The Lawyers for the small Africa country

This topic has expert replies
User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 307
Joined: Sun Jul 11, 2010 7:52 pm
Thanked: 36 times
Followed by:1 members
GMAT Score:640

The Lawyers for the small Africa country

by limestone » Sat Dec 17, 2011 3:13 am
The Lawyers for the small Africa country have accused the pharmaceutical giant of using its political clout and considerable resources by lobbying the international community for preferential treatment and then using the advantages obtained in this manner to pressure small governments into u favorable trade agreements.

B. of using the advantages obtained in this manner to pressure
C. to have used the advantages obtained in this manner to pressure
D. used the advantages they have obtained in this manner to pressure
E. used the advantages obtained in this manner to pressure

[spoiler]OA: after some reponses.[/spoiler]
"There is nothing either good or bad - but thinking makes it so" - Shakespeare.
Source: — Sentence Correction |

Legendary Member
Posts: 784
Joined: Sun Apr 03, 2011 3:51 am
Thanked: 114 times
Followed by:12 members

by patanjali.purpose » Sat Dec 17, 2011 5:14 am
limestone wrote:The Lawyers for the small Africa country have accused the pharmaceutical giant of using its political clout and considerable resources by lobbying the international community for preferential treatment and then using the advantages obtained in this manner to pressure small governments into u favorable trade agreements.

B. of using the advantages obtained in this manner to pressure
C. to have used the advantages obtained in this manner to pressure
D. used the advantages they have obtained in this manner to pressure
E. used the advantages obtained in this manner to pressure

[spoiler]OA: after some reponses.[/spoiler]
The Lawyers for the small Africa country have accused the pharmaceutical giant of using its political clout...and then using the advantages...

The elements in bold are parallel elements. The lawyers accused company on two counts and therefore they need to be in parallel

B - OF may not be required (though not incorrect; but A is less wordier)
c - TO HAVE USED (its not parallel with USING ITS CLOUT; Additionally TO HAVE USED indicates an incorrect tense indicating that THE GIANT USED THE ADVANTAGE BEFORE IT USED ITS CLOUT)
D - not parallel; also THEY refer to LAWYERS
E - Not parallel

IMO A

User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 307
Joined: Sun Jul 11, 2010 7:52 pm
Thanked: 36 times
Followed by:1 members
GMAT Score:640

by limestone » Sun Dec 18, 2011 6:18 pm
The OA is B.

Explanation is:

Answer B is correct because a sentence must reflect parallel structure.

I also vacillated between A and B. Anyone has any idea about why we should retain "of" here?
"There is nothing either good or bad - but thinking makes it so" - Shakespeare.

Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 385
Joined: Fri Sep 23, 2011 9:02 pm
Thanked: 62 times
Followed by:6 members

by user123321 » Sun Dec 18, 2011 6:52 pm
limestone wrote:The Lawyers for the small Africa country have accused the pharmaceutical giant of using its political clout and considerable resources by lobbying the international community for preferential treatment and then using the advantages obtained in this manner to pressure small governments into u favorable trade agreements.

B. of using the advantages obtained in this manner to pressure
C. to have used the advantages obtained in this manner to pressure
D. used the advantages they have obtained in this manner to pressure
E. used the advantages obtained in this manner to pressure

[spoiler]OA: after some reponses.[/spoiler]
The one in the bold should be parallel to one of the choices to bring meaning.
Only choice B does that.
I fell for the same trap, that's why I am becoming suspicious of my choice, If a question is answered easily :)

user123321
Just started my preparation :D
Want to do it right the first time.

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 1035
Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2010 11:13 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Thanked: 474 times
Followed by:365 members

by VivianKerr » Sun Dec 18, 2011 8:47 pm
"by lobbying....and then _____"

To be parallel we need a participle to come after "then." That brings us to A and B.

ACCUSED of using....and then of using..."

My choice is B.
Vivian Kerr
GMAT Rockstar, Tutor
https://www.GMATrockstar.com
https://www.yelp.com/biz/gmat-rockstar-los-angeles

Former Kaplan and Grockit instructor, freelance GMAT content creator, now offering affordable, effective, Skype-tutoring for the GMAT at $150/hr. Contact: [email protected]

Thank you for all the "thanks" and "follows"! :-)

Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 268
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 12:10 am
Thanked: 13 times

by shekhar.kataria » Fri Dec 23, 2011 8:01 pm
We have two forms
1. Accused of X and Y
2. Accused of X and of Y

I think Both the versions above are correct and also the Question fits in both the versions perfectly.

My Question is why B when A is not wordier, stylistically Ok. Confused here.

Also i didnt find this Question anywhere on any other forum. What is the source?


user123321 wrote:
limestone wrote:The Lawyers for the small Africa country have accused the pharmaceutical giant of using its political clout and considerable resources by lobbying the international community for preferential treatment and then using the advantages obtained in this manner to pressure small governments into u favorable trade agreements.

B. of using the advantages obtained in this manner to pressure
C. to have used the advantages obtained in this manner to pressure
D. used the advantages they have obtained in this manner to pressure
E. used the advantages obtained in this manner to pressure

[spoiler]OA: after some reponses.[/spoiler]
The one in the bold should be parallel to one of the choices to bring meaning.
Only choice B does that.
I fell for the same trap, that's why I am becoming suspicious of my choice, If a question is answered easily :)

user123321
Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress.--Thomas A. Edison

If you find this post helpful, let me know by clicking thanks above :-)

• Page 1 of 1