Question was posted here b4 but I could not find proper exp -
Q.Scientists have identified an asteroid, 2000 BF19, that is about half a mile wide and, if it strikes Earth, it can do tremendous damage to part of the planet but probably not cause planetwide destruction.
A. and, if it strikes Earth, it can do tremendous damage to part of the planet but
B. and, if it would strike Earth, part of the planet could experience a tremendous amount of damage but it would
C. and that, if it were to strike Earth, could do tremendous damage to part of the planet but would
D. and that, if Earth is struck by it, can do part of the planet tremendous damage, but it would
E. and that, if it strikes Earth, it could experience a tremendous amount of damage but
OA -[spoiler] C[spoiler][/spoiler]
thanks[/spoiler]
5-Day Free Trial
5-day free, full-access trial TTP
Available with Beat the GMAT members only code
MORE DETAILS
asteroid 2000 BF19 - gmat prep
This topic has expert replies
-
ronniecoleman
- Legendary Member
- Posts: 546
- Joined: Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:00 pm
- Location: New Delhi , India
- Thanked: 13 times
-
brb588
- Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
- Posts: 61
- Joined: Mon Nov 17, 2008 11:35 pm
- Thanked: 6 times
- Followed by:1 members
Alright, let's try.
A. "Can" is the wrong tense; it hasn't happened, so it should be could.
B. The first "would" is used incorrectly, should be were.
C. Makes the most sense
D. Unnecessarily passive
E. Has problem with ambiguous pronoun "it"
A. "Can" is the wrong tense; it hasn't happened, so it should be could.
B. The first "would" is used incorrectly, should be were.
C. Makes the most sense
D. Unnecessarily passive
E. Has problem with ambiguous pronoun "it"
-
kaulnikhil
- Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
- Posts: 338
- Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2009 1:49 am
- Thanked: 9 times
- Followed by:3 members
sorry for opening this dead thread. Can someone please explain the issue with A?gkammaje wrote:Question was posted here b4 but I could not find proper exp -
Q.Scientists have identified an asteroid, 2000 BF19, that is about half a mile wide and, if it strikes Earth, it can do tremendous damage to part of the planet but probably not cause planetwide destruction.
A. and, if it strikes Earth, it can do tremendous damage to part of the planet but
B. and, if it would strike Earth, part of the planet could experience a tremendous amount of damage but it would
C. and that, if it were to strike Earth, could do tremendous damage to part of the planet but would
D. and that, if Earth is struck by it, can do part of the planet tremendous damage, but it would
E. and that, if it strikes Earth, it could experience a tremendous amount of damage but
OA -[spoiler] C[spoiler][/spoiler]
thanks[/spoiler]
the second it (it can) cannot be considered ambiguous based on repeats. If a pronoun is repeated it will refer to the first noun that is asteroid. I know it is a hypothetical scenario so C can be selected . But what is the grammatical mistake with A?
-
rockeyb
- Legendary Member
- Posts: 537
- Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2009 7:15 am
- Location: Nagpur , India
- Thanked: 41 times
- Followed by:1 members
kaulnikhil wrote: sorry for opening this dead thread. Can someone please explain the issue with A?
the second it (it can) cannot be considered ambiguous based on repeats. If a pronoun is repeated it will refer to the first noun that is asteroid. I know it is a hypothetical scenario so C can be selected . But what is the grammatical mistake with A?
I agree with you a tricky one .
This is all about the pronouns and tense sequence . As you have clearly pointed out the second IT is not ambiguous as its just a repeat and thus refers to the first noun .
Now coming to the tense sequence rule says :
Present action should be followed by FUTURE tense
Past action should be followed by CONDITIONAL tense .
Now lets see option A "if it strikes Earth" (present tense) needs to be followed by FUTURE tense but what do we have here "it can do tremendous damage to part of the planet but " (simple past ) so eliminate .
On the other hand lets see option C .
"if it were to strike Earth" (past tense) needs to be followed by CONDITIONAL tense and we have "could do tremendous damage to part of the planet but would " (conditional) which is correct as per the rule .
