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by vineetbatra » Thu Sep 24, 2009 7:41 pm
The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being so far away from the Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

A) The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being

B) Like the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are

C) Although like the planets the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, yet

D) As the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are

E) The stars are in motion like the planets, some of which at tremendous speeds are in motion but

OA is B, but why is them and they refer stars, them and they can also refer to planets so ambiguity there.

Can someone please care to explain.
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by sunnyjohn » Thu Sep 24, 2009 9:45 pm
IMO:B

C,E : out because of wrong comparison between motion and planet.

D: Out because of wrong usage of "as". we not comparison two nouns action. we are comparing two nouns.

A: yet being : as far as i know, prefer to use being if there is something ongoing action. "so far away" is not ongoing action.

so I choose B.

Like X, Y are in motion, but they are so A that B. :-- seems fine to me.
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by vineetbatra » Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:31 am
Can someone please explain why they or them is referring to stars and not planets?
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by nageswarkv » Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:38 am
becuase start is subject, and the setnence talks about stars.
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by hitmewithgmat » Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:41 am
Idiom "Like A, B" (A and B are parallel)
The correct answer is B. Let's take a look at it.
(B) Like the planets (modifier modifies "the stars", which are a plural subject), the stars are in motion, some of them(the stars) at tremendous speeds, but they(the stars) are....

If you are not convinced, let's use POE.
(A) the use of "being" and "just as" is wrong. The intent of the original sentence is to test the idiom. "like A, B" or "as S+V"
(C) starting "although like...." is simply wrong. Besides, the meaning is illogical. "yet" is wrong to use after "although" clause. It usually goes "Although S+V, S+V"
(D)When we use "as" we need "S+V". However, when we use "like" we don't use "S+V".
e.g)Like my dad, my brother is handsome.
e.g)As the time goes by, the old man likes to go fishing.
(E)the use of "like X, Y" is wrong to start with. we need seom of "them", not "which". and this is a run-on sentence towards the end.

By using POE, we can safely choose (B).
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by kvcpk » Thu Jun 17, 2010 10:40 am
Isnt "them" in option B ambiguous in this question?
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by Erfun_GMATCompass » Thu Jun 17, 2010 2:11 pm
"Them" in Choice B is not ambiguous because it appears in the modifying phrase "some of them at tremendous speeds". This phrase is modifying the clause in front of it, so logically, them could only refer to stars.

"They" is not ambiguous because pronouns in a new clause refer to the subject of the previous clause. In "B," the first clause is "Like the planets, the stars are in motion..." "Like the planets" is a modifying phrase, the independent clause is "the stars are in motion," and the subject of this independent clause is "the stars". So, the pronoun "they" in the new independent clause must refer to "stars."
vineetbatra wrote:The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being so far away from the Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

A) The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being

B) Like the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are

C) Although like the planets the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, yet

D) As the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are

E) The stars are in motion like the planets, some of which at tremendous speeds are in motion but

OA is B, but why is them and they refer stars, them and they can also refer to planets so ambiguity there.

Can someone please care to explain.
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by kvcpk » Thu Jun 17, 2010 9:55 pm
Thanks Erfun_GMATCompass for your inputs!!
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by varundaga05 » Wed Jun 30, 2010 12:56 am
I could not understood this

Can someone help

D)When we use "as" we need "S+V". However, when we use "like" we don't use "S+V".
e.g)Like my dad, my brother is handsome.
e.g)As the time goes by, the old man likes to go fishing.
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by ansumania » Fri Jul 30, 2010 4:15 pm
The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being so far away from the Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

A) The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being : the second part should have a subject and a verb...clause, conjuction clause

B) Like the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are

C) Although like the planets the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, yet : same as A

D) As the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are : as does not fit

E) The stars are in motion like the planets, some of which at tremendous speeds are in motion but : some stars are in tremendous speed......
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by farooq » Fri Jul 30, 2010 10:07 pm
vineetbatra wrote:The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being so far away from the Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

A) The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being // Comparing starts motion with Planet.

B) Like the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are

C) Although like the planets the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, yet ( no comparison...starting is awkward )

D) As the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are ("planet" with "start motion")

E) The stars are in motion like the planets, some of which at tremendous speeds are in motion but

OA is B, but why is them and they refer stars, them and they can also refer to planets so ambiguity there. ( ("planet" with "start motion"))

I'll go with B.
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by patrick0885 » Thu May 21, 2015 11:02 am
The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being so far away from Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime

In Ans A, it is wrong because the portion after "comma plus coordinating conjunction" (in this case, ", yet") should be a complete clause? Can any please explain to me if it is the case?
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by kutlee » Fri May 22, 2015 2:04 am
The stars, some of THEM at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being so far away from Earth that THEIR apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime

If THEM is ambiguous, then THEIR should also be ambiguous. Here both THEM and THEIR refers to stars.
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by GMATGuruNY » Fri May 22, 2015 4:32 am
A: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds...
Here, the STARS themselves seem to be at tremendous speeds.
Not the intended meaning: a star can't be AT A SPEED.
Eliminate A.

The intended meaning is conveyed by the OA:
The stars are IN MOTION, some of them AT TREMENDOUS SPEEDS.
Here, the stars clearly are IN MOTION AT TREMENDOUS SPEEDS.
This meaning is sensical:
at tremendous speeds serves to describe not the stars themselves but how the stars are IN MOTION.
patrick0885 wrote:The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being so far away from Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime

In Ans A, it is wrong because the portion after "comma plus coordinating conjunction" (in this case, ", yet") should be a complete clause? Can any please explain to me if it is the case?
A conjunction such as yet must serve to connect PARALLEL FORMS.
A: The stars ARE in motion, yet BEING so far away...
Here, are (verb) and being (modifier) are not parallel forms.
Eliminate A.
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