Darwin was not the first to advance a theory of evolution

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simplyjat: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 423; Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2007 1:29 amFollowed by: 2 members; Location: Hyderabad, India; Thanked: 36 times; GMAT Score:770

by simplyjat » Tue May 06, 2008 2:47 am

Darwin was not the first to advance a theory of evolution; his tremendous originality lay in the fact that he proposed the idea of natural selection as the means by which evolution worked.

(A) lay in the fact that he proposed the idea
(B) lay in the fact of his proposing the idea
(C) laid in the fact of his proposing the idea
(D) laid in his proposal
(E) lay in his proposal

OA E
1. What is wrong with the original statement.
2. Is the usage of lay correct here? Shouldn't it be lie instead ?

simplyjat

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Tue May 06, 2008 2:47 am

barron: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 72; Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2008 2:49 am

by barron » Wed May 07, 2008 2:09 am

I also choose A

The only reason I think E is the correct answer is because
if you have proposed something, it is already a fact
so the word 'fact' becomes reduntant

he has already proposed the idea
so, 'lay' is the correct tense

'lie' is in present tense

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rajibgmat: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 92; Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2008 11:00 am; Thanked: 3 times; GMAT Score:590

by rajibgmat » Wed May 07, 2008 10:03 am

Do u think "proposal the idea....bla bla" is correct. I would choose A rather. Experts throw some idea...

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rey.fernandez: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 83; Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2008 9:05 pmFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 21 times

by rey.fernandez » Wed May 07, 2008 12:23 pm

Darwin was not the first to advance a theory of evolution; his tremendous originality lay in the fact that he proposed the idea of natural selection as the means by which evolution worked.

(A) lay in the fact that he proposed the idea
(B) lay in the fact of his proposing the idea
(C) laid in the fact of his proposing the idea
(D) laid in his proposal
(E) lay in his proposal

"lay" is correct, as it is the past tense of "to lie." ("Laid" is the past tense of the verb "to lay," which requires an object... something that gets set down or laid down, such as bricks.)

E is the best choice among A, B, and E since it avoids redundancy and wordiness. In the original posting, it looks like "the idea" needs to be underlined as well... that may have confused rajibgmat.

Rey

Rey Fernandez
Instructor
Manhattan GMAT

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ov25: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 201; Joined: Sat Jul 10, 2010 2:23 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 7 times

by ov25 » Sat Nov 20, 2010 6:29 pm

Darwin was not the first to advance a theory of evolution; his tremendous originality lay in his proposal of natural selection as the means by which evolution worked.

OK like the concision and redundancy part of fixing the sentence although from what I have seen, 'proposal of' is typically discouraged by gmat. It would rather ought to be 'proposal that natural selection as the means by which evolution worked.'

Can the experts simply weigh in on this aspect of the sentence please?

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