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not x but y

by nycknicks11 » Thu Apr 28, 2011 9:25 pm
Evolutionary psychology holds that the human mind is not a "blank slate," but instead that it comprises specialized mental mechanisms that were developed as a way of solving specific problems human ancestors faced millions of years ago.

(A) the human mind is not a "blank slate," but instead that it comprises specialized mental mechanisms that were developed as a way of solving
(B) the human mind is not a "blank slate" but instead comprises specialized mental mechanisms that were developed to solve
(C) the human mind, instead of a "blank slate," it comprises specialized mental mechanisms that have been developed to solve
(D) rather than it being a "blank slate," the human mind comprises specialized mental mechanisms that have been developed as a way of solving
(E) rather than the human mind's being a "blank slate," that it comprises specialized mental mechanisms that were developed as a way of solving
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by vineeshp » Thu Apr 28, 2011 9:42 pm
I go with B but I am stll unsure about the usage "but instead"
Vineesh,
Just telling you what I know and think. I am not the expert. :)
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by AIM GMAT » Thu Apr 28, 2011 9:55 pm
vineeshp wrote:I go with B but I am stll unsure about the usage "but instead"
Agree with Vineesh , even i am not sure whether it is right to use but and instead both together .Whats the source of question ?
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by pemdas » Thu Apr 28, 2011 9:56 pm
plus one more b. 'instead/but instead' grammatically is not ok.
Last edited by pemdas on Thu Apr 28, 2011 11:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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by bubbliiiiiiii » Thu Apr 28, 2011 10:42 pm
nycknicks11 wrote:Evolutionary psychology holds that the human mind is not a "blank slate," but instead that it comprises specialized mental mechanisms that were developed as a way of solving specific problems human ancestors faced millions of years ago.

(A) the human mind is not a "blank slate," but instead that it comprises specialized mental mechanisms that were developed as a way of solving
(B) the human mind is not a "blank slate" but instead comprises specialized mental mechanisms that were developed to solve(C) the human mind, instead of a "blank slate," it comprises specialized mental mechanisms that have been developed to solve
(D) rather than it being a "blank slate," the human mind comprises specialized mental mechanisms that have been developed as a way of solving
(E) rather than the human mind's being a "blank slate," that it comprises specialized mental mechanisms that were developed as a way of solving
IMO B.

Though I was on a look out of idiom usage between A and B, I chose B for its preciseness and active voice.

I think the idiom not X but instead Y is wrong and is not allowed in GMAT. Since, one option from the lot has to be choosen, I felt B to be the best.

What is OA?
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by rohu27 » Thu Apr 28, 2011 10:45 pm
see the interestign conevrstaion below:

https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/73- ... 10682.html

donno wht happened after tht.
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by pemdas » Thu Apr 28, 2011 11:16 pm
the discussion in thread at the web-link address and the sentence above suggest that 'not ... but instead' construction turns out to be formally non-parallel and ungrammatical. Because two clausal verbs must be parallel 'is not' || 'comprises' - and they are not.
thus, 'not ... but instead' is "technically" error in grammar, BUT should pass our notice here as the only correct one out of A-E choices.
i correct myself - 'not ... but instead', grammatically is not OK.
rohu27 wrote:see the interestign conevrstaion below:

https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/73- ... 10682.html

donno wht happened after tht.
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by atulmangal » Fri Apr 29, 2011 12:15 am
Crazy question, i thought i learned some idioms but if this is from GMAT prep...what to say..

Anyways, i picked up the correct answer because now thats the only goal as exam date is closing in...

I checked for other errors...like the use of present perfect "have been developed" in Op C and Op D is wrong...

Op E:-- use of rather than..., that construction is wrong..though again standard idiom thing, can't trust as the rule for Not X But Y is already violated in the OA...also this option use being that looks awkward...

B/W A and B....here comes the best among the worst rule..hehe :D

I saw that NOT X but Y rule is violated in both the options so lets do some surgery and see which is best among the worst...

Op A if u see, there is COMMA + BUT...means COMMA + FANBOYS...we generally use this to connect
2 IC's, here the second one is not IC...

Op B is u look in this way: BUT acting as a parallel marker...so we can read this option in this way which makes sense...

the human mind is not a "blank slate" but instead [the human mind] comprises specialized mental mechanisms that were developed to solve

Hence, Op B (one who has at least one eye will become the king of blinds) :lol:
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by lunarpower » Fri Apr 29, 2011 6:28 am
i thought about this issue for a little bit and realized what's going on.

basically, in this sentence, the parallel structure is not actually "not X but Y"; it's just "X but Y".

background:
structure 1: "not X but Y"
this construction signifies that "X" is expected, normal, or customary in the given situation but that "Y" is what is actually present / has happened / will happen.
for instance:
Restaurant X's "hamburgers" are made not of actual hamburger but of turkey.

structure 2: "X but Y"
this construction signifies some sort of general contrast between X and Y, but lacks the semantic sense that Y is a substitute for X.
for instance:
i am not a doctor but can fix your broken finger.

so, the correct answer to this problem can be understood as a case of structure #2 -- note my example above ("i am not a doctor but can fix your broken finger"), which will also appear incorrect if you try to process it as structure #1.

