1000 SC #80

[Toast]

why A not C? please explain. thanks

Qn:80
Although films about the American West depict coyotes as solitary animals howling mournfully on the tops of distant hills, in reality these gregarious creatures live in stable groups that occupy the same territory for long periods.

(A) films about the American West depict coyotes as solitary animals howling mournfully on the tops of distant hills
(B) in films about the American West coyotes are depicted to be solitary animals that howl mournfully on the tops of distant hills
(C) coyotes are depicted as solitary animals howling mournfully on the tops of distant hills in films about the American West
(D) films about the American West depict coyotes as if they were solitary, mournfully howling animals on the tops of distant hills
(E) films about the American West depict coyotes to be solitary and mournfully howling animals on the tops of distant hills

[jatros123]

hmm C seems correct..but the catch is C makes the first clause passive. A is most appropriate as in the clause we are really taking about coyotes and not about American Films.

[Toast]

thanks, jatros123

But, I still don't understand clearly.
it seems that C is talking about coyotes and A is talking about films.
Can you explain more?
passive is always wrong answer in GMAT?

[aim-wsc]

. A is most appropriate as in the clause we are really taking about coyotes and not about American Films.

coyotes and not american films thats why C.
its modifiers type.

if you check the original sentence
Although films about the American West depict coyotes as solitary animals howling mournfully on the tops of distant hills, in reality these gregarious creatures live in stable groups that occupy the same territory for long periods.

check the bold words ... "American films" doesnt modify gregarious creatures...
No other option but C modifies it correctly.

Can you explain more?
passive is always wrong answer in GMAT?

Not ALWAYS wrong.
but yes most of the times GMAT ask you to look for better and direct options.
Hope that helps

[Toast]

aim-wsc,

You are saying that answer is C? I picked C but official answer is A.
Is official answer wrong? :

[aim-wsc]

oops

i might be wrong too.

cant say
where is Prachi and Stacey :p

[prachipareekh]

A is the best choice - correct idiom - X is depicted as Y in films (depict X as Y)

B, E - incorrect - unidiomatic

C - incorrect - passive and misplaced modifier - coyotes are depicted -
"in films" wrongly suggests that hills are in the films and not the depictions

D - incorrect - ...if...usage wrong

[maxim730]

Plus, for C, there is too large a gap between "coyotes" and "american west" (at one end of the sentence). Sentence sounds better when they are next to each.

That's my non-GMAT explanation

[aim-wsc]

Thanks Prachi and max

C changes the meaning of the sentence it seems... hmm
still
glad if i could get some more explanation... anyways

[mayonnai5e]

My take on it:

C creates a modifier error at the end of the sentence:

Although coyotes are depicted as solitary animals howling mournfully on the tops of distant hills in films about the American West, in reality these gregarious creatures live in stable groups that occupy the same territory for long periods.

Since the first clause ends in "films about the American West," the modifying phrase appears to modify the films. But we know the sentence intends to modify coyotes not films.

Let's remove some of the extra stuff:

(C) Although coyotes are depicted as solitary animals in films about the American West, in reality these gregarious creatures live in stable groups that occupy the same territory for long periods.

VERSUS

(A) Although films about the American West depict coyotes as solitary animals, in reality these gregarious creatures live in stable groups that occupy the same territory for long periods.

The latter choice (A) more clearly associates the modifying phrase with coyotes. Remember that in GMAT grammar, the thing being modified must be as close as possible to the modifying phrase.

[camitava]

First of all, according to my knowledge, GMAT does not prefer the use of passive voice when it can be expressed in active one! So C goes behind A by this logic. This is the only problem I have found here! Now u say guess am I wrong?

[hemanth28]

Great explanation guys . Thank you verymuch.

[ranjeet_1975]

Yes option A is the best choice. It uses the correct idiom "depict X as Y".

Option C changes the meaning. In original sentence the focus is on films showing Coyotes but in C the main focus is on Coyotes.