Hi,
Can anyone tell me the difficult level of this question? I still don't know how I'll get this right on test day. I selected B since I was looking for a conjunction.

Can anyone suggest me questions to practice which are similar to this? (there is something wrong in my grammer here. Sorry about that. My brain is kinda tired right now )

Stacey Koprince wrote:This is a great teaching question - we use it in class, actually. As neo pointed out, the opening clause is a modifier, not a complete sentence, so we don't need a coordinating conjunction to connect to the non-underlined portion. Also, some other reasons why the various answers are wrong:

(A) "Having" is the wrong tense - the sentence should be in past tense. "being" is used incorrectly.

(B) Meaning is wrong. He doesn't paint in this weird way "in spite of" being crippled, but because he was crippled. "being" is also used incorrectly.

(C) "Had been" is the wrong tense. For past perfect, the two events have to happen at distinct times. The bullet and the crippling are basically happening simultaneously.

(D) "The right hand and arm" is ambiguous. Whose hand and arm? Needs "his" instead of "the" to make sure we know we're talking about Horace's hand and arm. Also, "being" is used incorrectly.

(E) Sounds funny. But it's fine grammatically. This is how they'll get you to ignore / cross off a sentence that is grammatically correct - they make it sound funny but there's nothing actually wrong with it.

1. Having done his homework, Sam goes out for a walk.
is the above sentence correct? how do we use having construction properly.

what about
having done his homework,sam went out for a walk.?

i am having a trouble in understanding the use of "having."

7777 wrote:

Stacey Koprince wrote:This is a great teaching question - we use it in class, actually. As neo pointed out, the opening clause is a modifier, not a complete sentence, so we don't need a coordinating conjunction to connect to the non-underlined portion. Also, some other reasons why the various answers are wrong:

(A) "Having" is the wrong tense - the sentence should be in past tense. "being" is used incorrectly.

(B) Meaning is wrong. He doesn't paint in this weird way "in spite of" being crippled, but because he was crippled. "being" is also used incorrectly.

(C) "Had been" is the wrong tense. For past perfect, the two events have to happen at distinct times. The bullet and the crippling are basically happening simultaneously.

(D) "The right hand and arm" is ambiguous. Whose hand and arm? Needs "his" instead of "the" to make sure we know we're talking about Horace's hand and arm. Also, "being" is used incorrectly.

(E) Sounds funny. But it's fine grammatically. This is how they'll get you to ignore / cross off a sentence that is grammatically correct - they make it sound funny but there's nothing actually wrong with it.

1. Having done his homework, Sam goes out for a walk.
is the above sentence correct? how do we use having construction properly.

what about
having done his homework,sam went out for a walk.?

i am having a trouble in understanding the use of "having."

Check my post here:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/diesel-engin ... 88260.html

Thanks Stacy for pointing out the wrong usage of 'The' in D.

Why is the usage of Being in D incorrect?

Had there been an option - F
(F) His right hand and arm being crippled by a sniper's bullet during the First World War

would it be correct/wrong?

GMATGuruNY wrote:

7777 wrote:

Stacey Koprince wrote:This is a great teaching question - we use it in class, actually. As neo pointed out, the opening clause is a modifier, not a complete sentence, so we don't need a coordinating conjunction to connect to the non-underlined portion. Also, some other reasons why the various answers are wrong:

(A) "Having" is the wrong tense - the sentence should be in past tense. "being" is used incorrectly.

(B) Meaning is wrong. He doesn't paint in this weird way "in spite of" being crippled, but because he was crippled. "being" is also used incorrectly.

(C) "Had been" is the wrong tense. For past perfect, the two events have to happen at distinct times. The bullet and the crippling are basically happening simultaneously.

(D) "The right hand and arm" is ambiguous. Whose hand and arm? Needs "his" instead of "the" to make sure we know we're talking about Horace's hand and arm. Also, "being" is used incorrectly.

(E) Sounds funny. But it's fine grammatically. This is how they'll get you to ignore / cross off a sentence that is grammatically correct - they make it sound funny but there's nothing actually wrong with it.

1. Having done his homework, Sam goes out for a walk.
is the above sentence correct? how do we use having construction properly.

what about
having done his homework,sam went out for a walk.?

i am having a trouble in understanding the use of "having."

Check my post here:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/diesel-engin ... 88260.html

. Having the right hand and arm 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.

hi mitch. thanks for the valuable info.
on removing the "being" from the original sentence,is it now a correct sentence?

i think that "having right hand crippled" modifies horace pippin and provides theme for the primary action,"worked by holding the brush".

stacey wrote that "having" is the wrong tense here.i don't understand how.

7777 wrote:

GMATGuruNY wrote:

7777 wrote:

Stacey Koprince wrote:This is a great teaching question - we use it in class, actually. As neo pointed out, the opening clause is a modifier, not a complete sentence, so we don't need a coordinating conjunction to connect to the non-underlined portion. Also, some other reasons why the various answers are wrong:

(A) "Having" is the wrong tense - the sentence should be in past tense. "being" is used incorrectly.

