By using a process called echolocation to analyze

Question

The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review 2018  
  Practice Question  
Sentence Correction
Question no. 285 
By using a process called echolocation to analyze the echoes of the high-pitched sounds they produce, bats  can determine not only the distance to an object, but they also can determine  its shape and size and the direction in which it is moving.

A. can determine not only the distance to an object, but they also can determine
 B. not only can determine the distance to an object but also
 C. can determine not only the distance to an object but also
 D. not only can determine its distance from an object but also
 E. can determine not only their distance from an object, but they can also determine

daagh · Accepted Answer

By using a process called echolocation to analyze the echoes of the high-pitched sounds they produce, bats can determine not only the distance to an object but also its shape [color=#ff0000]and size and the direction in which it is moving.[/color]

is the usage of two "and" (in red) correct stylistically?

Could it be written: its shape, size and the direction in which it is moving.

A. can determine not only the distance to an object, but they also can determine --  unparallel correlative conjunctions 
B. not only can determine the distance to an object but also --- not only verb… but also noun --  wrong  
C. can determine not only the distance to an object but also--- not only noun … but also noun --  correct  
D. not only can determine its distance from an object but also --- not only verb … but also noun --  wrong 
E. can determine not only their distance from an object, but they can also determine ----  unparallel correlative conjunctions

Leo8 · Answer

+c not only but also takes parallel structure. Not only but also

pikolo2510 · Answer

Acc to my understanding, the question doesn't follow 'not only X but also Y' . Hence I am a bit confused here with the answer in OG

Request your help to understand the POE and the reasoning for each option

Thanks in advance

akshayk · Answer

2-part parallelism.
Not Only X But Also Y.
C follows the idiom and hence, is the correct answer.

A - not only the distance...., but they also -> Breaks parallelism. OUT.
B - not only can determine..., but also its shape... -> Breaks parallelism. OUT.
C - Not only the distance.... but also it's shape.... -> CORRECT.
D - Same as B. Breaks Parallelism OUT.
E - Not only their distance...., but they can also... -> Breaks parallelism. OUT.

akshayk · Answer

Hi Mate, Why do you think it doesn't follow the idiom Not Only X, But Also Y?

abhimahna · Answer

Hi, The idiom has been used correctly.

It says bats can determine

Not only Distance(X)
But also its shape and size(Y)

Hence, X and Y are parallel.

GMATNinja · Answer

As usual, very nice work by abhimahna & akshayk ! pikolo2510 , just let us know if those responses haven't cleared up your doubts.

kkrrsshh · Answer

GMATNinja , isn't there any idiomatic issue in 'distance to'?.. or both the usage - 'distance to' and 'distance from' - is correct?

abhimahna · Answer

Hi kkrrsshh , Here is the catch. You would have never got confused with this idiomatic usage if you would have understood the meaning. Let me take two examples to explain you: The distance to my new house is 100 kms. --> Here, I am travelling to my new house and I am talking about the pending distance that I need to cover. So, I am saying there is still 100 kms I need to cover. So, Distance to basically tells us the distance that bats are considering to cover. Understand the intention of bats. They are echoing to identify whether there is any object coming on their path. The distance of my office from my new house is 100 kms. Now, it means I am just telling the distance that between two locations. I am not sure whether I am travelling to my new house and determining the distance. So, as per the intention made in the original statement, we are told that they are using echolocation to determine the upcoming object on their way. There is nothing wrong in using distance to. Both distance to and distance from are correct idiomatically. Understanding the meaning is the crux of the argument. Does that makes sense?

