As the etched lines on computer memory chips have become thinner and

Question

As the etched lines on computer memory chips have become thinner and  the chips’ circuits more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive have  vastly increased.

(A) the chips’ circuits more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive have

(B) the chips’ circuits more complex, the power of both the chips and the electronic devices they drive has

(C) the chips’ circuits are more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive has

(D) their circuits are more complex, the power of both the chips and the electronic devices they drive have

(E) their circuits more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive have

egmat · Accepted Answer

Hi Siddhartha, Thank you for posting your query here.

Let’s apply the e-GMAT 3 step process to the given sentence: SENTENCE STRUCTURE • As the etched lines on computer memory chips have become thinner and the chips’ circuits more complex, (Clause-1) • both the power of the chips and the electronic devices (Clause-2) o they drive (Clause-3) o have vastly increased. (Clause-2 Contd.) https://e-gmat.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Meaning-icon-final.png • This sentence tells us about two related events. It says as X has happened, Y has happened. Let’s see what are these two events: • X: The etched lines on computer memory chips have become thinner and the chips’ circuits (have become) more complex. • Y: Both the power of the chips and the electronic devices have increased. https://e-gmat.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Grammar.png Error Analysis From the meaning analysis, we can logically say that the two changes in the memory chips have resulted in increase in the power of the chips. However, it is not logical to say that these changes have led to increase in the devices they drive. The changes in etched lines and the chips’ circuits cannot increase the number of devices. Increase in the number of devices these chips drive depend on many other factors. Hence, despite being GRAMMATICALLY correct, this choice stands LOGICALLY incorrect. PROCESS OF ELIMINATION OPTION A: Incorrect For the reasons stated above. The expression “both X and Y” does not have any error. It is correctly used. However, the error lies in the illogical meaning. Yes, you are correct. The entities are parallel. OPTION B: Correct This choice is grammatically as well as logically correct. The changes in the memory chips have resulted in increase in power of two things: 1) The chips, 2) And the devices they drive. In this sentence, we have ellipsis at play. • As the etched lines on computer memory chips have become thinner and the chips’ circuits (have become) more complex, the power of both the chips and the electronic devices they drive has vastly increased. Option B can be written in the above mentioned way as well. Since the verb "have become" already exists in the sentence, there is no need of repeating the same verb again. This is the usage and function of ellipsis. We do have a clause after "and" as well. It is just not written in the clause form because of ellipsis. Please refer to the following article to learn more about ellipsis: how-far-ellipsis-is-permissible-in-comparison-148973.html OPTION C: Incorrect 1. Use of “are” is incorrect. The effect of the changes can still be felt in the present. So, the verb used should be in the present perfect tense (have become). 2. Repeats the logical parallelism error (illogical meaning error) as in choice A. 3. Singular verb “has vastly increased” does not agree in number with its plural subject. 4. When we say “the chips’ circuits are more complex”, we need to mention more complex than what. So, the comparison is incomplete. However, if we say “the chips’ circuits have become more complex”, it means that we are comparing the circuits to their earlier versions. ( You are absolutely correct here. ) OPTION D: Incorrect 1. Same verb tense and comparison error as in choice C. 2. Plural verb “have” does not agree in number with its singular subject “the power”. OPTION E: Incorrect 1. Repeats the logical parallelism error (illogical meaning error) as in choice A. I won’t say that “their” is ambiguous here. There are only two possible plural antecedents: lines and chips. However, it is illogical to say that the lines’ circuits have become more complex, since lines do not have circuits. Hope this helps!

Deepak

Vlad77 · Answer

139. As the etched lines on computer memory chips have become thinner and  the chips’ circuits more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive have  vastly increased.
(A) the chips’ circuits more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive have  (the electronic devices they drive have vastly increased=>does not make sense=>OUT) 
(B) the chips’ circuits more complex, the power of both the chips and the electronic devices they drive has  (the power...has=>OK) 
(C) the chips’ circuits are more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive has  (both...has=>OUT) 
(D) their circuits are more complex, the power of both the chips and the electronic devices they drive have  (the power....have=>OUT) 
(E) their circuits more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive have  (the electronic devices they drive have vastly increased=>does not make sense=>OUT)

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem: 
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that the etched lines on computer memory chips have become thinner and the chips' circuits have become more complex, the power of the chips and the power of the electronic devices they drive have vastly increased.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Subject-verb Agreement + Pronouns + Redundancy/Awkwardness

• The present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.
• The simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature.
• Any elements joined by a conjunction (“and” in this sentence) must be parallel.

A:  Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the “power of the chips” and “the electronic devices they drive” have increased; the intended meaning is that both the power of the chips and the   power   of the electronic devices they drive have vastly increased.

B:   Correct.  This answer choice uses the phrase “the power of both the chips and the electronic devices they drive”, conveying the intended meaning - that both the power of the chips and the   power   of the electronic devices they drive have vastly increased. Further, Option B correctly uses the singular verb “has” to refer to the singular noun “power”. Additionally, Option C correctly uses the present perfect tense verb “have become” to refer to an action that concluded in the past but continues to affect the present.

