sprained ankle

[Uri]

It has been said that all one can do for a sprained ankle is leave it
alone while it heals itself, ice it, and to lie with it in a
slightly elevated position

1. all one can do for a sprained ankle is leave it
alone while it heals itself, ice it, and to
2. all one can do for a sprained ankle is to leave it alone to heal
itself, to ice it, and
3. all one can do for a sprained ankle is leave it alone while it heals
itself, and then ice it and
4. the only thing that can be done for a sprained ankle is leave it alone
while it heals itself, ice it and
5. the only thing that can be done for a sprained ankle is to leave it
alone while it heals itself, to ice it, and

OA: [spoiler](D)[/spoiler]

[Vemuri]

I personally did not like any of the answers, but because in GMAT we do not always get the best options, I am going with 1 (the original sentence).

2. "to leave it alone to heal itself" is awkward. "to" should be used with the entire list.

3. Awkward construction.

4. The only thing....is contradictory to the list that follows on. Obviously, there are a few things that need to be done.

5. The only thing....is contradictory to the list that follows on. Obviously, there are a few things that need to be done.

[scoobydooby]

i like 3

leave it, ice it, lie with it must be parallel in form.

1) not parallel. uses leave it, ice it, to lie

2) not parallel. uses to leave it, to ice and lie

3) correct IMO, keeps leave it, ice it and lie parallel

4) says the only thing (1 thing) but gives a list of things to do!

5) says the only thing (1 thing) but gives a list of things to do!

[ajaypatil_am]

3) correct IMO, keeps leave it, ice it and lie parallel

Vemuri - Can you please explain why you think this is "Awkward construction" ?

[cramya]

I would go with C by process of elimination.

In C

1) leave it alone while it heals itself
2) ice it and lie with it

seems logical

The rest of the options seem to violate parallel construction.

[Uri]

good to see that no one has been able to identify the correct answer :twisted:

the OA is [spoiler](D)[/spoiler]. I also marked it (C) during the test.

OE: This sentence contains non-parallel consruction. There are three things listed that can be done for a sprained ankle, "leave it alone", "ice it" and "to lie". The third one is stated in a different form because it has the infinitive "to" in front of the verb "lie". (4) corrects the error by simply omitting the infinitive (2) in front of the verb "lie". (3) does not correct the non-parallel construction problem. This creates another non-parallel construction because the third remedy does not have "then" inserted before it. (2) creates a parallel construction by adding an infinitive “to” in front of the other two verb phrases (“leave it alone” and “ice it”. But this version is needlessly wordy and sounds unnatural and awkward. (5) attempts to correct the non-parallel construction by adding the infinitive “to” in front of the first two remedies, but then omits “to” in front of the third one.

But truly speaking, all the sentences seem to be bit weird, even after the explanation.

[Vemuri]

sure. What is the source for this question?

[cramya]

May be the OA does make sense and we may have missed omitting the inifinitive

all one can do for a sprained ankle is:

1) leave it.... alone
2) ice it
3) lie with it



Thoughts/Feedback welcome..

Regards,
CR

[Uri]

After one more examination of option (D), now I also find it a better choice. The main dilemma for me was "leave it alone while it heals itself, ice it and.... ". I was confused about the person doing the icing. It seemed to suggest illogically that the sprained ankle will ice itself. But now I find that we can solve this doubt just by ignoring "while it heals itself" for the time being. Then the sentence makes sense.

this question is from Kaplan

[Vemuri]

May be the OA does make sense and we may have missed omitting the inifinitive

all one can do for a sprained ankle is:

1) leave it.... alone
2) ice it
3) lie with it

Thoughts/Feedback welcome..

Regards,
CR

the only thing that can be done for a sprained ankle is leave it alone while it heals itself, ice it and lie with it in a slightly elevated position

I am finding it hard to understand how doing so many things can be the "only thing" to do :

[cramya]

the only thing that can be done for a sprained ankle is leave it alone while it heals itself, ice it and lie with it in a slightly elevated position

I am finding it hard to understand how doing so many things can be the "only thing" to do

ALL ONE CAN DO means all that a person can do for a sprained ankle is

is different from

The only thing one can do

Hope this helps.

Regards,
CR

[Vemuri]

ALL ONE CAN DO means all that a person can do for a sprained ankle is

is different from

The only thing one can do

Hope this helps.

Regards,
CR

Sure Cramya, I understand the difference between the 2 constructions. I guess that is why I am getting confused.

All one can do for a sprained ankle is leave it alone while it heals itself, ice it and lie with it in a slightly elevated position

So, each of the tasks listed in the above sentence is all that one can do.

Now, lets consider the OA:

the only thing that can be done for a sprained ankle is leave it alone while it heals itself, ice it and lie with it in a slightly elevated position

The above sentence starts by saying that the only thing that can be done is....& then goes on to list 3 items that need to be done.

[lunarpower]

note that ALL THREE OF THE DESCRIBED ACTIONS ARE PARALLEL.
they are also simultaneous.
therefore, they should come in one list. note, below, that this is NOT the case for the three actions in the second example that you've posted.

note that in the list
X, Y, and Z
the "Y" and "Z" parts are "locked in" by the signals that come to their LEFT (i.e., the comma, and the comma + "and").
therefore, look to these two first. if they're parallel, then look to the "X" part (which is more flexible, since there is no signal word to its left) and see whether you can find a match for the "Y" and "Z" parts.

(a)
"Y" = ice it (no "to")
"Z" = TO lie with it
not parallel

(b)
"Y" = TO ice it
"Z" = lie with it (no "to")
not parallel

(c)
* the 3 verbs should all come in one list, but they don't. the writing of this sentence falsely suggests that only the last 2 verbs are parallel, and that the first action is separate and previous to those two.

* there should not be a comma after "itself". if it's "X and then Y", there should be no comma after X.

(d)
correct
Y = "ice it", Z = "lie with it". these are properly parallel, and also parallel to X = "leave it...".
all 3 are grammatically parallel, as required.

(e)
"Y" = TO ice it
"Z" = lie with it (no "to")
not parallel

let it be known that this is a crappy problem, though. first of all, "the only thing" is sloppy, since 3 things are actually mentioned. second, "the only thing is leave" is unidiomatic; you'd have to use the full infinitive (...is TO leave). third, the word "thing" itself is uncomfortably informal.
sigh.
whoever is writing these things should seriously step their game up. i swear.