not only but also

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pradeepkaushal9518: Legendary Member; Posts: 1309; Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:41 pmFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 33 times

by pradeepkaushal9518 » Tue May 25, 2010 4:29 am

By pressing a tiny amount of nitrogen between two diamonds to a pressure of 25 milliion pounds per square inch, scientists not only were able to transform the gas into a solid, but they also created a semiconductor similar to silicon

A.
B. not only were able to transform the gas into a solid but also creating
C. were able not only to transform the gas into a solid but to create
D. were able not only to transform the gas into a solid but also creating
E. were able not only to transform the gas into a solid but they were also able to create

plz explian yr answer

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Tue May 25, 2010 4:29 am

paridhi: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 74; Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2008 3:07 am; Thanked: 5 times

by paridhi » Tue May 25, 2010 4:38 am

pradeepkaushal9518 wrote:By pressing a tiny amount of nitrogen between two diamonds to a pressure of 25 milliion pounds per square inch, scientists not only were able to transform the gas into a solid, but they also created a semiconductor similar to silicon

A.
B. not only were able to transform the gas into a solid but also creating
C. were able not only to transform the gas into a solid but to create
D. were able not only to transform the gas into a solid but also creating
E. were able not only to transform the gas into a solid but they were also able to create

plz explian yr answer

IMO A according to me. I find all other answers extremely awkward due to the were able not only[/i]

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thephoenix: Legendary Member; Posts: 1560; Joined: Tue Nov 17, 2009 2:38 amFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 137 times

by thephoenix » Tue May 25, 2010 4:50 am

imo c
a : the parts not only....., but also are not llel . there is no sub after not only
b:not llel the but also part lacks a verb
d:same as B
e: first part is not a clause and second oart is a clause

Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged men who kept on working

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pradeepkaushal9518: Legendary Member; Posts: 1309; Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:41 pmFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 33 times

by pradeepkaushal9518 » Tue May 25, 2010 7:37 am

is the sentence is correct without not only...but also

experts i need light on this

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FightWithGMAT: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 364; Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2010 5:13 amFollowed by: 3 members; Thanked: 31 times

by FightWithGMAT » Tue May 25, 2010 7:41 am

IMO A

All but A have some flaws that can be realized by careful reading.

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josh@knewton: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 85; Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2009 5:43 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Location: New York City; Thanked: 18 times

by josh@knewton » Tue May 25, 2010 10:09 am

This is a tricky one.

Not only... but also is the preferable expression, and 99% of the time, looking for this properly formed idiom will help you discern the correct answer choice.

However, in this case, choice C is the only answer choice which displays proper parallelism. Therefore, C is correct despite the fact that it uses the unpreferable "not only... but."

The words that come after "were able" must be parallel. Let's look at the incorrect answer choices:

A: "to transform" and "they... created" are not parallel
B: "to transform" and "creating" are not parallel
D: "to transform" and "creating" are not parallel
E: "to transform" and "they were able to create" are not parallel

Remember that this question is the exception rather than the rule. On almost all GMAT questions, knowing that "not only... but also" is the preferable phrase should be able to help you find the right answer!

Josh Anish
Senior Editor, Knewton
https://www.knewton.com

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pradeepkaushal9518: Legendary Member; Posts: 1309; Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:41 pmFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 33 times

by pradeepkaushal9518 » Tue May 25, 2010 10:24 am

thanks josh i will take care in future

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FightWithGMAT: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 364; Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2010 5:13 amFollowed by: 3 members; Thanked: 31 times

by FightWithGMAT » Tue May 25, 2010 10:43 am

josh@knewton wrote:This is a tricky one.

Not only... but also is the preferable expression, and 99% of the time, looking for this properly formed idiom will help you discern the correct answer choice.

However, in this case, choice C is the only answer choice which displays proper parallelism. Therefore, C is correct despite the fact that it uses the unpreferable "not only... but."

The words that come after "were able" must be parallel. Let's look at the incorrect answer choices:

A: "to transform" and "they... created" are not parallel
B: "to transform" and "creating" are not parallel
D: "to transform" and "creating" are not parallel
E: "to transform" and "they were able to create" are not parallel

Remember that this question is the exception rather than the rule. On almost all GMAT questions, knowing that "not only... but also" is the preferable phrase should be able to help you find the right answer!

Thanks Josh!!

Your explanation suggests that parallelism takes preference over standard idiomatic expressions.....the case at hand.
Atleast in some such cases.

But, do you think that GMAT will play this trick as this falls beyond the standard rules of GMAT English.

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adi_800: Legendary Member; Posts: 544; Joined: Thu Oct 08, 2009 9:14 amFollowed by: 2 members; Location: Pune, India; Thanked: 31 times

by adi_800 » Tue May 25, 2010 5:16 pm

I found all choices wrong...
i doubt gmat will drop also in the not only but also construction...
wat is d source of the question??

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josh@knewton: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 85; Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2009 5:43 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Location: New York City; Thanked: 18 times

by josh@knewton » Wed May 26, 2010 5:37 am

I'm not sure what the source of the question is, but I would be very, very surprised if you saw a question like this (that uses "not only... but" instead of "not only... but also") on the test. Never hurts to be prepared, though, right?

Josh Anish
Senior Editor, Knewton
https://www.knewton.com

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thephoenix: Legendary Member; Posts: 1560; Joined: Tue Nov 17, 2009 2:38 amFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 137 times

by thephoenix » Wed May 26, 2010 6:48 am

source is gmat prep
here is the confirmation
https://www.beatthegmat.com/idiom-not-on ... t9913.html

Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged men who kept on working

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pradeepkaushal9518: Legendary Member; Posts: 1309; Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:41 pmFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 33 times

by pradeepkaushal9518 » Wed May 26, 2010 8:20 am

this question i have posted as i have choosen wrong option which has not only but also option

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