In the main, incidents of breakdowns in nuclear reactors have not

This is a nice parallelism question
Only option B is parallel

E and D are unparallel since not from(prep) Vs but have(verb)
In C not of(prep) but commonplace(not prep)
In A not resulted(verb) but commonplace(not verb)
In B not from but from

In the main, incidents of breakdowns in nuclear reactors have not resulted from lapses of high technology but commonplace inadequacies in plumbing and wiring.

(A) not resulted from lapses of high technology but (after but from is required to maintain the parallelism)

(B) resulted not from lapses of high technology but from (correct meaning and correct construction maintaining parallelism, not from but from)

(C) resulted from lapses not of high technology but ( change in intended meaning,in this choice meaning suggest that lapses were not of high technology but of commonplace inadequacies in plumbing and wiring)

(D) resulted from lapses not of high technology but have stemmed from ( use of verb twice is incorrect)

(E) resulted not from Lapses of high technology bur have stemmed from ( use of verb twice is incorrect)


will go with choice B

Thanks

resulted from is missing after but. Incorrect.


Correct. As per structure Resulted Not from X but from Y. X and Y are parallel as well.


Change in meaning. Lapses not of A but B . However actual meaning is :-- not from "lapses of high technology " but from "commonplace inadequacies in plumbing and wiring"


have stemmed is not required because resulted is already there. This is redundancy.Also again the word lapses is not placed correctly.


Stemmed is not required because resulted not from A but from B doesn't need any verb again. Stemmed is a unnecessary intrusion(uninvited) here.

In the main, incidents of breakdowns in nuclear reactors have not resulted from lapses of high technology but commonplace inadequacies in plumbing and wiring.

(A) not resulted from lapses of high technology but - parallelism issue - Not X, but Y - resulted from lapses of high technology is not parallel to commonplace inadequacies in plumbing and wiring

(B) resulted not from lapses of high technology but from - Correct

(C) resulted from lapses not of high technology but - parallelism issue - same as A - of high technology is not parallel to commonplace inadequacies in plumbing and wiring

(D) resulted from lapses not of high technology but have stemmed from - parallelism issue - same as A - - the second part will read as incidents of breakdowns in nuclear reactors have resulted from lapses have stemmed from

(E) resulted not from Lapses of high technology but have stemmed from - parallelism issue - same as A - the second part will read as incidents of breakdowns in nuclear reactors have resulted have stemmed from

Answer B

In the main, incidents of breakdowns in nuclear reactors have

The question stem suggests that accidents have NOT resulted from lapses of high technology,which gives a confusing interpretation of the statement. Eliminate A

Idiom usually used is Not X.............But Y

What follows "BUT" must be able to stand alone with what precedes "not". This was what Brian from veritasprep had suggested.

Only option B makes the sentence idiomatically correct:

resulted not from X (lapses of high technology) but from Y (commonplace inadequacies in plumbing and wiring)


Corrections, suggestions and advice most welcome!!!

Official Explanation :

Parallelism requires that in a "not. . .but. . ." construction, the words after not and but have the same grammatical form and function.

Choice A breaks the parallel because not resulted. . .but commonplace erroneously links a verb and an adjective.

Choice B is best.

The wording in C creates a false parallel between lapses. . .of high technology and lapses. . .of commonplace inadequacies because lapses precedes and governs both elements in the not. . .but. ..construction.

D and E lack grammatical parallelism and would be needlessly wordy even if not had been appropriately placed before resulted.

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