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SC: The most widely...

by me_1234 » Sat Dec 13, 2014 2:52 pm
This question is from an official practice exam. I'm trying to understand why A is a better choice than D?

The most widely known images of Yosemite National Park are those made by photographer Ansel Adams, who photographed it continually from his teenage years on.

A/ who photographed it continually from his teenage years on

B/ who photographed it starting from his teenage years and then continually

C/ who photographed it starting in his teenage years and continually from then on

D/ having photographed it continually since his teenage years

E/ having photographed it starting in his teenage years and then continually
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by [email protected] » Sat Dec 13, 2014 5:34 pm
Hi melanie.espeland,

The initial difference between answers A and D involves different grammar rules depending on what immediately follows the comma.

In Answer A, the pronoun "who" refers to the noun that immediately precedes it (in this case, "Ansel Adams"); in Answer D, the verb "having" actually refers to the subject of the prior part of the sentence (in this case, "the most widely known images"). In context, Answer D doesn't make sense (the images did not photograph the park, Adams did).

Final Answer: A

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by me_1234 » Sat Dec 13, 2014 5:57 pm
Hi Rich,

Thanks for the quick reply. How do you ascertain that "having" actually refers to the subject of the prior part of the sentence and not Ansel?

Sincerely,

Melanie
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by [email protected] » Sat Dec 13, 2014 10:15 pm
Hi melanie.espeland,

If the word/phrase that immediately follows the comma is a noun or pronoun, then the entire phrase that precedes it is supposed to describe the noun/pronoun. If the word that immediately follows the comma is a verb, then it is implied that the subject of the prior phrase is "doing" that verb. It's one of the many quirks of English grammar.

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by GMATGuruNY » Sun Dec 14, 2014 4:28 am
The most widely known images of Yosemite National Park are those made by photographer Ansel Adams, who photographed it continually from his teenage years on.

a) who photographed it continually from his teenage years on
b) who photographed it starting from his teenage years and then continually
c) who photographed it starting in his teenage years and continually from then on
d) having photographed it continually since his teenage years
e) having photographed it starting in his teenage years and then continually
B: starting...and then continually
C: starting...and continually
A conjunction such as and must connect PARALLEL FORMS.
In B and C, starting (adjective) and continually (adverb) are not parallel forms.
Eliminate B and C.

A COMMA + VERBing modifier serves to express an action attributed to the SUBJECT OF THE PRECEDING CLAUSE.
In D and E, having photographed seems to refer to images -- the subject of the preceding clause -- implying that the IMAGES photographed Yosemite National Park.
Not the intended meaning.
Eliminate D and E.

The correct answer is A.
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by me_1234 » Sun Dec 14, 2014 7:25 am
Thank you
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by Neilsheth2 » Fri Nov 06, 2015 8:07 pm
Hello Mitch,

Here the Official answer ends with a preposition so I think it should be okay to end an sentence with a preposition ?

I rejected A especially for that reason that it had a preposition ON at its end.

Pls confirm
GMATGuruNY wrote:
The most widely known images of Yosemite National Park are those made by photographer Ansel Adams, who photographed it continually from his teenage years on.

a) who photographed it continually from his teenage years on
b) who photographed it starting from his teenage years and then continually
c) who photographed it starting in his teenage years and continually from then on
d) having photographed it continually since his teenage years
e) having photographed it starting in his teenage years and then continually
B: starting...and then continually
C: starting...and continually
A conjunction such as and must connect PARALLEL FORMS.
In B and C, starting (adjective) and continually (adverb) are not parallel forms.
Eliminate B and C.

A COMMA + VERBing modifier serves to express an action attributed to the SUBJECT OF THE PRECEDING CLAUSE.
In D and E, having photographed seems to refer to images -- the subject of the preceding clause -- implying that the IMAGES photographed Yosemite National Park.
Not the intended meaning.
Eliminate D and E.

The correct answer is A.
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by GMATGuruNY » Sat Nov 07, 2015 3:13 am
Neilsheth2 wrote:Hello Mitch,

Here the Official answer ends with a preposition so I think it should be okay to end an sentence with a preposition ?

I rejected A especially for that reason that it had a preposition ON at its end.

Pls confirm
Generally, a preposition must be followed by a noun serving as the OBJECT OF THE PREPOSITION.
In most cases, on serves as a preposition:
The actor stood on THE STAGE.
Here, the stage serves as the object of the preposition on.

But on may also serve as an ADVERB.
The show must go on.
John held on.
The crowd looked on.
When on serves as an adverb, it does not have to be followed by a noun serving as its object.

OA: The most widely known images of Yosemite National Park are those made by photographer Ansel Adams, who photographed it continually from his teenage years on.
Here, on serves not as a preposition but as an ADVERB.
Conveyed meaning:
Ansel Adams photographed the park continually from his teenage years until the end of his career.
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by TheLearned » Mon Sep 05, 2016 10:49 pm
GMATGuruNY wrote:
The most widely known images of Yosemite National Park are those made by photographer Ansel Adams, who photographed it continually from his teenage years on.

a) who photographed it continually from his teenage years on
b) who photographed it starting from his teenage years and then continually
c) who photographed it starting in his teenage years and continually from then on
d) having photographed it continually since his teenage years
e) having photographed it starting in his teenage years and then continually
B: starting...and then continually
C: starting...and continually
A conjunction such as and must connect PARALLEL FORMS.
In B and C, starting (adjective) and continually (adverb) are not parallel forms.
Eliminate B and C.

A COMMA + VERBing modifier serves to express an action attributed to the SUBJECT OF THE PRECEDING CLAUSE.
In D and E, having photographed seems to refer to images -- the subject of the preceding clause -- implying that the IMAGES photographed Yosemite National Park.
Not the intended meaning.
Eliminate D and E.

The correct answer is A.
Hello Mitch,

Could you please explain how starting is an adjective here. It seems to modify the whole clause "who photographed it" rather than just "who". Shouldn't it be an adverb too.

Regards
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by GMATGuruNY » Tue Sep 06, 2016 4:47 am
TheLearned wrote:
B: starting...and then continually
C: starting...and continually
A conjunction such as and must connect PARALLEL FORMS.
In B and C, starting (adjective) and continually (adverb) are not parallel forms.
Eliminate B and C.
Hello Mitch,

Could you please explain how starting is an adjective here. It seems to modify the whole clause "who photographed it" rather than just "who". Shouldn't it be an adverb too.

Regards
The following makes sense:
Ansel Adams photographed continually.
The following does NOT make sense:
Ansel Adams photographed starting.
Whereas continually can serve as an adverb modifying photographed, starting cannot.
Since the two modifiers do not serve the same function, they cannot be connected by and.

Ansel Adams photographed starting in his teenage years.
Here, starting is an adjective serving to modify Ansel Adams, since ANSEL ADAMS was STARTING in his teenage years.
While the entire phrase in red does play an adverbial role in that it expresses when the preceding clause happened, starting is technically not an adverb but an adjective.
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by TheGraduate » Thu Feb 02, 2017 1:10 am
[email protected] wrote:Hi melanie.espeland,

If the word/phrase that immediately follows the comma is a noun or pronoun, then the entire phrase that precedes it is supposed to describe the noun/pronoun. If the word that immediately follows the comma is a verb, then it is implied that the subject of the prior phrase is "doing" that verb. It's one of the many quirks of English grammar.

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Could you please give an example to illustrate what you are talking about?
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