Hearing Kenneth Branagh deliver the “St. Crispin’s Day” speech in

KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Step 1: Read the Original Sentence Carefully, Looking for Errors
Elements in a comparison or analogy, like items in a list, must exhibit parallel structure. Here, the
original sentence is incorrect because the analogy states that “Hearing . . . is to be mesmerized . . .” The
two ideas compared should both be either gerunds ending in -ing or infinitives. Because the GMAT
is not particularly fond of gerunds, expect the right answer to change “hearing” to “to hear.”

Step 2: Scan and Group the Answer Choices
The first three answer choices all begin with “hearing,” while the last two begin with “to hear.”

Step 3: Eliminate Choices Until Only One Remains
Because the elements in the comparison in the original sentence are not parallel, eliminate (A).
Choice (B) should be eliminated because it contains the same parallel structure error. Choice (D)
also contains a parallel structure error: “To hear . . . is being mesmerized . . .” Choice (C) may seem a
bit more parallel, but it still sounds awkward: “Hearing is being mesmerized . . .” (You should usually
try to avoid answer choices that contain “being” on GMAT Sentence Corrections.) Moreover, (C)
contains an adverb/adjective error: The adjective form “seeming” is incorrect because it modifies the
adjective “boundless,” and thus the correct form is the adverb “seemingly.” Finally, (E) is correct
because it exhibits parallel structure and uses the correct adverbial form, “seemingly.”