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Modifier confusion

by mandhan » Thu May 08, 2008 1:08 am
People who inherit the sickle cell anemia gene from only one parent seem to be resistant to malaria, an evolutionary advantage that may explain why a genetic condition so debilitating to many individuals has survived in the human population.
(A) seem to be resistant to malaria,
(B) seemingly are resistant to malaria,
(C) seem to be resistant to malaria and have
(D) seemingly are resistant to malaria and to have
(E) are, it seems, resistant to malaria, and they have

[spoiler]OA: A[/spoiler]

My doubt is between A and C:

a) If "an evolutionary advantage" is modifying the phrase "resistant to malaria" then A is the answer.

b) If "an evolutionary advantage" is modifying "malaria" (which cant be right as having malaria cant be an evolutionary adnavtage), then C is the answer.

I think it should be C
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Re: Modifier confusion

by lunarpower » Thu May 08, 2008 1:14 am
mandhan wrote:People who inherit the sickle cell anemia gene from only one parent seem to be resistant to malaria, an evolutionary advantage that may explain why a genetic condition so debilitating to many individuals has survived in the human population.
(A) seem to be resistant to malaria,
(B) seemingly are resistant to malaria,
(C) seem to be resistant to malaria and have
(D) seemingly are resistant to malaria and to have
(E) are, it seems, resistant to malaria, and they have

[spoiler]OA: A[/spoiler]

My doubt is between A and C:

a) If "an evolutionary advantage" is modifying the phrase "resistant to malaria" then A is the answer.

b) If "an evolutionary advantage" is modifying "malaria" (which cant be right as having malaria cant be an evolutionary adnavtage), then C is the answer.

I think it should be C
wait what?
you say in the next-to-last line that c 'can't be right', and then turn around and declare that you think the answer is c. how does that work again?

--

actually, the problem with choice c is different. if you plug it in, the selection reads as follows (parallelism in boldface):
People who inherit the sickle cell anemia gene from only one parent seem to be resistant to malaria and have an evolutionary advantage that may explain...
this construction implies that the two parallel clauses are describing two completely different and independent things: 'they're resistant to malaria - oh, and by the way, they have this other evolutionary advantage, which i won't specifically mention.'

--

also note that the following explanation, which YOU gave --
a) If "an evolutionary advantage" is modifying the phrase "resistant to malaria" then A is the answer.
is an absolutely perfect explanation of why choice a is correct. where do you find fault with it?
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by navami » Tue May 17, 2011 9:10 pm
Hi Ron,

If A is the OA, isn't the sentence an evolutionary advantage...." refering to malaria instead of sickle cell anemia gene....? Could you please explain.

-Thanks in Advance,
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by lunarpower » Wed May 18, 2011 12:01 am
navami wrote:Hi Ron,

If A is the OA, isn't the sentence an evolutionary advantage...." refering to malaria instead of sickle cell anemia gene....? Could you please explain.

-Thanks in Advance,
no -- this sort of modifier is not as severely restricted in its use.
this type of modifier (which is called an appositive, if you wish to look up more information about it online) can modify the preceding noun, but it can also modify the entire preceding clause.

examples (both correct):
the plover gets its food by cleaning the mouth of the alligator, a reptile that could devour it at any time.
--> in this example, the appositive "a reptile" just modifies the alligator.
the plover gets its food by cleaning the mouth of the alligator, a relationship that benefits both animals.
--> in this example, the appositive "a relationship" is modifying the entire preceding clause that describes the relationship between the plover and the alligator.

--

for examples in the official guide (12th edition), check out #83 and #103; these are one of each kind.

--

in this sentence given here, the appositive modifier is describing the entire preceding clause (which, in turn, is describing the actual evolutionary advantage that is mentioned).
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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by navami » Wed May 18, 2011 8:59 pm
Thanks a ton Ron!!
This time no looking back!!!
Navami
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by Alchemist14 » Fri Oct 07, 2016 11:41 pm
Experts,

Please help me in understanding the meaning of B.

I was able to narrow down to A and B. But I am not understanding the difference between A and B.

In A, seem is a linking verb and in B, seemingly is an adverb modifying are.But what does seemingly are resistent to bacteria even mean? If I were in stressful conditions, I would choose A over B using my ear instead of using meaning.

Thanks in advance,
Al
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by GMATGuruNY » Sat Oct 08, 2016 3:10 am
Alchemist14 wrote:Experts,

Please help me in understanding the meaning of B.

I was able to narrow down to A and B. But I am not understanding the difference between A and B.

In A, seem is a linking verb and in B, seemingly is an adverb modifying are.But what does seemingly are resistent to bacteria even mean? If I were in stressful conditions, I would choose A over B using my ear instead of using meaning.

Thanks in advance,
Al
seemingly serves to refer to something that APPEARS to be true but is not ACTUALLY true.
A seemingly endless line of people waited to pass through airport security.
Here, the usage of seemingly implies that the line of people APPEARS to be endless but is not ACTUALLY endless.
In B, the usage of seemingly implies that people who inherit the sickle cell anemia gene are not actually resistant to malaria.
Since the intended meaning is that these people ARE actually resistant, eliminate B.
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