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mud and grass

by pappueshwar » Mon Mar 12, 2012 7:36 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 used 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

OA D
WHY IS A INCORRECT? IS NOT D AWKWARD
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by dj_vinayak » Mon Mar 12, 2012 7:52 pm
My guess would be "it" reference is ambiguous
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by GMAT_2010_2707 » Mon Mar 12, 2012 8:03 pm
Option A certainly has an ambiguous "It" that has no antecedent.
My pick is [spoiler]"D"[/spoiler]
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by GMATGuruNY » Tue Mar 13, 2012 7:41 pm
pappueshwar wrote: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 used 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

OA D
WHY IS A INCORRECT? IS NOT D AWKWARD
In A and B, it lacks a clear antecedent. Eliminate A and B.

In C, it's not crystal clear whether them refers to mud and grass or to homes. Eliminate C.

COMMA + VERBing generally refers to the subject of the preceding clause. Thus, E implies that settlers' homes were making do without timber and nails -- a nonsensical meaning. Eliminate E.

The correct answer is D.

To make do is an idiom. It means to manage with the means available.
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by pappueshwar » Tue Mar 13, 2012 7:49 pm
thanks guru NY
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by vikram4689 » Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:04 am
COMMA + VERBing generally refers to the subject of the preceding clause
Hi Mitch,
Doesn't this construction acts as an ADVERB... e.g. Workers built magnificent monument, using mud and stone
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