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ozlemmetje: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 36; Joined: Mon Nov 18, 2013 2:03 pmFollowed by: 1 member

by ozlemmetje » Thu Jan 22, 2015 7:48 am

A decade after the demise of early entrants such as Webvan, each of the successful competitors in the online home-delivery industry have either developed new world-class supply-chain capabilities or already have existing strengths in logistics for traditional "bricks and mortar" stores.

a)either has developed new world-class supply-chain capabilities or already has

b)has either developed new world-class supply-chain capabilities or has already

Can someone explain why the correct answer is a but not b? I know It has to do with parallelism but I cannot spot the error.

Thanks!

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Thu Jan 22, 2015 7:48 am

MartyMurray: Legendary Member; Posts: 2135; Joined: Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:26 amFollowed by: 140 members; Location: https://martymurraycoaching.com/; Thanked: 955 times; GMAT Score:800

by MartyMurray » Thu Jan 22, 2015 8:25 am

ozlemmetje wrote:A decade after the demise of early entrants such as Webvan, each of the successful competitors in the online home-delivery industry have either developed new world-class supply-chain capabilities or already have existing strengths in logistics for traditional "bricks and mortar" stores.

a)either has developed new world-class supply-chain capabilities or already has

b)has either developed new world-class supply-chain capabilities or has already

Can someone explain why the correct answer is a but not b? I know It has to do with parallelism but I cannot spot the error.

In b, has comes before either. So b is saying each has either this or that.

Now fill it in and you get each has either developed capabilities or has already existing strengths.

If we just look at the part after the or, the each has that part, we get each has has already existing strengths.

Doesn't make sense.

a on the other hand says each either this or that. Fill it in to get each either has developed capabilities or has already existing strengths. So what's after either and what's after or are contrasting ideas that work together pretty cleanly and are basically if not perfectly parallel. So while a may be a little awkward, it's way better than b.

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ozlemmetje: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 36; Joined: Mon Nov 18, 2013 2:03 pmFollowed by: 1 member

by ozlemmetje » Thu Jan 22, 2015 10:23 am

Hello,

Thanks for trying to explain, but I still don't understand

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ozlemmetje: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 36; Joined: Mon Nov 18, 2013 2:03 pmFollowed by: 1 member

by ozlemmetje » Thu Jan 22, 2015 10:44 am

Hello,

Thanks for explaining.

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MartyMurray: Legendary Member; Posts: 2135; Joined: Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:26 amFollowed by: 140 members; Location: https://martymurraycoaching.com/; Thanked: 955 times; GMAT Score:800

by MartyMurray » Thu Jan 22, 2015 10:49 am

Here is the one thing that matters.

In using choice b we create each has either x or y. Get it? Each one has one of the following. Each has x, or each has y.

x is developed new world-class supply-chain capabilities.

y is has already existing strengths.

Notice the word has appears in y. It also appears in each has.

Using x alone we create Each has developed new world-class supply-chain capabilities.

Using y alone we create Each has has already existing strengths.

The word has is repeated.

So the sentence as a whole does not work, because the has before either refers to what is after either and what is after or, and after or there is another has.

It's like this. She has either apples or oranges. That is the correct version.

The incorrect version would be She has either apples or has oranges. In this version she has has oranges.

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GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Thu Jan 22, 2015 12:05 pm

The PRESENT PERFECT SINGULAR is composed of has + VERBed:
has developed
has promised
has added
In this verb form, has is a HELPING VERB and VERBed is a PARTICIPLE.

In the construction either X or Y, EITHER and OR are known as SEESAW conjunctions.
The reason:
Just like two children on a seesaw, X and Y must BALANCE EACH OTHER.

Generally, if either is followed by a participle, or should also be followed by a participle.
B: has either DEVELOPED new world-class supply-chain capabilities or HAS
Here, either is followed by a PARTICIPLE (developed), but or is followed by a NON-PARTICIPLE (has).
This constitutes an error of parallelism.
Eliminate B.

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