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Doctors generally agree that such factors as cigarette smoking, eating

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rinkipanwar123

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11 Sep 2021, 09:26

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CrackverbalGMAT

This question tests idioms and parallelism.

The idiom we need to know here is not only X… but also Y.
The two items that should be parallel are ‘damage’ and ‘aggravate’.

Let’s look at the options:

(A) not only do damage by themselves but also aggravate

(B) do damage by themselves but also are aggravating to

(C) are damaging by themselves but also are aggravating

(D) not only do damage by themselves, they are also aggravating to

(E) are doing damage by themselves, and they are also aggravating

Eliminate Options B, C, D, and E.

Option A is the best choice.

Hope this helps!

What is the issue in option C

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Varane

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thangvietname

be carefull my friends.

not only...but also is used to show the in-the-same- direction content between 2 clauses.

however, "but also" can be used ALONE to show contrast and means "but"

gmatprep presents a question in which "but also " is used ALONE to test whether we know the contrast.

in this question, the meaning is same-direction content between 2 clauses, so, the couple "not only...but also" is used

this is called meaning based analysis which assumes that the wrong answer choice is grammatical and needs to be proved wrong in meaning.

this means "but also" in b and c are grammatical but wrong in meaning.
if you think that "but also" in b and c are wrong because "not only" dose not go with them, you are wrong because "but also" can be used without "not only"

that is my thinking.

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Bunuel can you help with some OG questions which use but also as individual by itself.

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21 Aug 2022, 06:38

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KarishmaB GMATNinja EMPOWERgmatVerbal

Can you please correct me !!

How is option A correct ?
"Doctors generally agree that such factors as cigarette smoking, eating rich foods high in fats, and alcohol consumption not only do damage by themselves but also aggravate genetic predispositions toward certain diseases."

Usage of "do" in first part and not in "but only" the clause breaks the parallelism

The sentence should have been
"Doctors generally agree that such factors as cigarette smoking, eating rich foods high in fats, and alcohol consumption not only damage by themselves but also aggravate genetic predispositions toward certain diseases."

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21 Aug 2022, 06:39

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Can you please correct me !!

How is option A correct ?
"Doctors generally agree that such factors as cigarette smoking, eating rich foods high in fats, and alcohol consumption not only do damage by themselves but also aggravate genetic predispositions toward certain diseases."

Usage of "do" in first part and not in "but only" the clause breaks the parallelism

The sentence should have been
"Doctors generally agree that such factors as cigarette smoking, eating rich foods high in fats, and alcohol consumption not only damage by themselves but also aggravate genetic predispositions toward certain diseases."

AjiteshArun

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21 Aug 2022, 20:19

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Rickooreo

Hi Rickooreo,

We can't say "X not only damage by themselves". This is because damage, when used as a verb, must take an object (the thing that is damaged). On the other hand, in "do damage", do is a verb (damage is a noun).

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21 Aug 2022, 22:16

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Rickooreo

When the intent is to say that A causes harm to B, 'damage' is a transitive verb and needs an object. A damages what or who?

So when you say "Factors not only damage by themselves but also aggravate ..." this is incorrect because you haven't given an object to the verb.

When we say, "do damage" or "cause damage," the verb changes to "do/cause" and "damage" becomes a noun (object of the verb).

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22 Aug 2022, 05:30

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Please don't waste your time trying to find fault with, or inventing 'alternative' versions of, GMAC's correct sentences. There's no value to be had there.

The productive way to frame these kinds of questions is "What's wrong with MY reasoning here?" and/or "What am I misunderstanding about the CORRECT answer?"—absolutely always coming from a place of certainty that GMAC's sentences are not only correct, but also well written.

Quote:

The sentence should have been
"Doctors generally agree that such factors as cigarette smoking, eating rich foods high in fats, and alcohol consumption not only damage by themselves but also aggravate genetic predispositions toward certain diseases."

The pink part doesn't work here. If "damage" is a verb, it MUST have an object (e.g., The hurricane badly damaged hundreds of buildings.)

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18 Nov 2022, 03:03

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Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

bmwhype2

Doctors generally agree that such factors as cigarette smoking, eating rich foods high in fats, and alcohol consumption not only do damage by themselves but also aggravate genetic predispositions toward certain diseases.

(A) not only do damage by themselves but also aggravate

(B) do damage by themselves but also are aggravating to

(C) are damaging by themselves but also are aggravating

(D) not only do damage by themselves, they are also aggravating to

(E) are doing damage by themselves, and they are also aggravating

Concepts tested here: Tenses + Idioms + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• Statements of universal fact are best conveyed through the simple present tense.
• The simple present continuous tense is used to refer to actions that are currently ongoing and continuous in nature.
• “not only A but also B” is the correct, idiomatic usage; A must be parallel to B.

A: Correct.
1/ This answer choice correctly uses the simple present tense verbs "do" and "aggravate" to refer to statements of universal fact.
2/ Option A correctly maintains the idiomatic construction "not only A ("do damage by themselves") but also B ("aggravate...diseases")".
3/ Option A is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

B:
1/ This answer choice incorrectly uses the simple present continuous tense verb "are aggravating" to refer to a statement of universal fact; remember, statements of universal fact are best conveyed through the simple present tense, and the simple present continuous tense is used to refer to actions that are currently ongoing and continuous in nature.
2/ Option B fails to maintain the idiomatic construction "not only A but also B", as it omits the phrase "not only"; remember, “not only A but also B” is the correct, idiomatic usage; A must be parallel to B.
3/ Option B uses the needlessly wordy phrase "aggravating to", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

C:
1/ This answer choice incorrectly uses the simple present continuous tense verbs "are damaging" and "are aggravating" to refer to statements of universal fact; remember, statements of universal fact are best conveyed through the simple present tense, and the simple present continuous tense is used to refer to actions that are currently ongoing and continuous in nature.
2/ Option C fails to maintain the idiomatic construction "not only A but also B", as it omits the phrase "not only"; remember, “not only A but also B” is the correct, idiomatic usage; A must be parallel to B.

D:
1/ This answer choice incorrectly uses the simple present continuous tense verb "are aggravating" to refer to a statement of universal fact; remember, statements of universal fact are best conveyed through the simple present tense, and the simple present continuous tense is used to refer to actions that are currently ongoing and continuous in nature.
2/ Option D uses the needlessly wordy phrase "aggravating to", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

E:
1/ This answer choice incorrectly uses the simple present continuous tense verbs "are doing" and "are aggravating" to refer to statements of universal fact; remember, statements of universal fact are best conveyed through the simple present tense, and the simple present continuous tense is used to refer to actions that are currently ongoing and continuous in nature.
2/ Option E uses the needlessly wordy phrase "and they are also", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

Hence, A is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):

To understand the concept of "Simple Continuous Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):

All the best!
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