A row of upright fan-shaped plates running down the spine provided the

Question

A row of upright fan-shaped plates running down the spine provided the Stegosaurus dinosaur with an especially efficient solar heating and cooling system  to allow them to move comfortably  through different climatic regions.

(A) to allow them to move comfortably
(B) to allow it a comfortable movement
(C) that allowed it to move comfortably
(D) that allowed their comfortable movement
(E) allowing them to move comfortably

GyanOne · Answer

As we are talking about the Stegosaurus dinosaur here, 'them' and 'their' is wrong. That leaves us with (B) and (C).

Of these, (C) is the best choice as it is clearer in meaning and also better structured.

(C) is the answer.

hfbamafan · Answer

I chose E for some reason could someone explain why E is wrong.

Thanks

aalba005 · Answer

E is wrong because it uses "Them", when the subject is singular stegosaurus dinosaur, A is incorrect for same reason.

alchemist009 · Answer

why b is wrong here. any expert suggestion??

DmitryFarberMPrep · Answer

B is wrong because "a comfortable movement" doesn't really make sense. The dinosaur moved, but it didn't "have a movement."

Sachin9 · Answer

Hi Dmitry,

Had E had 'it' instead of 'them', would it have been correct?

Also, is the above sentence grammatically correct ? trying to understand the correct usage of 'had'..

DmitryFarberMPrep · Answer

For Sachin:

Using the correct pronoun ("it" instead of "they") would definitely improve E, but we'd need a comma before "allowing." Without a comma, the last part (from "an especially" to the end of the sentence) becomes one enormous noun phrase, making the sentence very hard to read. Adding the comma turns the underlined portion into an adverbial modifier that modifies the previous clause. That doesn't quite match C, in which we are modifying the noun ("system"), but it would work.

The construction you used ("Had E had 'it'"), but I associate it with formal/older British English. I would say "If E had had 'it'" or "If E had said 'it.'" (Note that the first "had" indicates past perfect, and the second is just the ordinary past tense verb "had." I can say "I had said," "I had taken," "I had run," etc., so I can also say "I had had.")

DmitryFarberMPrep · Answer

For Marcab:
"That" modifies "system," but what do we know about the system? It's "an especially efficient solar heating and cooling system." We don't want to treat individual parts of the sentence as if the rest isn't there.

Here's another example:

"My daughter has a fluffy toy lion that often sits at breakfast with us."

Am I saying that a lion really sits at breakfast with us? Well, yes, a toy lion. I wouldn't want to isolate the portion from "lion" on and ignore the preceding modifiers. Whether we say "that often sits . . . " modifies only "lion" or the whole noun phrase, the meaning is the same. The lion sits with us, but it is a fluffy toy.

In some cases, when we have a noun phrase, we are clearly modifying an earlier noun in the phrase. For instance, I might say "The King of Sweden, who is vacationing in Morocco, has a bad sunburn." Clearly it is the king, not Sweden, who is vacationing. This is correct usage. The "preceding noun" in this case is the noun phrase "The King of Sweden." In other cases, I might need to interpret flexibly depending on meaning:

On the table there was a basket of chips that  were  cold and stale. (The chips were cold and stale.)
On the table there was a basket of chips that looked like  it  had been sitting there for a month. (The basket of chips had been sitting there.)

I hope this helps!

vietmoi999 · Answer

not easy to see B and C

B means "plates" allow it something
C means "system " allow it to do something.

the subject of "allow" is quite different between B and C. we can not eliminate B , using grammar rule and logicness to consider B when B is alone. we can only eliminate B when we see both B and C. it is clear that the intended meaning is in C.

the situation "can not eliminate B, using grammar rule and logic" is popular on gmat sc. we can call this situation "realize the intended meaning"

am I correct?

manyu2409 · Answer

Hi vietmoi999, I think you have made an error in determining the subject verb pairs in the given sentence. However I agree completely with you that sometimes grammar cannot eliminate all the options, we have to go for the intended meaning of the sentence. Let's try to understand the meaning conveyed by this sentence and options B and C. • A row of upright fan-shaped plates running down the spine provided the Stegosaurus dinosaur o with an especially efficient solar heating and cooling system • to allow them to move comfortably through different climatic regions. MEANING • So, this sentence tell us that a row of some specific plates (these plates ran down the spine) provided the Stegosaurus dinosaur with a certain system. o This system was an efficient solar heating and cooling system. • To allow the dinosaur to move comfortably through different climate regions. B.) to allow it a comfortable movement This means that the purpose of the system was to allow the dinosaur a comfortable movement. C.) that allowed it to move comfortably This means that the system allowed the dinosaur to move comfortably. Hope this helps!

