Official SC - A mixture of poems and short fiction, Jean Too

Question

A mixture of poems and short fiction, Jean Toomer's Cane has been one of the three best novels ever written by Black Americans-the others being Richard Wright, author of Native Son, and Ralph Ellision, author of Invisible Man.

A) Black Americans-the others being Richard Wright, author of Native Son, and Ralph Ellision, author of Invisible Man
B) Black Americans-including Native Son by Richard Wright and Invisible Man by Ralph Ellision
C) a Black American-including Richard Wright, author of Native Son, and Ralph Ellision, author of Invisible Man
D) a Black American-the others being Richard Wright, author of Native Son, and Ralph Ellision, author of Invisible Man
E) a Black American-the others being Richard Wright's Native Son and Ralph Ellision's Invisible Man

OA is E

hi experts,
I got this one, but want to get confirmed on my understanding about the usage of "including".

"including" should always refer to a nearest preceding PLURAL entity ( NOUN or NOUN+modifiers) to denote a PARTIAL list of examples of that NOUN entity.

am i correct ?

GMATGuruNY · Answer

ngk4mba3236 wrote:want to get confirmed on my understanding about the usage of "including".

Check here:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/og-13-sc-107-t291138.html (third post)
https://www.beatthegmat.com/the-principa ... 92528.html
https://www.beatthegmat.com/usage-of-inc ... 70986.html

ngk4mba3236 · Answer

gmatguru,
let me quickly summarize what I understood from your above three links:

1. in most cases on GMAT SC, COMMA + including will serve to introduce PARTIAL list of examples of the NEAREST PRECEDING PLURAL NOUN.

2. in a few cases, depending on the context/meaning, COMMA + including may NOT serve to introduce examples of the NEAREST PRECEDING PLURAL NOUN, rather it will serve to introduce examples of some other PRECEDING PLURAL NOUN because COMMA + including MUST refer to a SPECIFIC SET.

(for example: your 2nd link, in which COMMA + including refers to "a series of printed instructions", but NOT to the NEAREST PRECEDING PLURAL NOUN "merchants")

3. on GMAT SC, COMMA + including will NEVER serve to refer to any PRECEDING SINGULAR NOUN.

4. on GMAT SC, COMMA + including will NEVER serve to refer to a COMPLETE list of examples.

am I correct ?

ngk4mba3236 · Answer

gmatguru, any update on the above ? it'll be really helpful to get your confirmation on my understanding. thank you!

GMATGuruNY · Answer

ngk4mba3236 wrote:gmatguru, any update on the above ? it'll be really helpful to get your confirmation on my understanding. thank you! Your summary looks good.

Mo2men · Answer

GMATGuruNY wrote:ngk4mba3236 wrote:want to get confirmed on my understanding about the usage of "including". Check here: https://www.beatthegmat.com/og-13-sc-107-t291138.html (third post) https://www.beatthegmat.com/the-principa ... 92528.html https://www.beatthegmat.com/usage-of-inc ... 70986.html Dear GMATGuru, do you consider 'black Americans' and 'a black American" a major split? Thanks

GMATGuruNY · Answer

Mo2men wrote:Dear GMATGuru,

do you consider 'black Americans' and 'a black American" a major split?

Thanks

A: Black Americans -- the others being
B: Black Americans -- including
In these options, the portions in red seem to refer to Black Americans (the nearest preceding plural noun).
Not the intended meaning.
The portions in red are intended to refer not to the other two Black Americans who are among the very best but to the other two NOVELS that are among the very best.
Eliminate A and B.

OA: one of the three best novels ever written by a Black American - the others being
Here -- since a Black American is SINGULAR -- it is crystal clear that the others serves to refer to novels (the nearest preceding PLURAL noun).

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