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sana.noor wrote:Stymieing the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, the reason for the defeat of the Spanish Armada was not only due to gale winds that favored the British but also the sacrificing of eight war ships as “fireships,” vessels filled with pitch, brimstone, gunpowder, and tar and sent downwind toward the closely-anchored Spanish fleet.

A. Stymieing the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, the reason for the defeat of the Spanish Armada was not only due to gale winds that favored the British but also the sacrificing
B. The defeat of the Spanish Armada, which stymied the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, was not only due to gale winds that favored the British but also the sacrificing
C. The defeat of the Spanish Armada, which stymied the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, was not only due to gale winds that favored the British but also due to the sacrificing
D. Stymieing the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, the reason for the defeat of the Spanish Armada was not only gale winds that favored the British but also the sacrifice
E. Stymieing the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, the defeat of the Spanish Armada was due not only to gale winds that favored the British but also to the sacrifice

OA is E however, i am confused between c and E. why E isnt using "due to" with "but also"

(c)- due to gale winds....vs. due to the sacrificing
(e)- to gale winds || to the sacrifice

considering "which" refers to "the deafeat" in (c) what could be the basis to rule this option out?

Hi sana.noor and thanks for your question,

Meaning is always pivotal. Our first task is to “figure out” what the author aims to convey. This sentence says that a defeat prevented the “Armada's" meeting with Parma’s army. It then presents two causes highlighted by “due to”. “Due to” is always followed by nouns, pronouns, or everything that can funcion as a noun. If you glance a “due to” construction in a sentence substitute it with “caused by” and carefully check whether “due to” makes sense in that context.

“Stymieing” acts as modifier, thus the first word of the clause should be logical and meaningful.

Stymieing the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, the reason for the defeat of the Spanish Armada was not only due to gale winds that favored the British but also the sacrificing of eight war ships as “fireships,” vessels filled with pitch, brimstone, gunpowder, and tar and sent downwind toward the closely-anchored Spanish fleet.

A. Stymieing the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, the reason for the defeat of the Spanish Armada was not only due to gale winds that favored the British but also the sacrificing.

“Stymieing” incorrecly modifies “The reason”. It is not the reason preventing the Armada’s meeting with Parma’s army, but rather the defeat.

B. The defeat of the Spanish Armada, which stymied the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, was not only due to gale winds that favored the British but also the sacrificing

Modifier “Which” refers to his preceding word, which in this case is Armada. The author intends to modify the word “defeat”. [it is not the spanish Armada itself that blocked its plans]. Also “was not only due to [..] but also” [“due to” is missing].

C. The defeat of the Spanish Armada, which stymied the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, was not only due to gale winds that favored the British but also due to the sacrificing

Same modifier issue as in B.

D. Stymieing the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, the reason for the defeat of the Spanish Armada was not only gale winds that favored the British but also the sacrifice

Same modifier issue as in A.

E. Stymieing the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, the defeat of the Spanish Armada was due not only to gale winds that favored the British but also to the sacrifice.


This sentence is perfect. “Stymieing” modifies “defeat”. “due to” is followed by winds, a noun, and sacrifice, another noun.

Hope it helps,
-tathastuGMAT.

Stymieing the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, the reason for the defeat of the Spanish Armada was not only due to gale winds that favored the British but also the sacrificing of eight war ships as “fireships,” vessels filled with pitch, brimstone, gunpowder, and tar and sent downwind toward the closely-anchored Spanish fleet.

A) Stymieing the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, the reason for the defeat of the Spanish Armada was not only due to gale winds that favored the British but also the sacrificing

B) The defeat of the Spanish Armada, which stymied the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, was not only due to gale winds that favored the British but also the sacrificing

C) The defeat of the Spanish Armada, which stymied the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, was not only due to gale winds that favored the British but also due to the sacrificing

D) Stymieing the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, the reason for the defeat of the Spanish Armada was not only gale winds that favored the British but also the sacrifice

E) Stymieing the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, the defeat of the Spanish Armada was due not only to gale winds that favored the British but also to the sacrifice

In A and D, stymieing seems to modify the reason, implying that THE REASON stymied the Armada's plans -- a nonsensical meaning.
The intended meaning is that THE DEFEAT of the Armada stymied the Armada's plans.
Eliminate A and D.

In B and C, which seems to modify the Armada, implying that THE ARMADA stymied the Armada's plans -- a nonsensical meaning.
The intended meaning is that THE DEFEAT of the Armada stymied the Armada's plans.
Eliminate B and C.

The correct answer is E.

GMATGuruNY wrote:

Stymieing the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, the reason for the defeat of the Spanish Armada was not only due to gale winds that favored the British but also the sacrificing of eight war ships as “fireships,” vessels filled with pitch, brimstone, gunpowder, and tar and sent downwind toward the closely-anchored Spanish fleet.

A) Stymieing the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, the reason for the defeat of the Spanish Armada was not only due to gale winds that favored the British but also the sacrificing

B) The defeat of the Spanish Armada, which stymied the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, was not only due to gale winds that favored the British but also the sacrificing

C) The defeat of the Spanish Armada, which stymied the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, was not only due to gale winds that favored the British but also due to the sacrificing

D) Stymieing the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, the reason for the defeat of the Spanish Armada was not only gale winds that favored the British but also the sacrifice

E) Stymieing the Armada’s plans to meet up with the Duke of Parma’s army off the coast of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands, the defeat of the Spanish Armada was due not only to gale winds that favored the British but also to the sacrifice

In A and D, stymieing seems to modify the reason, implying that THE REASON stymied the Armada's plans -- a nonsensical meaning.
The intended meaning is that THE DEFEAT of the Armada stymied the Armada's plans.
Eliminate A and D.

In B and C, which seems to modify the Armada, implying that THE ARMADA stymied the Armada's plans -- a nonsensical meaning.
The intended meaning is that THE DEFEAT of the Armada stymied the Armada's plans.
Eliminate B and C.

The correct answer is E.

in (c)-due to gale winds...due to the sacrificing of (although this option is incorrect)

are these parallel?...or should it be "due to the sacrifice of..."