A breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor the Irish wolfhound’

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION



THE PROMPT


THE OPTIONS

• MODIFIER error
→ After the introductory statement, we should be reading about a breed of dog, not the Irish wolfhound's initial purpose.

→ That is, the Irish wolfhound's initial purpose is not described by the introductory modifier, which describes a breed of dog.

GMAC often tests this kind of modifier error.
ELIMINATE A

• I do not see any errors

• A breed of dog now correctly modifies the Irish wolfhound

• The main subject of the sentence is initial purpose, which is correctly paired with the working verb included.
KEEP


• diction / construction error
→ We do not need the in part of including in.
In this context, that phrasing is nonsensical.
We just say including.

• meaning error: including modifies demeanor
So, does the gentle demeanor . . . include . . . the dog's initial purpose?
No. Quite the opposite.
Nonsensical at best.
ELIMINATE C


• Verb tense error — IS should be WAS
→ this "initial purpose" describes something that existed a long time ago. The present tense verb is neither represents that past nor is parallel with included.
Careful. Verbs are rarely required to be parallel, but if they happen in the same time frame (here, the past), then both should reflect that time frame.

• subject/verb agreement -- singular IS does not agree with compound subject
Invert part of the sentence:
Wrong: Hunting wolves and pulling enemy warriors off moving chariots is included in the dog's special purpose.
No. We need were in order to match the compound subject, this way:
"Hunting wolves and pulling enemy warriors off moving chariots [WERE] included in the dog's special purpose."

ELIMINATE D


• infinitive error
→ TO hunting is not the correct way to construct an infinitive.

→ We cannot say that these dogs initially had the purpose TO hunting wolves and [TO] pulling enemy warriors off moving chariots.
There is no such thing as to hunting or to pulling.

• style and diction problems emanate from the phrase had the purpose
→ passive, flabby construction
→ long-winded
ELIMINATE E

The answer is B.

COMMENTS

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These answers are very good.

Stay safe, everyone.

POE:

A: Opening modifier issue: Phrase “A breed of dog…” should precede “the Irish wolfhound”
B: Correct
C: Misplacement of modifier “including…” causing confusion
D: SVA – verb should be ARE
E: Infinitive TO should be followed by a verb, but not a gerund.

My answer is (B). It took me 01:21.

(A) Modifier "A breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor" should modifier a dog breed, not "initial purpose".

(B) Generally okay. It might be better to start with "the initial purposes" rather than "the initial purpose" though. Keep for now.

(C) To start, "including in" should be simply "including".
Even of "including in" is updated to be "including", the sentence incorrectly indicates that the dog's gentle demeanor includes its initial purpose.

(D) "is" should be "are" because, in this inverted sentence, the subject ("hunting wolves and pulling enemy warriors") is plural.

(E) For one, "the purpose to" should be "the purpose of".
For two, "initially" had better to moved before "had the purpose".

Ultimately, (B) offers the best version.

A) A breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, the Irish wolfhound’s initial purpose included
Breed is modifying purpose. Incorrect

B) The initial purpose of the Irish wolfhound, a breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, included
All ok

C) The Irish wolfhound is a breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor including in its initial purpose
Distorted meaning. Including is modifying demeanor. Also including in is meaningless

D) Included in the initial purpose of the Irish wolfhound, a breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, is
Included is modifying breed of dog. Makes no sense

E) A breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, initially the Irish wolfhound had the purpose to
Use of had. No reason for past perfect. First part of the sentence is a fragment

A breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, the Irish wolfhound’s initial purpose included hunting wolves and pulling enemy warriors off moving chariots.


A) A breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, the Irish wolfhound’s initial purpose included - Incorrect . Incorrect modifier usage.

B) The initial purpose of the Irish wolfhound, a breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, included - Correct.

C) The Irish wolfhound is a breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor including in its initial purpose- Incorrect .'including' again gives a incorrect meaning to the sentence.

D) Included in the initial purpose of the Irish wolfhound, a breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, is- Incorrect . Changes the meaning of the sentence.

E) A breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, initially the Irish wolfhound had the purpose to- Incorrect. Unnecessary usage of 'had' in the sentence.

IMO B

(B) is correct IMO


A breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, the Irish wolfhound’s initial purpose included hunting wolves and pulling enemy warriors off moving chariots.


A) A breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, the Irish wolfhound’s initial purpose included

Initial purpose is not a breed of dog - Eliminate

B) The initial purpose of the Irish wolfhound, a breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, included

Correct

C) The Irish wolfhound is a breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor including in its initial purpose
Including illogically modifies demeanor -Eliminate

D) Included in the initial purpose of the Irish wolfhound, a breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, is
Subject verb disagreement ; Subject for verb "is" is "hunting wolves and pulling enemy warriors"- Eliminate

E) A breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, initially the Irish wolfhound had the purpose to
Adverb "initially" is misplaced
Purpose to is unidiomatic correct idiom is "purpose of"

A breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, the Irish wolfhound’s initial purpose included hunting wolves and pulling enemy warriors off moving chariots.


A) A breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, the Irish wolfhound’s initial purpose included - [color=#ff0000]The breed of dog modifier should modify dog and not its initial purpose.[/color]

B) The initial purpose of the Irish wolfhound, a breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, included - Correct

C) The Irish wolfhound is a breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor including in its initial purpose - Meaning changed as demeanor is being described

D) Included in the initial purpose of the Irish wolfhound, a breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, is - SV error . Are should be used.

E) A breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, initially the Irish wolfhound had the purpose to - Use of had is incorrect. No sequencing is required.

A breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, the Irish wolfhound’s initial purpose included hunting wolves and pulling enemy warriors off moving chariots.


A) A breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, the Irish wolfhound’s initial purpose included Incorrect

initial purpose modifies by previous clause

B) The initial purpose of the Irish wolfhound, a breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, included Correct

C) The Irish wolfhound is a breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor including in its initial purpose Incorrect

meaning issue

D) Included in the initial purpose of the Irish wolfhound, a breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, is Incorrect

awkward

E) A breed of dog now known for its gentle demeanor, initially the Irish wolfhound had the purpose to Incorrect

past perfect tense is wrong
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The official explanation is here.
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