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Hydrocarbons, with which fruit flies perfume themselves in species-spe

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DmitryFarberMPrep

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21 Jun 2016, 10:02

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Careful, vijaisingh2001. "To," like most very common words, has a wide variety of meanings and uses. It can certainly be shorthand for "in order to," but that doesn't have to be our interpretation of D. For instance, "assisting the flies to taste" might mean "helping the flies taste." D still doesn't make sense, because then the hydrocarbons would be helping the flies to taste hydrocarbons, and the rest of the sentence wouldn't fit! Also, we don't generally use "to" with "assist." So D is certainly a mess, but you should avoid eliminating a choice because it doesn't conform to one particular possibility of usage for the word "to."

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13 Sep 2016, 13:03

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assist flies in distinguishing their own species from those of the others.
Doesn't it mean distinguishing their own species from the species of other flies.

Wherever I read about this problem, explanation goes "others" stand for "other species|. And in "those of others" means "species of species" which is wrong.

But am I wrong when I say "those of others" means "species of other flies". In this question there were other issues which helped reach "E". But I am not able to comprehend that "others" v/s "those of others" split.

For example, Distinguish their own shoes from those of others. It means to distinguish their own shoes from shoes of other people. This sentence seems correct to me.

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14 Sep 2016, 21:53

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Can "this" act as a noun in GMAT?

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14 Nov 2016, 07:24

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Hi experts. I get confused with the usage of this.Where will we use it n where not? Will really of good help if somebody explain

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DmitryFarberMPrep

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28 Nov 2016, 23:16

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The pronoun "this" isn't inherently wrong, but as ChrisLele notes above, its meaning isn't made clear here. We often use "this" in everyday speech in ways that rely on context. The most common example is "What's this?" To understand my question, you'd have to know what I was looking at, holding, or pointing to. On the GMAT, we will generally need additional language to make the meaning clear. Take a look at two examples of "this" used correctly:

Paolo runs at least five miles a day, even when he is tired or ill, and it is this discipline that has earned him the respect of his peers.

Here, "this" is clarified as referring to discipline. What discipline? The discipline that he displays by running every day.

We have been told that the facility is safe, but everybody knows this is a lie.

What is a lie? There's only one candidate here: the statement that the facility is safe.

By contrast, the use of "this" in A and B is much less clear. Does it refer back to a single noun ("courtship")? Maybe not, but then it needs to stand in for a larger concept, as in the instances above. But is that concept the use of hydrocarbons as perfume, or the fact that this use is important in courtship? The sentence is just too hard to interpret in this form! (In that last sentence, "this form" means "the form we're discussing in A and B."

)

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29 Nov 2016, 07:20

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E uses the correct idiom "assisting ... in distinguishing"

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29 Nov 2016, 10:16

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gurpreet07

OA is E.....

can anyone explain me...what is the difference between THOSE OF & THAT OF
i mean when to use these options

As far as i know, that of for single noun while those of for plural noun

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30 Nov 2016, 01:28

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Exactly. "Those" is just the plural form of "that."

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02 Aug 2017, 21:25

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Quote:

'This' is used as an adjective, as per the GMAT. So what's 'this' referring to here, 'assists'? It cannot as that is a verb. Both of these are OUT!

Quote:

(C) which apparently assists flies that taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates in being able to distinguish their own species from

Courtship assists flies? No. It's actually the presence of hydrocarbons. Plus that 'being able to' can be avoided. This is OUT!

Quote:

(D) apparently assisting flies to taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates to distinguish their own species from those of

Hydrocarbons assist flies to taste hydrocarbons to identify the mate? This distorts the entire meaning as it states intent on part of the flies. Plus 'those of' is not required. This is OUT!

Quote:

(E) apparently assisting flies that taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates in distinguishing their own species from

This is the right answer.

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26 Apr 2018, 05:22

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sondenso

(A) and apparently this assists flies that taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates to distinguish their own species from that of

(B) and apparently this assists flies when they taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates in distinguishing their own species from those of

(C) which apparently assists flies that taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates in being able to distinguish their own species from

(D) apparently assisting flies to taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates to distinguish their own species from those of

(E) apparently assisting flies that taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates in distinguishing their own species from

A. "This" is used as an adjective here, and it should modify a noun. But in this sentence "this" is wrongly modifying a verb "assists".

B. Same as A.

C. "which" is modifying "courtship" here.

D. Modification error : it says "something is assisting flies to taste the hydrocarbons", and this is wrong.

E. Correct.

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20 Feb 2019, 10:18

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU1qY-D2mWY&list=PL0LGZMx8pP21Jx8Er_L5V-HfbPn9DKY7M&index=13

50:37

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01 Nov 2019, 06:15

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sondenso

Show Spoiler

https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/24/science/scientists-hopes-raised-for-a-front-row-seat-to-evolution.html

Hydrocarbons, which fruit flies perfume themselves with in species-specific blends, are known to be important in courtship, apparently assisting flies that taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates in sorting their own species from others.

(A) and apparently this assists flies that taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates to distinguish their own species from that of - Wrong: 1) this can't modify action 2) "that" 3) Redundancy

(B) and apparently this assists flies when they taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates in distinguishing their own species from those of - Wrong: 1) this can't modify action 2) Redundancy

(C) which apparently assists flies that taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates in being able to distinguish their own species from - Wrong: 1) Modifier

(D) apparently assisting flies to taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates to distinguish their own species from those of - Wrong: 1) Meaning 2) Redundancy

(E) apparently assisting flies that taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates in distinguishing their own species from - Correct

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01 Nov 2019, 06:41

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Hi,
Please suggest me am I right with my approach, If anything else please correct and advice me.