(B) Meaning is wrong. He doesn't paint in this weird way "in spite of" being crippled, but because he was crippled. "being" is also used incorrectly.

(C) "Had been" is the wrong tense. For past perfect, the two events have to happen at distinct times. The bullet and the crippling are basically happening simultaneously.

(D) "The right hand and arm" is ambiguous. Whose hand and arm? Needs "his" instead of "the" to make sure we know we're talking about Horace's hand and arm. Also, "being" is used incorrectly.

(E) Sounds funny. But it's fine grammatically. This is how they'll get you to ignore / cross off a sentence that is grammatically correct - they make it sound funny but there's nothing actually wrong with it.

1. Having done his homework, Sam goes out for a walk.
is the above sentence correct? how do we use having construction properly.

what about
having done his homework,sam went out for a walk.?

i am having a trouble in understanding the use of "having."

Check my post here:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/diesel-engin ... 88260.html

. Having the right hand and arm 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.

hi mitch. thanks for the valuable info.
on removing the "being" from the original sentence,is it now a correct sentence?

i think that "having right hand crippled" modifies horace pippin and provides theme for the primary action,"worked by holding the brush".

stacey wrote that "having" is the wrong tense here.i don't understand how.

Having his right hand = PRESENT participle + direct object.
A PRESENT participle expresses CONTEMPORANEOUS action: an action happening at the same as the primary action.
The implication is that Horace Pippin was HAVING his right hand at the same time as he WORKED.
Not the intended meaning.

Having + VERBed = PERFECT participle.
A PERFECT participle expresses PRIOR action: an action that happened PRIOR to the primary action.
The following would work:
HAVING LOST the use of his right hand and arm, Horace Pippin GUIDED the brush with his left hand.
Here, the sequence is clear: Horace Pippin LOST the use of his right hand and arm BEFORE he guided the brush with his left hand.
Further, the use of the perfect participle makes it clear that the prior action has an effect upon the subsequent action: having lost the use of his right hand explains WHY Horace Pippin guided the brush with his left hand.

Mitch,you are way more than just "being wonderful."

But in Option E, no conjunction is used to connect two independent clauses. Whether it is not wrong.

Please guide

[quote="GMATGuruNY"][quote="7777"][quote="GMATGuruNY"][quote="7777"][quote="Stacey Koprince"]This is a great teaching question - we use it in class, actually. As neo pointed out, the opening clause is a modifier, not a complete sentence, so we don't need a coordinating conjunction to connect to the non-underlined portion. Also, some other reasons why the various answers are wrong:

(A) "Having" is the wrong tense - the sentence should be in past tense. "being" is used incorrectly.

(B) Meaning is wrong. He doesn't paint in this weird way "in spite of" being crippled, but [i]because[/i] he was crippled. "being" is also used incorrectly.

(C) "Had been" is the wrong tense. For past perfect, the two events have to happen at distinct times. The bullet and the crippling are basically happening simultaneously.

(D) "[b]The [/b]right hand and arm" is ambiguous. Whose hand and arm? Needs "his" instead of "the" to make sure we know we're talking about Horace's hand and arm. Also, "being" is used incorrectly.

(E) Sounds funny. But it's fine grammatically. This is how they'll get you to ignore / cross off a sentence that is grammatically correct - they make it sound funny but there's nothing actually wrong with it.[/quote]

1. Having done his homework, Sam goes out for a walk.
is the above sentence correct? how do we use having construction properly.

what about
having done his homework,sam went out for a walk.?

i am having a trouble in understanding the use of "having."[/quote]

Check my post here:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/diesel-engin ... 88260.html[/quote]


. Having the right hand and arm 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.

hi mitch. thanks for the valuable info.
on removing the "being" from the original sentence,is it now a correct sentence?

i think that "having right hand crippled" modifies horace pippin and provides theme for the primary action,"worked by holding the brush".

stacey wrote that "having" is the wrong tense here.i don't understand how.[/quote]

[b]Having his right hand[/b] = PRESENT participle + direct object.
A PRESENT participle expresses CONTEMPORANEOUS action: an action happening at the same as the primary action.
The implication is that Horace Pippin was [i]HAVING his right hand[/i] at the same time as he WORKED.
Not the intended meaning.

[b]Having + VERBed[/b] = PERFECT participle.
A PERFECT participle expresses PRIOR action: an action that happened PRIOR to the primary action.
The following would work:
[i]HAVING LOST the use of his right hand and arm, Horace Pippin GUIDED the brush with his left hand.[/i]
Here, the sequence is clear: Horace Pippin [i]LOST the use of his right hand and arm[/i] BEFORE he guided the brush with his left hand.
Further, the use of the perfect participle makes it clear that the prior action has an effect upon the subsequent action: [i]having lost the use of his right hand[/i] explains WHY Horace Pippin [i]guided the brush with his left hand[/i].[/quote]

But in Option E, no conjunction is used to connect two independent clauses. Whether it is not wrong.

Please guide