Sentence Correction

Having the right hand and arm being crippled by a sniper's bullet during th First World War, Horace Pippin, a Black American painter, worked by holding the brush in his right hand and guiding its movements with his left hand.

A) Having the right hand and arm being crippled by a sniper's bullet during th First World War
B) In spite of his right hand and arm being crippled by a sniper's bullet during the First World War
C) Because there had been a sniper's bullet during the First World War that crippled his right hand and arm
D) The right hand and arm being cripped by a sniper's bullet during the First World War
E) His right hand and arm crippled by a sniper's bullet during the First World War.

OA is E

Can someone explain why all the other choices are incorrect, esp A & B

There is a modifier issue with the sentence. The underlined portion should modify Horace. I think E does that best.

A and B look awkward and do not modify Horace.

"His right hand" rightly modifies Horace Pippin.

A - "Having the right hand & arm....." is an awkward construction. Also, whenever you see 'being' in SC, chances are very high that the choice is incorrect.

B - "Inspite of" is generally used to express 'negative' outcome in the face of a positive quality. In this case, it is the opposite. The statement expresses 'positive' outcome in the face of negative quality. So, the usage of "Inspite of" is inappropriate.

Hope this helps.

thanks for explaining option b verumi, i was confused between b and e thanks for elaborate explaination

Vemuri wrote:"His right hand" rightly modifies Horace Pippin.

A - "Having the right hand & arm....." is an awkward construction. Also, whenever you see 'being' in SC, chances are very high that the choice is incorrect.

B - "Inspite of" is generally used to express 'negative' outcome in the face of a positive quality. In this case, it is the opposite. The statement expresses 'positive' outcome in the face of negative quality. So, the usage of "Inspite of" is inappropriate.

Hope this helps.

Hi ,
I am quite confused with option A. Og says the use of the two participles Having and being is ungrammatical. Can anyone one please explain it...
and moreover can we eliminate A coz it says the right hand & arm Is it not ambiguous...

In spite of the explanations offered, I still don't see why (B) is incorrect.

After the phrase "In spite of...during the First World War", we'd expect to get information which belies the fact that Pippin's arm and hand are crippled, and we receive such information - namely, (1) that he is able to paint, and (2) how this is accomplished. Think of the statement "In spite of being raised by wolves, Dan learned how to communicate with humans by climbing through villagers' windows, and secretly watching Reality Shows". After "In spite of...raised by wolves", we expect to receive information which would seem contrary to the results of a human having been raised by wolves.

@tomada: the choice B says "In spite of his right hand and arm being crippled by a sniper's bullet during the First World War, Horace Pippin, a Black American painter, worked by holding the brush in his right hand and guiding its movements with his left hand.

It means that Hearce Pippin worked by holding the brush when his right hand and arm was being crippled and thus changes the meaning of the sentence.. The sentence's intended meaning is because his right arm was crippled, he worked with the left hand.. and not he worked with the left hand when his right hand was being crippled...

@sungoal: Are you saying that the two events - (1) Horace Pippin worked by holding the brush in his right hand, and (2) his right hand and arm were crippled by a sniper's bullet during the First World War - can be interpreted as occurring simultaneously in choice (B) ?

E.
Classic use of "Absolute Phrases".

Absolute phrases are made of nouns or pronouns followed by a participle and any modifiers of the noun or pronoun. Absolute phrases contain a subject (unlike participial phrases), and no predicate. They serve to modify an entire sentence : A group of words that modifies an independent clause as a whole.

Joan looked nervous, her fears creeping up on her.
noun/subject: her fears
participle: creeping
modifier: up on her
absolute phrase: her fears creeping up on her

Tom paled when he came home, his mother standing in the
doorway.
noun/subject: his mother
participle: standing
modifier: in the doorway
absolute phrase: his mother standing in the doorway

Thanks

tomada wrote:@sungoal: Are you saying that the two events - (1) Horace Pippin worked by holding the brush in his right hand, and (2) his right hand and arm were crippled by a sniper's bullet during the First World War - can be interpreted as occurring simultaneously in choice (B) ?

@tomada: yes..

Thanks. Is this because the word "being" appears in (B) ?

Absolute phrases corrupt absolutely

sungoal wrote:

tomada wrote:@sungoal: Are you saying that the two events - (1) Horace Pippin worked by holding the brush in his right hand, and (2) his right hand and arm were crippled by a sniper's bullet during the First World War - can be interpreted as occurring simultaneously in choice (B) ?

@tomada: yes..

i think " Being" word is banned in GMAT hence all other options are discarded and option D is too wordy , left E