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FOOTNOTE
if anybody reading this post happens to speak spanish, this distinction will be very easy to understand, because these two cases of "but" correspond to two completely different spanish words -- the "but" in structure #1 is sino in spanish, while the "but" in #2 is pero.
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by voodoo_child » Fri Apr 29, 2011 12:09 pm
lunarpower wrote:i thought about this issue for a little bit and realized what's going on.

basically, in this sentence, the parallel structure is not actually "not X but Y"; it's just "X but Y".

background:
structure 1: "not X but Y"
this construction signifies that "X" is expected, normal, or customary in the given situation but that "Y" is what is actually present / has happened / will happen.
for instance:
Restaurant X's "hamburgers" are made not of actual hamburger but of turkey.

structure 2: "X but Y"
this construction signifies some sort of general contrast between X and Y, but lacks the semantic sense that Y is a substitute for X.
for instance:
i am not a doctor but can fix your broken finger.

so, the correct answer to this problem can be understood as a case of structure #2 -- note my example above ("i am not a doctor but can fix your broken finger"), which will also appear incorrect if you try to process it as structure #1.

--

FOOTNOTE
if anybody reading this post happens to speak spanish, this distinction will be very easy to understand, because these two cases of "but" correspond to two completely different spanish words -- the "but" in structure #1 is sino in spanish, while the "but" in #2 is pero.
Thanks Ron. But wouldn't you say "i am not a doctor but I can fix your broken finger. " ?
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by nycknicks11 » Fri Apr 29, 2011 7:25 pm
ballin' exp. What are the take-aways here? If you see not X but Y you can't elim.? You have to check the meaning whether "not x but y" makes sense or "x but y"? Is there an easy way to do so?

Also could you please explain this: "semantic sense that Y is a substitute for X"

I guess I'm not 100% clear on "semantic sense"


lunarpower wrote:i thought about this issue for a little bit and realized what's going on.

basically, in this sentence, the parallel structure is not actually "not X but Y"; it's just "X but Y".

background:
structure 1: "not X but Y"
this construction signifies that "X" is expected, normal, or customary in the given situation but that "Y" is what is actually present / has happened / will happen.
for instance:
Restaurant X's "hamburgers" are made not of actual hamburger but of turkey.

structure 2: "X but Y"
this construction signifies some sort of general contrast between X and Y, but lacks the semantic sense that Y is a substitute for X.
for instance:
i am not a doctor but can fix your broken finger.

so, the correct answer to this problem can be understood as a case of structure #2 -- note my example above ("i am not a doctor but can fix your broken finger"), which will also appear incorrect if you try to process it as structure #1.

--

FOOTNOTE
if anybody reading this post happens to speak spanish, this distinction will be very easy to understand, because these two cases of "but" correspond to two completely different spanish words -- the "but" in structure #1 is sino in spanish, while the "but" in #2 is pero.
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by GMATGuruNY » Sat Apr 30, 2011 3:06 am
nycknicks11 wrote:Evolutionary psychology holds that the human mind is not a "blank slate," but instead that it comprises specialized mental mechanisms that were developed as a way of solving specific problems human ancestors faced millions of years ago.

(A) the human mind is not a "blank slate," but instead that it comprises specialized mental mechanisms that were developed as a way of solving
(B) the human mind is not a "blank slate" but instead comprises specialized mental mechanisms that were developed to solve
(C) the human mind, instead of a "blank slate," it comprises specialized mental mechanisms that have been developed to solve
(D) rather than it being a "blank slate," the human mind comprises specialized mental mechanisms that have been developed as a way of solving
(E) rather than the human mind's being a "blank slate," that it comprises specialized mental mechanisms that were developed as a way of solving
Don't look for subtle reasons to eliminate answers; look for easy reasons.

In A, it is not completely clear what is being modified by instead. In B, it is crystal clear that instead is modifying comprises. Thus, B is the better answer choice.
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by lunarpower » Sat Apr 30, 2011 5:32 am
voodoo_child wrote:Thanks Ron. But wouldn't you say "i am not a doctor but I can fix your broken finger. " ?
that would also be acceptable, though you would probably place a comma before "but" in that case.
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by lunarpower » Sat Apr 30, 2011 5:35 am
nycknicks11 wrote:ballin' exp. What are the take-aways here? If you see not X but Y you can't elim.? You have to check the meaning whether "not x but y" makes sense or "x but y"? Is there an easy way to do so?
yep.

this isn't the only transition whose meaning you have to check -- there are plenty of others.
for instance, the sentence "i studied for over twenty hours, and i still failed the test" is incorrect, even though its grammar is fine, because the transition "and" is illogical in context -- it should be "but", or another transition that properly indicates contrast.
Also could you please explain this: "semantic sense that Y is a substitute for X"

I guess I'm not 100% clear on "semantic sense"
"semantic" means "related to what the words mean" ... as opposed to grammatical issues.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
Potete chiedere domande a Ron in italiano
On peut poser des questions à Ron en français
Voit esittää kysymyksiä Ron:lle myös suomeksi

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by nycknicks11 » Sun May 01, 2011 2:45 am
p.i.m.p explain. everyone. thanks!

Side question here, what is the proper protocol to get your attention on threads? I PM'ed you, I don't know whether that's appropriate. I figured its ok since you commented on the exact same problem on the mgmat forum.
lunarpower wrote:
nycknicks11 wrote:ballin' exp. What are the take-aways here? If you see not X but Y you can't elim.? You have to check the meaning whether "not x but y" makes sense or "x but y"? Is there an easy way to do so?
yep.

this isn't the only transition whose meaning you have to check -- there are plenty of others.
for instance, the sentence "i studied for over twenty hours, and i still failed the test" is incorrect, even though its grammar is fine, because the transition "and" is illogical in context -- it should be "but", or another transition that properly indicates contrast.
Also could you please explain this: "semantic sense that Y is a substitute for X"

I guess I'm not 100% clear on "semantic sense"
"semantic" means "related to what the words mean" ... as opposed to grammatical issues.
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