Christopher Columbus

[suddhasil]

Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by traveling west.
A. Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by sailing west.
B. Rather than accepting the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by sailing west.
C. Instead of accepting the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus sailed west to see whether he could reach India, having been sent by the king and queen of Spain.
D. Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus sailed west to see whether he could reach India, having been sent by the king and queen of Spain.
E. Instead of accepting the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to sail west to see if he could reach India.

OA D

[El Cucu]

Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by traveling west.
A. Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by sailing west.
B. Rather than accepting the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by sailing west.
C. Instead of accepting the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus sailed west to see whether he could reach India, having been sent by the king and queen of Spain.
D. Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus sailed west to see whether he could reach India, having been sent by the king and queen of Spain.
E. Instead of accepting the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to sail west to see if he could reach India.

OA D

IMO D.

A) passive
B) accepting + passive
C) Instead of
E) Instead of + passive

[Vemuri]

IMO D.

A) passive
B) accepting + passive
C) Instead of
E) Instead of + passive

Can you explain your answer choices? Why is "Instead of" wrong? Why are A & B wrong?

[Maratha1]

I picked C. Can anyone please explain why using rather than is correct instead of using instead of

[El Cucu]

IMO D.

A) passive
B) accepting + passive
C) Instead of
E) Instead of + passive

Can you explain your answer choices? Why is "Instead of" wrong? Why are A & B wrong?

1. Rather than vs instead of: This is not easy to define as in English both words are interchangeable. My rule is use rather than with clauses and instead of with phrases.

https://www.englishrules.com/writing/200 ... ead-of.php

2.Passive voice should be avoided if you have a sentence in active voice containning no grammar mistakes.

[El Cucu]

I picked C. Can anyone please explain why using rather than is correct instead of using instead of

In this sentence I think rather than is better than instead of, because the sentence has a parallel constuction with two verbs. (rather than accept...sailed) The other options with instead of are (instead of accepting...sailed/instead of accepting... was sent).
Hope this helps!

[rahulakacyrus]

The correct usage of IF is the issue in the sentence.
If is used where there is then e.g. IF A then B...(refer manhattan SC)

so we have to use WHETHER....Shortlistes C and D

D correct modifies Christopher Colombus..and parallelism

D is the correct option!

[gmat_dest]

This is a 3:2 split between Rather than vs Instead Of

I believe 'rather than' is used for preference
and 'instead of' is used for substitution.

So 'rather than' should be correct here.

From the 3 choices having 'rather than' , D looks more logical as it shows the contrast better than A and B.

[uptowngirl92]

openng this thread again..
in the correct answer..is "having been sent" the correct usage??

[tanviet]

rather than ACCEPT, columbo SAIL

do1 must be // do2. only D do this.

[tgt.harvard]

In the correct option D,

Doesnt HAVING BEEN SENT make the sentence AWKWARD !!?!!

Why cant we use option "E"...... "Instead of accepting" ???

Whats wrong with saying accepting ????

Can someone please elaborate ??

THANKS

[silencz]

I think it's C.

"Rather than accept" I don't think sounds as good as "Rather than accepting" which isn't one of the options.

"Instead of accepting" I think works better because using "accept" vs. "accepting" should be more important than the use of "rather" vs. "instead".

[paddle_sweep]

I think it's C.

"Rather than accept" I don't think sounds as good as "Rather than accepting" which isn't one of the options.

"Instead of accepting" I think works better because using "accept" vs. "accepting" should be more important than the use of "rather" vs. "instead".

I thought on the same lines and chose 'C'. Need a clear cut answer as to why 'D' is better than 'C'.

Cheers

[Tani]

The difference between C and D lies in the meaning of "rather than" versus "instead of". "Instead of" implies that Columbus had to make a choice between accepting that the world was flat and sailing. "Rather than" is closer to the meaning that Columbus rejected a flat world and chose to sail.

[paddle_sweep]

The difference between C and D lies in the meaning of "rather than" versus "instead of". "Instead of" implies that Columbus had to make a choice between accepting that the world was flat and sailing. "Rather than" is closer to the meaning that Columbus rejected a flat world and chose to sail.

Thanks.Great explanation.