Prac Exam SC Parallelism

This topic has expert replies
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 273
Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2011 6:50 am
Thanked: 5 times
Followed by:3 members

Prac Exam SC Parallelism

by fangtray » Sun Apr 22, 2012 4:51 am
Recently documented examples of neurogenesis, the production of new brain cells, include the brain growing in mice when placed in a stimulating environment or neurons increasing in canaries that learn new songs.

a.
b. mice whos brains grow when they are placed in a stimulating environment or canaries whose neurons increase when they
c. mice's brains that grow when they are placed in a stimulating envorinment or canaries' neurons that increase when they
d. the brain growth in mice when placed in a stimulating envoronment or the increase in canaries' neurons when they
e. brain growth in mice that are placed in a stimulating environment or an increase in neurons in canaries that

this seems like a 700 level question.

B , C and E are all parallel.

C is awkward. d and a have ambiguous meanings...

so B and E. E seemed like it wasn't parallel when i was taking the exam under pressure, but now it looks right. But what is wrong with B. Is B wrong because "they" can refer to mice or brains?
Source: — Sentence Correction |

User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 287
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2012 12:33 am
Location: Pune,India
Thanked: 60 times
Followed by:6 members

by GMAT Kolaveri » Sun Apr 22, 2012 5:01 am
b. mice whose brains grow when they are placed in a stimulating environment or canaries whose neurons increase when they they's antecedent is not clear.
c. mice's brains that grow when they are placed in a stimulating envorinment or canaries' neurons that increase when theythey cannot refer to subject's possessive form
d. the brain growth in mice when placed in a stimulating envoronment or the increase in canaries' neurons when they
e. brain growth in mice that are placed in a stimulating environment or an increase in neurons in canaries that There is no modifier error in this. mice that are placed and neuron in canaries that. that in both these segments are clear.
Regards and Thanks,
Vinoth@GMAT Kolaveri
https://www.facebook.com/GmatKolaveri
https://gmatkolaveri.tumblr.com/

Click the thank you button if you like my reply :)

Legendary Member
Posts: 2789
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:19 am
Location: Chennai, India
Thanked: 206 times
Followed by:43 members
GMAT Score:640

by GmatKiss » Sun Apr 22, 2012 11:04 pm
Recently documented examples of neurogenesis, the production of new brain cells, include the brain growing in mice when placed in a stimulating environment or neurons increasing in canaries that learn new songs.

a. the brain growing in mice when placed in a stimulating environment or neurons increasing in canaries that
b. mice whos brains grow when they are placed in a stimulating environment or canaries whose neurons increase when they
c. mice's brains that grow when they are placed in a stimulating envorinment or canaries' neurons that increase when they
d. the brain growth in mice when placed in a stimulating environment or the increase in canaries' neurons when they
e. brain growth in mice that are placed in a stimulating environment or an increase in neurons in canaries that

IMO: E

User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 979
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2009 1:38 am
Location: Hyderabad, India
Thanked: 49 times
Followed by:12 members
GMAT Score:700

by bubbliiiiiiii » Mon Apr 23, 2012 12:12 am
fangtray wrote:Is B wrong because "they" can refer to mice or brains?
YES. :)

Can anyone point to parallelism error in D? I thought 'the brain growth' and 'the increase' in D are parallel to each other! (Although I agree D is wrong because of meaning issue.)
Regards,

Pranay

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 15539
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pm
Location: New York, NY
Thanked: 13060 times
Followed by:1906 members
GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Mon Apr 23, 2012 3:44 am
fangtray wrote:Recently documented examples of neurogenesis, the production of new brain cells, include the brain growing in mice when placed in a stimulating environment or neurons increasing in canaries that learn new songs.

a.
b. mice whos brains grow when they are placed in a stimulating environment or canaries whose neurons increase when they
c. mice's brains that grow when they are placed in a stimulating envorinment or canaries' neurons that increase when they
d. the brain growth in mice when placed in a stimulating envoronment or the increase in canaries' neurons when they
e. brain growth in mice that are placed in a stimulating environment or an increase in neurons in canaries that
Neurogenesis is defined as the production of new brain cells.

A)...examples of neurogenesis...include the brain.
C)...examples of neurogenesis...include mice's brains.
Not the intended meaning.
The brain itself is not an example of cell production; the GROWTH of the brain is an example of cell production.
Eliminate A and C.

B)...examples of neurogenesis...include mice.
Not the intended meaning.
The mice themselves are not an example of cell production; their BRAIN GROWTH is an example of cell production.
Eliminate C.

In D, canaries' neurons when they learn new songs implies that the NEURONS learn new songs.
Not the intended meaning: it is the CANARIES that learn new songs. Eliminate D.

The correct answer is E.
Private tutor exclusively for the GMAT and GRE, with over 20 years of experience.
Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.

As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.

For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at [email protected].
Student Review #1
Student Review #2
Student Review #3

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

by patanjali.purpose » Sat May 26, 2012 12:41 am
GMATGuruNY wrote:
fangtray wrote:Recently documented examples of neurogenesis, the production of new brain cells, include the brain growing in mice when placed in a stimulating environment or neurons increasing in canaries that learn new songs.

e. brain growth in mice that are placed in a stimulating environment or an increase in neurons in canaries that
The correct answer is E.
Mitch,

Don't you think E is not parallel:

BRAIN GROWTH IN MICE...OR AN INCREASE IN NEURONS..

Shouldn't BRAIN GROWTH be THE GROWTH OF BRAIN (or THE GROWTH IN BRAIN)?

Pls clarify.

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 15539
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pm
Location: New York, NY
Thanked: 13060 times
Followed by:1906 members
GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Sat May 26, 2012 2:24 am
patanjali.purpose wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote:
fangtray wrote:Recently documented examples of neurogenesis, the production of new brain cells, include the brain growing in mice when placed in a stimulating environment or neurons increasing in canaries that learn new songs.

e. brain growth in mice that are placed in a stimulating environment or an increase in neurons in canaries that
The correct answer is E.
Mitch,

Don't you think E is not parallel:

BRAIN GROWTH IN MICE...OR AN INCREASE IN NEURONS..

Shouldn't BRAIN GROWTH be THE GROWTH OF BRAIN (or THE GROWTH IN BRAIN)?

Pls clarify.
Nouns that refer to general concepts (such as brain growth) do not need to be preceded by an article (a, an, the):
Recently documented examples of neurogenesis include BRAIN GROWTH in mice.

But AN increase does not refer to a general concept. It MUST be preceded by an article (either an or the):
Recently documented examples of neurogenesis include AN increase in neurons.

Thus, there is no parallelism issue here: whereas the first noun does not require an article, the second one does.
Private tutor exclusively for the GMAT and GRE, with over 20 years of experience.
Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.

As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.

For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at [email protected].
Student Review #1
Student Review #2
Student Review #3

Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 122
Joined: Tue May 01, 2012 6:05 am
Thanked: 3 times

by ihatemaths » Sat May 26, 2012 2:26 am
we definetly need "Brain" else the comparison from the previous comma goes invalid. among D and E .E sounds better.

• Page 1 of 1