GPREP SC-21

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abhasjha: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 379; Joined: Tue Sep 30, 2008 7:17 amFollowed by: 11 members; Location: NY; Thanked: 28 times

by abhasjha » Fri Aug 22, 2014 8:55 am

In the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the United States acquired 828,000 square miles for about four cents an acre, which more than doubled the country's size and that brought its western border within reach of the Pacific Ocean.

A. In the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the United States acquired 828,000 square miles for about four cents an acre, which more than doubled the country's size and that brought

B. For about four cents an acre the United States acquired, in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, 828,000 square miles, more than doubling the country's size and it brought

C. With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the United States acquired 828,000 square miles for about four cents an acre, more than doubling its size and bringing

D. The United States, in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, for about four cents an acre, acquired 828,000 square miles, more than doubling the country's size, bringing

E. Acquiring 828,000 square miles in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the United States bought it for about four cents an acre, more than doubling the country's size and bringing

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Fri Aug 22, 2014 8:55 am

sukkhi: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 57; Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2013 3:13 am

by sukkhi » Fri Aug 22, 2014 9:31 am

abhasjha wrote:In the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the United States acquired 828,000 square miles for about four cents an acre, which more than doubled the country's size and that brought its western border within reach of the Pacific Ocean.

A. In the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the United States acquired 828,000 square miles for about four cents an acre, which more than doubled the country's size and that brought

B. For about four cents an acre the United States acquired, in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, 828,000 square miles, more than doubling the country's size and it brought

C. With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the United States acquired 828,000 square miles for about four cents an acre, more than doubling its size and bringing

D. The United States, in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, for about four cents an acre, acquired 828,000 square miles, more than doubling the country's size, bringing

E. Acquiring 828,000 square miles in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the United States bought it for about four cents an acre, more than doubling the country's size and bringing

bet on (c)

(a)-usage of "which" is wrong
(b)- "it" didnt do that but the action did.
(d)- two -ing together with comma...shitty construction and also "the us for xxxx, acquired...." why there's a comma in there.also sounds like for xxx modifiying us
(e)-eehh whats "it" here not clear

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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 » Sun Aug 24, 2014 3:29 am

abhasjha wrote:In the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the United States acquired 828,000 square miles for about four cents an acre, which more than doubled the country's size and that brought its western border within reach of the Pacific Ocean.

A. In the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the United States acquired 828,000 square miles for about four cents an acre, which more than doubled the country's size and that brought

B. For about four cents an acre the United States acquired, in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, 828,000 square miles, more than doubling the country's size and it brought

C. With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the United States acquired 828,000 square miles for about four cents an acre, more than doubling its size and bringing

D. The United States, in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, for about four cents an acre, acquired 828,000 square miles, more than doubling the country's size, bringing

E. Acquiring 828,000 square miles in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the United States bought it for about four cents an acre, more than doubling the country's size and bringing

In A, which seems to refer to four cents an acre, implying that FOUR CENTS AN ACRE more then DOUBLED the country's size.
Not the intended meaning.
Eliminate A.

In B, more than doubling and it brought are not parallel.
Eliminate B.

D: more than doubling the country's size, bringing its western border
These two modifiers cannot be joined only by a comma.
Eliminate D.

E: Acquiring 828,000 square miles, the United States bought
Here, acquiring and bought are redundant.
Eliminate E.

The correct answer is C.

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abhasjha: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 379; Joined: Tue Sep 30, 2008 7:17 amFollowed by: 11 members; Location: NY; Thanked: 28 times

by abhasjha » Mon Aug 25, 2014 6:05 am

Hi Mitch,

can u plz elaborate more on this :

D - more than doubling the country's size, bringing its western border
These two modifiers cannot be joined only by a comma.
Eliminate D.

is it a rule that two modifiers can not be joined only by comma - or something else that will help me understand the things better.

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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 Aug 25, 2014 8:28 am

abhasjha wrote:Hi Mitch,

can u plz elaborate more on this :

D - more than doubling the country's size, bringing its western border
These two modifiers cannot be joined only by a comma.
Eliminate D.

is it a rule that two modifiers can not be joined only by comma - or something else that will help me understand the things better.

Generally, a list of two parallel forms requires a conjunction such as AND:
JOHN AND MARY attended college.
John SANG AND DANCED.
Mary became rich BY LIVING FRUGALLY AND BY INVESTING WISELY.

In accordance with this rule, the two modifiers in D should be linked by and, as in the OA:
The United States acquired 828,000 square miles, more than doubling its size AND bringing its western border within reach of the Pacific Ocean.

There have been a few exceptions to this rule.
I discuss these exceptions here:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/in-a-state-o ... tml#727594
The SCs discussed in the link above feature two modifiers joined by a comma.
This usage of a comma is permissible because the two modifiers are almost perfectly parallel.
In the SC here, MORE THAN doubling and bringing are not perfectly parallel, so these two modifiers must be connected by a conjunction such as and.

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abhasjha: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 379; Joined: Tue Sep 30, 2008 7:17 amFollowed by: 11 members; Location: NY; Thanked: 28 times

by abhasjha » Mon Aug 25, 2014 9:59 am

Thank you .

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