Master seed lots of the HM-175 strain of hepatitis A virus have been

Dear Experts,

Could you please advise what is the difference between triply, thrice and three times. How these words make difference in different sentences.

As far as i know [Once , twice, thrice]- Adverb
[Double, Triple]- Adjective

Thrice is adverb then why it can modify cloned in option C.

What does triply cloned mean? Experts please help. Thanks!

Hi

Can someone help with this?

Regards,

Posted from my mobile device

Hi Experts
can you please help me with this question.I thot B is correct because lots is singular

Okay, let's clear some questions:

1) "Lots" is definitely plural. The meaning here is more than one "lot," or group. You may be confusing this with the more common English expression, "lots of," meaning many/much, as in "Lots of my friends have been to Las Vegas." This is too casual for the GMAT, and it wouldn't make sense in the context of this sentence. BD out.

2) "Triply" is an adverb, and thus similar to "thrice," which is not generally used in modern American English. However, we can also use "doubly" and "triply" in places where "twice" and "thrice" wouldn't make sense. For instance, we can say something is "doubly important," meaning it is important in two different ways. I believe that "triply cloned" in this case means that three clones were created, perhaps all at once, rather than that the organism was cloned three separate times.

So what does all that mean? "Triply cloned" and "cloned three times" mean somewhat different things, but without additional guidance, we have no way of determining the author's intent. A doesn't have any special claim to be "the original," and there's nothing wrong/redundant about "three times." This is a very common usage! A and E are both fine! (In otjher words, the question is flawed, as "Source: Other" questions often are.)

As for C, there are two problems. First, no one in the States say "thrice." Second, and more importantly, C is in the active voice. It is saying the seed lots have cloned (something), rather than that they have been cloned. This doesn't work, so C is out.

Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.