OG SC prblm - confused

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by GMATGuruNY » Sun Apr 17, 2016 2:50 am

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Crystal W wrote:can which refer to X in
X of Y, which construction
This is in context of option E
In the structure X of Y, which, which refers to X or Y? or this will be ambiguous?
which + PLURAL VERB must serve to refer to the NEAREST PRECEDING PLURAL NOUN.
In E, which have (which + plural verb) must serve to refer to dark spots (the nearest preceding plural noun).
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by conquistador » Sat Aug 27, 2016 1:28 am

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GMATGuruNY wrote:
jogi1984 wrote:Sunspots, vortices of gas associated with strong
electromagnetic activity, are visible as dark spots on
the surface of the Sun but have never been sighted on

the Sun's poles or equator.
(A) are visible as dark spots on the surface of the
Sun but have never been sighted on
(B) are visible as dark spots that never have been
sighted on the surface of the Sun
(C) appear on the surface of the Sun as dark spots
although never sighted at
(D) appear as dark spots on the surface of the Sun,
although never having been sighted at
(E) appear as dark spots on the Sun's surface,
which have never been sighted on
In C and D, sighted AT the Sun's poles does not convey the intended meaning: it implies that sunspots have never been sighted by anyone located AT the Sun's poles. The intended meaning of the SC is that sunspots have never been sighted ON the Sun's poles. Eliminate C and D.

In B, dark spots that never have been sighted on the surface of the Sun changes the meaning. The intended meaning is that SUNSPOTS (not dark spots) have never been sighted on THE SUN'S POLE OR EQUATOR (not the surface of the sun). Eliminate B.

In E, which have refers to dark spots, implying that dark spots have never been sighted on the Sun's poles or equator. The intended meaning of the SC is that SUNSPOTS have never been sighted on the Sun's poles or equator. Eliminate E.

The correct answer is A.
best solution I have come across. I have some doubts still as below.

1. Can you throw some light on sighted on vs sighted at usage in terms of meaning.
2. Why although usage is incorrect here in options.
3. Sighted or have been sighted is mentioned as not a complete verb? Why? What does it need more?
4. Is there no difference in between Sunspots visible as dark spots and Sunspots appear as dark spots?

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by prabsahi » Mon Sep 12, 2016 10:08 pm

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jogi1984 wrote:Sunspots, vortices of gas associated with strong
electromagnetic activity, are visible as dark spots on
the surface of the Sun but have never been sighted on
the Sun's poles or equator.
(A) are visible as dark spots on the surface of the
Sun but have never been sighted on
(B) are visible as dark spots that never have been
sighted on the surface of the Sun
(C) appear on the surface of the Sun as dark spots
although never sighted at
(D) appear as dark spots on the surface of the Sun,
although never having been sighted at
(E) appear as dark spots on the Sun's surface,
which have never been sighted on
Hi Mitch,

I am clear with explanations .I just have one doubt ..X but Y parallelism...Having been sighted isnt't it a passive construction? Is it allowed to have ACTIVE BUT PASSIVE construction.

Thanks
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by GMATGuruNY » Tue Sep 13, 2016 5:54 am

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prabsahi wrote:I just have one doubt ..X but Y parallelism...Having been sighted isnt't it a passive construction? Is it allowed to have ACTIVE BUT PASSIVE construction.
The present perfect serves to express a past action that affects the present.
It can thus serve to convey the CURRENT state-of-being of a subject or object.
John has finished the project.
The sentence above conveys the CURRENT STATE of the project: it HAS BEEN FINISHED by John.

OA: Sunspots are visible as dark spots on the surface of the Sun but have never been sighted on the Sun's poles.
Here, the portions in blue are parallel in that each serves to express the state-of-being of sunspots.
In neither case does the subject -- sunspots -- perform an action.
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by hardwork » Sat Oct 29, 2016 4:38 am

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GMATGuruNY wrote:
jogi1984 wrote:Sunspots, vortices of gas associated with strong
electromagnetic activity, are visible as dark spots on
the surface of the Sun but have never been sighted on

the Sun's poles or equator.
(A) are visible as dark spots on the surface of the
Sun but have never been sighted on
(B) are visible as dark spots that never have been
sighted on the surface of the Sun
(C) appear on the surface of the Sun as dark spots
although never sighted at
(D) appear as dark spots on the surface of the Sun,
although never having been sighted at
(E) appear as dark spots on the Sun's surface,
which have never been sighted on
In C and D, sighted AT the Sun's poles does not convey the intended meaning: it implies that sunspots have never been sighted by anyone located AT the Sun's poles. The intended meaning of the SC is that sunspots have never been sighted ON the Sun's poles. Eliminate C and D.

