Bruce Springsteen and Meryl Streep are eligible for retirement benefit

Question

Bruce Springsteen and Meryl Streep are eligible for retirement benefits now,  joining the ranks of other celebrities like Neil Diamond and Dustin Hoffman, both having turned 65 this year .

A. joining the ranks of other celebrities like Neil Diamond and Dustin Hoffman, both having turned 65 this year 
B. both having turned 65 this year, and join the ranks of other celebrities such as Neil Diamond and Dustin Hoffman 
C. both turned 65 this year, joining the ranks of other celebrities like Neil Diamond and Dustin Hoffman 
D. becoming 65 this year, joining the ranks of other celebrities such as Neil Diamond and Dustin Hoffman 
E. and, because they have both turned 65, they will have joined the ranks of other celebrities like Neil Diamond and Dustin Hoffman.

winterschool · Answer

I think answer - B

A. joining the ranks of other celebrities  like  Neil Diamond and Dustin Hoffman, both having turned 65 this year

B. both having turned 65 this year, and join the ranks of other celebrities such as Neil Diamond and Dustin Hoffman

C. both turned 65 this year, joining the ranks of other celebrities  like  Neil Diamond and Dustin Hoffman

D. becoming 65 this year,  joining  the ranks of other celebrities such as Neil Diamond and Dustin Hoffman

"joining" modify previous clause

E. and, because they have both turned 65, they will have joined the ranks of other celebrities  like  Neil Diamond and Dustin Hoffman.

AceKing · Answer

Option B seems to have a parallelism error. Also, the ", and join" connector seems wrong. 
Kindly explain.

kawal27 · Answer

A. joining the ranks of other celebrities  like  Neil Diamond and Dustin Hoffman, both having turned 65 this year-  SUCH AS is use for examples 
B. both having turned 65 this year, and join the ranks of other celebrities such as Neil Diamond and Dustin Hoffman -  CORRECT  ,  correct tense 
C. both turned 65 this year, joining the ranks of other celebrities  like  Neil Diamond and Dustin Hoffman- SAME as A
D.  becoming  65 this year,  joining  the ranks of other celebrities such as Neil Diamond and Dustin Hoffman-  wrong modifier  
E. and, because they have both turned 65, they will have joined the ranks of other celebrities  like  Neil Diamond and Dustin Hoffman.- SAME AS A, and wordy

winterschool · Answer

"eligible" and "join " both are parallel

hope its clear AceKing

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

An intransitive verb such as "are" can be parallel to a transitive verb such as "join." So, there's nothing wrong with "are eligible ... and join."

So, what we have is "X and Y are eligible, modifier, and join ...."

We can also consider the structure without the nonessential modifier: "X and Y are eligible and join ...."

tittoo · Answer

Can someone provide a thorough analysis of D?
I am confused between B and D.

prakhar992 · Answer

Can you please highlight the problems in option D except the use of like to give examples? When is the usage of becoming correct.

godot53 · Answer

When you use the present participle modifier, the modifier is the result of the action of the verb and, in a way, relate to the subject, who is performing the action, of the main clause.
Here, "becoming 65 this year" is not an outcome of "Bruce Springsteen and Meryl Streep are eligible for retirement benefit".

The present participle modifier has some other intricate usage such as describing the main verb or the subject ( there are ample examples in OG), but neither of the two definitions works here. C seems tricky and I don't know why none is bothered about C ( While the answer stats prove other wise).

Cheers!

tittoo · Answer

Thanks!

I eliminated A, C and E because they all use like for examples. Should be such as.

However, B sound awkward to me. 
Shouldn't it be joining the ranks. 
And is it necessary to change the order of the parts of the sentence, the way they are arranged in A seemed fine to me.

godot53 · Answer

I understand your point. It would be perfect to use "joining the rank... ", but that's not the only problem with A. The main problem with A is the placement of the modifier "both having turned 65 this year". This placement is ambiguous - is this a modifying "Neil Diamond and Dustin Hoffman" or "joining the ranks"? Using a parallel marker "and" remove this ambiguity. For more reference for such ambiguity, please refer this OG problem https://gmatclub.com/forum/in-1850-lucr ... 48661.html (note how the modifier ambiguity problem is solved with a parallel marker "and" in the correct answer) Cheers!

globaldesi · Answer

Official Explanation:

(B) The original passage, as given in choice (A), uses "like" instead of the preferred "such as". Also, with the phrase "both having turned 65 this year" at the end of the sentence, it incorrectly modifies "Neil Diamond and Dustin Hoffman". 
Choice (C) moves the modifier after the subjects of the sentence, but with "having turned" now as "turned," a 
conjunction is needed between the two independent clauses. 
With choice (D), "becoming" is idiomatically incorrect for this sentence, and it incorrectly strings two participial phrases together without a conjunction. 
As with the original sentence, choice (E) uses "like" instead of the preferred "such as". Also, this choice is wordy, and the verb tenses don't agree throughout the sentence. 
The correct answer is choice (B). It corrects the grammatical problems in the original sentence and is the best answer.

VerbalBot · Answer

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Bruce Springsteen and Meryl Streep are eligible for retirement benefit

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Bruce Springsteen and Meryl Streep are eligible for retirement benefit

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