Hello Everyone!
Let's tackle this question, one thing at a time, and narrow down our options quickly so we know how to answer questions like this when they pop up on the GMAT! To begin, let's take a quick look at the question and highlight any major differences between the options in
orange:
Many of them chiseled from solid rock centuries ago, the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia are dotted with hundreds of monasteries.(A)
Many of them chiseled from solid rock centuries ago, the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia
are dotted with
hundreds of monasteries.
(B)
Chiseled from solid rock centuries ago, the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia
are dotted with
many hundreds of monasteries.
(C)
Hundreds of monasteries,
many of them chiseled from solid rock centuries ago,
are dotting the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia.
(D) The mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia
are dotted with
hundreds of monasteries,
many of which are chiseled from solid rock centuries ago.(E) The mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia
are dotted with
hundreds of monasteries,
many of them chiseled from solid rock centuries ago.After a quick glance over the options, there are a few things we can focus on:
1. Modifier Placement/Agreement
2. Verb Tense & Meaning: are dotted / are dotting ; chiseled / are chiseled
3. hundreds / many hundredsWhenever you see an entire sentence underlined, it's a good sign that modifiers are one of the major problems! Let's make sure the modifier is placed next to its antecedent. To start, we need to ask ourselves the following question:
WHAT was chiseled out of solid rock centuries ago? -->
MonasteriesLet's see how our options stack up:
(A)
Many of them chiseled from solid rock centuries ago, the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia are dotted with hundreds of monasteries.
(B)
Chiseled from solid rock centuries ago, the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia are dotted with many hundreds of monasteries.
(C) Hundreds of
monasteries,
many of them chiseled from solid rock centuries ago, are dotting the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia.
(D) The mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia are dotted with hundreds of
monasteries,
many of which are chiseled from solid rock centuries ago.(E) The mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia are dotted with hundreds of
monasteries,
many of them chiseled from solid rock centuries ago.We can eliminate options A & B because the modifier is modifying "the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia" rather than the monasteries.
Now that we have it down to 3 options, let's tackle #2 on our list, which focuses mainly on verb tense/usage:
(C) Hundreds of monasteries, many of them chiseled from solid rock centuries ago,
are dotting the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia.
This is
INCORRECT because "are dotting" means that monasteries are still being built today, which isn't true.
(D) The mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia are dotted with hundreds of monasteries, many of which
are chiseled from solid rock centuries ago.
This is also
INCORRECT because the present tense "are chiseled" doesn't work when talking about something that happened centuries ago!
(E) The mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia
are dotted with hundreds of monasteries, many of them
chiseled from solid rock centuries ago.
This is
CORRECT because it's okay to say that Ethiopia is still dotted with monasteries, and it also clearly shows that they were "chiseled" in the past.
There you have it - option E is the correct choice! By focusing on common problems you find on the GMAT when the entire sentence is underlined, we were able to eliminate problematic options quickly and get to the correct one even quicker!
Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
_________________
EMPOWERgmat
Total GMAT Content & Tactical Training | 120 Point Guarantee | All 6 Official GMAT Tests
empowergmat.com