Bony house!

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Bony house!

by gmat_perfect » Sat Jul 24, 2010 11:02 pm
From studies of the bony house of the brain, which is the cranium, located in the back of the skull, come what scientists know about dinosaur brains.

(A) From studies of the bony house of the brain, which is the cranium, located in the back of the skull, come what scientists know about dinosaur brains.
(B) The knowledge that scientists know about dinosaur brains comes from studies of the bony house of the brain, located in the back of the skull, that is, the cranium.
(C) The knowledge of dinosaur brains that scientists have come from studies of the bony house of the brain, which is located in the back of the skull and is called the cranium.
(D) What scientists know about dinosaur brains comes from studies of the cranium, the bony house of the brain located in the back of the skull.
(E) Located in the back of the skull is the cranium, the bony house of the brain, and it is from studies of this that scientists know what they know about dinosaur brains.

[spoiler]OA: D[/spoiler]

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by kvcpk » Sat Jul 24, 2010 11:56 pm
D looks perfect!!

brain, which is the cranium is wrong in A
Knowledge and know are redundant in B, Moreover, "that is" is unnecessary
Scientists have come from is wrong in C
know what they know is awkward in E.

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by outreach » Sat Jul 24, 2010 11:59 pm
a
which reference not correct
b
misplaced modifier

c
knowledge(sing) and come(plural) do not agree.

e
Passive vioce
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by John Besore » Fri Nov 05, 2010 7:38 am
Question: I am little confused about modifier reference in this question.

If which modifier refers to brain in Choice A and is an error, then on similar lines why is "located..." in Choice D (correct) not referring to brain? I know choice D is the best among all the choices, but please help me understand the modifier reference.

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by e-GMAT » Fri Nov 05, 2010 9:45 am
Hi John Besore,

Good question!! If I understand your question correctly, then you are comparing the reference of two kinds of modifiers (which modifier in Choice A and verb-ed modifier in Choice D).

Now these two types of modifiers modify the preceding nouns. However, in certain cases, the context may be such that they may modify slightly far away noun as well.

In this question, these modifiers are indeed modifying slightly far away noun. Lets see how:

Original Sentence - Choice A - "...bony house of the brain, which is the cranium..."
In this choice, the which modifier modifies the expression "bony house of brain" and not the preceding noun "brain"
* It does not make sense to say that "brain, which is cranium".
* The important information - "of brain" modifies "bony house" and hence cannot be placed anywhere else.
* It makes complete sense to say that bony house of brain is cranium.
Thus, the relative pronoun modifier can modify slightly far away noun in this sentence.

Correct Sentence - Choice D - "...bony house of the brain located in the back of the skull"
In this choice, the verb-ed modifier modifies the expression "bony house of brain" and not the preceding noun "brain"
* It does not make sense to say that "brain is located in the back of the skull".
* The important information - "of brain" modifies "bony house" and hence cannot be placed anywhere else.
* It makes complete sense to say that bony house of brain is located in the back of the skull.
Thus, the verb-ed modifiers can modify slightly far away noun in this sentence.

I hope this clarifies your concern regarding the modifier reference. For e-GMAT users, this concept is covered in detail in the advanced concept titled Modifiers - Relative Pronouns.

Also, while we are discussing this question, here is the error analysis for the original choice:

Error Analysis:

Sentence Structure
Clause (1) From studies of the bony house of the brain,
Clause (2) which is the cranium, located in the back of the skull,
Clause (1) come what scientists know about dinosaur brains.

Error 1: SV Number error.
Note that the order of appearance of SV in clause 1 is reversed.
Clause 1 verb = come - plural
Clause 1 subject = what scientists know about dinosaur brains. - This is a clause and hence is always singular.
Thus SV number error exists.

Error 2: Awkward
This sentence has awkward construction in clause 2. It is more precise to say "cranium, which is the bony house of brain" because the modifier should contain the descriptive information.
As an example, consider the two versions below. Clearly, version 1 is better than version 2.
1: White House, which is the residence of the US president.
2: Residence of the US president, which is the White House.

I hope the above helps. Let me know if you want any further clarifications.

