Art is a visual way for some people to reflect upon what is going on i

Question

Art is a visual way for some people to reflect upon what is going on in their cultural and natural environment,  and allows a way to see how people perceive their natural world .

A) and allows a way to see how people perceive their natural world
B) while allowing a way to see how people perceive their natural world
C) while allowing another way to see how people perceive their natural world
D) and allows others a way for seeing how people perceive their natural world
E) while allowing others a way to see how people perceive their natural world

chetan2u · Answer

Hi,
the Q is based on issue of parallelism..
the correct form should follow.. " ..for some....., and/while for others....."
the ideal form is not followed in any choice but E is the closest..
points for E to be the answer....
1) talks of  some  and  others .. correct parallelism..
2) correct usage of infinitive form of see... 
ans E

daagh · Answer

The first step is to remove the unidiomatic D; Among the other four, all of them have ‘way to see how people perceive their natural world’ as a common factor and hence let’s look for some splits in the early parts of the second factor.

Now, we have to decide whether allowing is a secondary factor or the main factor. Well, I would tend to think that allowing is an additional factor and hence, it has to be a modifier rather than a verb; So A is out.

Now parallelism comes into play. The correct //ism is --- Art is x while allowing another Y, X and Y referring to ‘the way’. We do need the adjective ‘another’ to justify the while in the subordinate clause. ‘While allowing a way’ in B does not reflect the intention that the second factor is yet another factor. While allowing others in E, makes a comparison between ‘for some people’, a prepositional phrase with ‘some others’, a noun phrase; this is no ideal comparison
 
My vote is for ‘C’

Guilio · Answer

Hey daagh,

I always read your comments, however I think this time around you are missing something. In my view, the question boils down to D and E, where D is obviously wrong. Why those two? Because art allows somebody something, eg "art allows people to express their feelings" and not "art allows a way/another way to X" - it just sounds awful, imho.

This is why I'll go with E.

Best,
Jay

stevekeating · Answer

I agree with E. The parallel structure is "some people to reflect, while... others ...to see". It is also interesting to consider whether "while" or "and" is correct here. You can ask yourself if there is a contrast present in the sentence. If there is, choose "while". The contrast is between "some people" and "others". Therefore, "while" is correct. It will be helpful in many sentences to consider this issue. It’s a fast way to get to the right answer.

aditya8062 · Answer

this question is faulty and following is the reasoning : "COMMA+WHILE+ALLOWING"  is a typical construction of VERBLESS clause and hence it will take the preceding noun  "cultural and natural environment"  as its subject ,thereby giving the following interpretation: 
 Art is a visual way for some people to reflect upon what is going on in their cultural and natural environment, while   allowing others a way to see how people perceive their natural world

AjiteshArun · Answer

That's probably not the correct way of looking at it. For example:

She decided to start working on her applications, while continuing to study for the GMAT.

This sentence does  not  imply that her applications will continue to study for the GMAT.

chetan2u · Answer

Hi,
'while' at most of the times talks of something happening at the same time some other event is happening parallely...
x country is busy looking into its own interests, while all other nations are working closely towards a united goal..

aditya8062 · Answer

i think you did not get my intent. the VERBLESS CLAUSE takes the eligible noun or noun phrase as its subject. the sentence that you have created has the problem that i have stated in my previous post .
NOTE THAT : while   allowing others a way to see how people perceive their natural world -----> CAN MAKE SENSE !!

it is precisely for this reason that following will be incorrect:  I saw my friend fall while running through the town

AjiteshArun · Answer

The example you've taken is  ambiguous , but not  incorrect . More importantly though, its structure is quite different from the one used in the other sentences in this thread (you've added the word  fall , which creates something that the  while  could refer to).

She decided to start working on her applications, while continuing to study for the GMAT.

This sentence is perfectly fine. Perhaps you should just "whitelist" it? You could also come up with many examples on your own, because this structure is very common.
 
She had a cup of coffee while checking her email.

Again, it's perfectly clear that the  coffee  was not  checking her email .

aditya8062 · Answer

firstly anything that is ambiguous IS INCORRECT on GMAT.

Also kindly NOTE the ambiguity in the concerned question that i have pointed out in my previous posts . BTW all the example that you have put are not really referring to the issue. i have clearly pointed out the ambiguous meaning in the original question.

