Elminate A and B easily

C. acquiring - .. then it is must be providing after and to make parallel

D by - passive , completely not parallel

E to acquire ... to provide parallel.
the because makes you feel it is not parallel, infinitive on both sides of and , nothing wrong, E is the best answer by POE

At first glance we can eliminate A,B wanting "partly " to be parallel.
C>>out>Passive voice.

Between D and E.
In recent years cattle breeders have increasingly used crossbreeding,partly because certain characteristics should be acquired by their steers and partly because crossbreeding is said to provide hybrid vigor.

In recent years cattle breeders have increasingly used crossbreeding,partly to acquire certain characteristics in their steers and partly because crossbreeding is said to provide hybrid vigor.

How do we know that only PARTLY has to be parallel and not PARTLY BECAUSE?
How do we know TO ACQUIRE has to be parallel to TO PROVIDE?
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I was hoping for explanations:)
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hmm..not too sure about parallilsm not being the answer..waiting for an enlightened soul to explain this:)
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Hey All,

What an annoying question! I was asked to take this on by private message, and I see why it's bothered so many of you. Let's discuss

204. In recent years cattle breeders have increasingly used crossbreeding, in part that their steers should
acquire certain characteristics and partly because crossbreeding is said to provide hybrid vigor.

The thing to remember about PARALLELISM (which is the issue here) is that it is ALL about the parallel markers. You're more concerned with the single word that comes after the parallel marker. From there, things get iffy. The parallel marker here is AND, and the word after it is PARTLY. That's your parallelism. You gotta have another "partly".

(A) in part that their steers should acquire certain characteristics
PROBLEM: Both the "partly" issue and the "should". This isn't about what "should" happen. The breeders do it SO THAT the steer will acquire certain characteristics.

(B) in part for the acquisition of certain characteristics in their steers
PROBLEM: Both the "partly" issue and an odd idiom. You don't do something "for the acquisition" of something else, but "in order to acquire" something else.

(C) partly because of their steers acquiring certain characteristics
PROBLEM: They don't do it "because of their steers acquiring..." that sounds like they crossbreed AFTER the steers have acquired the characteristics. But they do it IN ORDER that the steers might acquire the characteristics.

(D) partly because certain characteristics should be acquired by their steers
PROBLEM: I know we all want this one because it says "partly because" and doesn't sound as bad as C, but the "should" is still a meaning issue. There's no question of SHOULD here. The issue is meaning. The breeders crossbreed because they WANT something to happen.

(E) partly to acquire certain characteristics in their steers
ANSWER: Yes, I know it isn't as parallel as we'd like. It would be nice to say "partly to X" and "partly to Y" OR "partly because of X" and "partly because of Y". But we don't get that option. This is still parallel enough (with the two "partly"s), and from there it's all about meaning.

Tough one! Hope that helps.

-tommy
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Tommy Wallach | Manhattan GMAT Instructor | San Francisco

Manhattan GMAT Discount | Manhattan GMAT Reviews

Hey GMATBull,

See my explanation on this. Your explanation is not correct. It would be nice if answer choice E gave us the parallel of "partly to acquire" and "partly to provide", but that isn't how parallel works. The fact that both parallel elements (the stuff after "partly") happens to have a form of the infinitive somewhere ("to acquire" and "to provide") is sheer coincidence. The part that we would typically want to be parallel should come right after the marker. For the parallel you want to be important to exist, it would need to say "partly to acquire certain characteristics in their steers and partly to provide vigor." The "because crossbreeding is said" ruins the parallel you're thinking about, because the "to" that comes before provide is actually part of the idiom "said to", entirely different from the "to" we get after "partly". Hope that makes sense!

-tommy

204. In recent years cattle breeders have increasingly used crossbreeding, in part that their steers should
acquire certain characteristics and partly because crossbreeding is said to provide hybrid vigor.
(A) in part that their steers should acquire certain characteristics
(B) in part for the acquisition of certain characteristics in their steers
(C) partly because of their steers acquiring certain characteristics
(D) partly because certain characteristics should be acquired by their steers
(E) partly to acquire certain characteristics in their steers
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Tommy Wallach | Manhattan GMAT Instructor | San Francisco

Manhattan GMAT Discount | Manhattan GMAT Reviews

No problem, Gmat. I read it back and it looks a little strident. Hope I didn't seem like a jerk! : )

-t
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Tommy Wallach | Manhattan GMAT Instructor | San Francisco

Manhattan GMAT Discount | Manhattan GMAT Reviews

thanks a lot Tommy. Your description was enlightening!

I have never read such a use of the word 'acquire' anywhere other than in this question's option E.

'to acquire certain characteristics 'in' their steers'

If I say 'He wants to acquire confidence'. That is obviously correct. Because 'to acquire' means 'to obtain' or 'to get'.
But if I say 'He wants to acquire confidence in his friend'. Is this usage of 'acquire' correct?

That is why I ruled out E. Can someone help please?

I selected E. Nice explanation by Tommy.I was thinking like gmatbull - to acquire and to provide but Tommy explained that 'to' in second part if 'said to'
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