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Options B and C are incorrect because the portion 'the vehicle....preventing it's engine thrust..' doesn't match with the original meaning. Actually, the vehicle's engine thrust are prevented from dissipating by conical design.

The incorrect use of verb-ed modifier and being
makes option D incorrect.

There is no connector in option E and it is a run on sentence.

Therefore, option A is correct. :)
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DivyanshuGupta61
I understand why option A is correct but I don't really understand why option E is incorrect.
Why are you saying that the underlined portion is an independent clause for option E and the same concept does not apply to option A

There is no connector in option E and it is a run on sentence.
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egmat
Quote:
egmat wrote:
DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle can fly as fast as 6X the speed of sound and can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes, its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design.

A. its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design
B. preventing its engine’s thrust from dissipating in the stratosphere because of its conical unibody design
C. preventing the dissipation of its engine’s thrust in the stratosphere due to its conical unibody design
D. prevented its engine’s thrust from being dissipated in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design
E. its engine’s thrust is prevented from being dissipated in the stratosphere because of its conical unibody design
Here is the official explanation for this question:

Understand the Meaning of the Original Sentence


The sentence presents a fact about DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle (FHTV). It states that this vehicle can fly as fast as 6 times the speed of sound. It can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes. Then the sentence presents the reason why such performance is achievable. The engine’s thrust is prevented from being dissipated in the stratosphere. This is because of the conical unibody design.

Find the Errors in the Original Sentence


DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle can fly as fast as 6X the speed of sound and can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes, its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design.

This sentence contains a single clause with the SV pair highlighted. The underlined portion of the sentence contains a modifier – a noun + noun modifier structure. This modifier provides further information about how the vehicle can fly this fast and can attack this fast and this far away. The sentence has no grammatical errors and communicates the meaning very clearly.

Review Answer Choices to do POE


Choice B – Even though grammatically correct, this choice distorts the meaning of the sentence since now it uses “verb-ing modifier” in place of “noun + noun modifier”. Thus instead of now presenting a mechanism of how the vehicle is this fast, it presents the following two meanings, both of which are illogical:
1.The vehicle itself prevents its thrust from dissipating – Illogical.
2.The vehicle goes this fast and this results in preventing its thrust from dissipating. – Reversed causal relationship - hence illogical.

Choice C – Same errors as in Choice B. Furthermore, “due to” is not used correctly. Here it may illogically imply that the dissipation of thrust is due to conical design.

Choice D – Use of verb-ed modifier in this sentence is not correct. Typically these modifiers are used to modify the nouns. Even if they are used to modify the clauses, they associate with the subject of the clause, and this is non-sensical in the context of this sentence as discussed in choice B analysis.

Choice E – This choice connects two independent clauses using comma. Semicolon should be used. Furthermore, this choice is very wordy.

TAKE AWAYS


1. Understand the meaning of the original sentence and determine the role of each modifier.
2. Be cautious of change of structure of modifiers since such changes even though grammatically correct may distort the meaning of the sentence.

Note: The attachment at https://gmatclub.com/forum/5-strategies-that-gmat-uses-to-distort-meaning-124296.html contains the document with Strategies for Meaning Change and the questions with detailed solutions. Note that this is a "living" document. We add the strategies, questions, and explanations in this document as we add them on the forum. So be sure to download the latest version!

EGMAT
Based on the discussion in the thread, I can see that option E is incorrect because
1. it had 2 independent clauses joined by a 'comma' and not by a 'semi colon'
2. 'being' is present in the sentence

But, I'm still not able to understand why are we
1. considering the two sentences in option E to be Independent clauses and the same is not applicable for the sentences in option A ?
2. Why is separating two independent clauses by a comma incorrect ?

Option A: DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle can fly as fast as 6X the speed of sound and can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes, its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design.
Option E: DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle can fly as fast as 6X the speed of sound and can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes, its engine’s thrust is prevented from being dissipated in the stratosphere because of its conical unibody design

Request you to help me with my query and with the concept of Independent clauses.

PS: I have already enrolled for the EGMAT's verbal course.
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egmat
Quote:
egmat wrote:
DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle can fly as fast as 6X the speed of sound and can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes, its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design.

