warrior1991 wrote:
generisIf you could shed some light on this very official question. I am oscillating in between A and E. Please help.
Hi
warrior1991 - sure. (I like the word
oscillating.
)
Scroll down to
highlighted heading to read why (E) is correct.
I can see a few ways to approach this question.
Let me lay out two. I used conditionals first.
I double checked by examining verbs and logic.
Conditionals.The logic of the sentence is cause and effect—conditional.
Cows produce milk FOR the farmer who takes care of the cows.
For which farmer do cows produce milk? For the farmer who takes care of the cows.
IF the farmer takes care of the cows, the cows produce milk.
I resolved in favor of E quickly by relying on conditional structures.
Verbs in conditionals are predictable and particular.**
-- IF clause in simple present = RESULT clause must be in simple present or simple future
In the non-underlined portion we are stuck with a farmer who must do at least one thing in present tense.
IF he
takes care . . .
When the IF clause is in simple present, only two options are available for the result clause: simple present or simple future.
I looked at (A)'s result clause, cows
are producing a lot of milk. No good.
are producing is present continuous progressive, not simple present or simple future.
(E)'s result clause?
cows will produce a lot of milk.
will produce = simple future tense
Option E's IF clause is in simple present. Its RESULT clause is in simple future. E wins.
Verbs and logic• inspect the verbs and verbals:
which ones are verbs? which ones are not working verbs?
(A) For the farmer who takes care to keep them cool,
providing them with high-energy feed, and milking them regularly, Holstein cows are producing a lot of milk.
In the non-underlined portion, the farmer needs to keep them [the cows]
cool.
In A, what else belongs in the description of what the farmer must do?
providing [the cows] with high-energy feedand
milking [the cows] regularlyThis sentence is hella irritating.
cool refers to cows, whereas the ___ING words refer to the farmer.
(The cows are not providing themselves with feed or milking themselves.)
Is there any parallelism here?
At this point I diagrammed.
For the farmer
who keeps COWS cool
--- providing them with feed
--- and
--- milking them regularly
the cows are producing . . . .
That sentence is not logical.
It seems as if two ___ING words contribute somehow to keeping the cows cool.
Feeding and milking cows do not keep cows cool.
And the clause "cows are producing" is horrible.
Why not just "cows produce?" What is the point of "are producing"?
(Answer: there is no point. The verb choice is dumb.)
Maybe E is better. (It is.)(E) For the farmer who takes care to keep them cool,
provided with high-energy feed, and milked regularly, Holstein cows will produce a lot of milk.
Much better.
The trick?
provided and
milked are not verbs.
They are past participles (verbED) that describe . . . the
cows, just as
cool describes the cows.
We are in better shape already.
(E) the adjectives that describe the cows may be easier to see if I repeat things that are implied, this way:
For the farmer who takes care
-- to keep cows COOL
-- [to keep cows] PROVIDED WITH FEED, and
-- [to keep cows] MILKED,
the cows will produce . . .
Cool, provided, and
milked are all adjectives that describe cows.
Better yet, the descriptors are logically separate.
The farmer must keep the cows X, Y, and Z, and then the cows will produce milk.
This sentence is hard. Its structure is odd.
If you still have questions, I'll be happy to try to help.
**
Zero-conditionals
• statements of fact/ general truths
• If THIS thing happens, then THAT thing happens
• IF clause in simple present, RESULT clause in simple present
• If it rains, the reservoir rises a little.
Type 1 conditionals
• predictions about reality
• If THIS thing happens, then THAT thing WILL happen
• IF clause in simple present, RESULT clause in simple future
• If you don't get out of bed, you will be late for work
This resource, here gives a quick overview of conditionals on the GMAT. Poking around on Google for an hour will help.