OG13 SC Starfish, with anywhere from five to eight arms, hav

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Starfish, with anywhere from five to eight arms, have a strong regenerative ability, and if one arm is lost it quickly replaces it, sometimes by the animal overcompensating and growing an extra one or two.

A one arm is lost it quickly replaces it, sometimes by the animal overcompensating and
B one arm is lost it is quickly replaced, with the animal sometimes overcompensating and
C they lose one arm they quickly replace it, sometimes by the animal overcompensating,
D they lose one arm they are quickly replaced, with the animal sometimes overcompensating,
E they lose one arm it is quickly replaced, sometimes with the animal overcompensating,

OA: B
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by GMATGuruNY » Fri Aug 26, 2016 7:59 am

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Starfish, with anywhere from five to eight arms, have a strong regenerative ability, and if one arm is lost it quickly replaces it, sometimes by the animal overcompensating and growing an extra one or two.

A one arm is lost it quickly replaces it, sometimes by the animal overcompensating and
B one arm is lost it is quickly replaced, with the animal sometimes overcompensating and
C they lose one arm they quickly replace it, sometimes by the animal overcompensating,
D they lose one arm they are quickly replaced, with the animal sometimes overcompensating,
E they lose one arm it is quickly replaced, sometimes with the animal overcompensating,
In A, the first it (singular) does not agree with its intended antecedent, starfish (plural). Eliminate A.

In D, the second they (plural) does not agree with its intended antecedent, arm (singular). Eliminate D.

In C and E, sometimes by the animal and sometimes with the animal imply a nonsensical meaning: that the lost arm is replaced sometimes NOT BY the animal or sometimes WITHOUT the animal.
Eliminate C and E.

The correct answer is B.

Where a modifier is placed affects MEANING.
Always notice when a modifier such as SOMETIMES changes position in the answer choices.
In the OA, sometimes correctly modifies overcompensating and growing:
If one arm is lost it is quickly replaced, with the animal SOMETIMES OVERCOMPENSATING AND GROWING an extra one or two.
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by richachampion » Sun Aug 28, 2016 5:12 pm

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GMATGuruNY wrote:
In A, the first it (singular) does not agree with its intended antecedent, starfish (plural). Eliminate A.

In D, the second they (plural) does not agree with its intended antecedent, arm (singular). Eliminate D.

In C and E, sometimes by the animal and sometimes with the animal imply a nonsensical meaning: that the lost arm is replaced sometimes NOT BY the animal or sometimes WITHOUT the animal.
Eliminate C and E.

The correct answer is B.

Where a modifier is placed affects MEANING.
Always notice when a modifier such as SOMETIMES changes position in the answer choices.
In the OA, sometimes correctly modifies overcompensating and growing:
If one arm is lost it is quickly replaced, with the animal SOMETIMES OVERCOMPENSATING AND GROWING an extra one or two.
Thanks, Mr. Hunt,

I have a specific question here -
If X, then Y

Here X and Y needs to be in the same voice; I mean active - active or passive-passive.

One author is saying so. Click Here.
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by GMATGuruNY » Tue Aug 30, 2016 3:56 am

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richachampion wrote:I have a specific question here -
If X, then Y

Here X and Y needs to be in the same voice; I mean active - active or passive-passive.

One author is saying so. Click Here.
The OE in the OG13 states the following:
In a conditional sentence if X, (then) Y, rhetorical flow is enhanced by the two clauses sharing the same structure. If one clause is passive, the other should be passive; if one clause is active, the other should be active, too.
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by bubblehead0922 » Fri Sep 09, 2016 2:41 pm

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Hi GMATGuruNY,

Can you please explain the logical connection between "with the animal sometimes overcompensating and growing" and the rest of the sentence? What does this modifier modify to?

Thx for your time in advance,
Victoria

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by GMATGuruNY » Sat Sep 10, 2016 2:42 am

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bubblehead0922 wrote:Hi GMATGuruNY,

Can you please explain the logical connection between "with the animal sometimes overcompensating and growing" and the rest of the sentence? What does this modifier modify to?