A. its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design
B. preventing its engine’s thrust from dissipating in the stratosphere because of its conical unibody design
C. preventing the dissipation of its engine’s thrust in the stratosphere due to its conical unibody design
D. prevented its engine’s thrust from being dissipated in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design
E. its engine’s thrust is prevented from being dissipated in the stratosphere because of its conical unibody design
Here is the official explanation for this question:

Understand the Meaning of the Original Sentence


The sentence presents a fact about DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle (FHTV). It states that this vehicle can fly as fast as 6 times the speed of sound. It can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes. Then the sentence presents the reason why such performance is achievable. The engine’s thrust is prevented from being dissipated in the stratosphere. This is because of the conical unibody design.

Find the Errors in the Original Sentence


DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle can fly as fast as 6X the speed of sound and can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes, its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design.

This sentence contains a single clause with the SV pair highlighted. The underlined portion of the sentence contains a modifier – a noun + noun modifier structure. This modifier provides further information about how the vehicle can fly this fast and can attack this fast and this far away. The sentence has no grammatical errors and communicates the meaning very clearly.

Review Answer Choices to do POE


Choice B – Even though grammatically correct, this choice distorts the meaning of the sentence since now it uses “verb-ing modifier” in place of “noun + noun modifier”. Thus instead of now presenting a mechanism of how the vehicle is this fast, it presents the following two meanings, both of which are illogical:
1.The vehicle itself prevents its thrust from dissipating – Illogical.
2.The vehicle goes this fast and this results in preventing its thrust from dissipating. – Reversed causal relationship - hence illogical.

Choice C – Same errors as in Choice B. Furthermore, “due to” is not used correctly. Here it may illogically imply that the dissipation of thrust is due to conical design.

Choice D – Use of verb-ed modifier in this sentence is not correct. Typically these modifiers are used to modify the nouns. Even if they are used to modify the clauses, they associate with the subject of the clause, and this is non-sensical in the context of this sentence as discussed in choice B analysis.

Choice E – This choice connects two independent clauses using comma. Semicolon should be used. Furthermore, this choice is very wordy.

TAKE AWAYS


1. Understand the meaning of the original sentence and determine the role of each modifier.
2. Be cautious of change of structure of modifiers since such changes even though grammatically correct may distort the meaning of the sentence.

Note: The attachment at https://gmatclub.com/forum/5-strategies-that-gmat-uses-to-distort-meaning-124296.html contains the document with Strategies for Meaning Change and the questions with detailed solutions. Note that this is a "living" document. We add the strategies, questions, and explanations in this document as we add them on the forum. So be sure to download the latest version!

EGMAT
Based on the discussion in the thread, I can see that option E is incorrect because
1. it had 2 independent clauses joined by a 'comma' and not by a 'semi colon'
2. 'being' is present in the sentence

But, I'm still not able to understand why are we
1. considering the two sentences in option E to be Independent clauses and the same is not applicable for the sentences in option A ?
2. Why is separating two independent clauses by a comma incorrect ?

Option A: DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle can fly as fast as 6X the speed of sound and can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes, its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design.
Option E: DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle can fly as fast as 6X the speed of sound and can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes, its engine’s thrust is prevented from being dissipated in the stratosphere because of its conical unibody design

Request you to help me with my query and with the concept of Independent clauses.

PS: I have already enrolled for the EGMAT's verbal course.


An Independent Clause must consist of a subject and a verb. Sometimes,there will be object or additional information for describing subject and verb.

Like, I am preparing for Gmat.
If you connect two IC, you can use the followings.
1. IC;IC
2. IC,(and/or/but/so/nor/yet/for)+IC

Ex. I want to pursue my MBA, and I need to get a good score on Gmat.

Let's check the first part of option A & Option E. There's an IC and we have no problem with it.
DARPA's Vehicle can fly.....,

Check the last part of option A.
..,its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design.
Here, prevented is not a verb, it's a verb-ed modifier. The construction is, its engine’s thrust is prevented .. by its unibody design. When we eliminate the auxiliary verb is, the sentence looks like 'its engine’s thrust prevented...by unibody design'
As there is no verb in the second part, we can't say it's an IC. Rather it's a modifier.
That's why, IC, modifier.

Now, check the option E.
DARPA's Vehicle can fly....., its engine’s thrust is prevented.. by its design.
In the first & second part, there's subject-verb match. clearly, there are two IC in this option. But they are connected by a comma. As we have already mentioned,two IC can not be connected by comma. It's a run on sentence.

