Samurai warriors

This topic has expert replies
Legendary Member
Posts: 809
Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2010 10:10 pm
Thanked: 50 times
Followed by:4 members

Samurai warriors

by akhpad » Tue Jun 29, 2010 8:11 am
Source: MGMAT

Samurai warriors of ancient Japan were expected to be expert combatants who employed both skill and honor on the battlefield, as well as cultured citizens who were well-versed in literature and the arts.

A: who employed both skill and honor on the battlefield, as well as cultured citizens who were
B: which employed both skill or honor on the battlefield, as well as cultured citizens who were
C: who employed not only skill and honor on the battlefield, as well as cultured citizens that were
D: who employed both skill and honor on the battlefield, or a cultured citizen who was
E: whom employed both skill and honor on the battlefield, and cultured citizens whom were

OA: A

I need explanation about D.

Samurai warriors of ancient Japan were expected to be expert combatants who were X.
Samurai warriors of ancient Japan were expected to be a cultured citizen who was X.

D is incorrect because "warriors " is not in agreement with "citizen "

Am I correct here?
Last edited by akhpad on Tue Jun 29, 2010 9:40 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 434
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2007 9:48 pm
Location: Bangalore
Thanked: 6 times
GMAT Score:600

by viju9162 » Tue Jun 29, 2010 8:57 am
Dear Akhilesh,

Does "as well as" suits here. I am not sure you or someone in the forum told when "as well as" is used, it should be preceded by a noun.

ex: John as well as Frank went to the party

I would be happy to know about "as well as" usage.

D does not seem to be parallel. It should be in the form who employed .... who ( parallel to employed) format. But in D, it is not parallel.

Thanks,
Viju
"Native of" is used for a individual while "Native to" is used for a large group

Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Jun 28, 2010 6:03 am
Thanked: 1 times
GMAT Score:680

by globalcitizen » Tue Jun 29, 2010 10:05 am
Yes, you are correct. The sentence needs to maintain its consistency with nouns...so, exactly as you stated, because warriors is plural, citizens must be plural as well.

Something else to keep in mind...I think its generally a good idea to stick to the original meaning of the sentence...in this case, the original sentence is communicating that samurai warriors were expected to skilled in combat AND (as indicated by as well as) cultured people. Also, if you think about it, it doesn't really make sense that a samurai had to choose to either use his skills in combat OR use his "softer" skills.

Hope that helps.

User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 434
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2007 9:48 pm
Location: Bangalore
Thanked: 6 times
GMAT Score:600

by viju9162 » Tue Jun 29, 2010 10:18 pm
Dear globalcitizen,

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I understood about employed and cultured. In addition, I wanted to know about "as well as" usage.

Thanks,
Viju
"Native of" is used for a individual while "Native to" is used for a large group