Russian Composers

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goelmohit2002: Legendary Member; Posts: 1799; Joined: Wed Dec 24, 2008 3:03 amFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 36 times

by goelmohit2002 » Sun Mar 22, 2009 9:42 am

Hi All,

I will post OA after some discussion so that fellow members reasoning is not biased by OA.

The nineteenth-century Russian composers known as "The Five" were united by their holding an ideal of a national music based on folk melodies and themes.

(A) were united by their holding
(B) had as their uniting ideal
(C) united each other with
(D) united based on
(E) were united with

Thanks
Mohit

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Sun Mar 22, 2009 9:42 am

Dream Weaver: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 37; Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 12:34 am; Location: Alpharetta, GA

IMO D

by Dream Weaver » Sun Mar 22, 2009 10:35 am

I rule out A (hmm..could be, but IMO is wrong), B (doesnt makes sense), and C (wrong eng).
In b/w D and E i choose D.

Please provide with the OA.
Thanks !!

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goelmohit2002: Legendary Member; Posts: 1799; Joined: Wed Dec 24, 2008 3:03 amFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 36 times

by goelmohit2002 » Sun Mar 22, 2009 10:42 am

Can you please mention behind each option what is the reason why you kicked out that option...i.e. for e.g what is wrong in that particular sentence english ?

Thanks
Mohit

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Dream Weaver: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 37; Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 12:34 am; Location: Alpharetta, GA

Here you go..

by Dream Weaver » Sun Mar 22, 2009 10:51 am

The nineteenth-century Russian composers known as "The Five" were united by their holding an ideal of a national music based on folk melodies and themes.

(A) were united by their holding // too bulky
(B) had as their uniting ideal // uniting ideal an ideal.. repetition
(C) united each other with // its ALWAYS united with each other, not united each other with...
(D) united based on // IMO is correct
(E) were united with // This could be right also, But I pick D

Please provide with the OA.
Thanks !!

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tuscan21: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 29; Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 3:33 am; GMAT Score:490

by tuscan21 » Sun Mar 22, 2009 10:59 am

I think the correct response is E.
D is incorrect because it seems awkward. There are 2 verbs together "they united based on". If "united" was an adjective then it would be "The Five United".

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ken3233: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 125; Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 9:49 pm; Thanked: 2 times

Re: Russian Composers

by ken3233 » Sun Mar 22, 2009 11:05 am

goelmohit2002 wrote:Hi All,

I will post OA after some discussion so that fellow members reasoning is not biased by OA.

The nineteenth-century Russian composers known as "The Five" were united by their holding an ideal of a national music based on folk melodies and themes.

(A) were united by their holding
(B) had as their uniting ideal
(C) united each other with
(D) united based on
(E) were united with

Thanks
Mohit

My guess is that the answer is "A".

Clearly, "A" and "D" are the only possible answers. Between the two, I am disinclined to pick "D" because it changes the meaning of the sentence in such a way as to suggest that the composers deliberately took the action of "uniting" with each. The point of the sentence is that the composers shared an underlying ideal, and that this ideal served to bond them. Thus, the passive voice is appropriate in this case, as the emphasis is on the ideal, and not on the actions of the composers.

Just my two cents...I'm just learning this stuff myself for the first time!

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ken3233: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 125; Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 9:49 pm; Thanked: 2 times

by ken3233 » Sun Mar 22, 2009 11:07 am

tuscan21 wrote:I think the correct response is E.
D is incorrect because it seems awkward. There are 2 verbs together "they united based on". If "united" was an adjective then it would be "The Five United".

I rejected "E" because, to me at least, the point of the sentence is to emphasize the unity of the composers with each other, and not the unity of the composers with an abstract ideal. The abstract ideal, I think, serves to explain how and why the composers were united.

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moorthy76: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 53; Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2009 7:58 pm; Location: india; Thanked: 2 times; GMAT Score:700

by moorthy76 » Sun Mar 22, 2009 11:05 pm

I guess A

Reason - same as Ken

Best Regards,
Surya

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rseeker2: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 77; Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:51 am; Thanked: 1 times

by rseeker2 » Mon Mar 23, 2009 4:14 am

Is it D ?

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goelmohit2002: Legendary Member; Posts: 1799; Joined: Wed Dec 24, 2008 3:03 amFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 36 times

by goelmohit2002 » Mon Mar 23, 2009 4:18 am

tuscan21 wrote:I think the correct response is E.
D is incorrect because it seems awkward. There are 2 verbs together "they united based on". If "united" was an adjective then it would be "The Five United".

Can you please tell why you kicked out "A", "B" and "C" ?

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goelmohit2002: Legendary Member; Posts: 1799; Joined: Wed Dec 24, 2008 3:03 amFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 36 times

Re: Russian Composers

by goelmohit2002 » Mon Mar 23, 2009 4:20 am

ken3233 wrote: My guess is that the answer is "A".

Clearly, "A" and "D" are the only possible answers.

Can you please tell why you kicked out "B", "C" and "E" ?

Thanks
Mohit

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goelmohit2002: Legendary Member; Posts: 1799; Joined: Wed Dec 24, 2008 3:03 amFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 36 times

by goelmohit2002 » Mon Mar 23, 2009 4:22 am

rseeker2 wrote:Is it D ?

Can you please tell why you kicked out"A", "B", "C" and "E" ?

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karmayogi: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 467; Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2008 10:19 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 27 times

by karmayogi » Mon Mar 23, 2009 5:16 am

“The nineteenth-century Russian composers known as "The Five"” is the subject, and should followed by a verb. Hence, “The nineteenth-century Russian composers known as "The Five" were” is correct. Ruled out option B, C, and D. Between A and E, in option A, “by their holding” is awkward. IMO E.

Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divine within.
--By Swami Vivekananda

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chachi: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 7; Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2009 10:41 am; GMAT Score:800

by chachi » Mon Mar 23, 2009 7:16 am

hi mohit
plzz post the OA

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goelmohit2002: Legendary Member; Posts: 1799; Joined: Wed Dec 24, 2008 3:03 amFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 36 times

by goelmohit2002 » Mon Mar 23, 2009 8:23 am

OA is "D".

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