Thx for your time in advance,
Victoria
Generally, a COMMA + with modifier that follows a clause serves to modify the preceding action.
OA: It is quickly replaced, with the animal sometimes overcompensating and growing an extra one or two.
Here, the action is blue (the arm is quickly replaced) happens WITH the event in green (the animal sometimes overcompensating and growing an extra one or two).
In other words, when the starfish replaces the arm, it sometimes overcompensates and grows one or two extra arms (in addition to the one being replaced).
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by bubblehead0922 » Sat Sep 10, 2016 10:43 am

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GMATGuruNY wrote:
bubblehead0922 wrote:Hi GMATGuruNY,

Can you please explain the logical connection between "with the animal sometimes overcompensating and growing" and the rest of the sentence? What does this modifier modify to?

Thx for your time in advance,
Victoria
Generally, a COMMA + with modifier that follows a clause serves to modify the preceding action.
OA: It is quickly replaced, with the animal sometimes overcompensating and growing an extra one or two.
Here, the action is blue (the arm is quickly replaced) happens WITH the event in green (the animal sometimes overcompensating and growing an extra one or two).
In other words, when the starfish replaces the arm, it sometimes overcompensates and grows one or two extra arms (in addition to the one being replaced).
Thx, GMATGuruNY. It makes sense that "with the animal sometimes overcompensating and growing an extra one or two" modifies " being quickly replaced".

The reason that "the animal" is placed between the proposition "with" and the present participle "overcompensating and growing" is that the subject of " it is quickly replaced" is "it ", referring one arm. Since "being quickly replaced" and "overcompensating and growing" are performed by two different agents, " the animal" is required to clarify the meaning of the propositional phrase, right?

WIth the same logic, can I say that the "the animal" in option C, " they lose one arm they quickly replace it, sometimes by the animal overcompensating", is redundant? Since "they" and "the animal" are both referring to starfish, it is not necessary to repeat it twice.

If the main clause is active (option C), there is no need to lead the action "overcompensating and growing " with "the animal" in the propositional phrase. On the other hand, if the main clause is passive (option B), then a subject referring to "the starfish" would be required to complete the meaning in the propositional pharse.

Thx for your time.

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by GMATGuruNY » Mon Sep 12, 2016 2:33 am

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bubblehead0922 wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote:
bubblehead0922 wrote:Hi GMATGuruNY,

Can you please explain the logical connection between "with the animal sometimes overcompensating and growing" and the rest of the sentence? What does this modifier modify to?

Thx for your time in advance,
Victoria
Generally, a COMMA + with modifier that follows a clause serves to modify the preceding action.
OA: It is quickly replaced, with the animal sometimes overcompensating and growing an extra one or two.
Here, the action is blue (the arm is quickly replaced) happens WITH the event in green (the animal sometimes overcompensating and growing an extra one or two).
In other words, when the starfish replaces the arm, it sometimes overcompensates and grows one or two extra arms (in addition to the one being replaced).
Thx, GMATGuruNY. It makes sense that "with the animal sometimes overcompensating and growing an extra one or two" modifies " being quickly replaced".

The reason that "the animal" is placed between the proposition "with" and the present participle "overcompensating and growing" is that the subject of " it is quickly replaced" is "it ", referring one arm. Since "being quickly replaced" and "overcompensating and growing" are performed by two different agents, " the animal" is required to clarify the meaning of the propositional phrase, right?

WIth the same logic, can I say that the "the animal" in option C, " they lose one arm they quickly replace it, sometimes by the animal overcompensating", is redundant? Since "they" and "the animal" are both referring to starfish, it is not necessary to repeat it twice.

If the main clause is active (option C), there is no need to lead the action "overcompensating and growing " with "the animal" in the propositional phrase. On the other hand, if the main clause is passive (option B), then a subject referring to "the starfish" would be required to complete the meaning in the propositional pharse.

