Biologists working in Spain say that their discovery of teeming life

1. Yes, between is and are, are is correct.

... a number of forms are...
... a number of forms is...

2. The may is incorrect in that position too. This is because a may is already there in the portion before the not only.

... their discovery may not only broaden the search for life but may also show that a number of forms...

This gives us (a) may broaden and (b) may may also show, because we already have a may outside the entire not only... but also.
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AjiteshArun
Can you please brief how are is correct here since may is wrong above here https://gmatclub.com/forum/paleontologist-stephen-jay-gould-has-argued-that-many-biological-trait-124265.html are should too have been wrong can you please brief what am I missing ?

1. That's just the way a number of [plural noun] works. We don't use a singular verb with it.

a number of forms of microscopic life is capable of adapting ← This is wrong.
a number of forms of microscopic life are capable of adapting ← This is fine.

2. The difference is that this question uses a not only X but also Y. You can apply parallelism with a lot more confidence here, without worrying about whether the not actually connects to the but in any way. For example:

He was not late but the bus had already left.

Here the not is clearly not "joining up" with but.
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AjiteshArun MentorTutoring
I feel discovery of teeming life is singular, hence option C should be correct.

What I am missing here ?

Hello, Harsh2111s. I will draw attention to a few talking points in the answers below, then discuss a few of those points afterwards.



Choice (C) has a few issues. First off, the verb should be show. The reason is the not only... but also idiomatic construct. Notice that the first part says may not only, and also that the first verb is conjugated as broaden, not broadens. This may carries over into the second item, which is why we do not need to repeat it, as in choice (B). Taken together, you would not say, may not only broaden... but also shows. The next idiom is askew in capable to adapt, which should instead be capable of something. Finally, the past perfect at the end of (C) is the wrong tense: have long thought indicates an ongoing action, and there is no past tense action to use as a basis for comparison to place another action further in the past. The simple past will do instead, even if were may not appear before hostile. Notice how choice (A) fixes all the issues I have outlined above:

Biologists working in Spain say that their discovery of teeming life in a highly acidic river may not only broaden the search for life, or for evidence of past life, on other planets but also show that a number of forms of microscopic life can adapt to conditions that scientists have long thought hostile to all but the hardiest bacteria.

I hope that helps. If you have further questions, feel free to ask.

- Andrew
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This question is based on Parallelism and Verb usage.

The presence of the correlative conjunction pair ‘not only-but also’ indicates the need for parallelism. Since the appropriate pair has already been used in the passage, we only have to check to see whether a similar type of word has been used after each conjunction. The first conjunction of the pair ‘not only’ is followed by a verb (broaden) in the base form, i.e., without ending in ‘s’ or ‘ing’ or ‘ed’ etc. This is because the helping/auxiliary verb ‘may’ has been used in the sentence. So, the verb that follows the second of the pair of conjunctions ‘but also’ must be in the same form.

In Option A, the verb that follows ‘but also’ is ‘show’, which is the correct form. So, A is the best of all the options.

Since the auxiliary verb has already been used once before the conjunction, it is both redundant and misplaced after the conjunction ‘but also’. So, Option B can be eliminated.

In Option C, the verb form ‘shows’ is wrong because the base form must be used after the auxiliary verb ‘may’.
The expression ‘capable to adapt’ is not idiomatically appropriate. The adjective ‘capable’ is generally followed by the participle form; so ‘capable of adapting’ is better.
The verbs ‘have thought’ and ‘had been hostile’ are not consistent. The verb in the past perfect tense implies that the bacteria had been hostile at a much earlier time in the past after which some other action took place. The meaning is thus distorted. So, Option C can be ruled out.

In Option D, the participle form ‘showing’ is incorrect. ‘May showing’ is a non-existent form of the verb.
There is also a subject-verb disagreement in this option - a number of forms of microscopic life is capable. The subject a number of X should be followed by the verb in the plural form, so ‘are’ would be the correct form of the verb. So, Option D can be ruled out.

In Option E, the participle form ‘showing’ is incorrect. So, Option E can also be ruled out.

Therefore, A is the most appropriate option.

Jayanthi Kumar.
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Is not a verb missing from (A) before the word "hostile"? I would be inclined to add a "to be " so it would read "conditions ... thought [to be] hostile to all but the hardiest bacteria." -- am I mistaken?

