Many of the earliest known images of Hindu deities in India date from

Answer is E.

Given : Many of the earliest known images of Hindu deities in India date from the time of the
Kushan empire, fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or Gandharan
grey schist.

Simplifying the given sentence:
May of the deities date from the time of X empire, fashioned either from A or B.

If we understand basic meaning of the sentence, we will realize that not the kushan empire but the deities are fashioned from something.

So, the right sentence is:
May of the deities date from the time of X empire and fashioned either from A or from B.

A. empire, fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or
B. empire, fashioned from either the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from
C. empire, either fashioned from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or
D. empire and either fashioned from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from
E. empire and were fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from - Correct

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that many of the earliest known images of Hindu deities in India date from the time of the Kushan empire, and the images were fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from Gandharan grey schist.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers + Parallelism

• In a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.
• “neither A nor B” and “either A or B” are idiomatic uses and are only used when referring to two elements; A and B must be parallel.
• Any elements linked by conjunction must be parallel

A: This answer choice incorrectly modifies "the Kushan empire" with "fashioned either...grey schist", illogically implying that the Kushan empire was fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from Gandharan grey schist; the intended meaning is that many of the earliest known images of Hindu deities in India were fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from Gandharan grey schist; please remember, in a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Further, Option A fails to maintain parallelism between A ("from the spotted sandstone of Mathura") and B ("Gandharan grey schist") in the idiomatic construction "either A or B"; please remember, “neither A nor B” and “either A or B” are idiomatic uses and are only used when referring to two elements; A and B must be parallel.

B: This answer choice incorrectly modifies "the Kushan empire" with "fashioned from either...grey schist", illogically implying that the Kushan empire was fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from Gandharan grey schist; the intended meaning is that many of the earliest known images of Hindu deities in India were fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from Gandharan grey schist; please remember, in a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Further, Option B fails to maintain parallelism between A ("the spotted sandstone of Mathura") and B ("from Gandharan grey schist") in the idiomatic construction "either A or B"; please remember, “neither A nor B” and “either A or B” are idiomatic uses and are only used when referring to two elements; A and B must be parallel.

C: This answer choice incorrectly modifies "the Kushan empire" with "either fashioned..grey schist", illogically implying that the Kushan empire was fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from Gandharan grey schist; the intended meaning is that many of the earliest known images of Hindu deities in India were fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from Gandharan grey schist; please remember, in a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Further, Option C fails to maintain parallelism between A ("fashioned from the spotted sandstone of Mathura") and B ("Gandharan grey schist") in the idiomatic construction "either A or B"; please remember, “neither A nor B” and “either A or B” are idiomatic uses and are only used when referring to two elements; A and B must be parallel.

D: This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism between the verb phrase "date from the time of the Kushan empire" and the noun modifier "either fashioned from...grey schist"; please remember, any elements linked by conjunction must be parallel. Further, Option D fails to maintain parallelism between A ("fashioned from the spotted sandstone of Mathura") and B ("from Gandharan grey schist") in the idiomatic construction "either A or B"; please remember, “neither A nor B” and “either A or B” are idiomatic uses and are only used when referring to two elements; A and B must be parallel.

E: Correct. This answer choice avoids the modifier error seen in Options A, B, and C, as it uses the active verb phrase "were fashioned", rather than a modifying phrase; this usage conveys the intended meaning - that many of the earliest known images of Hindu deities in India were fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from Gandharan grey schist. Further, Option E maintains parallelism between the verb phrases "date from the time of the Kushan empire" and "were fashioned". Additionally, Option E correctly maintains parallelism between A ("from the spotted sandstone of Mathura") and B ("from Gandharan grey schist") in the idiomatic construction "either A or B".

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Phrase Comma Subject" and "Subject Comma Phrase" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



To understand the concept of "Either-Or" and "Neither-Nor" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team

Many of the earliest known images of Hindu deities in India date from the time of the Kushan empire, fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or Gandharan grey schist.

A. empire, fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or - 'fashioned either from the.....' incorrectly modifying 'Kushan empire'
B. empire, fashioned from either the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from - same as A
C. empire, either fashioned from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or - same as A
D. empire and either fashioned from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from - awkward. also incorrect idiom
E. empire and were fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from

look for these structures and you will choose the correct answer.

images of Hindu deities in India .... date from the time ... and were fashioned

either from the spotted sandstone ... or from Gandharan grey schist

D. empire and either fashioned from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from

There are at least two things wrong with D

1. The biggest error is the non-adherence to symmetricl parallelism in the second part of the two-part clause.

The first un-underlined part uses a clause with a verb ‘date from’ while the second part misses the verb and uses a phrase. It must be noted that fashioned from is not a verb but a past participle.

