Subordinate Clause

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chaitanya.mehrotra: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 184; Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2010 9:57 pmFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 1 times; GMAT Score:700

by chaitanya.mehrotra » Mon May 23, 2011 5:11 am

Sunspots, vortices of gas associated with strong electromagnetic activity, are visible as dark spots on the surface of the Sun but have never been sighted on the Sun's poles or equater.

(A) are visible as dark spots on the surface of the Sun but have never been sighted on
(B) are visible as dark spots that never have been sighted on the surface of the Sun
(C) appear on the surface of the Sun as dark spots although never sighted at
(D) appear as dark spots on the surface of the Sun, although never having been sighted at
(E) appear as dark spots on the Sun's surface, which have never been sighted on

In the OG explanation, option C is explained to be wrong because of missing subject and verb in the subordinate clause introduced by ALTHOUGH. Can someone please clarify "Why is SIGHTED not a verb"

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EducationAisle: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 434; Joined: Sat Mar 27, 2010 10:42 pmFollowed by: 46 members; Location: Bangalore, India; Thanked: 91 times

by EducationAisle » Mon May 23, 2011 9:04 am

sighted is used as a past participle here and not as a verb.

Think about option C as this:

Although never sighted at the Suns poles or equator, Sunspots are visible as dark spots on the surface of the Sun.

Now it is perhaps easy to identify that Although never sighted at the Suns poles or equator is a Participial phrase (and not a clause since there is no verb).

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aspirant2011: Legendary Member; Posts: 1574; Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:52 amFollowed by: 13 members; Thanked: 88 times

by aspirant2011 » Mon May 23, 2011 9:10 am

EducationAisle wrote:sighted is used as a past participle here and not as a verb.

Think about option C as this:

Although never sighted at the Suns poles or equator, Sunspots are visible as dark spots on the surface of the Sun.

Now it is perhaps easy to identify that Although never sighted at the Suns poles or equator is a Participial phrase (and not a clause since there is no verb).

Hi Education Aisle,

Can you please explain a little bit on participal phrase......

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mundasingh123: Legendary Member; Posts: 2330; Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2010 5:14 amFollowed by: 26 members; Thanked: 56 times

by mundasingh123 » Mon May 23, 2011 9:48 am

Although never sighted at the Suns poles or equator, Sunspots are visible as dark spots on the surface of the Sun.
The subordinate clause doesnt have a subject either .
I could rectify the subordinate clause by writing
Although Sunspots were never sighted at the sun's poles or quarter ,
a phrase is a group of words that doesnt have either a subject or a verb
is the OA A ?
https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/100 ... t1545.html

I Seek Explanations Not Answers

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sameerballani: Legendary Member; Posts: 544; Joined: Mon Dec 27, 2010 8:10 amFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 45 times

by sameerballani » Mon May 23, 2011 7:04 pm

chaitanya.mehrotra wrote: Sunspots, vortices of gas associated with strong electromagnetic activity, are visible as dark spots on the surface of the Sun but have never been sighted on the Sun's poles or equater.

(A) are visible as dark spots on the surface of the Sun but have never been sighted on
(B) are visible as dark spots that never have been sighted on the surface of the Sun
(C) appear on the surface of the Sun as dark spots although never sighted at
(D) appear as dark spots on the surface of the Sun, although never having been sighted at
(E) appear as dark spots on the Sun's surface, which have never been sighted on

In the OG explanation, option C is explained to be wrong because of missing subject and verb in the subordinate clause introduced by ALTHOUGH. Can someone please clarify "Why is SIGHTED not a verb"

B) end with sun. this is wrong. We need at or on in the end. Also never have been seems awkward.
C)I feel there should be a comma before although and all the part of the sentence should be preferably in the start acting as opening modifier.
D) having been. wrong tense
E)Which modifies sun's surface instead of sunspots

I feel option A is correct.

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Pratishtha21: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 32; Joined: Sat Jul 01, 2017 5:55 am

by Pratishtha21 » Sat Jul 01, 2017 9:52 am

(A) are visible as dark spots on the surface of the Sun but have never been sighted on
Correct. No error

(B) are visible as dark spots that never have been sighted on the surface of the Sun
darkspots
That modifies dark spots which changes the intended meaning. That should refer to sunspots

(C) appear on the surface of the Sun as dark spots although never sighted at
although begins a subordinate clause without a subject + correct use is sighted on not at (as if someone sighted them)

(D) appear as dark spots on the surface of the Sun, although never having been sighted at
although begins a subordinate clause without a subject. 'Having been' is used when an activity is completed. Here correct use should be have been as till the present day sunspots have not been spotted on the equator.

(E) appear as dark spots on the Sun's surface, which have never been sighted on
which modifies surface and that makes no sense.

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