e-GMAT wrote:Thanks for posting the source and clarifying your question.

First of all I would like to state that Choice B is the correct answer without any doubt. And I am glad that you agree with that

Rephrasing your question, I think you are questioning the use of commas with 'and' & 'but' in this sentence. The list in this sentence is as shown:

Subject Verb 1
, but verb 2
, and verb3

Now the above structure makes complete sense. The author intends to show a contrast between two of the three verbs and he can show this contrast using "but". Consider a similar sentence:

Version 1 = Mary went to the play in the park, but hurt her ankle, and went back to her home.
Version 2 = Mary went to the park, hurt her ankle, and went back to her home.

I agree that Version 2 follows the punctuation rules perfectly. But it does not communicate the contrast between the two verbs as does Version 1.

So the context of the sentence is such that it requires use of a 'contrast' word - but which happens to be a coordinating conjunction with strict rules.

Now lets consider the incorrect choice D
The sentence structure is as follows with this choice:

1: Writing was not direct rendering of speech
2: , but it
i) was more than likely begun from...
ii), and later merged

This is incorrect because now "merged" is no longer the 3rd verb for writing. It is the 2nd verb for 'it' and hence should not have a comma prior to and since the list only has two elements.

Choice E has similar error.

I hope I have addressed your doubts. Please let me know if this makes sense. I will be happy to address any other queries that you may have on this topic.

Regards,

Payal

vikram4689 wrote:@mundasingh: it is "it" and not "comma" that is creating the problem by changing the structure of sense. So we can say that "it" is main culprit in wrong choices D & E

vikram4689 wrote:I think i was not able to make my point clear, anyways i will do it again. The comma problem arises when "it" is present because presence of "it" creates a new clause and then ",and" becomes incorrect. When "it" is NOT present then sentence has one clause and is perfectly fine. THat is why i said "it" is MAIN culprit because when it is not there the sentence is correct though "," is still there.

I hope this helps.

vikram4689 wrote:Yes,I the sentence would be correct BUT to keep the meaning intact you need to change tense a little bit (compared to that present in D & E). I have formed a sentence below and posted the correct sentence so that meaning can be analyzed:
Correct sentence : According to scholars, the earliest writing was probably not a direct rendering of speech, but more than likely began as a separate and distinct symbolic system of communication, and only later merged with spoken language.

Sentence with "IT" : According to scholars, the earliest writing was probably not a direct rendering of speech, but it more than likely began as a separate and distinct symbolic system of communication and only later merged with spoken language.