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Updated on: 06 Sep 2018, 23:15
Originally posted by Darth_McDaddy on 12 Oct 2005, 05:17.
Last edited by Bunuel on 06 Sep 2018, 23:15, edited 2 times in total.
Last edited by Bunuel on 06 Sep 2018, 23:15, edited 2 times in total.
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A
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
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Question Stats:
84% (00:50) correct
16%
(01:09)
wrong
based on 8047
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Diabetes, together with its serious complications, ranks as the nation's third leading cause of death, surpassed only by heart disease and cancer
(a) ranks as the nation's third leading cause of death, surpassed only
(b) rank as the nation's third leading cause of death, only surpassed
(c) has the rank of the nation's third leading cause of death, only surpassed
(d) are the nation's third leading causes of death, surpassed only
(e) have been ranked as the nation's third leading causes of death, only surpassed
(a) ranks as the nation's third leading cause of death, surpassed only
(b) rank as the nation's third leading cause of death, only surpassed
(c) has the rank of the nation's third leading cause of death, only surpassed
(d) are the nation's third leading causes of death, surpassed only
(e) have been ranked as the nation's third leading causes of death, only surpassed
I understand why the official answer is correct in the question and dont have a problem is that.
However my question is regarding the usage of surpassed only and only surpassed.
As per the OG explanation , "Placed before surpassed , only would more ambiguously limit surpassed."
I am not able to understand this.
To give an example , is there any difference in the following two sentences.
1. Diabetes ranks as the nation's third leading cause of death, surpassed only by heart disease and cancer.
2. Diabetes ranks as the nation's third leading cause of death, only surpassed by heart disease and cancer.
Kindly explain my doubt here !!!!
However my question is regarding the usage of surpassed only and only surpassed.
As per the OG explanation , "Placed before surpassed , only would more ambiguously limit surpassed."
I am not able to understand this.
To give an example , is there any difference in the following two sentences.
1. Diabetes ranks as the nation's third leading cause of death, surpassed only by heart disease and cancer.
2. Diabetes ranks as the nation's third leading cause of death, only surpassed by heart disease and cancer.
Kindly explain my doubt here !!!!
27 Feb 2014, 03:54
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akhil911
Hi Akhil,
Here's the difference in usage.
1. When "only" is placed before "surpassed", it modifies "surpassed".
2. When "only" is placed before "by heart disease and cancer", it modifies "by heart disease and cancer".
Where we place "only" depends on the intended meaning of the sentence. Let's look at a couple of examples before we address this question.
1. Yesterday, I went only to the museum.
Meaning: I didn't go anywhere else yesterday - only to the museum.
2. Yesterday, I only went to the museum.
Here, "only" modifies the action "went". So the meaning of this sentence is: I didn't do anything yesterday except go to the museum.
In this question, the writer means to say that diabetes is surpassed only by two other diseases in terms of the number of deaths it causes. So, we want "only" to refer to these two diseases, and not to "surpassed".
This is a fairly subtle differentiation in terms of meaning. In official sentences, there are usually other ways to eliminate options with such problems. For example, option C in this question can also be eliminated on the basis of wordiness.
I hope this helps to clarify your doubt.
Regards,
Meghna
Updated on: 19 Feb 2019, 17:51
Originally posted by EMPOWERgmatVerbal on 06 Sep 2018, 11:42.
Last edited by EMPOWERgmatVerbal on 19 Feb 2019, 17:51, edited 2 times in total.
Last edited by EMPOWERgmatVerbal on 19 Feb 2019, 17:51, edited 2 times in total.
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Hello Everyone!