Please advise.

chetan2u VeritasKarishma generis MartyTargetTestPrep DmitryFarber CrackVerbalGMAT AjiteshArun

It's fine without "to be."

People say either, "They thought him to be quite comical," or "They thought him quite comical."
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Biologists working in Spain say that their discovery of teeming life in a highly acidic river may not only broaden the search for life, or for evidence of past life, on other planets but also show that a number of forms of microscopic life can adapt to conditions that scientists have long thought hostile to all but the hardiest bacteria.


(A) show that a number of forms of microscopic life can adapt to conditions that scientists have long thought hostile to all but the hardiest bacteria --> CORRECT

(B) may show that a number of forms of microscopic life is capable of adapting to conditions that scientists have long thought hostile to all bacteria but the hardiest ones --> non-parallel since "may" in the non-underlined portion comes before not only and the correct construction would either be "may not only ... but also" OR "may not only ... but may also"

(C) shows a number of forms of microscopic life to be capable to adapt to conditions that scientists have long thought had been hostile to all but the hardiest bacteria --> If we remove the first part of the sentence structure that is intended to be parallel, it would read "discovery... may... shows" which is non-sensical

(D) showing that a number of forms of microscopic life is capable of adapting to conditions that scientists have long thought had been hostile to all but the hardiest bacteria --> If we remove the first part of the sentence structure that is intended to be parallel, it would read "discovery... may... showing" which is non-sensical

(E) showing that a number of forms of microscopic life can adapt to conditions that scientists have long thought hostile to all bacteria but the hardiest --> Same as D

Biologists working in Spain say that their discovery of teeming life in a highly acidic river may not only broaden the search for life, or for evidence of past life, on other planets but also show that a number of forms of microscopic life can adapt to conditions that scientists have long thought hostile to all but the hardiest bacteria.

Test Point: Subject-Verb agreement & Parallelism


(A) show that a number of forms of microscopic life can adapt to conditions that scientists have long thought hostile to all but the hardiest bacteria

(B) may show that a number of forms of microscopic life is capable of adapting to conditions that scientists have long thought hostile to all bacteria but the hardiest ones ("may not only broden...， but also may show...” violates the parallelism. Also, "hostile to all bacteria but the hardiest ones" distorts the original meaning of the scentence)

(C) shows a number of forms of microscopic life to be capable to adapt to conditions that scientists have long thought had been hostile to all but the hardiest bacteria (“to be capable to adapt to...” is awkward and not idiomatic)

(D) showing that a number of forms of microscopic life is capable of adapting to conditions that scientists have long thought had been hostile to all but the hardiest bacteria ("showing" is not a verb, but a modifier. Therefore, the stucture violates parallelism. Moreover, there is no reason to use past perfect tense.)

(E) showing that a number of forms of microscopic life can adapt to conditions that scientists have long thought hostile to all bacteria but the hardiest (Same reason as D)

when coordinating conjunctions such as either X or Y, not only X but also Y are used, the sentence should make complete sense in itself after you strike off the part from start of the coordinating conjunction to end of that conjunction.

For example ( may be a bad one though ) I gave GMAT not only by studying for 5 weeks consistently but also with determination.

Now, in the above sentence if you strike off the part from not only to but also, sentence still makes sense. Le's read that out.

I gave GMAT with determination. makes complete sense.

if you apply the same in the sentence above (removing text from not only to but also)

option A - .......may show that. Makes sense
option B- ...may may show. Out
option C- ...may shows... Out
option D- ...may showing.. Out
option E- same as D.

Have learnt this from david Newland, one of the Verbal experts from Veritas Prep and can't thank him enough. Full credit to him for making lives simple this works on every sentence that uses coordinating conjunctions. Try that out

After reading explanations i realized it could have been solved by first word only show/shows/showing.
But I was running out of time and did not read the non underlined portion.
1. Yes not only , but also is there - skipping it now
2. "life can adapt " Versus " life is capable of adapting" - eliminated - B C D
3. Between A and E:
option A ends with " to all but the hardiest bacteria"
option E ends with " to all bacteria but the hardiest" - A is better as taking about All microscopic life.

since discovery is the subject, should it not be "shows" in A?

Have you checked this post: https://gmatclub.com/forum/biologists-w ... l#p1164893 ?
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