Blackishmamba wrote:
Could anyone please help me identify exactly which words are parallel in the correct answer choice E?
Isn't there 'many cities' parallel with 'river in san Antonio'??
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I'll explain you all the choices and get to E eventually.
Unlike many United States cities, where a river is no longer the focal point of urban life, the river in San Antonio winds through the middle of the business district, and the River Walk, or Pasco del Rio, is the city's most popular attraction.
1) meaning-
Clause 1- in many USA cities , river used to be a main attraction but now the river isn't. So we would expect whatever next would be a continuation of the initial sentence.
Clause 2- contrast - in San Francisco , the river is still a central attraction .
Errors-
1. comparison- cities Vs river - wrong
(A) Unlike many United States cities, where a river is no longer the focal point of urban life, the river in San Antonio
(B) Unlike the river in many cities in the United Stated, which is no longer the local point of urban life, in San Antonio the river - "which" is misplaced and ambiguisly may modify United States cities . Not totally wrong but lets keep it and then compare at the end.
(C) Today the river in many cities in the United States is no longer the focal point of urban life, unlike San Antonio, where it - WRONG- 1)comparison error. 2) "the river in many cities..." May imply that a common river exits which serves mahy cities
(D) In few United States cities today, a river is the focal point of urban life, but the river in San Antonio- WRONG - contrast is lost. Contrast is- today the river is no longer attractive in mnay cities , but still river in sansfrisco is popular . The sentence structure in this AC places clauses as independent and then introduced the conjunction "but" to suggest a contrast.but the contrast is lost as now we are comparing few cities with San Francisco and that may totally be valid and hence may not hold ground for a contrast.
(E) No longer do many cities in United States have a river as the focal point of urban life, but in San Antonio the river- THERE IS NO PARALLELISM IN PLAY HERE ... These are two straightforward contrasting CLAUSES. And the comparison is grammatically correct. Though the comparison is not exactly ideal and hence not parallel , it shows the contrast very succinctly.
B Vs E - the modifier "which" in B is still ambiguous . And hence E( though not perfect) is better