Regards,

Payal

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by John Besore » Fri Nov 05, 2010 11:09 am
Thanks for the awesome response egmat. :D :D :D

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by Crystal W » Tue May 31, 2016 4:43 pm
e-GMAT wrote:Sentence Structure
Clause (1) From studies of the bony house of the brain,
Clause (2) which is the cranium, located in the back of the skull,
Clause (1) come what scientists know about dinosaur brains.

Error 1: SV Number error.
Note that the order of appearance of SV in clause 1 is reversed.
Clause 1 verb = come - plural
Clause 1 subject = what scientists know about dinosaur brains. - This is a clause and hence is always singular.
Thus SV number error exists.
Thank you for your explanation. I am a little confused about this part. I think in original sentence, it lacks subject. Or this is a inverted sentence, but why? Can you explain more?

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by GMATGuruNY » Thu Jun 02, 2016 2:43 am
Crystal W wrote:I think in original sentence, it lacks subject. Or this is a inverted sentence, but why? Can you explain more?
The original sentence is indeed inverted, with the main verb preceding the main subject.
A: From studies...come what scientists know.
Here, the subject of come (plural) is what scientists know (singular).
If we reorder the sentence, we get:
What scientists know come from studies.
Since the subject (what scientists know) is singular, while the verb (come) is plural, eliminate A.
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by Crystal W » Wed Jun 08, 2016 12:55 am
GMATGuruNY wrote:
Crystal W wrote:I think in original sentence, it lacks subject. Or this is a inverted sentence, but why? Can you explain more?
The original sentence is indeed inverted, with the main verb preceding the main subject.
A: From studies...come what scientists know.
Here, the subject of come (plural) is what scientists know (singular).
If we reorder the sentence, we get:
What scientists know come from studies.
Since the subject (what scientists know) is singular, while the verb (come) is plural, eliminate A.
Thank you for your explanation, but can you explain more why this sentence can use an inverted construction? Also, how can I know it is an inverted sentence? Is that because the meaning of sentence?

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by Crystal W » Wed Jun 08, 2016 1:15 am
Can you explain more about choices B, C, and E? About the choice C, I think the subject is the knowledge and the main verb is come and it should be comes. Am I correct? About choice E, I think the reference of it is not clear and the meaning of sentence is repeat. Am I correct?
Thanks in advance!

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by GMATGuruNY » Wed Jun 08, 2016 2:56 am
Crystal W wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote:
Crystal W wrote:I think in original sentence, it lacks subject. Or this is a inverted sentence, but why? Can you explain more?
The original sentence is indeed inverted, with the main verb preceding the main subject.
A: From studies...come what scientists know.
Here, the subject of come (plural) is what scientists know (singular).
If we reorder the sentence, we get:
What scientists know come from studies.
Since the subject (what scientists know) is singular, while the verb (come) is plural, eliminate A.
Thank you for your explanation, but can you explain more why this sentence can use an inverted construction?
In an inverted sentence, the subject appears AFTER the verb.
Generally, this structure requires a verb without a direct object.
In many cases, an inverted sentence will begin with a prepositional phrase.

Far from the city lived a strange man.
Here, the structure is PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE (far from the city) + VERB WITHOUT A DIRECT OBJECT (lived) + SUBJECT (a strange man).
In the center of town stood a tall statue.
Here, the structure is PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE (in the center of town) + VERB WITHOUT A DIRECT OBJECT (stood) + SUBJECT (a tall statue).
Also, how can I know it is an inverted sentence? Is that because the meaning of sentence?
From studies of the bony house of the brain, which is the cranium, located in the back of the skull, come what scientists know about dinosaur brains.
Here, the portion in red is composed of modifiers, followed by a verb without a direct object (come).
The main subject of a sentence cannot contained in a modifier.
Thus, the subject of come must be the blue portion that FOLLOWS this verb (what scientists know about dinosaur brains).
No other interpretation is viable.
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by GMATGuruNY » Wed Jun 08, 2016 5:33 am
gmat_perfect wrote:From studies of the bony house of the brain, which is the cranium, located in the back of the skull, come what scientists know about dinosaur brains.

