Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
pi10t wrote:
The largest trade-book publisher in the United States has announced the creation of a new digital imprint division, under which it will publish about 20 purely digital works to be sold online as either electronic books or downloadable copies that can be printed upon purchase.
(A) works to be sold online as either electronic books or
(B) works to sell them online, either as electronic books or
(C) works and it will sell them online as either electronic books or as
(D) works, and selling them online as either electronic books or as
(E) works, and it will sell them online either as electronic books or
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of the crucial part of this sentence is that the trade book publisher will publish about 20 purely digital works that are meant to be sold online as either electronic books or as downloadable copies that can be printed upon purchase.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Verb Forms + Grammatical Construction + Parallelism + Idioms• “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.
• Semicolons and the “comma + conjunction” construction are used to link two independent clauses; commas are used to link an independent clause with a dependent one; commas cannot be used to join two independent clauses.
• "will/would + base form of verb" is the correct simple future tense construction.
• If a list contains only two elements, they must be joined by a conjunction.
A: Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase “to be sold”, conveying the intended meaning – that the trade book publisher will publish about 20 purely digital works
that are meant to be sold online. Further, Option A avoids the grammatical construction errors seen in Options C and D, as it features only one independent clause and no lists. Moreover, Option A avoids the verb form error seen in Option D, as it uses the infinitive verb form "to + be sold" rather than the simple future tense. Additionally, Option A maintains parallelism between A (“electronic books”) and B (“downloadable copies that can be printed upon purchase”) in the idiomatic construction “either A or B”.
B: This answer choice alters the meaning of this sentence through the phrase “to sell them online”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the trade book publisher will publish about 20 purely digital works
for the purpose of selling them online
itself; the intended meaning is that the trade book publisher will publish about 20 purely digital works
that are meant to be sold online. Further, Option B fails to maintain parallelism between A (“as electronic books”) and B (“downloadable copies that can be printed upon purchase") in the idiomatic construction “either A or B”; 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 alters the meaning of this sentence through the phrase “and it will sell them online”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the trade book publisher will publish about 20 purely digital works, and the publisher
itself will sell the books online; the intended meaning is that the trade book publisher will publish about 20 purely digital works
that are meant to be sold online. Further, Option C incorrectly uses conjunction (“and” in this case) to join the independent clauses “The largest trade-book publisher in the United States has announced...works” and “it will ...purchase”; remember, semicolons and the “comma + conjunction” construction are used to link two independent clauses; commas are used to link an independent clause with a dependent one; comma cannot be used to join two independent clauses. Additionally, Option C fails to maintain parallelism between A (“electronic books”) and B (“as downloadable copies that can be printed upon purchase") in the idiomatic construction “either A or B”; 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 alters the meaning of this sentence through the phrase “and selling them online”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the trade book publisher will publish about 20 purely digital works, and the publisher
itself will sell the books online; the intended meaning is that the trade book publisher will publish about 20 purely digital works
that are meant to be sold online. Further, Option D fails to maintain the correct simple future tense construction "will + base form of verb", as it uses the present participle ("verb+ing" - "selling" in this sentence); remember, "will/would + base form of verb" is the correct simple future tense construction. Additionally, Option D incorrectly uses the “comma + conjunction (“and” in this case)” construction to join two elements in a list - “publish” and "selling”; remember, if a list contains only two elements they must be joined by a conjunction. Besides, Option D fails to maintain parallelism between A (“electronic books”) and B (“as downloadable copies that can be printed upon purchase") in the idiomatic construction “either A or B”; 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: This answer choice alters the meaning of this sentence through the phrase “and it will sell them online”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the trade book publisher will publish about 20 purely digital works, and the publisher
itself will sell the books online; the intended meaning is that the trade book publisher will publish about 20 purely digital works
that are meant to be sold online. Further, Option E fails to maintain parallelism between A (“as electronic books”) and B (“downloadable copies that can be printed upon purchase") in the idiomatic construction “either A or B”; 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.
Hence, A is the best answer choice.To understand the use of punctuation on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~10 minutes):
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
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