Thx for your time.
These lines of reasoning seem valid.
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by [email protected] » Tue Apr 09, 2019 9:48 am

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Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question, one thing at a time, and narrow down the options to find the right answer quickly! To get started, here is the original question with any major differences between the options highlighted in orange:

Starfish, with anywhere from five to eight arms, have a strong regenerative ability, and if one arm is lost it quickly replaces it, sometimes by the animal overcompensating and growing an extra one or two.

(A) one arm is lost it quickly replaces it, sometimes by the animal overcompensating and
(B) one arm is lost it is quickly replaced, with the animal sometimes overcompensating and
(C) they lose one arm they quickly replace it, sometimes by the animal overcompensating,
(D) they lose one arm they are quickly replaced, with the animal sometimes overcompensating,
(E) they lose one arm it is quickly replaced, sometimes with the animal overcompensating,

There is a lot you could focus on with this sentence, but let's start with 2 major differences and narrow things down from there:

1. Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement (it vs. they)
2. Intended Meaning (sometimes by the animal vs. sometimes overcompensating)


Let's start with #1 on our list: pronoun-antecedent agreement. If we look closely, we can see that the subject of the sentence is Starfish, which is a plural subject that requires a plural pronoun. Let's see which options handle this correctly, and eliminate those that don't:

(A) one arm is lost it quickly replaces it, sometimes by the animal overcompensating and --> WRONG
(The singular pronoun "it" is referring back to the plural "starfish," which doesn't match up!)

(B) one arm is lost it is quickly replaced, with the animal sometimes overcompensating and --> OK
(The pronoun "it" here is referring back to the lost arm, which is fine. This sentence doesn't have a pronoun that refers back to "starfish," so let's keep it for later.)

(C) they lose one arm they quickly replace it, sometimes by the animal overcompensating, --> OK
(The pronoun "they" is clearly referring back to the plural "starfish," which matches. The later pronoun "it" is clearly referring back to the lost arm, so let's keep this for later.)

(D) they lose one arm they are quickly replaced, with the animal sometimes overcompensating, --> WRONG
(While the first plural "they" refers back to the plural "starfish," there's a problem with the second "they." In this case, it should be a singular pronoun to match up with the singular lost arm it's referring back to. If we read this sentence as it is, it actually says that if starfish lose an arm, the entire starfish is replaced! That's not the meaning we're trying to convey, so let's rule this one out.)

(E) they lose one arm it is quickly replaced, sometimes with the animal overcompensating, --> OK
(The plural "they" is clearly referring back to the plural "starfish." The singular "it" is clearly referring back to the singular arm. So let's keep this for later!)

We can eliminate options A & D due to pronoun-antecedent agreement problems!

Now, let's move on to #2 on our list: where to put the word "sometimes." Let's take a closer look at each option to determine if the word "sometimes" is placed in the proper place to convey the right meaning:

(B) one arm is lost it is quickly replaced, with the animal sometimes overcompensating and

This is CORRECT! The word "sometimes" is being used as an adverb here to modify the verb "overcompensating." This means that the starfish only overcompensate sometimes, and other times they don't. Since that's the meaning we're looking to convey, this is the correct choice!

(C) they lose one arm they quickly replace it, sometimes by the animal overcompensating,

This is INCORRECT because the word "sometimes" is tied to the phrase "by the animal," rather than the verb "overcompensating." This creates a bit of a nonsense phrase - is it trying to say that sometimes the starfish replaces its own arm, and sometimes another animal does it? Or is it saying that sometimes the animal replaces a lost arm by overcompensating, and sometimes it replaces the arm using some other method? Confusing, right? So let's rule this one out because it's incredibly confusing.

(E) they lose one arm it is quickly replaced, sometimes with the animal overcompensating,

Again, this is INCORRECT because tying to word "sometimes" to the phrase "with the animal" muddles the meaning. In this sentence, it's saying that the lost arm is sometimes replaced WITH the animal overcompensating, and sometimes it's replaced WITHOUT the animal overcompensating. Another confusing scenario, right? Let's rule this one out too!


There you have it - option B is the correct choice because it conveys a clear meaning, and it uses pronouns correctly!


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