If a nuclear weapon were to be detonated above the atmosphere, it woul

Question

If a nuclear weapon were to be detonated above the atmosphere, it would generate not a blast, shock, nor heat, but an intense electromagnetic pulse disrupting, like a lightning bolt, all unshielded electric lines and electronic equipment.

c. A nuclear weapon detonated above the atmosphere would generate no blast, shock, or heat, but rather

A. If a nuclear weapon were to be detonated above the atmosphere, it would generate not a blast, shock, nor heat, but

B. If a nuclear weapon were to be detonated above the atmosphere, it would not generate a blast, shock, or heat, but rather

C. A nuclear weapon detonated above the atmosphere would generate no blast, shock, or heat, but rather

D. A nuclear weapon detonated above the atmosphere would not generate a blast, shock, or heat, but rather

E. A nuclear weapon detonated above the atmosphere would not generate a blast, shock, nor heat, but

geturdream · Accepted Answer

Good question....
the choice is between  would generate no blast, shock, or heat, but rather  and  would not generate a blast, shock, or heat, but rather

for this we need to take a look at what is after rather...is it a verb or a noun. If noun then the first one wins
if a verb then the second one wins.

intense electromagnetic pulse   this is noun. 
so to make things || we need a noun in the earlier clause. 
So the sentence becomes ... would generate no blast ..... but ...(generate) intense electromagnetic .....

C wins

daagh · Answer

a. If a nuclear weapon were to be detonated above the atmosphere, it would generate not a blast, shock, nor heat, but ---- -not and nor make the clause a double negative. It should be ‘neither …nor’ or ‘not … or’
  
b. If a nuclear weapon were to be detonated above the atmosphere, it would not generate a blast, shock, or heat, but rather –  though accepted sometimes as good enough when extant alone, ‘not … but rather’ is still inferior to ‘not…. but’ because it is wordier. When both the forms of the idiom are available simple ‘not… but’ makes a better choice. 
 
c. A nuclear weapon detonated above the atmosphere would generate no blast, shock, or heat, but rather ----   the same reasoning as in B. While the left of the conjunction but has no article, the right has an article in the form of an intense electromagnetic. Though not very significant, still it is a pin - prick.

d. A nuclear weapon detonated above the atmosphere would not generate a blast, shock, or heat, but rather --- n ot generate … but rather an intense ‘misses the correlative parallelism

e. A nuclear weapon detonated above the atmosphere would not generate a blast, shock, nor heat, but ------   the same problem as in D . 
 
 Not happy with any of the choices.

shrouded1 · Answer

no blast, shock, or heat
v/s
a blast, shock, or heat

The second list doesnt seem parallel.

aman1213 · Answer

i went with option E
as i think But and rahter are redundant.
we should use 1 of them.
kindly give the official explaination and answer.

elevinty · Answer

it cant be D, there is no parallelism, after "but" is a noun, so we need a noun after ""NOT'" instead we have a verb "GENERATED"
I was down between A or C, I know C is the OA but why A is wrong?

shrouded1 · Answer

not X,Y, nor Z ... doesnt sound right

onedayill · Answer

this one's a bit tricky ....

C and D look very similar, don't they? 
In C, we're using "no" and a noun; 
In D, we're using "not" and a verb.

"not... but..." is a conjunction and therefore requires parallel structure. So in D, after "not" we have "generate," a verb, and after "but" we have "pulse," a noun. 
where as we need a verb.

So we can rule out D.

manhasnoname · Answer

Can someone answer why D & E aren't parallel? Can't the article "a" be distributed to all items in a list? To maintain parallelism in the "either...or..." stem article should be present.

sayantanc2k · Answer

Distribution of article is not the issue in D - in authentic sources, such distribution has been used.

The problem of parallelism in D and E lies elsewhere. Because of use of "not", the idiom "not X but Y" comes into effect, and thus there arises a violation of parallelism.
  not + verb (generate)  requires  but (rather) + verb  to maintain parallelism.

techiesam · Answer

I have a question regarding the use of but rather. rather is an adverb and here it seems to modify the noun phrase.So my question is"Don't we just need a but instead of but rather?"

NicoleJaneway · Answer

Could someone explain this comma to me? It's such a little thing, but I'm not sure what it's doing there since "an intense electromagnetic pulse disrupting, like a lightning bolt, all unshielded electric lines and electronic equipment" definitely isn't an independent clause. I have the same confusion about a similar ellipsis question: Sorry for being a pest and posting twice, but all the study advice says so stay persistent and follow every source of confusion until you fully understand the material. How I feel about commas right now:

How I'll feel once I've got this sorted:

sayantanc2k · Answer

Consider the following uses:

1 a. Use of "but" to join two clauses:
I can read, but I cannot write. ( comma must be included.)

1 b. Use of "but" to join two items that are not clauses (e.g. two verbs).
I can read but cannot write. ( comma must be eliminated.)

2. Use of "but" as a part of idiom "not X, BUT Y".
What I saw was not a child, but a man. ( comma is required.)

The usage of "comma" in option C is similar to the usage 2 above (idiom).

sayantanc2k · Answer

"But" and "but rather" would both be gramatically correct. "But rather" is more emphatic than just "but".

PavaniRaghunath · Answer

I am also confused with C. Isn't C changing the meaning of the original sentence. The original sentence is using "if", while C removes that conditional. Is this ok?

DmitryFarber · Answer

There is no such thing as the original. We simply have five choices, with one plugged in for ease of reading. Answer choice A has no more claim to correctness than any other choice. Besides, answer choice C is still conditional. It says that this "would" happen, which is a conditional form. It isn't saying that such a detonation will actually occur, but simply describing what would happen if one *were* to occur.

Debarshee · Answer

Can you please help with the OE for the question?

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If a nuclear weapon were to be detonated above the atmosphere, it woul

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If a nuclear weapon were to be detonated above the atmosphere, it woul

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