I hope, the explanation may be helpful. :)
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Ranasaymon
DivyanshuGupta61
egmat
Quote:
egmat wrote:
DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle can fly as fast as 6X the speed of sound and can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes, its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design.

A. its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design
B. preventing its engine’s thrust from dissipating in the stratosphere because of its conical unibody design
C. preventing the dissipation of its engine’s thrust in the stratosphere due to its conical unibody design
D. prevented its engine’s thrust from being dissipated in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design
E. its engine’s thrust is prevented from being dissipated in the stratosphere because of its conical unibody design
Here is the official explanation for this question:

Understand the Meaning of the Original Sentence


The sentence presents a fact about DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle (FHTV). It states that this vehicle can fly as fast as 6 times the speed of sound. It can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes. Then the sentence presents the reason why such performance is achievable. The engine’s thrust is prevented from being dissipated in the stratosphere. This is because of the conical unibody design.

Find the Errors in the Original Sentence


DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle can fly as fast as 6X the speed of sound and can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes, its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design.

This sentence contains a single clause with the SV pair highlighted. The underlined portion of the sentence contains a modifier – a noun + noun modifier structure. This modifier provides further information about how the vehicle can fly this fast and can attack this fast and this far away. The sentence has no grammatical errors and communicates the meaning very clearly.

Review Answer Choices to do POE


Choice B – Even though grammatically correct, this choice distorts the meaning of the sentence since now it uses “verb-ing modifier” in place of “noun + noun modifier”. Thus instead of now presenting a mechanism of how the vehicle is this fast, it presents the following two meanings, both of which are illogical:
1.The vehicle itself prevents its thrust from dissipating – Illogical.
2.The vehicle goes this fast and this results in preventing its thrust from dissipating. – Reversed causal relationship - hence illogical.

Choice C – Same errors as in Choice B. Furthermore, “due to” is not used correctly. Here it may illogically imply that the dissipation of thrust is due to conical design.

Choice D – Use of verb-ed modifier in this sentence is not correct. Typically these modifiers are used to modify the nouns. Even if they are used to modify the clauses, they associate with the subject of the clause, and this is non-sensical in the context of this sentence as discussed in choice B analysis.

Choice E – This choice connects two independent clauses using comma. Semicolon should be used. Furthermore, this choice is very wordy.

TAKE AWAYS


1. Understand the meaning of the original sentence and determine the role of each modifier.
2. Be cautious of change of structure of modifiers since such changes even though grammatically correct may distort the meaning of the sentence.

Note: The attachment at https://gmatclub.com/forum/5-strategies-that-gmat-uses-to-distort-meaning-124296.html contains the document with Strategies for Meaning Change and the questions with detailed solutions. Note that this is a "living" document. We add the strategies, questions, and explanations in this document as we add them on the forum. So be sure to download the latest version!

EGMAT
Based on the discussion in the thread, I can see that option E is incorrect because
1. it had 2 independent clauses joined by a 'comma' and not by a 'semi colon'
2. 'being' is present in the sentence

But, I'm still not able to understand why are we
1. considering the two sentences in option E to be Independent clauses and the same is not applicable for the sentences in option A ?
2. Why is separating two independent clauses by a comma incorrect ?

Option A: DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle can fly as fast as 6X the speed of sound and can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes, its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design.
Option E: DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle can fly as fast as 6X the speed of sound and can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes, its engine’s thrust is prevented from being dissipated in the stratosphere because of its conical unibody design

Request you to help me with my query and with the concept of Independent clauses.

PS: I have already enrolled for the EGMAT's verbal course.


An Independent Clause must consist of a subject and a verb. Sometimes,there will be object or additional information for describing subject and verb.

Like, I am preparing for Gmat.
If you connect two IC, you can use the followings.
1. IC;IC
2. IC,(and/or/but/so/nor/yet/for)+IC

Ex. I want to pursue my MBA, and I need to get a good score on Gmat.