Let's take a closer look at this question and see where we can narrow down options, so we can answer this question quickly! To get started, here is the original question with the major differences between each option highlighted in orange:
Diabetes, together with its serious complications, ranks as the nation's third leading cause of death, surpassed only by heart disease and cancer
(a) ranks as the nation's third leading cause of death, surpassed only
(b) rank as the nation's third leading cause of death, only surpassed
(c) has the rank of the nation's third leading cause of death, only surpassed
(d) are the nation's third leading causes of death, surpassed only
(e) have been ranked as the nation's third leading causes of death, only surpassed
After a quick glance over the options, two major differences pop out immediately:
1. Verb Tense (ranks/rank/has the rank of/are/have been ranked)
2. surpassed only / only surpassed
Let's start with #1 on our list: verb tense. This should easily knock 2-3 options off our list quickly. The subject of this sentence is diabetes, which is a singular subject. Therefore, we need to make sure the verbs are also singular! Let's see how each option stacks up:
(a) Diabetes...ranks as the nation's third leading cause of death, surpassed only
(b) Diabetes...rank as the nation's third leading cause of death, only surpassed
(c) Diabetes...has the rank of the nation's third leading cause of death, only surpassed
(d) Diabetes...are the nation's third leading causes of death, surpassed only
(e) Diabetes...have been ranked as the nation's third leading causes of death, only surpassed
We can rule out options B, D, and E because they all use plural verbs, which don't match in number with our singular subject! See? Now we only have 2 options to deal with now! So, let's tackle #2 on our list: surpassed only / only surpassed.
These two phrases mean something slightly different:
surpassed only by heart disease and cancer = heart disease and cancer are the only diseases that surpassed diabetes as the leading cause of death
only surpassed by heart disease and cancer = heart disease and cancer only do one thing (surpass diabetes), suggests they don't have other functions?
It makes the most sense for this sentence to say that diabetes is surpassed only by heart disease and cancer as the leading cause of death. Therefore, we can rule out option C because it doesn't convey the correct meaning.
There is also another way to narrow these answers down:
(a) ranks as the nation's third leading cause of death, surpassed only
This is CORRECT because it uses concise and clear wording to convey the correct meaning.
(c) has the rank of the nation's third leading cause of death, only surpassed
This is INCORRECT because the phrase "has the rank of" is overly wordy and unnecessary. It also uses the incorrect construction "only surpassed," which conveys the wrong overall meaning.
There you go - option A is the correct choice after all!
Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
Let's take a closer look at this question and see where we can narrow down options, so we can answer this question quickly! To get started, here is the original question with the major differences between each option highlighted in orange:
Diabetes, together with its serious complications, ranks as the nation's third leading cause of death, surpassed only by heart disease and cancer
(a) ranks as the nation's third leading cause of death, surpassed only
(b) rank as the nation's third leading cause of death, only surpassed
(c) has the rank of the nation's third leading cause of death, only surpassed
(d) are the nation's third leading causes of death, surpassed only
(e) have been ranked as the nation's third leading causes of death, only surpassed
After a quick glance over the options, two major differences pop out immediately:
1. Verb Tense (ranks/rank/has the rank of/are/have been ranked)
2. surpassed only / only surpassed
Let's start with #1 on our list: verb tense. This should easily knock 2-3 options off our list quickly. The subject of this sentence is diabetes, which is a singular subject. Therefore, we need to make sure the verbs are also singular! Let's see how each option stacks up:
(a) Diabetes...ranks as the nation's third leading cause of death, surpassed only
(b) Diabetes...rank as the nation's third leading cause of death, only surpassed
(c) Diabetes...has the rank of the nation's third leading cause of death, only surpassed
(d) Diabetes...are the nation's third leading causes of death, surpassed only
(e) Diabetes...have been ranked as the nation's third leading causes of death, only surpassed
We can rule out options B, D, and E because they all use plural verbs, which don't match in number with our singular subject! See? Now we only have 2 options to deal with now! So, let's tackle #2 on our list: surpassed only / only surpassed.
These two phrases mean something slightly different:
surpassed only by heart disease and cancer = heart disease and cancer are the only diseases that surpassed diabetes as the leading cause of death
only surpassed by heart disease and cancer = heart disease and cancer only do one thing (surpass diabetes), suggests they don't have other functions?
It makes the most sense for this sentence to say that diabetes is surpassed only by heart disease and cancer as the leading cause of death. Therefore, we can rule out option C because it doesn't convey the correct meaning.
There is also another way to narrow these answers down:
(a) ranks as the nation's third leading cause of death, surpassed only
This is CORRECT because it uses concise and clear wording to convey the correct meaning.
(c) has the rank of the nation's third leading cause of death, only surpassed
This is INCORRECT because the phrase "has the rank of" is overly wordy and unnecessary. It also uses the incorrect construction "only surpassed," which conveys the wrong overall meaning.
There you go - option A is the correct choice after all!
Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
