boundaries of artistic rivalry

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sallespadua: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 39; Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:29 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 1 times

by sallespadua » Fri Feb 26, 2010 8:24 am

Need help in this colon question:

Within the boundaries of artistic rivalry lies a sense of family: the shared genetic inheritance, or accident, that enables musicians to make music.

(A) Within the boundaries of artistic rivalry lies a sense of family
(B) Within the boundaries of artistic rivalry lays a sense of family
(C) A sense of family lies inside of the boundaries of artistic rivalry
(D) A family sense lies within artistic rivalry's boundaries
(E) Within artistic rivalry's boundaries lays a family sense

OA A

The part after the colon "shared music inheritance..." refers to what in the sentence? "sense of family" or "artistic boundaries"?

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Fri Feb 26, 2010 8:24 am

Rajat Khandelwal: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 79; Joined: Sun Feb 21, 2010 9:41 am

by Rajat Khandelwal » Fri Feb 26, 2010 8:31 am

It just presents the summary of the preceding clause..nothing else...

here the prepositional phrase acts as a subject of the main clause.....

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rockeyb: Legendary Member; Posts: 537; Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2009 7:15 amFollowed by: 1 member; Location: Nagpur , India; Thanked: 41 times

by rockeyb » Fri Feb 26, 2010 8:36 am

sallespadua wrote:Need help in this colon question:

Within the boundaries of artistic rivalry lies a sense of family: the shared genetic inheritance, or accident, that enables musicians to make music.

(A) Within the boundaries of artistic rivalry lies a sense of family
(B) Within the boundaries of artistic rivalry lays a sense of family
(C) A sense of family lies inside of the boundaries of artistic rivalry
(D) A family sense lies within artistic rivalry's boundaries
(E) Within artistic rivalry's boundaries lays a family sense

OA A

The part after the colon "shared music inheritance..." refers to what in the sentence? "sense of family" or "artistic boundaries"?

The rule for colon is the sentence before the colon should be able to stand alone as an independent sentence . The part after the colon will normally give explanation for what precedes the colon, and may or may not be able to stand alone .

The part after the colon will generally give examples . In the example above the part after the colon shows why there is a sense of family within the boundaries of revelry .

In the above question only A makes sense and can stand alone , also the verb LIES express the correct meaning. Where as lays distorts the meaning of the sentence .

"Know thyself" and "Nothing in excess"

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gmat_perfect: Legendary Member; Posts: 1083; Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:38 pmFollowed by: 14 members; Thanked: 127 times

by gmat_perfect » Fri Feb 26, 2010 10:17 am

Within the boundaries of artistic rivalry lies a sense of family: the shared genetic inheritance, or accident, that enables musicians to make music.

(A) Within the boundaries of artistic rivalry lies a sense of family
(B) Within the boundaries of artistic rivalry lays a sense of family
(C) A sense of family lies inside of the boundaries of artistic rivalry
(D) A family sense lies within artistic rivalry's boundaries
(E) Within artistic rivalry's boundaries lays a family sense

Some Grammar:

1. Subject verb reverse:

Subject and verb has been reversed in this sentence. A sense of family is the subject.

2. "Inside of the XX" is not idiomatic. Rather "inside the XX" is idiomatic.

3. Making possessive of impersonal object is done in the following way:
"The XX of YY" not "The YY's XX"
So, "the boundaries of artistic rivalry" should not be written as "artistic rivalry's boundaries".

4. Lay Vs Lie:

Lie means = be in a horizontal position, recline; be placed in a horizontal position; rest; be located, be situated; be or remain in a particular position or condition; be, exist; extend; be acceptable.
It is and intransitive verb. It does not need object.

Lay means= place in a horizontal position; set in place; produce and deposit (an egg or eggs); present, propose; prepare; spread out; put; set; deposit; locate; cause; appease; cause to subside or end; bet, wager.

It is a transitive verb. it needs object.

Now, eliminate wrong options:

B and E are out for using "lay". C is out for using "inside of the boundaries of artistic rivalry", which is awkward. D and E can be eliminated for using "artistic rivalry's boundaries", which is not standard possessive.
So, it is A that is the correct option.

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