Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
betterscore wrote:
Despite its covering the entire planet, Earth has a crust that is not seamless or stationary, rather it is fragmented into mobile semirigid plates.
(A) Despite its covering the entire planet, Earth has a crust that is not seamless or stationary, rather it is
(B) Despite the fact that it covers the entire planet, Earth's crust is neither seamless nor is it stationary, but is
(C) Despite covering the entire planet, Earth's crust is neither seamless nor is it stationary, but rather
(D) Although it covers the entire planet, Earth's crust is neither seamless nor stationary, but rather
(E) Although covering the entire planet, Earth has a crust that is not seamless or stationary, but
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that although the Earth's crust covers the entire planet, the crust is neither seamless nor stationary, rather it is fragmented into mobile semirigid plates.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers + Idioms• In a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.
• “neither A nor B” and “either A or B” are idiomatic uses and are only used when referring to two elements; A and B must be parallel.
A:1/ This answer choice incorrectly uses "Despite its covering the entire planet" to modify "Earth", illogically implying that
the planet Earth covers the entirety of itself; the intended meaning is that the
Earth's crust covers the entirety of the planet Earth; remember in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.
B:1/ This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism between A ("seamless") and B ("is it stationary") in the idiomatic construction "neither A nor B"; remember, “neither A nor B” and “either A or B” are idiomatic uses and are only used when referring to two elements; A and B must be parallel.
C:1/ This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism between A ("seamless") and B ("is it stationary") in the idiomatic construction "neither A nor B"; remember, “neither A nor B” and “either A or B” are idiomatic uses and are only used when referring to two elements; A and B must be parallel.
D: Correct.1/ This answer choice correctly uses "Although it covers the entire planet" to modify "Earth's crust", conveying the intended meaning - that the
Earth's crust covers the entirety of the planet Earth; remember in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.
2/ Option D correctly maintains parallelism between A ("seamless") and B ("stationary") in the idiomatic construction "neither A nor B".
E:1/ This answer choice incorrectly uses "Although covering the entire planet" to modify "Earth", illogically implying that
the planet Earth covers the entirety of itself; the intended meaning is that the
Earth's crust covers the entirety of the planet Earth; remember in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.
Hence, D is the best answer choice.To understand the concept of "Phrase Comma Subject" and "Subject Comma Phrase" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
To understand the concept of "Neither-Nor" and "Either-Or" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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