There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, bu

There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, but the most extensively used method has been the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid in the wall in mud mortar.

A. the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid

B. forming the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them

C. having bricks formed from mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they were laid

D. to form the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them

E. that bricks were formed from mud or clay, which, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, were laid

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 core meaning of this sentence is that the most extensively used method of building walls with mud or clay has been to form the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them in the wall in mud mortar.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Parallelism

• "who/whose/whom/which/where", when preceded by a comma, refer to the noun just before the comma.
• Any elements linked through conjunction ("and" in this case) must be parallel.

A: This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism between the noun phrase "the forming of bricks out of mud or clay" and the clause "they are laid in the wall in mud mortar"; please remember, any elements linked through conjunction ("and" in this case) must be parallel.

B: This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism between "forming the mud or clay into bricks" and "to lay them in the wall in mud mortar"; please remember, any elements linked through conjunction ("and" in this case) must be parallel.

C: This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism between "having bricks formed from mud or clay" and "they were laid in the wall in mud mortar"; please remember, any elements linked through conjunction ("and" in this case) must be parallel.

D: Correct. This answer choice avoids the subject-verb disagreement seen in Option E, as it refers to the plural noun "bricks" with the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb" - "to + lay" in this sentence) rather than an active verb. Further, Option D correctly refers to the noun "bricks" with the phrase "to lay them in the wall in mud mortar", conveying the intended meaning - that the bricks formed out of mud or clay were laid in the wall in mud mortar. Additionally, Option D maintains parallelism between "to form the mud or clay into bricks" and "to lay them in the wall in mud mortar".

E: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "clay" with the plural verb phrase "were laid". Further, Option E incorrectly refers to "clay" with the phrase "which were laid", incorrectly implying that the clay itself was laid in the wall in mud mortar; the intended meaning is that the bricks formed out of mud or clay were laid in the wall in mud mortar; remember, "who/whose/whom/which/where", when preceded by a comma, refer to the noun just before the comma.

Hence, D is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

Other than the parallelism issue, does 'they' in options A and C point correctly to the bricks. If not what do they point to?
A. the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid

C. having bricks formed from mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they were laid

Note that the presence of a “comma + and” in a sentence doesn’t necessarily indicate that two or more Independent Clauses are connected. (The above sentence, for instance)

However, if two or more Independent Clauses are present in a sentence, they are always connected by “comma + FANBOYS”.

Hi Mustafa,

Let us see how the sentence looks when Option D is used.

There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, but the most extensively used method has been to form the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them in the wall in mud mortar.

Let us now look at the structure of this sentence.

• There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay,
• but the most extensively used method has been

o to form the

 mud or
 clay
o into bricks, and
o , after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them in the wall in mud mortar.

As you can see, the “and” in this sentence is connecting two entities in a list.

The entities are:
a. To form the mud or clay into bricks.
b. To lay them in the wall in mud mortar.

As you can see, the entities in the list are a bit longer than usual. Moreover, the first entity has another list embedded in it (mud or clay). So a comma is put before the “and” for a breathing pause.

So the comma before "and" is only to help us in identifying the main list.

Note that the presence of a “comma + and” in a sentence doesn’t necessarily indicate that two or more Independent Clauses are connected. (The above sentence, for instance)

However, if two or more Independent Clauses are present in a sentence, they are always connected by “comma + FANBOYS”.

Hope this helps

Regards,
Krishna

I just found an official sentence, from a CR option choice, that doesn't use a comma between two independent clauses separated by "and". Can you please guide what I am missing?

Link, Option C: https://gmatclub.com/forum/p52699

(C) The flute was made from a cave-bear bone and the campsite at which the flute fragment was excavated was in a cave that also contained skeletal remains of cave bears.

You really shouldn't be scouting through CR arguments, for lessons in SC Pankaj.

egmat - I'm referring to your comment




I just found an official sentence, from a CR option choice, that doesn't use a comma between two independent clauses separated by "and". Can you please guide what I am missing?

Link, Option C: https://gmatclub.com/forum/p52699

(C) The flute was made from a cave-bear bone and the campsite at which the flute fragment was excavated was in a cave that also contained skeletal remains of cave bears.

How we will justify parallelism here?

There are several ways to build solid walls using just mud or clay, but the most extensively used method has been the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid in the wall in mud mortar.

A. the forming of bricks out of mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they are laid

B. forming the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them

C. having bricks formed from mud or clay, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, they were laid

D. to form the mud or clay into bricks, and, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, to lay them

E. that bricks were formed from mud or clay, which, after some preliminary air drying or sun drying, were laid

Hi Experts KarishmaB GMATNinja egmat

I am really confused with the meaning in (D). I know that it ticks the parallelism correctly but I am not satisfied with the whole meaning.

As per (D), the most extensively used method has been "this" & "this". how can one method consists of two things? I think (E) makes a little better meaning wise though incorrect for other reasons.

Thanks!