Hydrocarbons, with which fruit flies perfume themselves in species-specific blends, are known to be important in courtship, and apparently this assists flies that taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates to distinguish their own species from that of others.

(A) and apparently this assists flies that taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates to distinguish their own species from that of - Here that of also use as redundancy kind. because it seems good as - from others instead of from that of others.

(B) and apparently this assists flies when they taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates in distinguishing their own species from those of - Those of is wrong because we are approaching others. Others is use as rest of. Here Subject is Plural so Those of use only for singular hence those of is eliminated.

(C) which apparently assists flies that taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates in being able to distinguish their own species from - Here which is referring countership as per comma subject rule and second thing "being" is used.Not able to convey proper meaning.

(D) apparently assisting flies to taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates to distinguish their own species from those of - Those of is wrong because we are approaching others. Others is use as rest of. Here Subject is Plural so Those of use only for singular hence those of is eliminated.

(E) apparently assisting flies that taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates in distinguishing their own species from - Correct -proper meaning, no redundancy.

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14 Oct 2020, 11:23

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I still don't agree with the explanations stating E is better than D because others = other species.
D. apparently assisting flies to taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates to distinguish their own species from those of others.
E. apparently assisting flies that taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates in distinguishing their own species from others

Re writing the two options after replacing the pronouns

D. apparently assisting flies to taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates to distinguish flies' own species from the species of others (= flies).
E. apparently assisting flies that taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates in distinguishing flies' own species from others.

Clearly, we can't say: others = other species (unless we say other's).
We don't have other's in the choices.
IMO,
D is wrong despite the correct comparison- flies' species and species of others as it changes the meaning.
Hydrocarbon does not “intend” to assist flies. The flies perfume themselves (as mentioned) . Thus ASSISTING TO is not correct.

But I believe E should have other's ( rather than others) to be correct.

Appreciate any suggestion here !

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31 Jan 2021, 09:45

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31 Jul 2022, 02:02

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vijaisingh2001

I worked hard to spend many hours for the GMAT preparation

or
I worked hard, spending hours for the GMAT preparation.

In the first sentence, to spend hours- is not my intention or purpose

In the second sentence, spending hours is the consequence of the hard work

So choice D is wrong for that reason
choice D says, hydrocarbon assisting flies to taste

the meaning of the sentence is hydrocarbon assist flies that taste it in distinguishing their species from others (species)
'those of others' has an issue; it should just be 'others' - it's clear that the intention is to refer to other species, not to something of other species).

Ninja please help me with (-ing) part in D & E. Please clear will be thankful. This ing part in D & E will work as a modifier for the hydrocarbon as per rules isnt it

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31 Jul 2022, 14:52

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Varunsunar

Careful--not all -ing words are noun modifiers, or even modifiers at all. A good rule of thumb is that if we have an -ing directly after a noun (with no comma), then it's modifying the noun. If we have a comma (", apparently assisting"), or if the -ing is part of a prepositional phrase ("in distinguishing"), we have an adverbial modifier that applies to an action or clause.

In this sentence, "apparently assisting" is an adverbial modifier that applies to the whole previous clause, adding clarity about how hydrocarbons are important in courtship. "In distinguishing" actually modifies "assisting" from the previous modifier. So hydrocarbons assist flies in distinguishing one species from another.

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15 Sep 2023, 05:34

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Hydrocarbons, with which fruit flies perfume themselves in species-specific blends, are known to be important in courtship, and apparently this assists flies that taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates to distinguish their own species from that of others.

Option Elimination -

(A) and apparently this assists flies that taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates to distinguish their own species from that of - "this" is a singular demonstrative pronoun that can refer to "courtship" or the concept with which fruit flies perfume themselves. We need a noun after "this." For example, The CEO presented a new business strategy, and this approach received positive feedback from stakeholders. Here, "this" modifies "approach." What approach? "The new business strategy."

Moreover, "assist" is usually used to help someone achieve a goal, to help, support, or aid someone in accomplishing a task. For example, The team members assisted each other in completing the project.

Preferred usages are "assist in" or "assist with."
1. Assist in - when emphasizing the involvement in a broader process. For example, the consultant assisted in developing the company's marketing strategy.
2. Assist with - when indicating helping someone in a specific activity. For example, The teacher assisted the students with their math homework.

Remember, both "assist with" and "assist in" can be used interchangeably in many cases, and the choice depends on the emphasis and context of the sentence.

Additionally, "that" is a singular demonstrative pronoun referring to what? Species or mates? But both are plural. Wrong.

(B) and apparently, this assists flies when they taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates in distinguishing their own species from those of - The same issue of "this" without a noun after it. "when" is a time marker. So, does it only help if they taste it at a particular moment? That's wrong. "Those" refers to species, but do we need this plural demonstrative pronoun here? "otherS" means other species. So why create redundancies? Wrong.

(C) which apparently assists flies that taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates in being able to distinguish their own species from. "which" refers to "courtship," creating a wrong meaning. Moreover, "being able to distinguish" is a lousy way of saying "distinguishing." Wrong.

(D) apparently assisting flies to taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates to distinguish their own species from those of - so here comma + ING becomes adverbial. So "assisting" modifies "Hydrocarbons are known to be." Are we saying "hydrocarbons" are assisting the flies to taste hydrocarbons? Ridiculous. Isnt it? Yes. Moreover, the same "those" redundancy.

(E) apparently assisting flies that taste the hydrocarbons on prospective mates in distinguishing their own species from - ok. So here, "hydrocarbons" are assisting the flies" Which flies? "that taste the hydrocarbons." ok.

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