This malady is set right by using the verb ‘were’ in E.

Secondly, ‘either fashioned from’ is not parallel with ‘or from’ – It should be ‘fashioned either from or from’ in order to be parallel.

Looking at it differently, the question can be solved by the correctness of correlative parallelism alone, because E is the only one that depicts correlative parallelism.

Here the sentence demands the use of both the present and past tense .The first part of the sentence(Many of the earliest known images of Hindu deities in India date from the time of the
Kushan empire) denotes a fact which hold true even in the present,hence it requires the use of present tense .The 2nd part(images where fashioned in the past and it denotes a past action )
Hope it helps !!

I have chosen E for the answer:

A. The use of the verb-ed modifier "fashioned" is incorrect because it seems to modify "the Kushan Empire" or maybe the noun phrase "the time of the Kushan Empire." In either case, this is incorrect because we want to modify the word "images." Also, we have parallelism issues here - "either from...or" is incorrect. It should be "either from...or from."

B. The verb-ed modifier is wrong here again because it describes "the Kushan Empire." Parallelism issues are present in this answer choice as well - "from either...or from." Although this may appear to be correct, think of the parallel phrase starting at "from." Therefore, the correct version would actually be "from either...or."

C. Again, is "fashioned" describing Empire? I'm not sure what it is supposed to modify. Again, parallelism issues are present - "either fashioned from...or" should actually be "either fashioned from...or from."

D. There are 2 sets of parallelism in this sentence. The first set is to describe the earliest known images and the second set is to describe what the images were fashioned from. This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism of the first part.

Many of the earliest know images:

- date from...
- and fashioned:

- either from...
- or from...

E. This answer choice maintains parallelism of both parts. Notice how the verb "were" and "date" are now parallel to describe the images.

Many of the earliest know images:

- date from...
- and were fashioned:

- either from...
- or from...

All else later. First, we must appreciate that D is a fragment without a verb in the second arm of the compound sentence conjoined by ‘and’. ‘Either fashioned from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from’ is nothing but a phrase. ‘Fashioned’ per se is a past participle in the context,

The inclusion of the verb ‘were’ in E is the amendment to this fatal error in D

Of course A, B, C suffer from classical correlative conjunction non//ism.

Many of the earliest known images of hindu dieties in india date from the time of the kushan empire, fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of mathura or gandharan grey schist.

Does the participial phrase "fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of mathura or gandharan grey schist"
modify kushan empire ???

Because what i understand about ending participial phrases is that if the antecedent is not next to the modifier we can just put a comma.

Please correct me if i am wrong....

Hi, there. I'm happy to help with this.

You're right --- as the sentence currently is written, the participial phrase "fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of mathura or gandharan grey schist" modifies "Kushan Empire," which is incorrect. This is a misplaced modifier.

Adding a comma does not eliminate the glaring mistake of a misplaced modifier. The only way to get rid of a misplaced modifier problem is to reconstruct the sentence. Commas do not work magic. Commas do not make bad grammar go away.

You will notice, with this particular question (SC #56 in the OG 12e), the OA of E transforms this participial phrase into a full-fledged verb that is parallel to the first verb ---- the structure of the sentence has been entirely altered, to eliminate the misplaced modifier problem.

Does all this make sense?

Here's another SC question drawing on the modifier touch rule.
https://gmat.magoosh.com/questions/1174
When you submit your answer, the next page will have a full video explanation.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Mike

Hi Sachindia,

I have seen this question many a times. And really speaking, this is one of those misconceptions - If we have active voice and and passive voice in a list, then that list cannot be parallel. But as I said, this is a misconception.

The cricket match started in the morning and was aired live across the country.
As you can see in this sentence - the two verbs - are in different voices. But this sentence is absolutely correct. The context of the verbs is such that they need to be in the specific voice to communicate the intended meaning.

Now if I were to change this sentence so as to force the verbs to have same voice, then I will end up making the sentence too long and imprecise.
The cricket match started in the morning and many leading TV networks aired it live across the country.
As you can see in this sentence, I have made the two verbs in same voice but to do that I had to add additional information - many leading TV networks. The focus on my original sentence was not on who aired the match live. The focus was only on the FACT that it WAS AIRED LIVE.

So both sentences are correct. The noteworthy thing is that - Your can have active voice parallel to passive voice - if the context allows.
In fact check out OG12#36. Analyze that sentence and see it in the light of this discussion here.

