Henry David Thoreau

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Henry David Thoreau

by armaan700+ » Wed Feb 03, 2010 8:26 am
According to Henry David Thoreau, the reason a majority is allowed to rule is not that it is more likely to be right, but because it is stronger.

a.....
b. a majority is allowed to rule not because it is more likely to be right, but because it is stronger

c. the reason for majority rule is not because they are more likely to be right, they are stronger

d. the majority is allowed to rule because of its strength, not because it is more likely to be right

e. the reason why the majority rules is that it is strong, not because it is likely to be right

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by Osirus@VeritasPrep » Wed Feb 03, 2010 8:30 am
I would choose A

B- this is awkward and a borderline fragment

C- this changes the meaning

D- this changes the meaning

E- This changes the meaning

In choices C-E it changes the subject from "a majority" which can refer to any majority, to "the majority" which is more specific and less transferable to other scenarios.

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by thephoenix » Wed Feb 03, 2010 8:54 am
a..... -> because of and because it are not parallel

b. a majority is allowed to rule not because it is more likely to be right, but because it is stronger -> perfect

c. the reason for majority rule is not because they are more likely to be right, they are stronger -> NOT PARALLEL

d. the majority is allowed to rule because of its strength, not because it is more likely to be right-->NOT PARALLEL

e. the reason why the majority rules is that it is strong, not because it is likely to be right -> NOT PARALLEL

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by Osirus@VeritasPrep » Wed Feb 03, 2010 8:56 am
thephoenix wrote:a..... -> because of and because it are not parallel

b. a majority is allowed to rule not because it is more likely to be right, but because it is stronger -> perfect

c. the reason for majority rule is not because they are more likely to be right, they are stronger -> NOT PARALLEL

d. the majority is allowed to rule because of its strength, not because it is more likely to be right-->NOT PARALLEL

e. the reason why the majority rules is that it is strong, not because it is likely to be right -> NOT PARALLEL
Thanks you are correct.

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by sumanr84 » Wed Feb 03, 2010 9:06 am
The Q is testing Idiom + ||ism.

Idiom - Not X but Y..and X and Y have to be ||el.

X - because it is more likely...
Y - because it is stronger

My only doubt is 'comma' before but. I have never seen any problem with a comma intervening in the idiom ( Not X but Y ).

Any thoughts ?

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by komal » Mon Feb 15, 2010 11:56 am
armaan700+ wrote:According to Henry David Thoreau, the reason a majority is allowed to rule is not that it is more likely to be right, but because it is stronger.

a.....
b. a majority is allowed to rule not because it is more likely to be right, but because it is stronger

c. the reason for majority rule is not because they are more likely to be right, they are stronger

d. the majority is allowed to rule because of its strength, not because it is more likely to be right

e. the reason why the majority rules is that it is strong, not because it is likely to be right
Usage of 'reason ..because' is redundant in a sentence..'because' is used to indicate 'reason'...so we don't need both of them in a sentence.. (A),(C) and (E) are out..

Out of (B) and (D), (B) is more clear n concise.

Hence (B) wins

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by Anial » Sat Apr 17, 2010 6:13 pm
komal wrote:
armaan700+ wrote:According to Henry David Thoreau, the reason a majority is allowed to rule is not that it is more likely to be right, but because it is stronger.

a.....
b. a majority is allowed to rule not because it is more likely to be right, but because it is stronger

c. the reason for majority rule is not because they are more likely to be right, they are stronger

d. the majority is allowed to rule because of its strength, not because it is more likely to be right

e. the reason why the majority rules is that it is strong, not because it is likely to be right
Usage of 'reason ..because' is redundant in a sentence..'because' is used to indicate 'reason'...so we don't need both of them in a sentence.. (A),(C) and (E) are out..

Out of (B) and (D), (B) is more clear n concise.

Hence (B) wins
Guys ,
Why is B correct. Is not "A majority" plural?
eg: Still, a majority of voters are unhappy"

Thanks

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by thephoenix » Sat Apr 17, 2010 6:50 pm
Anial wrote:
komal wrote:
armaan700+ wrote:According to Henry David Thoreau, the reason a majority is allowed to rule is not that it is more likely to be right, but because it is stronger.

a.....
b. a majority is allowed to rule not because it is more likely to be right, but because it is stronger

c. the reason for majority rule is not because they are more likely to be right, they are stronger

d. the majority is allowed to rule because of its strength, not because it is more likely to be right

e. the reason why the majority rules is that it is strong, not because it is likely to be right
Usage of 'reason ..because' is redundant in a sentence..'because' is used to indicate 'reason'...so we don't need both of them in a sentence.. (A),(C) and (E) are out..

Out of (B) and (D), (B) is more clear n concise.

Hence (B) wins
Guys ,
Why is B correct. Is not "A majority" plural?
eg: Still, a majority of voters are unhappy"

Thanks
majority ...when spelled alone is singular
However a majority of students....is pluarl

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by karthikpandian19 » Wed Jun 06, 2012 12:21 am
I dont have any issue in understanding the Parallelism here and the answer B, but i am puzzled with the usage of "more likely" in this sentence structure. Normally in GMAT, "more...." need to be followed by "than..." - is this thumb rule or changes? Not clear on this though
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