"Know thyself" and "Nothing in excess"
-
thephoenix
- Legendary Member
- Posts: 1560
- Joined: Tue Nov 17, 2009 2:38 am
- Thanked: 137 times
- Followed by:5 members
A is not llel we need a second that in s/c to make it llel..........kaulnikhil wrote: sorry for opening this dead thread. Can someone please explain the issue with A?
the second it (it can) cannot be considered ambiguous based on repeats. If a pronoun is repeated it will refer to the first noun that is asteroid. I know it is a hypothetical scenario so C can be selected . But what is the grammatical mistake with A?
-
tanviet
- Legendary Member
- Posts: 1404
- Joined: Tue May 20, 2008 6:55 pm
- Thanked: 18 times
- Followed by:2 members
very hard. I try to say
meaning logic requires "the second that".
C is correct but is new construction. In C. "that" , a relative pronoun can be used with "it" a pronoun. both these pronoun refer to the same noun in a sentence. I rarely see this.
Testluv, Ron, Stacey. Pls, comment on this
meaning logic requires "the second that".
C is correct but is new construction. In C. "that" , a relative pronoun can be used with "it" a pronoun. both these pronoun refer to the same noun in a sentence. I rarely see this.
Testluv, Ron, Stacey. Pls, comment on this
-
kaulnikhil
- Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
- Posts: 338
- Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2009 1:49 am
- Thanked: 9 times
- Followed by:3 members
according to Manhattan study guide ...if (present ) can be follwoed by a may or can ..rockeyb wrote:kaulnikhil wrote: sorry for opening this dead thread. Can someone please explain the issue with A?
the second it (it can) cannot be considered ambiguous based on repeats. If a pronoun is repeated it will refer to the first noun that is asteroid. I know it is a hypothetical scenario so C can be selected . But what is the grammatical mistake with A?
I agree with you a tricky one .
This is all about the pronouns and tense sequence . As you have clearly pointed out the second IT is not ambiguous as its just a repeat and thus refers to the first noun .
Now coming to the tense sequence rule says :
Present action should be followed by FUTURE tense
Past action should be followed by CONDITIONAL tense .
Now lets see option A "if it strikes Earth" (present tense) needs to be followed by FUTURE tense but what do we have here "it can do tremendous damage to part of the planet but " (simple past ) so eliminate .
On the other hand lets see option C .
"if it were to strike Earth" (past tense) needs to be followed by CONDITIONAL tense and we have "could do tremendous damage to part of the planet but would " (conditional) which is correct as per the rule .
example.:
Pg 113 .. If sohie eats a pizza , the she may / can fall ill.
is it because:
it can do tremendous damage to part of the planet but probably not cause planetwide destruction.
it can do x but probably it cannot do y .
Now here if y try to fit in Y ..
It cannot do cause planet wide sensation..
this sentence doesn't make sense. Hence can be rejected .. i am not sue of the reasoning . does it make sense?
-
harshavardhanc
- Legendary Member
- Posts: 526
- Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 11:47 pm
- Location: India
- Thanked: 68 times
- GMAT Score:680
Don't go that far. A can be eliminated without thinking about all this.kaulnikhil wrote: according to Manhattan study guide ...if (present ) can be follwoed by a may or can ..
example.:
Pg 113 .. If sohie eats a pizza , the she may / can fall ill.
is it because:
it can do tremendous damage to part of the planet but probably not cause planetwide destruction.
it can do x but probably it cannot do y .
Now here if y try to fit in Y ..
It cannot do cause planet wide sensation..
this sentence doesn't make sense. Hence can be rejected .. i am not sue of the reasoning . does it make sense?
Look at the post by thephoenix.
Author's aim is to tell two qualities of the asteroid, which he tries by using and .
You need two || things on either side of and.
Option A has a non-essential modifier -- ,if it strikes Earth, . What does this modify? and?
Therefore, you need a second that , referring the asteroid, just after and and before , if it strikes Earth,
and that, if it strikes Earth, can..... would have been correct.
I think this should be clear now.
Regards,
Harsha
Harsha