Do let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks,

Payal

This stony example isn’t that stony . Just follow the simple rule of correlative parallelism of ‘ either --- or’ conjunction and you will get the right choice popping up like Mount Everest in front of you The tenet of correlative //is that whatever is on the right of ‘either’ should be there on the right of ‘or’ also

A. empire, fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or --- either from (preposition) or Gandharan stone ( noun )– wrong
B. empire, fashioned from either the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from -- either the spotted sandstone or from --- either ( noun ) or (preposition) wrong
C. empire, either fashioned from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or – either fashioned (past participle) or Gandharan (noun) –wrong
D. empire and either fashioned from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from ---either fashioned(past participle ) or from ( preposition) wrong
E. empire and were fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from --- either from(preposition ) or from (preposition) – correct structure. E is eventually:

Hi Shraddha,

Can you please explain a nagging issue:

1) If there is a comma separating two clauses, don't the two clauses need some sort of coordinating conjunction such as "and or but" and don't the two clauses need to be independent?

2) I eliminated A and B because the second part of the clause because it's not independent. Was that wrong?

3) What is the general rule when we have a comma with a coordinating conjunction. Conversely, what is the general rule when we have a comma without a coordinating conjunction?

Thanks!

OG's explanation

"Th e sentence makes two claims about the earliest known images of Hindu deities in India: They date from the Kushan Empire, and they are made from sandstone or schist. Th e clearest, most eff ective way to incorporate these two claims into a single sentence is to provide two parallel predicates for the single subject, the earliest known images of Hindu deities in India. Th e two options of media, presented as either/or choices, must also be given in parallel structure: either from … or from … or from either … or. …

A Placement of the modifi er fashioned … suggests that the Empire (the closest noun), not the images of the deities, was fashioned out of these materials; to parallel either from, the preposition from should also follow or.

B Parallelism requires that either precede the first appearance of from or that the second appearance of from be eliminated.

C As in A and B, the placement of the modifier after Empire is misleading; parallelism requires that the phrase fashioned from, or another comparable verb and preposition, follow or.

D Parallelism requires that a verb follow or, since a verb follows either.

E Correct. Two verbs, date and were fashioned, introduce parallel predicates for the subject, earliest known images; the choices of media are correctly presented with the structure either from … or from.

Hi russ9,

I apologize for reverting so late. But then better late than never.

Let's clarify all your doubts now.

1) Yes, your understanding is correct. Only a Comma CANNOT join two Independent Clause (IC). We need Comma + FANBOYS to join two ICs. These FANBOYS are called coordinating conjunctions.

2) I am afraid you did not eliminate Choices A and B for the right reasons. We CANNOT have ICs after comma. That will lead to incorrect sentence structure as only Comma will be joining two ICS. This is not possible. In Choices A, B, and C, modification of "fashioned" is not correct. The Verb-ed Modifiers in GMAT modifies the preceding Noun Entity. Here the preceding Noun Entity is "the Kushan Empire". Now this modification does not make sense because according to the intended meaning, the Empire was not made up of the mentioned material. The earliest known images were made of these materials.

3) Again, to reiterate, Comm + FANBOYS join only two ICs. Just a Comma can join an Independent Clause and a Dependent Clause.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
SJ

Good explanation

I am confused,
why can't we just regard the "fashioned either from the ...." as an adverbial modifier which modifies "known imagines " ?
Is the sentence make a sense If we reorganize it into "fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or Gandharan grey schist, many of the earliest known images of Hindu deities in India date from the time of the Kushan Empire. "

Thx verrrrrry much

Hi ZoeHu,

Thanks very much for your appreciation.

Any Verb-ed Modifier such as "fashioned" in this case is ALWAYS a Noun Modifier that modifies the preceding Noun Entity. If there is Verb between the Noun Entity intended to be modified and the Verb-ed Modifier, then this Verb-ed Modifier CANNOT jump over the Verb to modify that Noun Entity.

Hence, it is NOT possible for the Verb-ed Modifier "fashioned" to jump over the Verb "date" to modify "images".

However, we can certainly place this modifier, as you have suggested, in the beginning of the sentence. In that case, this Verb-ed Modifier will correctly modifiy the SUbject of the main clause "Many of the earliest known images of Hindu deities". The sentence can be rewritten as:

Fashioned either from the spotted sandstone of Mathura or from Gandharan grey schist, many of the earliest known images of Hindu deities in India date from the time of the
Kushan empire.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
SJ