According to Henry David Thoreau, the reason a majority is allowed to

Answer is option B
As per the meaning of sentence, it states according to HDT, majority rules not because it is right but because it is strong
Option A:no parallelism
C: parallelism issue
D: phrase and clause can't be parallel
E: parallelism issue

IMO B

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Hi,

Can you please explain why D isn't parallel?

(B) a majority is allowed to rule not because it is more likely to be right, but because it is stronger

That's the right answer definitely. "it" is referring to "majority".

A - is wrong because of lack of parallelism in “the reason….but because”.
C - is wrong because of the use of ‘they’ for ‘majority’.
D - is wrong because it lacks parallelism in “because of its strength….not because it is more likely”
E - repeats the mistake in A.
B - is the best choice as it conserves parallelism by using “because it is…because it is”

DmitryFarber Bunuel aragonn

I believe I read in Manhattan Prep's SC guide that to have a comparative word like "stronger" without the thing that it is being compared to, is incorrect on the GMAT. I eliminated the correct answer for this reason. Can anyone please explain why this usage is OK for the correct answer in this case? Thank you!

This is not necessarily a problem. Yes, ordinarily in a comparison, we have to specify both terms --- it makes absolutely no sense to say "John is smarter" if we don't know --- smarter than whom? In that example, the omission of the second term of the comparison is egregious, totally unacceptable ---- it leaves a gap the reader has no way to fill in on her own.

By contrast, when we speak of the "majority" of a group, that automatically implies --- there must be a "minority", all the other people who are in the group but not in the majority. This second term does not need to be named explicitly in the sentence because they are automatically implied. The GMAT will occasionally do this on a more challenging SC question --- it will name one group (e.g. "those who excel in writing") and construct a comparison without a second term, because the nature of the group automatically implies others who are not in the group.

Does this make sense?
Mike

Why is E not parallel ? The structure seems parallel.

According to Henry David Thoreau, the reason a majority is allowed to rule is not that it is more likely to be right, but because it is stronger.

(A) the reason a majority is allowed to rule is not that it is more likely to be right, but because it is stronger - (A) introduces the following structure: .... [no that...], [but because...]. the clause that appears after the conjunction ''not'' is a 'that clause', whereas the clause that appears after the conjunction ''but'' is a subordinate clause. Since the clauses of the Not-But conjunction combination are not of the same structure, (A) is incorrect.

(B) a majority is allowed to rule not because it is more likely to be right, but because it is stronger - has no error. Hence, (B) is the right answer choice.

(C) the reason for majority rule is not because they are more likely to be right, they are stronger - the demonstrative pronoun ''they'' does not have a clear antecedent.

(D) the majority is allowed to rule because of its strength, not because it is more likely to be right - ''because of....'' is a prepositional phrase that cannot explain the reasons for an observed phenomenon.

(E) the reason why the majority rules is that it is strong, not because it is likely to be right - 'the reason why'' is a redundant structure.

A comparative form of verb 'stronger' is used, which, as per GMAT rules, require 'than' also to be used with it.
Then , how is option (B) correct.

Hello mikemcgarry,
Doesn't the sentence should be phrased such as "According to Henry, reason ....is..."

Is it right to structure sentences such as "According to Henry, majority"?

Also, what is the exact reason to eliminate Option E? Is it because of of the ambiguity of pronoun "E"?

According to Henry David Thoreau, the reason a majority is allowed to rule is not that it is more likely to be right, but because it is stronger.


(A) the reason a majority is allowed to rule is not that it is more likely to be right, but because it is stronger
not X but Y , reason + because is redundant
here X is "that it is ..." clause not parallel to Y ("it is stronger") - eliminate[/color]

(B) a majority is allowed to rule not because it is more likely to be right, but because it is stronger
not X but Y,
X - because it is more likely to be right
Y-because it is stronger
parallel & correct

(C) the reason for majority rule is not because they are more likely to be right, they are stronger
Pronoun "they" is ambiguous .

(D) the majority is allowed to rule because of its strength, not because it is more likely to be right
“because of its strength" is not parallel to "not because it is more likely"

(E) the reason why the majority rules is that it is strong, not because it is likely to be right
reason + because is redundant

Can you please help me understand what is the error in Option choice-E?

Thanks

What is the error in E option
How would we chose a between E and B

Can someone explain