Let's check the first part of option A & Option E. There's an IC and we have no problem with it.
DARPA's Vehicle can fly.....,

Check the last part of option A.
..,its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design.
Here, prevented is not a verb, it's a verb-ed modifier. The construction is, its engine’s thrust is prevented .. by its unibody design. When we eliminate the auxiliary verb is, the sentence looks like 'its engine’s thrust prevented...by unibody design'
As there is no verb in the second part, we can't say it's an IC. Rather it's a modifier.
That's why, IC, modifier.

Now, check the option E.
DARPA's Vehicle can fly....., its engine’s thrust is prevented.. by its design.
In the first & second part, there's subject-verb match. clearly, there are two IC in this option. But they are connected by a comma. As we have already mentioned,two IC can not be connected by comma. It's a run on sentence.

I hope, the explanation may be helpful. :)

Thanks for you explanation, it was really helpful.
As mentioned two Independent clauses can be connected either by ';' or by ', FANBOYS'

Option E: DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle can fly as fast as 6X the speed of sound and can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes, its engine’s thrust is prevented from being dissipated in the stratosphere because of its conical unibody design

Finally, is 'is' (helping verb) the verb for the subject 'engine’s thrust' in the second IC of option E ?
Second IC: its engine’s thrust is prevented from being dissipated in the stratosphere because of its conical unibody design
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DivyanshuGupta61
Ranasaymon
DivyanshuGupta61
egmat
Quote:
egmat wrote:
DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle can fly as fast as 6X the speed of sound and can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes, its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design.

A. its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design
B. preventing its engine’s thrust from dissipating in the stratosphere because of its conical unibody design
C. preventing the dissipation of its engine’s thrust in the stratosphere due to its conical unibody design
D. prevented its engine’s thrust from being dissipated in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design
E. its engine’s thrust is prevented from being dissipated in the stratosphere because of its conical unibody design
Here is the official explanation for this question:

Understand the Meaning of the Original Sentence


The sentence presents a fact about DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle (FHTV). It states that this vehicle can fly as fast as 6 times the speed of sound. It can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes. Then the sentence presents the reason why such performance is achievable. The engine’s thrust is prevented from being dissipated in the stratosphere. This is because of the conical unibody design.

Find the Errors in the Original Sentence


DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle can fly as fast as 6X the speed of sound and can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes, its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design.

This sentence contains a single clause with the SV pair highlighted. The underlined portion of the sentence contains a modifier – a noun + noun modifier structure. This modifier provides further information about how the vehicle can fly this fast and can attack this fast and this far away. The sentence has no grammatical errors and communicates the meaning very clearly.

Review Answer Choices to do POE


Choice B – Even though grammatically correct, this choice distorts the meaning of the sentence since now it uses “verb-ing modifier” in place of “noun + noun modifier”. Thus instead of now presenting a mechanism of how the vehicle is this fast, it presents the following two meanings, both of which are illogical:
1.The vehicle itself prevents its thrust from dissipating – Illogical.
2.The vehicle goes this fast and this results in preventing its thrust from dissipating. – Reversed causal relationship - hence illogical.

Choice C – Same errors as in Choice B. Furthermore, “due to” is not used correctly. Here it may illogically imply that the dissipation of thrust is due to conical design.

Choice D – Use of verb-ed modifier in this sentence is not correct. Typically these modifiers are used to modify the nouns. Even if they are used to modify the clauses, they associate with the subject of the clause, and this is non-sensical in the context of this sentence as discussed in choice B analysis.

Choice E – This choice connects two independent clauses using comma. Semicolon should be used. Furthermore, this choice is very wordy.

TAKE AWAYS


1. Understand the meaning of the original sentence and determine the role of each modifier.
2. Be cautious of change of structure of modifiers since such changes even though grammatically correct may distort the meaning of the sentence.

Note: The attachment at https://gmatclub.com/forum/5-strategies-that-gmat-uses-to-distort-meaning-124296.html contains the document with Strategies for Meaning Change and the questions with detailed solutions. Note that this is a "living" document. We add the strategies, questions, and explanations in this document as we add them on the forum. So be sure to download the latest version!

EGMAT
Based on the discussion in the thread, I can see that option E is incorrect because
1. it had 2 independent clauses joined by a 'comma' and not by a 'semi colon'
2. 'being' is present in the sentence

But, I'm still not able to understand why are we
1. considering the two sentences in option E to be Independent clauses and the same is not applicable for the sentences in option A ?
2. Why is separating two independent clauses by a comma incorrect ?