Manyu

SWAT09 · Answer

The usage of " that" is flexible. It can modify the word preceding it or noun phrase(s) preceding it and we use it unless there is strong reason why the nearest word is not appropriate to modify. Here the complete system "an especially efficient solar heating and cooling system" has to be modified and not just cooling system which is nearest word.

To+verb infinitives always convey "intention". In this case,take it as cause and effect scenario. The system is present not to allow the dinosaur to move comfortably but the dinosaur moves comfortably due to the system.

thangvietnam · Answer

choice B
to allow show a future action, a purpose which is not happening
choice C
that allow shows a present action which is happing

meaning in choice C is better

it is hard

daagh · Answer

A row of upright fan-shaped plates running down the spine provided the Stegosaurus dinosaur with an especially efficient solar heating and cooling system  to allow them to move comfortably  through different climatic regions.

A)to allow them to move comfortably
B)to allow it a comfortable movement
C)that allowed it to move comfortably
D)that allowed their comfortable movement
E)Allowing them to move comfortably

In C and D the relative pronoun 'that' is supposed to modify both the heating and cooling systems and not just the cooling system. Mark the words 'different climatic regions' in the non-underlined portion. It is an integral, two - in - one system that heats in the cold climate and cools in the hot season. That is how the animal was able to move comfortably in different climates.

we may refer to an OG question regarding the relative pronoun modification.

The correct answer choice is C, in which the order of the nouns is reversed from the original to suit Randolph who only became a labor leader.

IN2MBB2PE · Answer

OA:

Agreement; Rhetorical construction

The subject of the underlined portion of the sentence, the Stegosaurus dinosaur, is generic singular and must be referred to in singular terms. In some of the versions, Stegosaurus dinosaurs are presented as plural in the latter half of the sentence.

A. The Stegosaurus dinosaur is singular, so the pronoun referring to it must also be singular; them is plural and could illogically be read to refer to the fan-shaped plates.

B. The phrase a movement is awkward and suggests that the Stegosaurus only had one way of moving, when in fact it had a range of movements facilitated by this heat-regulation system.

C. Correct. The singular pronoun it agrees with the singular antecedent the Stegosaurus dinosaur.

D. The plural possessive pronoun their does not agree with the singular antecedent the Stegosaurus dinosaur. It also causes confusion because, as in A, it seems illogically to be referring to the fan-shaped plates.

E. The plural pronoun them does not agree with the singular antecedent the Stegosaurus dinosaur. As in A and D, the plural is confusing.

The correct answer is C.

IN2MBB2PE · Answer

OA:

Agreement; Rhetorical construction

The subject of the underlined portion of the sentence, the Stegosaurus dinosaur, is generic singular and must be referred to in singular terms. In some of the versions, Stegosaurus dinosaurs are presented as plural in the latter half of the sentence.

A. The Stegosaurus dinosaur is singular, so the pronoun referring to it must also be singular; them is plural and could illogically be read to refer to the fan-shaped plates.

B. The phrase a movement is awkward and suggests that the Stegosaurus only had one way of moving, when in fact it had a range of movements facilitated by this heat-regulation system.

C. Correct. The singular pronoun it agrees with the singular antecedent the Stegosaurus dinosaur.

D. The plural possessive pronoun their does not agree with the singular antecedent the Stegosaurus dinosaur. It also causes confusion because, as in A, it seems illogically to be referring to the fan-shaped plates.

E. The plural pronoun them does not agree with the singular antecedent the Stegosaurus dinosaur. As in A and D, the plural is confusing.

The correct answer is C.

A row of upright fan-shaped plates running down the spine provided the

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

A row of upright fan-shaped plates running down the spine provided the

Prep Toolkit

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