(A) From studies of the bony house of the brain, which is the cranium, located in the back of the skull, come what scientists know about dinosaur brains.
(B) The knowledge that scientists know about dinosaur brains comes from studies of the bony house of the brain, located in the back of the skull, that is, the cranium.
(C) The knowledge of dinosaur brains that scientists have come from studies of the bony house of the brain, which is located in the back of the skull and is called the cranium.
(D) What scientists know about dinosaur brains comes from studies of the cranium, the bony house of the brain located in the back of the skull.
(E) Located in the back of the skull is the cranium, the bony house of the brain, and it is from studies of this that scientists know what they know about dinosaur brains.
Option A can be eliminated for the reason stated in my post above.

In B, the knowledge that scientists know is redundant.
Eliminate B.

In C, come (plural) does not agree with the knowledge that scientists have (singular).
Eliminate C.

In E, this lacks a clear antecedent.
Eliminate E.

The correct answer is D.
About choice E, I think the reference of it is not clear and the meaning of sentence is repeat.
E: It is from studies of this that scientists know what they know about dinosaur brains.
Here, it is an EXPLETIVE standing in for the that-clause in blue.
Conveyed meaning:
That scientists know what they know about dinosaur brains is from studies of this.
This meaning is nonsensical.
It is illogical to say that the that-clause in blue IS FROM STUDIES.
Eliminate E.

For more on the usage of it as an expletive, check my second post here:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/sentence-str ... 82034.html
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by Crystal W » Fri Jun 10, 2016 5:59 am
GMATGuruNY wrote:
gmat_perfect wrote:From studies of the bony house of the brain, which is the cranium, located in the back of the skull, come what scientists know about dinosaur brains.

(A) From studies of the bony house of the brain, which is the cranium, located in the back of the skull, come what scientists know about dinosaur brains.
(B) The knowledge that scientists know about dinosaur brains comes from studies of the bony house of the brain, located in the back of the skull, that is, the cranium.
(C) The knowledge of dinosaur brains that scientists have come from studies of the bony house of the brain, which is located in the back of the skull and is called the cranium.
(D) What scientists know about dinosaur brains comes from studies of the cranium, the bony house of the brain located in the back of the skull.
(E) Located in the back of the skull is the cranium, the bony house of the brain, and it is from studies of this that scientists know what they know about dinosaur brains.
Option A can be eliminated for the reason stated in my post above.

In B, the knowledge that scientists know is redundant.
Eliminate B.

In C, come (plural) does not agree with the knowledge that scientists have (singular).
Eliminate C.

In E, this lacks a clear antecedent.
Eliminate E.

The correct answer is D.
About choice E, I think the reference of it is not clear and the meaning of sentence is repeat.
E: It is from studies of this that scientists know what they know about dinosaur brains.
Here, it is an EXPLETIVE standing in for the that-clause in blue.
Conveyed meaning:
That scientists know what they know about dinosaur brains is from studies of this.
This meaning is nonsensical.
It is illogical to say that the that-clause in blue IS FROM STUDIES.
Eliminate E.

For more on the usage of it as an expletive, check my second post here:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/sentence-str ... 82034.html
Thank you very much and it is really clear!

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by ngk4mba3236 » Tue May 09, 2017 9:44 pm
hi verbal experts,
please let me know whether i'm correct in the following -

another error in A &C : "which" seems to modify "brain" in option A & C, thus distorting the meaning. right ?

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by Ali Tariq » Wed May 10, 2017 7:29 am
Case can be made in favour of which clause modifying bony house in C. ( have a look at the non-underlined portion of the following EP2 SC).
The state religion of ancient China, which came into existence at least as far back as the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. to A.D. 220) and perhaps as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty (1050 B.C. to 771 B.C.), allowed only emperors performing the ritual worship of heaven, perceiving them as special links between the earthly and celestial realms.

A. only emperors performing the ritual worship of heaven, perceiving them as
B. only emperors to perform the ritual worship of heaven, with the perception of them being
C. the ritual worship of heaven to be performed only by emperors, who were perceived as
D. the ritual worship of heaven, performed by emperors only, with the perception of them as
E. the ritual worship of heaven as performed by emperors only, who were perceived to be

OA C
Note that the touch rule, in its most rigid application, is compromised also in OA D as is the case in C.
Which clause in A,however, is problematic for a different reason.
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