SC Questions based on Meaning Clarity....

This topic has expert replies
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 56
Joined: Sat Feb 19, 2011 12:10 pm
Followed by:2 members

SC Questions based on Meaning Clarity....

by anukrati » Tue Aug 02, 2011 5:11 am
Hi

I am facing problem in SC questions based on Meaning Clarity. I really dont know how to solve these kind of questions.Please help me solve these type of questions....
And also tell me how to approach these kind of questions.

One of the question is :

Several of the canvases that were singed and incinerated in yesterday's museum fire were painted by a famous Russian artist.

A) Same
B) In yesterday's museum fire, several of the canvases that had been singed and incinerated were
C) Yesterday several of the canvases that were singed or incinerated in the museum fire were
D) Several of the canvases that were singed and incinerated in yesterday's museum fire had been
E) Several of the canvases that were singed or incinerated in yesterday's museum fire had been


Thanks

Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 68
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2011 9:47 am
Thanked: 6 times

by need720+ » Tue Aug 02, 2011 5:44 am
IMO B
In B, past perfect is correctly used.
OA?

Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 56
Joined: Sat Feb 19, 2011 12:10 pm
Followed by:2 members

by anukrati » Tue Aug 02, 2011 5:47 am
OA is not B.
Can you also explain how to approach these kind of questions....

User avatar
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 79
Joined: Mon Jan 17, 2011 4:51 am
Location: Hyderabad, India
Thanked: 8 times
Followed by:5 members

by galaxian » Tue Aug 02, 2011 5:51 am
IMO D
Two past events are being described here.One happened just yesterday (were) & another long back when the canvasses were painted (use of had been).

What is the OA ?

Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 56
Joined: Sat Feb 19, 2011 12:10 pm
Followed by:2 members

by anukrati » Tue Aug 02, 2011 6:08 am
I also went with option D with the same logic.
But Correct OA is E.

The only difference in Option D and E is "that were singed and incinerated" vs "that were singed or incinerated".

Can anyone tell me how option E is correct.

Legendary Member
Posts: 1448
Joined: Tue May 17, 2011 9:55 am
Location: India
Thanked: 375 times
Followed by:53 members

by Frankenstein » Tue Aug 02, 2011 6:12 am
Hi,
singed - burned superficially(partially burned)
incinerated - burned to ashes(completely burned).
If we know the appropriate meanings of these words, E sounds better because they cannot be singed and incinerated at the same time.
Can you post the source.
Cheers!

Things are not what they appear to be... nor are they otherwise

Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 56
Joined: Sat Feb 19, 2011 12:10 pm
Followed by:2 members

by anukrati » Tue Aug 02, 2011 6:21 am
Source: Manhattan GMAT Forum.
Thanks Frankenstein

Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 60
Joined: Sat Jul 16, 2011 11:56 pm
Location: hyderabad
Thanked: 2 times
Followed by:1 members

by naveen451 » Wed Aug 03, 2011 2:34 am
IMO C

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 1031
Joined: Thu Jul 03, 2008 1:23 pm
Location: Malibu, CA
Thanked: 716 times
Followed by:255 members
GMAT Score:750

by Brian@VeritasPrep » Wed Aug 03, 2011 9:06 am
Hey all:

I love the discussion. First off, let me point out that this question is a replica of an OG question that uses "damaged and/or destroyed" in place of singed and incinerated (that question talks about buildings in an earthquake). If you're unclear on "singed" and "incinerated", my guess is that those words may be outside the scope of what the GMAT would really test...that's a little too nuanced in terms of vocabulary (not at all criticizing the question here, though - for purposes of teaching it's fantastic so it serves its purpose really well). But "damaged" vs. "destroyed" is a little more mainstream and pretty fair (obviously...it made the actual test).

In terms of meaning clarity and how to approach it, just ask yourself "could this really have happened?". Even with verb tenses, most of the time it comes down less to a purely "grammatical" distinction and more to one of logic - could the events have happened in that order and in that timeframe?

Here, B and C are great (but wrong) answer choices. Is it in any way logical to think that, all on the same day (yesterday), a famous artist painted several paintings, delivered them to a museum, and then saw them burned in a fire? The placement of "yesterday" in C or "in yesterday's fire" in B both assign that duration - one day - to the entire sentence. And that's just not logical.

As Frankenstein said, the big problem with A and D is that once something is incinerated (burned to a point at which it no longer exists) it can't be also singed (superficially burned). So the "and" in both choices is wrong. And like I said...in this particular question I don't know that that's entirely fair for a nonnative speaker, but the GMAT official test would probably use words that are a little more commonplace so the lesson still holds.
Brian Galvin
GMAT Instructor
Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep

Looking for GMAT practice questions? Try out the Veritas Prep Question Bank. Learn More.

User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 540
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 7:24 pm
Thanked: 37 times
Followed by:6 members

by navami » Thu Aug 04, 2011 4:41 am
E it is.
because the fire could not have burnt and scorched the paintings. the paintings were either slightly burnt or burnt and destroyed
This time no looking back!!!
Navami