Sentence Correction

Having more than the usual numbers of fingers or toes on the hands or feet is termed polydactyly.
A. Having more than the usual numbers of fingers or toes
B. Having had more than the usual number of fingers or toes
C. Having more than the usual number of fingers or toes
D. To have more than the usual number of fingers or toes
E. To have more than the usual numbers of fingers or toes

imo:D

IMO A

I believe "A" is wrong because of the usage of
the ... numbers of
I am between C and D. I will pick "C"
"To have" --> indicate intention and sentence doesn't show intention.

amitabhprasad wrote:I believe "A" is wrong because of the usage of
the ... numbers of
I am between C and D. I will pick "C"
"To have" --> indicate intention and sentence doesn't show intention.

Correction!!

Thanks amitabh!
IMO C

i overlooked that factor ( numbers of is always wrong )

OA is C.

But Manhattan has given a different explanation for why D is wrong. Following is the explanation:

(D) This choice correctly replaces "numbers of" with "number of." However, the phrase beginning with the infinitive form "to have" is not parallel with the phrase "is termed polydactyly." To maintain parallel structure the phrase "is termed polydactyly" must be preceded by a noun phrase; the word "having" is a gerund, a verb that acts as a noun, and is therefore appropriate to open that phrase.

My Doubt: Why "is termed polydactyly" needs a gerund?And how they are parallel?

this question is not official

I recommend that we study the offical quesions which come from good sourse or book

all 5 choices are wrong because gmat never agrees that "doing " or " to do " is in place of normal subject

duongthang wrote:this question is not official

I recommend that we study the offical quesions which come from good sourse or book

all 5 choices are wrong because gmat never agrees that "doing " or " to do " is in place of normal subject

The question is from Manhattan free practice test. As far as the source is concerned, Manhattan SC is considered in par with OG. All the options might be wrong, but in GMAT you don't have "none of these" option . So select the best among the lot.

whats the problem with D??

i feel C has a problem of "dangling modifier"....


any views on this???

raunekk wrote:i feel C has a problem of "dangling modifier"....


any views on this???

Raunekk.
I too feel the same .

"having... fingers or toes" <ignore "on ..feet"> is called polydactyly.
Here the opening clause "having .. toes" seems to modify "is".

can someone throw more light on this??
thanks

vittalgmat wrote:

raunekk wrote:i feel C has a problem of "dangling modifier"....


any views on this???

Raunekk.
I too feel the same .

"having... fingers or toes" <ignore "on ..feet"> is called polydactyly.
Here the opening clause "having .. toes" seems to modify "is".

can someone throw more light on this??
thanks

My take on this was, use of gerund vs infinitive; and infinitive is used to show intention while gerund shows the result or modifies main clause.
Guys I may be totally off, but thats the reason I selected "C" over "D"

Raunekk.
I too feel the same .

"having... fingers or toes" <ignore "on ..feet"> is called polydactyly.
Here the opening clause "having .. toes" seems to modify "is".

But "to have" is also doing the same job of performing as a "noun" and it also seems to modify the verb "is"....

"having" which acts like a verb needs a definite noun here...

My take on this was, use of gerund vs infinitive; and infinitive is used to show intention while gerund shows the result or modifies main clause.

@amitabhprasad


how did you apply this in this particular sentence...?

thanks in advance..

Guys, I will go with D.

In one of the posts someone mentioned that gerund should always be preceeded by possessive and here's the link https://www.getitwriteonline.com/archive/022205.htm

So as per this C would have been correct if the stmt were Hand's or feet's having....

Any thoughts?

anju wrote:Guys, I will go with D.

In one of the posts someone mentioned that gerund should always be preceeded by possessive and here's the link https://www.getitwriteonline.com/archive/022205.htm

So as per this C would have been correct if the stmt were Hand's or feet's having....

Any thoughts?

I also selected D but OA is C. And most weird part was its explanation: "However, the phrase beginning with the infinitive form "to have" is not parallel with the phrase "is termed polydactyly."