Option A: DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle can fly as fast as 6X the speed of sound and can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes, its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design.
Option E: DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle can fly as fast as 6X the speed of sound and can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes, its engine’s thrust is prevented from being dissipated in the stratosphere because of its conical unibody design

Request you to help me with my query and with the concept of Independent clauses.

PS: I have already enrolled for the EGMAT's verbal course.


An Independent Clause must consist of a subject and a verb. Sometimes,there will be object or additional information for describing subject and verb.

Like, I am preparing for Gmat.
If you connect two IC, you can use the followings.
1. IC;IC
2. IC,(and/or/but/so/nor/yet/for)+IC

Ex. I want to pursue my MBA, and I need to get a good score on Gmat.

Let's check the first part of option A & Option E. There's an IC and we have no problem with it.
DARPA's Vehicle can fly.....,

Check the last part of option A.
..,its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design.
Here, prevented is not a verb, it's a verb-ed modifier. The construction is, its engine’s thrust is prevented .. by its unibody design. When we eliminate the auxiliary verb is, the sentence looks like 'its engine’s thrust prevented...by unibody design'
As there is no verb in the second part, we can't say it's an IC. Rather it's a modifier.
That's why, IC, modifier.

Now, check the option E.
DARPA's Vehicle can fly....., its engine’s thrust is prevented.. by its design.
In the first & second part, there's subject-verb match. clearly, there are two IC in this option. But they are connected by a comma. As we have already mentioned,two IC can not be connected by comma. It's a run on sentence.

I hope, the explanation may be helpful. :)

Thanks for you explanation, it was really helpful.
As mentioned two Independent clauses can be connected either by ';' or by ', FANBOYS'

Option E: DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle can fly as fast as 6X the speed of sound and can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes, its engine’s thrust is prevented from being dissipated in the stratosphere because of its conical unibody design

Finally, is 'is' (helping verb) the verb for the subject 'engine’s thrust' in the second IC of option E ?
Second IC: its engine’s thrust is prevented from being dissipated in the stratosphere because of its conical unibody design


Yes, in the 2nd part of option E, the verb is 'is prevented'. And the meaning of option E is slightly different from original meaning. Another reason for eliminating option E.
In option E, its engine’s thrust is prevented....because of its unibody design. Using of 'because' creates causal relation.

Look at the option A, its engine’s thrust prevented....by its unibody design. Is not it something different? The construction of the second part is similar to a passive voice,in which the auxiliary verb 'is' is inherent. Thats why, 'prevented' works as a verb-ed modifier. And the subject of the verb 'is prevented' is unibody design.
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amitahlawat06
if we talk about "E", it is rejected because of using a comma instead of a semi-colon.
do GMAT actually test us on these?

if you read carefully, you notice that this is a noun + noun modifier (verb-ed modifier) hence there is no verb here:

its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design

so this is merely a phrase.
Also the reason why choice A wins over choice B is that a noun + noun modifier can provide additional information about the modified entity...
while verb-ing modifier phrases' scope is the action and the subject...
hope it clarifies
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Why "is" introduced in E makes it an independent clause. In A we have verb "prevented" and conveys an idea as well. Shouldn't this make A an independent clause too and require a semi-colon.

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Mayank221133
Why "is" introduced in E makes it an independent clause. In A we have verb "prevented" and conveys an idea as well. Shouldn't this make A an independent clause too and require a semi-colon.
Hi Mayank221133,

That prevented is not a complete verb. If we wanted a complete verb there, we'd have to go with something like was prevented or is prevented. Let's try to make that phrase a complete sentence:

1. Its thrust prevented from dissipating...
vs.
2. Its thrust is prevented from dissipating...
3. Its thrust was prevented from dissipating...
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Mayank221133
Why "is" introduced in E makes it an independent clause. In A we have verb "prevented" and conveys an idea as well. Shouldn't this make A an independent clause too and require a semi-colon.
Hi Mayank221133, this is because is is a verb in option E, while in A, prevented is not used as a simple past tense verb; prevented is used as past participle.

Hence, in option A, its engine’s thrust prevented from ...unibody design is not an Independent clause (in fact, it is not a clause at all, since there is no verb in this portion of the sentence). This portion of option A is just a modifier. Hence, A is not a run-on sentence.