Madhavi1990 · Answer

The other break here is 'distance from vs distance to' - what do we select on the basis of meaning? Thus C and D change the meaning slightly - so what do we pick here;in case the not only - but also phrase remains the same as in C.
Thank you!

egmat · Answer

Hello Madhavi1990 , I will be glad to help you with this one. :-)

The thing is the original sentence presents not only one of the five answer choices but also the context of the sentence. Apart from the original sentence, we have nothing to understand what the author actually wants to convey. Hence, if the original sentence presents logical meaning then we must try to keep this meaning of the original sentence in the correct answer choice as much as possible. Since the original sentence says that the bats use the process of echolocation to determine the distance "to an object", we understand that the bats try to determine the distance from point A where the bay is to point b where the object is. So we keep the expression distance to an object in the correct answer choice. The expression distance from an object suggests how far the bats are form a certain object. Hope this helps. :-)

Thanks. Shraddha

sevenplusplus · Answer

By using a process called echolocation to analyze the echoes of the high-pitched sounds they produce, bats can determine not only the distance to an object but also  its shape  and  size  and  the direction in which it is moving.

is the usage of two "and" (in red) correct stylistically?

Could it be written: its shape, size and the direction in which it is moving.

abhimahna · Answer

Hi sevenplusplus , Try to understand the meaning of the sentence. It is trying to say bats can do not only just one thing but also two more things. Hence, this form is perfectly fine and is acceptable. If you say "its shape, size and the direction in which it is moving.", it is also fine but as per the original meaning we are trying to emphasize something. This intention will not be reflected if you use the way you said. Try to understand it via below two examples: I am not only an Indian but also an IT Male.

I am an Indian IT Male. Do you see the change in my intention in the two sentences?

Nunuboy1994 · Answer

The correct idiom is "not only x but y" or we can also have "not only x but also y"

D uses the correct idiom AND is parallel

D

thangvietnam · Answer

if not only and but also appear, paralelism is required . if not only and but is used, no paralelism is require. gmat has on official question showing this case, in which not only and but is used.

BrentGMATPrepNow · Answer

The  NOT ONLY X BUT ALSO X  correlative requires X and Y to be parallel. 
Here are some examples:
Joe eats NOT ONLY  bananas (noun)  BUT ALSO  plums (noun) 
Sami NOT ONLY  collects (verb)   bottle caps (noun)  BUT ALSO  plays (verb)   hockey (noun) 
Lee drinks daiquiris NOT ONLY   at (preposition)   the  beach (noun)  BUT ALSO   in (preposition)   the  bathtub(noun)

Now let's check the answer choices.....

A) Bats can determine NOT ONLY the  distance (noun)  to an object, BUT they ALSO  can determine (verb) 
Two problems here. 
1) "they" is inserted between BUT and ALSO
2)  distance  and  can determine  are not parallel
ELIMINATE A

B) Bats NOT ONLY  can determine (verb)  the distance to an object BUT ALSO its  shape and size (nouns)  
Not parallel
ELIMINATE B

C) Bats can determine NOT ONLY the  distance (noun)  to an object BUT ALSO its  shape and size (nouns)  
Parallel!
KEEP C (for now)

D) Bats NOT ONLY  can determine (verb)  its distance from an object BUT ALSO its  shape and size (nouns)  
Not parallel
Also, in this sentence the word "its" (singular) refers to bats (plural) 
ELIMINATE D

E) Bats can determine NOT ONLY their  distance (noun)  from an object, BUT they can ALSO  determine (verb) 
Not parallel
ELIMINATE E

Answer: C

Cheers,
Brent

Alvarito · Answer

hi everyone.

May someone please help me out, i dont get the answer C to be right because i think it doesnt connect with the last part, my point of view is, once you have:

"not only a" = "but also a"
"not only the" = "but also the"
"not only its" = "but also its"

so at first i thought the right answer is D because it has to connect with "its shape", can someone help me please, I'm a bite confuse about this kind of parallelism

MHIKER · Answer

Not only and but also will take same format of construction. The correct answer is C.

gloomybison · Answer

Hi  BrentGMATPrepNow  , ı have a quick question;
İs parallelism correct in both examples below?

She  not only   cleaned  her room,  but she also   washed  the dishes.
She  not only   cleaned  her room,  but also   she washed  the dishes.

My reasoning for the examples is as follows but ı am quite unsure about them, please correct me
I think in the first example its "not only + verb and but also + verb" which makes it correct if ı am not mistaken?
In the second example its "not only + verb and but also + pronoun" which makes it wrong if ı am not mistaken?

By using a process called echolocation to analyze

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

By using a process called echolocation to analyze

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