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Re-opening a THREAD- Wrongly concluded earlier

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Re-opening a THREAD- Wrongly concluded earlier

by kanha81 » Mon Apr 20, 2009 3:27 pm
The nineteenth-century chemist Humphry Davy presented the results of his early experiments in his “Essay on Heat and Light,” a critique of all chemistry since Robert Boyle as well as a vision of a new chemistry that Davy hoped to found.

A. a critique of all chemistry since Robert Boyle as well as a vision of a
B. a critique of all chemistry following Robert Boyle and also his envisioning of a
C. a critique of all chemistry after Robert Boyle and envisioning as well
D. critiquing all chemistry from Robert Boyle forward and also a vision of
E. critiquing all the chemistry done since Robert Boyle as well as his own

What's your take?
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Re: Re-opening a THREAD- Wrongly concluded earlier

by piyush_nitt » Mon Apr 20, 2009 3:54 pm
kanha81 wrote:The nineteenth-century chemist Humphry Davy presented the results of his early experiments in his “Essay on Heat and Light,” a critique of all chemistry since Robert Boyle as well as a vision of a new chemistry that Davy hoped to found.

A. a critique of all chemistry since Robert Boyle as well as a vision of a
B. a critique of all chemistry following Robert Boyle and also his envisioning of a
C. a critique of all chemistry after Robert Boyle and envisioning as well
D. critiquing all chemistry from Robert Boyle forward and also a vision of
E. critiquing all the chemistry done since Robert Boyle as well as his own

What's your take?
What is the source Kanha81?

I believe we need +ing form to qualify the main clause.

therefore A,B,C - OUT

BUT D as well as E does not sound right.

D.critiquing all chemistry from Robert Boyle forward and also a vision of - forward is awkward
E. critiquing all the chemistry done since Robert Boyle as well as his own - Since needs a present perfect tense.

If I have to chose , then I will go for E.
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Re: Re-opening a THREAD- Wrongly concluded earlier

by piyush_nitt » Mon Apr 20, 2009 4:14 pm
kanha81 wrote:The nineteenth-century chemist Humphry Davy presented the results of his early experiments in his “Essay on Heat and Light,” a critique of all chemistry since Robert Boyle as well as a vision of a new chemistry that Davy hoped to found.

A. a critique of all chemistry since Robert Boyle as well as a vision of a
B. a critique of all chemistry following Robert Boyle and also his envisioning of a
C. a critique of all chemistry after Robert Boyle and envisioning as well
D. critiquing all chemistry from Robert Boyle forward and also a vision of
E. critiquing all the chemistry done since Robert Boyle as well as his own

What's your take?
What is the source Kanha81?

I believe we need +ing form to qualify the main clause.

therefore A,B,C - OUT

BUT D as well as E does not sound right.

D.critiquing all chemistry from Robert Boyle forward and also a vision of - forward is awkward
E. critiquing all the chemistry done since Robert Boyle as well as his own - Since needs a present perfect tense.

If I have to chose , then I will go for E.
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by 4seasoncentre » Mon Apr 20, 2009 4:40 pm
My guess is A

the essay is a critique and it is a vision.
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by gmat740 » Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:04 pm
I can give a try
B. a critique of all chemistry following Robert Boyle and also his envisioning of
is chemistry following Boyle?

Similarly C and D also change the meaning

Left with E and A

E the word "vision" is not there.Vision was there in the original sentence.

So IMO A
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by kanha81 » Mon Apr 20, 2009 6:54 pm
gmat740 wrote:I can give a try
B. a critique of all chemistry following Robert Boyle and also his envisioning of
is chemistry following Boyle?

Similarly C and D also change the meaning

Left with E and A

E the word "vision" is not there.Vision was there in the original sentence.

So IMO A
Sharp eye :) good catch!
piyushnitt wrote: What is the source Kanha81?
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piyushnitt wrote: I believe we need +ing form to qualify the main clause.

therefore A,B,C - OUT

BUT D as well as E does not sound right.

D.critiquing all chemistry from Robert Boyle forward and also a vision of - forward is awkward
E. critiquing all the chemistry done since Robert Boyle as well as his own - Since needs a present perfect tense.

If I have to chose , then I will go for E.
I did choose [E], but as gmat740 pointed out "vision" was left out.

