PeepalTree wrote:
About 7,500 years ago, a torrent of water poured through the Bosporus into the Black Sea, raising the water level 500 feet within a year.
A. a torrent of water poured through the Bosporus into the Black Sea, raising the water level
B. a torrent of water poured through the Bosporus into the Black Sea, which raised the water level
C. a torrent of water poured into the Black Sea through the Bosporus, which raised the water level
D. the Black Sea had a torrent of water poured into it through the Bosporus, raising the water level
-- AMBIGUOUS - raising the water level of what? The Bosporus? No, probably the Black Sea.
-- HAD in this case is not a helping verb.
The verb is not "had [water] poured." Poured is a past participle.
HAD is the past tense of HAVE. See below.
E. the Black Sea had the water level raised by a torrent of water pouring into it through the Bosporus [500 feet within a year.]
Nonsensical. Utter babble. See below. The highlighted THE in red should be ITS
Major concepts that are tested • participial phrases that act as adverbial modifiers, also known as
COMMA +__ING or COMMA + verbING
• COMMA + WHICH and
• logical sequence
Participial phrase:
raising the water levelSPLIT #1: COMMA + WHICH COMMA + WHICH
-- cannot modify an entire clause or phrase
-- the GMAT tests this issue often
-- instead, COMMA + WHICH must modify a preceding noun or noun phrase
Which is a relative pronoun and thus must refer to a noun
-- the modified noun is usually placed right before "comma + which," but there are exceptions
• Correct:
I received my package, which was overdue.• Correct, a bit less common:
I received my package of books, which was overdue ("of books" is a prepositional phrase that refers to a noun that is very close to comma + which)
•
WRONG:
I received my package two days late, which annoyed me. (I am annoyed by the fact that the package arrived late. The package itself does not annoy me.)
Rewritten correctly:
I was annoyed because I received my package two days late. OR:
I received my package two days late, a delay that annoyed me.B) into the
Black Sea, which raised the water level
The Black Sea did not raise its own water level. I promise.
C) ... through the
Bosporus, which raised the water level
The Bosporus itself did not raise the water level. The torrent of water [from someplace else] raised the water level.
(And water level of which body? The Bosporus or the Black Sea?)
Eliminate B and C
Split #2: Eliminate illogical and nonsensical sentencesHere is Option (E) inserted into the sentence
About 7,500 years ago, the Black Sea
had the water level
raised by a torrent of water pouring into it through the Bosporus
500 feet within a year.This sentence is babble.
500 feet within a year modifies —or means— WHAT?
"Logical predication" is involved in nearly half of all SC questions.
If "500 feet within a year" were removed, the sentence would be nearly acceptable.
We would need the pronoun ITS rather than the definite article THE to precede "water level,"
in this way:
the Black Sea had ITS water level raised ... As (E) stands, though, it is a disaster.
Eliminate E
Split #3: adverbial modifiers, although versatile, must not be ambiguousOption D) the Black Sea
had a torrent of water poured into it through the Bosporus
, raising the water level • the COMMA + verbING modifier (participial phrase) acts as an adverbial modifier that modifies the whole preceding clause
• these modifiers must not create ambiguity
• "raising"? Whose water level rose by 500 feet within a year? That of the Bosporus? That of the Black Sea?
• Passive voice compared to voice in Option A
--
a torrent poured (A) is rhetorically stronger than
had a torrent of water poured into it through (D). Active voice in this case imbues the sentence with vigor. .
-- HAD in this option is the past tense of HAVE as a
standalone verb that means
experienced, underwent, or
received.-- Similar:
The gopher had its burrow filled with water when the flood came.--
had is a flabby verb that is made weaker because the subject has something done TO it.
Poured is an energetic verb. Its subject is an active doer.
• What poured the water into the Black Sea? The absence of a subject is not fatal, but it's another strike.
Eliminate D
Answer A is correct.
Takeaways:
• learn what (comma + which) can and cannot do
• learn about participial phrases (comma + verbING, and verbING generally)
• try not to obsess if you get the choices down to two (likely A and D).
• think outside the box. Some aspect of option D is
weird.
Compare. How do A and D differ? Which is clearer?
_________________
—The only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance. ~Einstein—I stand with Ukraine.
Donate to Help Ukraine!