OG pg. 725 #81 Quick Question. See Spoiler

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OneTwoThreeFour: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 85; Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2011 11:57 am; Thanked: 1 times

by OneTwoThreeFour » Sun Feb 13, 2011 10:13 am

Recently physicians have determined that stomach
ulcers are not caused by stress, alcohol, or rich foods,
but a bacterium that dwells in the mucous lining of the
stomach.
(A) not caused by stress, alcohol, or rich foods, but
(B) not caused by stress, alcohol, or rich foods,
but are by
(C) caused not by stress, alcohol, or rich foods,
but by
(D) caused not by stress, alcohol, and rich foods,
but
(E) caused not by stress, alcohol, and rich foods,
but are by

[spoiler] Answer is C. B is wrong, but would replacing "are" with "caused" create a parallel structure? Thus the sentence would be:
Recently physicians have determined that stomach ulcers are not caused by stress, alcohol, or rich foods, but caused by a bacterium that dwells in the mucous lining of the stomach.
[/spoiler]

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Sun Feb 13, 2011 10:13 am

earnest10: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 56; Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 1:37 pm; Thanked: 1 times

by earnest10 » Sun Feb 13, 2011 12:16 pm

the right idiom here will be not by .... but by

so C will be my answer

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gtestprep: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 17; Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 3:56 am; Thanked: 3 times

by gtestprep » Sun Feb 13, 2011 2:01 pm

OneTwoThreeFour wrote: Answer is C. B is wrong, but would replacing "are" with "caused" create a parallel structure? Thus the sentence would be:
Recently physicians have determined that stomach ulcers are not caused by stress, alcohol, or rich foods, but caused by a bacterium that dwells in the mucous lining of the stomach.

Yes, replacing "are" with "caused" still results in a parallel structure. Consider the idiom "not X, but Y" it is important that X and Y be the same parts of speech. In this case, X would be "stress..." while Y would be "bacterium.." As you can see, they're both nouns and are parallel, which is why C is the correct choice.

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OneTwoThreeFour: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 85; Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2011 11:57 am; Thanked: 1 times

by OneTwoThreeFour » Sun Feb 13, 2011 2:30 pm

thanks gtestprep!

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Crystal W: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 154; Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2016 9:34 am; Thanked: 2 times

by Crystal W » Thu Mar 17, 2016 12:33 pm

gtestprep wrote:
OneTwoThreeFour wrote: Answer is C. B is wrong, but would replacing "are" with "caused" create a parallel structure? Thus the sentence would be:
Recently physicians have determined that stomach ulcers are not caused by stress, alcohol, or rich foods, but caused by a bacterium that dwells in the mucous lining of the stomach.
Yes, replacing "are" with "caused" still results in a parallel structure. Consider the idiom "not X, but Y" it is important that X and Y be the same parts of speech. In this case, X would be "stress..." while Y would be "bacterium.." As you can see, they're both nouns and are parallel, which is why C is the correct choice.

I know the causedcan be omitted in the second part. My question is in choices C and D and E, what is the right order of caused and not?
Thanks in advance!

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thang: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 111; Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2007 2:50 am; Thanked: 11 times

by thang » Thu Mar 17, 2016 11:32 pm

not and by are two element of comparative.

we focus on these elements and solve the matter quick.

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ceilidh.erickson: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2095; Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pmFollowed by: 247 members; Thanked: 1443 times

by ceilidh.erickson » Fri Mar 18, 2016 7:47 am

Crystal W wrote: I know the causedcan be omitted in the second part. My question is in choices C and D and E, what is the right order of caused and not?
Thanks in advance!

Hi Crystal,

The answer to your question is... both orders are correct! It just depends on the structure of the rest of the sentence. When the structure is NOT X... BUT Y, then the X and the Y must be parallel. In other words, whatever comes immediately after NOT must match what comes immediately after BUT:

The flood was caused not by rain but by snow melt. --> Correct.

The flood was not caused by rain but caused by snow melt. --> Correct.

The flood was not caused by rain but by snow melt. --> Incorrect.

The flood was caused not by rain but caused by snow melt. --> Incorrect.

The same will be true any time you have two-part parallel markers:
NOT ONLY X... BUT ALSO Y
BOTH X... AND Y
EITHER X... OR Y
NEITHER X... NOR Y

Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education

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ceilidh.erickson: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2095; Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pmFollowed by: 247 members; Thanked: 1443 times

by ceilidh.erickson » Fri Mar 18, 2016 7:50 am

For more on two-part parallel markers, see here:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/most-expendi ... tml#716319
https://www.beatthegmat.com/think-of-x-a ... tml#575578

Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education

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Crystal W: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 154; Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2016 9:34 am; Thanked: 2 times

by Crystal W » Mon Mar 21, 2016 2:20 pm

ceilidh.erickson wrote:
Crystal W wrote: I know the causedcan be omitted in the second part. My question is in choices C and D and E, what is the right order of caused and not?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Crystal,

The answer to your question is... both orders are correct! It just depends on the structure of the rest of the sentence. When the structure is NOT X... BUT Y, then the X and the Y must be parallel. In other words, whatever comes immediately after NOT must match what comes immediately after BUT:

The flood was caused not by rain but by snow melt. --> Correct.

The flood was not caused by rain but caused by snow melt. --> Correct.

The flood was not caused by rain but by snow melt. --> Incorrect.

The flood was caused not by rain but caused by snow melt. --> Incorrect.

The same will be true any time you have two-part parallel markers:
NOT ONLY X... BUT ALSO Y
BOTH X... AND Y
EITHER X... OR Y
NEITHER X... NOR Y

Thank you very much! It is really clear!

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GMAT/MBA Expert

ceilidh.erickson: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2095; Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pmFollowed by: 247 members; Thanked: 1443 times

by ceilidh.erickson » Tue Mar 22, 2016 6:33 pm

Happy to help!

Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education

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