In B, dark spots that never have been sighted on the surface of the Sun changes the meaning. The intended meaning is that SUNSPOTS (not dark spots) have never been sighted on THE SUN'S POLE OR EQUATOR (not the surface of the sun). Eliminate B.

In E, which have refers to dark spots, implying that dark spots have never been sighted on the Sun's poles or equator. The intended meaning of the SC is that SUNSPOTS have never been sighted on the Sun's poles or equator. Eliminate E.

The correct answer is A.
Dear GMATGuruNY Sir!
the choice C&D is wrong because the rule that the verb-less clause must be placed as close as possible to the omitted subject?"although never sighted/although never having been sighted"is close to dark spots/sun,so the modifier the misplaced? Am I right?

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by iongmat » Wed Jun 21, 2017 10:17 pm

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GMATGuruNY wrote: In C and D, sighted AT the Sun's poles does not convey the intended meaning: it implies that sunspots have never been sighted by anyone located AT the Sun's poles.
Hi GMATGuruNY, can you please explain how C and D suggest that sunspots have never been sighted by anyone located at the Sun's poles.

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by GMATGuruNY » Fri Jun 23, 2017 6:27 am

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John was sighted at the mall.
Here, the implication is that the act of sighting John happened AT THE MALL.
In other words:
Someone AT THE MALL sighted John.
iongmat wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote: In C and D, sighted AT the Sun's poles does not convey the intended meaning: it implies that sunspots have never been sighted by anyone located AT the Sun's poles.
Hi GMATGuruNY, can you please explain how C and D suggest that sunspots have never been sighted by anyone located at the Sun's poles.
C: sunspots...although never sighted at the Sun's poles.
Here, the implication is that the act of sighting sunspots has never happened AT THE SUN'S POLES.
In other words:
No one AT THE SUN'S POLES has ever sighted sunspots.
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by [email protected] » Thu Feb 28, 2019 2:35 pm

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Hello Everyone!

Let's take a closer look at this question, one issue at a time, and narrow it down to the correct choice! Before we dive in, here is the original question, with any major differences between each option highlighted in orange:

Sunspots, vortices of gas associated with strong electromagnetic activity, are visible as dark spots on the surface of the Sun but have never been sighted on the Sun's poles or equator.

(A) are visible as dark spots on the surface of the Sun but have never been sighted on
(B) are visible as dark spots that never have been sighted on the surface of the Sun
(C) appear on the surface of the Sun as dark spots although never sighted at
(D) appear as dark spots on the surface of the Sun, although never having been sighted at
(E) appear as dark spots on the Sun's surface, which have never been sighted on

After a quick glance over the options, a couple major differences jump out:

1. How they begin: visible as / appear as
2. Verb tense: have been sighted / sighted / having been sighted


It's always a good idea to start with any issue that will eliminate 2-3 options at once. Let's start with #1 on our list because it'll eliminate the most options to get us started!

While it may seem that appear and visible are interchangeable terms, they do mean slightly different things:

Visible = The object already exists, is not moving, and you are able to see it. (The stop sign is visible from a distance of 200 yards.)
Appear = The object is created as you're looking, or it moves into your path of vision. (My dog appears at my feet when he's ready to go for a walk.)

It makes more sense in this context to say that sunspots are visible on the surface of the Sun. They already exist, and they aren't moving into your vision path - they are stationary. The sentence is merely stating that you are able to see them, not that they move around or are created in front of your very eyes.

Therefore, we can eliminate options C, D, and E because they use the more vague "appear," rather than the clearer term "visible."

Now that we have it narrowed down to only 2 options, let's take a closer look at the remaining options:

(A) are visible as dark spots on the surface of the Sun but have never been sighted on

This option is CORRECT! It uses the clear term "visible" to describe sunspots, and it makes logical sense to use "have never been sighted" to refer only to the poles and equator.

(B) are visible as dark spots that never have been sighted on the surface of the Sun

This is INCORRECT because it drastically changes the original meaning of the sentence! The original sentence states that we can see sunspots on the surface of the Sun, with the exception of the poles and equator. This sentence says they have never been sighted on the surface, which isn't true!

There you go - option A is the correct choice! It uses clear terminology and makes logical sense!

**************************************************************************************************************

Now, I'm sure you're wondering what would happen if we tackled #2 on the list instead. Here is how we could break down this question based on verb tenses:

(A) are visible as dark spots on the surface of the Sun but have never been sighted on

This is CORRECT because it uses the correct verb tense (present perfect) to show that they weren't found in the past, and haven't been found in the present too.

