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crazy4gmat: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 160; Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2008 4:54 am; Thanked: 5 times; GMAT Score:660

Great Plains

by crazy4gmat » Sat Dec 06, 2008 10:51 pm

On the Great Plains, nineteenth-century settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, doing it without timber and nails.
(A) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, doing it without
(B) settlers, using mud and grass to build their homes, did it without
(C) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, making them while not having
(D) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, making do without
(E) settlers’ homes were built of mud and grass, making do without

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Sat Dec 06, 2008 10:51 pm

acecoolan: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 139; Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 12:27 pm; Thanked: 8 times

by acecoolan » Sat Dec 06, 2008 11:03 pm

IMO D

a) 'it' has no referent
b) using mud and grass to build their homes - is correct ..and 'it' again seems to be a culprit
c) them - making who?
e) its missing the subject

so I think its 'D'

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ronniecoleman: Legendary Member; Posts: 546; Joined: Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:00 pm; Location: New Delhi , India; Thanked: 13 times

by ronniecoleman » Sat Dec 06, 2008 11:05 pm

Whats the source of this question ????

On the Great Plains, nineteenth-century settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, doing it without timber and nails.
(A) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, doing it without

doing it ----wrong
(B) settlers, using mud and grass to build their homes, did it without

doing it----wrong
(C) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, making them while not having

awkward
(D) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, making do without

is this english ?
(E) settlers’ homes were built of mud and grass, making do without

is this english ?

so if the source is authentic lesser evil i guess is option C

Last edited by ronniecoleman on Sat Dec 06, 2008 11:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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ronniecoleman: Legendary Member; Posts: 546; Joined: Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:00 pm; Location: New Delhi , India; Thanked: 13 times

by ronniecoleman » Sat Dec 06, 2008 11:08 pm

oh !! 1000 SC

Guys... do you think option D or E makes any sense...

damn 1000 SC

Admission champion, Hauz khaz
011-27565856

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logitech: Legendary Member; Posts: 2134; Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2008 11:26 pm; Thanked: 237 times; Followed by:25 members; GMAT Score:730

by logitech » Sat Dec 06, 2008 11:11 pm

Lunarpower:

this should be (d).

first off, "make do" is an idiomatic expression meaning, roughly, "get the job done" or "accomplish some planned goal". so that's fine, the above guest poster's assertion to the contrary notwithstanding.

(a) and (b) are gone because "it" doesn't have an antecedent.
(e) is gone because "settlers' homes" is the subject, creating the absurd meaning that the homes themselves "made do" -- i.e., that the homes built themselves.

(d) is better than (c) for the following reasons:
* "making them" would be wholly redundant, because we just got done saying "to build their homes". if this were the intended meaning, we'd just write "...used mud and grass to build their homes, without timber and nails". on the other hand, "making do" (which, as noted above, is an acceptable idiom) is acceptable as a modifier because it doesn't restate anything from the main clause.
* "while not having" is way, way inferior to "without". in fact, if you've seen enough official problems, you'll eliminate wordy constructions like this on sight; they're common, and they're basically never correct (especially when they're alongside much more compact constructions, such as "without", in the answer choices).

LGTCH
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"DON'T LET ANYONE STEAL YOUR DREAM!"

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reachac: Legendary Member; Posts: 572; Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:25 am; Thanked: 21 times

by reachac » Sat Dec 06, 2008 11:16 pm

@ronniecoleman. "making do without" is the right usage. It is an idiomatic expression. Hence I think D is correct. Reject E for its awkward sentence structure.