C:  This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun phrase "the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive" with the singular verb "has...increased". Further, Option C alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the “power of the chips” and “the electronic devices they drive” have increased; the intended meaning is that both the power of the chips and the   power   of the electronic devices they drive have vastly increased. Additionally, Option C incorrectly uses the simple present tense verb “are” to refer to an action that concluded in the past but continues to affect the present; please remember, the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present, and the simple present tense is used only to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature.

D:  This answer choice incorrectly uses the plural verb “have” to refer to the singular noun “power. Further, Option D incorrectly uses the simple present tense verb “are” to refer to an action that concluded in the past but continues to affect the present; please remember, the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present, and the simple present tense is used only to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature.

E:  Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the “power of the chips” and “the electronic devices they drive” have increased; the intended meaning is that both the power of the chips and the   power   of the electronic devices they drive have vastly increased. Further, Option E fails to maintain parallelism between “the etched lines on computer memory chips have become thinner” and “their circuits more complex”; please remember, any elements joined by a conjunction (“and” in this sentence) must be parallel.

Hence, B is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZj-SubJwsM

To understand the concept of "Present Perfect Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeqkwGHWoQQ

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

eschn3am · Answer

the chips' circuits more complex is the same in A and B. that's not the issue.

B is correct because "____ vastly increased" at the end of the sentence refers back to "the power" which is singular. even though it's talking about the power of two different things, it has to be "has vastly increased" instead of "have vastly increased"

b14kumar · Answer

It's B.

As the etched lines on computer memory chips have become thinner and the chips’ circuits more complex,   the power    of both the chips and the electronic devices  they drive   has   vastly increased.

SidKaria · Answer

As the etched lines on computer memory chips have become thinner and the chips’ circuits more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive have vastly increased.(GMAT Prep)

1) the chips’ circuits more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive have
2) the chips’ circuits more complex, the power of both the chips and the electronic devices they drive has
3) the chips’ circuits are more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive has
4) their circuits are more complex, the power of both the chips and the electronic devices they drive have
5) their circuits more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive have

intended meaning-as the etched line on the comp memory chips have become thinner and the chip's circuits more complex,both the power of chips and the power of the electronic devices the chips drive have vastly increased.

1) the chips’ circuits more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive have. 
incorrect- it says that the power of chips and electronic devices they drive has increased.(if this would have been the intended meaning then there was no need for using "both") can i reject the anser choice on this basis ?
DOUBT- dont know whether the entities are parallel?? i think they are."the power of the chips"- noun +noun modifier." the electronic devices they drive"- noun + noun modifier.

2) the chips’ circuits more complex, the power of both the chips and the electronic devices they drive has-
correct: both x and y.where, x and y are parallel. the chips- noun. electonic devices they drive. noun+modifier.(if one entity has a modifier and the other doesn't they still can be parallel)

In the above sentences it seems that "As the etched lines on computer memory chips have become thinner and the chips’ circuits more complex" is parallel. and in the 2nd part of the sentence "have become"is implied. how can we assume that.And if that is not the case then 1st part is a clause and 2nd part is a phrase(no verb). please help .

3)the chips’ circuits are more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive has-
incorrect- repeats the error in A(intended meaning) uses singluar has for plural subject(x and y )

4)their circuits are more complex, the power of both the chips and the electronic devices they drive have
incorrect- the power is singular while have is plural. their is ambiguous.

Doubt-As the etched lines on computer memory chips have become thinner and their circuits are more complex. is this parallel ?? both are clauses, but have different tenses.
i think its parallel but incorrect because "their circuits are more complex" is incomplete. more complex than what ?? if we say that their circuits have become more complex it makes sense because its implied that we are comparing the present chip's circuits with the past chip's circuits.

5)their circuits more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive have- 
incorrect- their is ambiguous. repeats the error in A(intended meaning)

doubt- we come to know about the intended meaning of the sentence from the first option, in this case i think that the 2nd optio9n is more logical but isnt there a possibility that the sentence is correct as it is.

1)As the etched lines on computer memory chips have become thinner and the chips’ circuits more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive have vastly increased.

meaning- because of the changes on the computer memory chips, the power of the chips and the number of electronic devices the chips drive have increased. (so beacuse of the changes more electronic devices can be driven using the chips.

please help.
thank you.

mashi · Answer

I'm sorry, but I'm still very confused here.

I think that answer B sounds incomplete. Should it be the chips’ circuits  have become  more complex?

Thanx!

Ravshonbek · Answer

As the etched lines on computer memory chips   have become     thinner   and  the chips’ circuits   more complex  ,   the power   of both the chips and the electronic devices they drive   has

GMATBLACKBELT · Answer

Need to use idiom Both X and Y.

Both the power of the chips and the electronic devices... incorrect usage, should be both the power of X and the power of Y.

Elmin ACE.

I was actually stuck btwn B and D b/c I couldn't figure out whether to use have or has.

however, "the power" requires has. So I choose B.