OA is [spoiler][A][/spoiler]

I was completely stumped by the answer! :o
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by gmat740 » Mon Apr 20, 2009 7:28 pm
Few days Back I really screwed my Verbal in GMAT prep, this question comes as a booster for me.
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by aspirant2011 » Wed Feb 23, 2011 2:47 am
i would also go with A option because if u see E option more carefully than pronoun "his" has no clear antecedent i.e robert or humphry....................moreover with since form of "has" needs to be used and the same is missing in E option.............
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by Brian@VeritasPrep » Thu Feb 24, 2011 3:08 pm
Great discussion. Keep in mind, also, that that modifier "critiquing" in D and E would also apply to the second, parallel phrase in each choice:

D) critiquing...a vision of new chemistry that Davy hoped to found
E) critiquing...his own chemistry that Davy hoped to found

Would Davy logically critique his own ideas? Doesn't seem likely, especially with the forward-thinking notation that he wanted to continue to pursue what D an E have him critiquing. So D and E are incorrect based on that modifier logic.
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by Paulrichards » Sat Feb 26, 2011 2:02 am
I think I've seen this question in the OG12, Answer is of course A.
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by gmat_perfect » Fri Mar 18, 2011 11:16 am
kanha81 wrote:The nineteenth-century chemist Humphry Davy presented the results of his early experiments in his �Essay on Heat and Light,� a critique of all chemistry since Robert Boyle as well as a vision of a new chemistry that Davy hoped to found.

A. a critique of all chemistry since Robert Boyle as well as a vision of a
B. a critique of all chemistry following Robert Boyle and also his envisioning of a
C. a critique of all chemistry after Robert Boyle and envisioning as well
D. critiquing all chemistry from Robert Boyle forward and also a vision of
E. critiquing all the chemistry done since Robert Boyle as well as his own

What's your take?
COMMA + VERB-ING modifies the entire preceding clause, and it is attributed to the subject of the preceding clause.

Now, test the options that have "COMMA + VERB-ING"

E. Humphry Davy critiqued all chemistry as well as his own. Does Devy criticizes his own work? Nope. It does not make sense.
D. Critiquing and also a vision---It is not parallel. And also is not correct.

Parallelisms in B and C.

C. critique........and .....envisioning are NOT PARALLEL.
B. Same as C.

Answer is thus A.
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by GMATGuruNY » Thu Apr 14, 2011 3:22 am
kanha81 wrote:The nineteenth-century chemist Humphry Davy presented the results of his early experiments in his �Essay on Heat and Light,� a critique of all chemistry since Robert Boyle as well as a vision of a new chemistry that Davy hoped to found.

A. a critique of all chemistry since Robert Boyle as well as a vision of a
B. a critique of all chemistry following Robert Boyle and also his envisioning of a
C. a critique of all chemistry after Robert Boyle and envisioning as well
D. critiquing all chemistry from Robert Boyle forward and also a vision of
E. critiquing all the chemistry done since Robert Boyle as well as his own

What's your take?
B, C and D can each be eliminated for a lack of parallelism:

B: a critique...and also his envisioning..
C: a critique...and envisioning...
D: critiquing...and also a vision

Eliminate B, C and D.

E changes the meaning by implying that Davy was critiquing...his own new chemistry. Eliminate E.

The correct answer is A.

In A, a critique and a vision are in apposition to the Essay on Heat and Light. Nouns are in apposition when they appear side by side, with one noun serving to define or modify the other. The appositive structure in A defines the Essay as a critique and as a vision.
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by navami » Thu Oct 06, 2011 9:00 am
Good question
This time no looking back!!!
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by Mission2012 » Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:45 pm
GMATGuruNY wrote:
kanha81 wrote:The nineteenth-century chemist Humphry Davy presented the results of his early experiments in his �Essay on Heat and Light,� a critique of all chemistry since Robert Boyle as well as a vision of a new chemistry that Davy hoped to found.

A. a critique of all chemistry since Robert Boyle as well as a vision of a
B. a critique of all chemistry following Robert Boyle and also his envisioning of a
C. a critique of all chemistry after Robert Boyle and envisioning as well
D. critiquing all chemistry from Robert Boyle forward and also a vision of
E. critiquing all the chemistry done since Robert Boyle as well as his own

What's your take?
B, C and D can each be eliminated for a lack of parallelism:

B: a critique...and also his envisioning..
C: a critique...and envisioning...
D: critiquing...and also a vision

Eliminate B, C and D.

E changes the meaning by implying that Davy was critiquing...his own new chemistry. Eliminate E.

The correct answer is A.

In A, a critique and a vision are in apposition to the Essay on Heat and Light. Nouns are in apposition when they appear side by side, with one noun serving to define or modify the other. The appositive structure in A defines the Essay as a critique and as a vision.
Hi Mitch,

In option b - A critique (action noun) and his envisioning of a new chemistry (complex gerund) - can't they be parallel?

Or in appositives complex gerund cant act as nouns?
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by GMATGuruNY » Tue Jul 16, 2013 10:30 am
Mission2012 wrote: Hi Mitch,

In option b - A critique (action noun) and his envisioning of a new chemistry (complex gerund) - can't they be parallel?

Or in appositives complex gerund cant act as nouns?
A gerund and a basic noun can appear in parallel structures.
But our job is choose the BEST option among the answer choices.
We must consider each answer choice IN RELATION to the others.
A critique and a vision (two basic nouns) are more parallel than a critique and his envisioning (a basic noun and a gerund).
Thus, A is a better option than B.
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