say that meat was rare
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by GMATGuruNY » Thu Aug 18, 2011 3:20 am
mundasingh123 wrote:GmatGuruNY
Doesnt C convey the same Meaning as E ?
Both say that meat was rare
AS + NOUN implies function. In E, with meat as a rarity means with meat FUNCTIONING as a rarity.

AS + ADJECTIVE implies a comparison. In C, it is not clear what is being compared: with meat as rare AS WHAT? Since the comparison is unclear, eliminate C.

Also, with meat as rare could suggest that the meat was lightly cooked (one definition of rare).
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