jimmyjimmy wrote:At the finish line, vibrant banners were held by throngs of supporters who had been recruited to assist either in congratulating the exultant winners or in encouraging the weary stragglers.
a)in congratulating the exultant winners or in encouraging the weary stragglers - In congratulating is awkward

b)in congratulating the exultant winners and to encourage the weary stragglers - Not parallel

c)in congratulating the exultant winners, and encouraging the weary stragglers - Changes the meaning of the sentence with AND

d)to congratulate exultant winners or to encourage weary stragglers - Parallel and correct usage of "to congratulate"...

e)to congratulate exultant winners or encouraging weary stragglers - Not parallel


btwn A and D

karthikpandian19 wrote:i understand that i need to improve a lot in IDIOM usage

eagleeye wrote:Hi Jimmyjimmy:

This is a parallelism + idiom usage problem. I think you got the parallel part right and that's why you are confused between the A and D.

There are at least two types of idioms in my head that use assist:

1. Assist someone with : CORRECT
He assisted Jane with her officework.

2. Assist someone in : CORRECT
He assisted Jane in picking a sweater.

3. Assist someone to : INCORRECT
This is the wrong idiom use, and the reason why D is wrong.

By the way, the following sentence is correct (Note that there is nothing after assist.)
He offered to assist Jane.

Overall, if you remember the idiom usage of assist, you'll be fine.

Let me know if this helps

Bill@VeritasPrep wrote:

karthikpandian19 wrote:i understand that i need to improve a lot in IDIOM usage

It definitely helps, but note that we can get down to two answers even without using our knowledge of idioms. In a lot of cases, idioms are simply there to confuse us, and we're much better off focusing on the true grammatical errors.

jimmyjimmy wrote:

Bill@VeritasPrep wrote:

karthikpandian19 wrote:i understand that i need to improve a lot in IDIOM usage

It definitely helps, but note that we can get down to two answers even without using our knowledge of idioms. In a lot of cases, idioms are simply there to confuse us, and we're much better off focusing on the true grammatical errors.

Bill,
so its A according to you ,.,.?