(B) are visible as dark spots that never have been sighted on the surface of the Sun

While this sentence uses the correct verb tense, the location of the verb is wrong! In this case, it's referring to the surface of the Sun, which doesn't make sense - we CAN see sunspots on the surface! This is INCORRECT because it drastically changes the intended meaning, which is a big no-no on the GMAT!

(C) appear on the surface of the Sun as dark spots although never sighted at

This is INCORRECT because it uses past tense to show that the sunspots were not visible in the past, but says nothing about the present. The original sentence suggests that the sunspots are still not visible on the poles or equator today, so we need to use present perfect tense to show that.

(D) appear as dark spots on the surface of the Sun, although never having been sighted at

This option is INCORRECT for a couple reasons. First, it doesn't make sense to say that sunspots aren't visible AT the poles or equator - it's clearer to say they aren't visible ON those areas. Second, it uses the wrong verb tense (past perfect) in passive voice, which changes the meaning somewhat. This states that sunspots were not visible on the poles and equator in the past, but doesn't say anything about the present!

(E) appear as dark spots on the Sun's surface, which have never been sighted on

This option does use the correct verb tense, but it is still INCORRECT because it uses the term "appear" rather than "visible," which is much clearer.

As you can see, starting your process with #2 on our list is much more complicated and doesn't help you eliminate large chunks of options easily. You can certainly answer a question this way, but it may take you MUCH longer to arrive at the correct answer!


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by [email protected] » Fri Mar 01, 2019 9:31 am

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Hello Everyone!

This is a great example of a comparison sentence! Let's take a closer look at it to determine which option is the correct choice! Before we get started, here is the original question, with any major differences between the options highlighted in orange and purple:

Thai village crafts, as with other cultures, have developed through the principle that form follows function and incorporate readily available materials fashioned using traditional skills

(A) as with
(B) as did those of
(C) as they have in
(D) like in
(E) like those of

After a quick glance over the options, 2 major issues jump out:

1. like vs. as
2. Parallelism --> comparing Thai village crafts to: other cultures vs. other cultures' crafts


Since we're dealing with a comparison, the first place to focus our attention should be on parallelism! We MUST make sure that the two items being compared are similar in number, type, or phrasing.

We know that the first half of the comparison is Thai village crafts. The other half of the comparison should be crafts from other cultures. So let's see which sentences properly compare crafts to crafts:

(A) Thai village crafts, as with other cultures --> NOT PARALLEL (comparing crafts to cultures)
(B) Thai village crafts, as did those of other cultures --> PARALLEL (comparing crafts to crafts)
(C) Thai village crafts, as they have in other cultures --> NOT PARALLEL (comparing crafts to people in other cultures)
(D) Thai village crafts, like in other cultures --> NOT PARALLEL (comparing crafts to cultures)
(E) Thai village crafts, like those of other cultures --> PARALLEL (compares crafts to crafts)

We can eliminate options A, C, and D because they don't create parallel comparisons. Let's now take a closer look at the remaining options to determine which is the best choice:

(B) as did those of

This option is INCORRECT for a couple reasons. First, using the past tense verb "did" creates a problem with inconsistent verb tense. Since the sentence uses the verb "have developed" to describe Thai village crafts, we must use the same verb tense to describe other cultures' crafts as well. It also doesn't work to use "as" to compare two items here. You can only use "as" when it can be replaced with the phrase "the way" and still make sense.

(E) like those of

This option is CORRECT because it's clear that we're comparing the crafts of Thailand to the crafts of other cultures, and it uses the word "like" to clearly show that it's a comparison!

There you have it - option E is the correct choice!


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by connect.varunagarwal@gmai » Sun Aug 04, 2019 6:32 pm

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Hi, GMATGuruNY

Isn't it true that which modifies the noun that comes right before the comma?
Wouldn't the option modify Sun's surface and not dark spots in that case (although still incorrect)?

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by GMATGuruNY » Mon Aug 05, 2019 2:45 am

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connect.varunagarwal@gmai wrote:Hi, GMATGuruNY

Isn't it true that which modifies the noun that comes right before the comma?
Wouldn't the option modify Sun's surface and not dark spots in that case (although still incorrect)?
Generally:
which + SINGULAR VERB refers to the nearest preceding SINGULAR noun.
which + PLURAL VERB refers to the nearest preceding PLURAL noun.
If the verb attributed to which can be SINGULAR OR PLURAL, then which refers to the NEAREST PRECEDING NOUN.

E: dark spots on the Sun's surface, which have never been sighted
Here, the verb in red is PLURAL, implying that the referent for which is dark spots (the nearest preceding plural noun).
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