Secondly it would be of some help if you could put some OFFICIAL questions that refute my claim

AjiteshArun · Answer

I don't think it's quite as straightforward as that, and I'd urge you to adopt a less absolute position on ambiguity.

I'm not as concerned about the question as I am about the "rule" you've applied. To be clear, it is not applicable to either the correct option or the other examples. The while clause is adverbial in nature and  does not give us information about what the  cultural and natural environment  allows .

If we really want to look for ambiguity, we can find it elsewhere (the while could be referring to when "some people... reflect", though the comma helps to reduce the probability that the sentence will be interpreted that way).

This depends entirely on what you're looking for. If you're looking for the structure, you can find it in the  recently implemented “shift-work equations” have reduced A, B, and C while raising X  question.

aditya8062 · Answer

Ambiguity might not be a problem in exams that are conducted in india but it is (accept it or not) a BIG problem in GMAC !!

which correct option are you citing?

well in that case it is more of a problem .in that case it is going to modify the previous clause :  "what is going on in their cultural and natural environment"

is this some official question?

ALSO note that VERBLESS clause has lot of nuances ,for instance "COMMA+VERBLESS" clause behaves differently from "NO COMMA+VERBLESS"clause

AjiteshArun · Answer

Yes, it is the correct answer to an official question.

aditya8062 · Answer

ahh !! this is typical of "NO COMMA+VERBLESS" clause, unlike the question that you have posted

C (in official question) says:  Recently implemented "shift-work equations" based on studies of the human sleep cycle have reduced sickness, sleeping on the job and fatigue among shift workers while raising production efficiency in various industries.

NOTE that : in NO COMMA+ VERBLESS clause, as is in above mentioned option C, the verbless clause takes the SUBJECT of the previous clause as its subject (PLUS there is no ELIGIBLE noun other than " Recently implemented "shift-work equations"  in previous clause)

the implied meaning of option C is  :  Recently implemented "shift-work equations" based on studies of the human sleep cycle have reduced sickness, sleeping on the job and fatigue among shift workers while Recently implemented "shift-work equations" are ] raising production efficiency in various industries

the question that you have created is typical of  "COMMA+ VERBLESS CLAUSE" ; in such construction the "verbless clause" takes the preceding NOUN or NOUN PHRASE as its subject

ALSO note  that WHILE is a beautiful word : it can introduce  "simultaneity"  and  "CONTRAST" . again the usage of "COMMA" makes a huge difference !!

AjiteshArun · Answer

No. Again, there is  no way that the while clause will give us information about what the  cultural and natural environment  allows .

Adding or removing the comma does not suddenly change the meaning of the sentence I put up either ( She decided to start working on her applications, while continuing to study for the GMAT ). The while clause doesn't tell us something about  applications  if we keep the comma there. And in the question Aryama posted, the comma actually adds clarity to the sentence (it is a much longer sentence than mine).

aditya8062 · Answer

i have already cited that if this construction is ADVERBIAL (as proclaimed by you) then it is going to modify the previous clause : " what is going on in their cultural and natural environment"

now this sentence becomes wrong . although it becomes WRONG for some other reason and NOT for the reason that i have cited earlier in the post

ALSO please cite official problems as that may add some values to this discussion

mvictor · Answer

still no answer how to solve the ambiguity with the pronoun in the end.

how people perceive their world, or perceive the world of another? I eliminated right away C, D, and E because of this ambiguity.

baaniNitin · Answer

A) and allows a way to see how people perceive their natural world
B) while allowing a way to see how people perceive their natural world
C) while allowing another way to see how people perceive their natural world
D) and allows others a way for seeing how people perceive their natural world
E) while allowing others a way to see how people perceive their natural world

Parallelism 
some X, others Y

baaniNitin · Answer

A) and allows a way to see how people perceive their natural world
B) while allowing a way to see how people perceive their natural world
C) while allowing another way to see how people perceive their natural world
D) and allows others a way for seeing how people perceive their natural world
 E) while allowing others a way to see how people perceive their natural world
 
Parallelism 
some X, others Y

Art is a visual way for some people to reflect upon what is going on i

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Art is a visual way for some people to reflect upon what is going on i

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