As Ajitesh mentioned in an earlier post, this question is inspired by this official sentence that you can also look at, for additional practice.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses a framework to distinguish between Simple Past Tense and Past Participiple. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.
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Mayank221133
Why "is" introduced in E makes it an independent clause. In A we have verb "prevented" and conveys an idea as well. Shouldn't this make A an independent clause too and require a semi-colon.
Hi Mayank221133, this is because is is a verb in option E, while in A, prevented is not used as a simple past tense verb; prevented is used as past participle.

Hence, in option A, its engine’s thrust prevented from ...unibody design is not an Independent clause (in fact, it is not a clause at all, since there is no verb in this portion of the sentence). This portion of option A is just a modifier. Hence, A is not a run-on sentence.

As Ajitesh mentioned in an earlier post, this question is inspired by this official sentence that you can also look at, for additional practice.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses a framework to distinguish between Simple Past Tense and Past Participiple. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.
Thanks,

Just to be sure here, In option A "prevented" is giving an additional information for "engine's thrust", and that's why its a past participle??
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Mayank221133
Just to be sure here, In option A "prevented" is giving an additional information for "engine's thrust", and that's why its a past participle??
This is absolutely correct Mayank.
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egmat
Quote:
egmat wrote:
DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle can fly as fast as 6X the speed of sound and can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes, its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design.

A. its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design
B. preventing its engine’s thrust from dissipating in the stratosphere because of its conical unibody design
C. preventing the dissipation of its engine’s thrust in the stratosphere due to its conical unibody design
D. prevented its engine’s thrust from being dissipated in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design
E. its engine’s thrust is prevented from being dissipated in the stratosphere because of its conical unibody design
Here is the official explanation for this question:

Understand the Meaning of the Original Sentence


The sentence presents a fact about DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle (FHTV). It states that this vehicle can fly as fast as 6 times the speed of sound. It can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes. Then the sentence presents the reason why such performance is achievable. The engine’s thrust is prevented from being dissipated in the stratosphere. This is because of the conical unibody design.

Find the Errors in the Original Sentence


DARPA’s Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle can fly as fast as 6X the speed of sound and can attack a target 2000 miles away in 30 minutes, its engine’s thrust prevented from dissipating in the stratosphere by its conical unibody design.

This sentence contains a single clause with the SV pair highlighted. The underlined portion of the sentence contains a modifier – a noun + noun modifier structure. This modifier provides further information about how the vehicle can fly this fast and can attack this fast and this far away. The sentence has no grammatical errors and communicates the meaning very clearly.

Review Answer Choices to do POE


Choice B – Even though grammatically correct, this choice distorts the meaning of the sentence since now it uses “verb-ing modifier” in place of “noun + noun modifier”. Thus instead of now presenting a mechanism of how the vehicle is this fast, it presents the following two meanings, both of which are illogical:
1.The vehicle itself prevents its thrust from dissipating – Illogical.
2.The vehicle goes this fast and this results in preventing its thrust from dissipating. – Reversed causal relationship - hence illogical.

Choice C – Same errors as in Choice B. Furthermore, “due to” is not used correctly. Here it may illogically imply that the dissipation of thrust is due to conical design.

Choice D – Use of verb-ed modifier in this sentence is not correct. Typically these modifiers are used to modify the nouns. Even if they are used to modify the clauses, they associate with the subject of the clause, and this is non-sensical in the context of this sentence as discussed in choice B analysis.

Choice E – This choice connects two independent clauses using comma. Semicolon should be used. Furthermore, this choice is very wordy.

TAKE AWAYS


1. Understand the meaning of the original sentence and determine the role of each modifier.
2. Be cautious of change of structure of modifiers since such changes even though grammatically correct may distort the meaning of the sentence.

Note: The attachment at https://gmatclub.com/forum/5-strategies-that-gmat-uses-to-distort-meaning-124296.html contains the document with Strategies for Meaning Change and the questions with detailed solutions. Note that this is a "living" document. We add the strategies, questions, and explanations in this document as we add them on the forum. So be sure to download the latest version!


Isn't option (A) a comma splice?
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arya251294
Isn't option (A) a comma splice?
Hi arya251294, kindly go thru this post to understand why option A is not a comma splice (run-on).
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