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SC - Participial phrase (explanation reqd.)

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karthikpandian19: Legendary Member; Posts: 1665; Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 7:04 pmFollowed by: 70 members; Thanked: 165 times

by karthikpandian19 » Mon Jul 02, 2012 6:34 pm

Considered a subspecies of the plains zebra but displaying characteristic stripes only on the front half of its body, the last quagga specimen died in captivity on August 12, 1883 when the species became extinct.

(A) the last quagga specimen died in captivity on August 12, 1883 when the species became extinct

(B) the quagga's last remaining specimen died in captivity on August 12, 1883 when the species became extinct

(C) on August 12, 1883, the quagga became extinct as the last remaining specimen died in captivity

(D) the quagga became extinct on August 12, 1883 when the last remaining specimen died in captivity

(E) the last quagga specimen became extinct on August 12, 1883, in captivity

Regards,
Karthik
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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Mon Jul 02, 2012 6:34 pm

vk_vinayak: Legendary Member; Posts: 502; Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2008 11:36 pmFollowed by: 21 members; Thanked: 99 times

by vk_vinayak » Mon Jul 02, 2012 8:51 pm

karthikpandian19 wrote:Considered a subspecies of the plains zebra but displaying characteristic stripes only on the front half of its body, the last quagga specimen died in captivity on August 12, 1883 when the species became extinct.

(A) the last quagga specimen died in captivity on August 12, 1883 when the species became extinct

(B) the quagga's last remaining specimen died in captivity on August 12, 1883 when the species became extinct

(C) on August 12, 1883, the quagga became extinct as the last remaining specimen died in captivity

(D) the quagga became extinct on August 12, 1883 when the last remaining specimen died in captivity

(E) the last quagga specimen became extinct on August 12, 1883, in captivity

The species become extinct when the last remaining member of that species dies; not the other away around. --> Eliminate A and B.

The modifier Considered a subspecies... body describes quagga. --> Eliminate C.

Generally we consider the whole family of animals (not one particular instance of an animal) to be subspecies of some species. Eg: Cats are subspecies of Tigers (NOT: My cats are subspecies of Tigers). In this way we can eliminate A, B, E.

Also, last quagga specimen dies. NOT: last quagga specimen becomes extinct. Eliminate E.

D remains.

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karthikpandian19: Legendary Member; Posts: 1665; Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 7:04 pmFollowed by: 70 members; Thanked: 165 times

by karthikpandian19 » Mon Jul 02, 2012 9:05 pm

OA is D

OE is

The original sentence contains a misplaced modifier. As written, the participial phrase considered a subspecies of the plains zebra refers to the last quagga specimen, but it is the quagga species, not the last quagga specimen, that is considered a subspecies of the plains zebra. Furthermore, by stating that the last specimen died... when the species became extinct, the original sentence illogically suggests that the species became extinct and then the last specimen died.

Choice D corrects both errors. By beginning with the quagga instead of the last quagga specimen, choice D eliminates the misplaced modifier. Furthermore, choice D clearly states that the death of the last specimen caused the species to become extinct.

Choice B looks different from the original sentence, but it actually retains both of the original errors. Because the possessive quagga's is used at the beginning, the subject is still the last remaining specimen, so choice B does not fix the modifier error.

Choice C is confusing because the prepositional phrase on August 12, 1883 is placed between the modifying clause and the main clause. This sequence of modifiers is unclear, ambiguous, and not preferable on the GMAT. Also, the word as confuses the time relationship of the two clauses quagga became extinct and last specimen died. The word when, as in answer choice D, is much clearer to show the causal relationship of those two actions.

Choice E retains the original misplaced modifier error. Furthermore, it illogically states that the last quagga specimen, rather than the species, became extinct on August 12, 1883.

Regards,
Karthik
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Bill@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1248; Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 2:57 pmFollowed by: 192 members; Location: Everywhere; Thanked: 503 times; GMAT Score:780

by Bill@VeritasPrep » Tue Jul 03, 2012 10:14 am

vk_vinayak wrote:
karthikpandian19 wrote:Considered a subspecies of the plains zebra but displaying characteristic stripes only on the front half of its body, the last quagga specimen died in captivity on August 12, 1883 when the species became extinct.

(A) the last quagga specimen died in captivity on August 12, 1883 when the species became extinct

(B) the quagga's last remaining specimen died in captivity on August 12, 1883 when the species became extinct

(C) on August 12, 1883, the quagga became extinct as the last remaining specimen died in captivity

(D) the quagga became extinct on August 12, 1883 when the last remaining specimen died in captivity

(E) the last quagga specimen became extinct on August 12, 1883, in captivity
The species become extinct when the last remaining member of that species dies; not the other away around. --> Eliminate A and B.

The modifier Considered a subspecies... body describes quagga. --> Eliminate C.

Generally we consider the whole family of animals (not one particular instance of an animal) to be subspecies of some species. Eg: Cats are subspecies of Tigers (NOT: My cats are subspecies of Tigers). In this way we can eliminate A, B, E.

Also, last quagga specimen dies. NOT: last quagga specimen becomes extinct. Eliminate E.

D remains.

Nice use of logic to knock out a few answers! It's amazing how a little critical thinking can reduce the amount of grammatical analysis we have to do .

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