Prometoh · Answer

As the etched lines on computer memory chips have become thinner and  the chips’ circuits more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive have  vastly increased.
(A) the chips’ circuits more complex,  both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive have   - subject-verb agreement and idiom (both) 
(B) the chips’ circuits more complex, the power of both the chips and the electronic devices they drive has
(C) the chips’ circuits are more complex,  both the power of the chips and the electronic devices  they drive has  - idiom (both) 
(D)  their  circuits are more complex, the power of both the chips and the electronic devices they drive have  - not clear lines or chips 
(E)  their  circuits more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive have  - not clear lines or chips

B for me

daagh · Answer

Let us sort out a few things first.

What is the subject of the main clause “both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive has vastly increased? Is it ‘ both the power ’ or ‘ the power of both”?  This is essential to fix the SV number agreement, the one that is being tested here.

It is wrong to say ‘ both the power  of the chips and the electronic devices’, because if we are meaning to use power in the plural sense, then it should be ‘ both the powers’.  On the contrary, the power is meant to be used in singular here, byusibg the term ‘ the power of both  chips and the devices’ .
The clue therefore is that the right choice will use as subject ‘ the power of both ’ and as verb ‘ has’  
Going by this norm, B alone is the winner all the way.

JubtaGubar · Answer

B

(A) the chips’ circuits more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive have -  we talk about power of both chips and el devices 
(B) the chips’ circuits more complex, the  power  of both the chips and the electronic devices they drive  has  -  CORRECT, subj/verb agreement 
(C) the chips’ circuits  are  more complex,  both  the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive  has  - the sentence already has a verb, no sense to "are". + the same as in A
(D)  their  circuits are more complex,  the power  of both the chips and the electronic devices they drive  have  -  subj/verb agreement, "their" refers to the etched lines or chips? 
(E)  their  circuits more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive have -  "their" refers to the etched lines or chips?

daagh · Answer

As the etched lines on computer memory chips have become thinner and  the chips’ circuits more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive have  vastly increased.

This is a simple matter of correlative parallelism and SV agreement. Let us keep in mind those in cases of the correlative conjunctions such as both …. and, what appears on the right side of 'both' should also appear on the right of 'and'. The number of the subject in the context will, therefore, decide the number of the verb.

(A) the chips’ circuits more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive have ---  both the power of and the electronic devices is unparallel as per the above observation. It should be both the power of and the power of the electronic devices.

(B) the chips’ circuits more complex, the power of both the chips and the electronic devices they drive has --  perfectly parallel; since the subject is the singular 'the power', the verb is also the singular 'has'

(C) the chips’ circuits are more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive has--  same correlative parallelism error as in A.

(D) their circuits are more complex, the power of both the chips and the electronic devices they drive have --  the power is the singular subject but 'have' is a wrong plural verb.

(E) their circuits more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive have --  Same error as in A and C .

pikolo2510 · Answer

GMATNinja   egmat   generis

I am a bit confused regarding ellipsis

When do I know that the missing verb implies an ellipsis here or when does not? I read the  article from  egmat  but couldn't figure out this concept.

Request your help to understand this

AjiteshArun · Answer

The sentence the correct option gives us is:

As  the etched lines on computer memory chips   have become   thinner  and  the chips’ circuits   more complex , the power of both the chips and the electronic devices they drive has vastly increased.

The  lines   |   have  become  |   thinner  
and
 the chips'  circuits   | (  have  become ) |  more  complex  .

In the type of ellipsis that you are asking about, you will  typically  see the following pattern: Subject | Finite verb |   x 2 (the "x 2" means that they are joined to each other). In the second one, the middle element can be "dropped" if it appears in the first, leaving only the other two (or more) elements in place. That's what is happening in this question.

The lines have become thinner and the circuits  have become  more complex.

More examples:
 He likes pizza and she  likes  Shawarma. 
 He will travel by plane and she  will travel  by train.

Note that it is better to refer to the part being "dropped" as "the middle element" rather than "the verb", as there is no guarantee that only the verb will be dropped. For example:
  He is good with words and she  is  good with numbers.  
  He is good with words and she  is good  with numbers.

PanigaleV4 · Answer

If one considers the part " the power of both the chips and the electronics deviced ......" it becomes clear that non of the options except B makes sense. Meaning makes it easier to identify the right fit in most of the cases.

mahi816 · Answer

As the etched lines on computer memory chips have become thinner and the chips’ circuits more complex, both the power of the chips and the electronic devices they drive have vastly increased.

can someone explain what "they drive" doing in the sentence...is it modifying electronic devices? ...don't we need relative clause while modifying a noun?

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi  mahi816 ,

You're absolutely right. It's just that the  that  is "understood". That is,

the electronic devices they drive... 
is just a shorter way of saying
 the electronic devices  that  they drive...

Another example:
 The book you recommended... 
is a shorter way to say
 The book  that  you recommended...

Jitu20 · Answer

GMATNinja  - request an explanation on this one.

As the etched lines on computer memory chips have become thinner and

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

As the etched lines on computer memory chips have become thinner and

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards