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In 1974 a large area of the surface of Mercury was photographed from 06 Nov 2022, 07:56
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ExpertsGlobal5
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Why is (A) wrong here ? why is comma + which wrong here ?

Hello Bhati89,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the use of the "comma + which" construction is incorrect in Option A because it causes the modifier "which revealed a degree of cratering similar to that of the Moon’s" to refer directly to the noun "distances", illogically implying that the distances from which the surface of Mercury was photographed revealed a degree of cratering similar to that of the Moon; the intended meaning is that the surface of Mercury was photographed, and as a result, a degree of cratering similar to that of the Moon was revealed; remember, when “which” is preceded by a comma, it refers to the noun immediately before the comma.

Option C conveys the correct meaning through the "comma + present participle ("verb+ing" - "revealing" in this sentence)" construction; remember, the introduction of the present participle ("verb+ing"- “revealing” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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ExpertsGlobal5

As always, thank you for your helpful explanation. To confirm "that" serves as a placeholder for "the degree of catering"?
In other words:
In 1974 a large area of the surface of Mercury was photographed from varying distances, revealing a degree of catering similar to [the degree of catering] of the Moon" ?

Thank you again.
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In 1974 a large area of the surface of Mercury was photographed from 07 Nov 2022, 04:38
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woohoo921
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Bhati89
Why is (A) wrong here ? why is comma + which wrong here ?

Hello Bhati89,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the use of the "comma + which" construction is incorrect in Option A because it causes the modifier "which revealed a degree of cratering similar to that of the Moon’s" to refer directly to the noun "distances", illogically implying that the distances from which the surface of Mercury was photographed revealed a degree of cratering similar to that of the Moon; the intended meaning is that the surface of Mercury was photographed, and as a result, a degree of cratering similar to that of the Moon was revealed; remember, when “which” is preceded by a comma, it refers to the noun immediately before the comma.

Option C conveys the correct meaning through the "comma + present participle ("verb+ing" - "revealing" in this sentence)" construction; remember, the introduction of the present participle ("verb+ing"- “revealing” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

ExpertsGlobal5

As always, thank you for your helpful explanation. To confirm "that" serves as a placeholder for "the degree of catering"?
In other words:
In 1974 a large area of the surface of Mercury was photographed from varying distances, revealing a degree of catering similar to [the degree of catering] of the Moon" ?

Thank you again.
Show more

Hello woohoo921,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, you are correct; "that" does refer to "the degree of catering".

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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In 1974 a large area of the surface of Mercury was photographed from 27 Apr 2023, 20:20
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In 1974 a large area of the surface of Mercury was photographed from varying distances, which revealed a degree of cratering similar to that of the Moon’s.


(A) which revealed a degree of cratering similar to that of the Moon’s

(B) to reveal a degree of cratering similar to the Moon

(C) revealing a degree of cratering similar to that of the Moon

(D) and revealed cratering similar in degree to the Moon

(E) that revealed cratering similar in degree to that of the Moon
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Does 'a degree of cratering similar to that of the Moon'- option C mean the same as 'cratering similar in degree to that of the Moon'- option E?
I think 'that of' in option C means 'degree of cratering' thus the comparison is correct.
But in option E, 'that of' refers to 'cratering'. Also it is not very concise.
Are both correct from a meaning POV?

GMATNinja CrackverbalGMAT egmat pls help
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In 1974 a large area of the surface of Mercury was photographed from 29 Apr 2023, 22:36
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RenB

Sure, the main problem in E is the use of THAT. It creates an inappropriate noun modifier, and it also sets that modifier off with a comma that messes things up. If E didn't have this flaw, I don't know that I could definitively eliminate it from a meaning standpoint. However, as I mentioned in my comments on the first page of this thread, there is a difference in meaning between C and E, and C is clearer. Also, while I caution against ruling out an answer because it "changes the meaning" (who says A conveys the correct meaning?), since A-C all show the same meaning and there doesn't seem to be any problem with that meaning, I wouldn't bet on the meaning conveyed in D/E. I try to use all 5 answer choices to infer the author's intended meaning, and the author seems to be saying that it's the DEGREE of cratering, not the cratering itself, that was revealed.

Having said all that, in the problem that is written, I wouldn't go through all that heartbreak. D and E can each be eliminated from the first 2 words alone, so I wouldn't waste any time considering the very subtle difference in meaning.
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In 1974 a large area of the surface of Mercury was photographed from 23 Jun 2023, 10:52
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Could someone please explain why the use of "which" is correct. The official answer says the following, which is new to me:

"This sentence's second clause, expressing what the imaging of Mercury showed, must be linked to the first clause in a grammatically correct way. This is best done either by an appositive relative clause (requiring the relative marker which), or by a clause starting with a nonfinite verb (to reveal or revealing). Also, whatever is said to be similar to a degree of cratering (on Mercury) should also be a degree of cratering (on the Moon); this must be expressed clearly. The use of which is correct"
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In 1974 a large area of the surface of Mercury was photographed from 24 Jun 2023, 20:17
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Could someone please explain why the use of "which" is correct.
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The answer choice with WHICH is not correct for this question.
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In 1974 a large area of the surface of Mercury was photographed from 25 Jun 2023, 08:17
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GmatTutorKnight Indeed, I know the answer with which is not correct. But I am trying to understand why the USE of which in that option is correct. This explanation comes directly from the official guide problems from GMAC, and their official solution states what I wrote above: "This sentence's second clause, expressing what the imaging of Mercury showed, must be linked to the first clause in a grammatically correct way. This is best done either by an appositive relative clause (requiring the relative marker which), or by a clause starting with a nonfinite verb (to reveal or revealing). Also, whatever is said to be similar to a degree of cratering (on Mercury) should also be a degree of cratering (on the Moon); this must be expressed clearly. The use of which is correct"
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In 1974 a large area of the surface of Mercury was photographed from 05 Jul 2023, 11:51
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kelly_jacques
GmatTutorKnight Indeed, I know the answer with which is not correct. But I am trying to understand why the USE of which in that option is correct. This explanation comes directly from the official guide problems from GMAC, and their official solution states what I wrote above: "This sentence's second clause, expressing what the imaging of Mercury showed, must be linked to the first clause in a grammatically correct way. This is best done either by an appositive relative clause (requiring the relative marker which), or by a clause starting with a nonfinite verb (to reveal or revealing). Also, whatever is said to be similar to a degree of cratering (on Mercury) should also be a degree of cratering (on the Moon); this must be expressed clearly. The use of which is correct"
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You might have heard us say this before, but your job on SC is to pick the BEST choice out of the 5 available options, not to label individual sentences or phrases as unambiguously wrong or right. In this case, you don't need to know whether the "which" is WRONG or RIGHT in choice (A). You just have to understand why (C) is a better option than (A).

I agree with your instincts here: the "which" in (A) certainly seems to modify "distances", and I don't love that. Does that make it WRONG, exactly? Maybe not, but (C) expresses the logical meaning in a much clearer way, making it our winner.

One huge caveat: keep in mind that Official Guide explanations are generally written by contractors hired by Wiley Publishing, not the people who actually write the questions themselves. Often those official explanations aren't great, and they don't necessarily reflect GMAC's thinking. So take them with a huge grain of salt.

I hope that helps!
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In 1974 a large area of the surface of Mercury was photographed from 13 Jul 2023, 23:41
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MartyTargetTestPrep
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Dear MartyTargetTestPrep

In option B

In 1974 a large area of the surface of Mercury was photographed from varying distances, which revealed a degree of cratering similar to that of the Moon’s.

(B) to reveal a degree of cratering similar to the Moon

While the comparison error was easy to find, I am confused about the correctness of "to reveal" here

Correct me if am wrong.

Here, to reveal is acting as an "adverb" and modifying the action "was photographed" so it is not gramtically incorrect to say
"In 1974 a large area of the surface of Mercury was photographed from varying distances, to reveal a degree of cratering similar to the Moon."
and the only error is in the meaning and comparison.
The "to reveal" version of the sentence is indeed grammatically correct, and it uses a structure that is accepted in English, even though, when read literally, it conveys a meaning that doesn't make sense.

In English it is acceptable to use the following type of structure.

"X was y to z," where "was y" is a passive voice verb and "to z" is the purpose of the "y" action.

So, in this case, "a large area ... was photographed ... to reveal a degree of cratering," is acceptable even though, if read literally, it seems to convey that "a large area" had a purpose when it "was photographed," which purpose was "to reveal a degree of cratering."

People do not read such sentences literally. Rather they ascribe the "to z" purpose to the unnamed actor who performed the "y" action on "x."

So, in this case, "to reveal a degree of cratering" is understood to have been the purpose of the people who photographed the area of the surface of Mercury.

So, short answer, yes, only the comparison is clearly incorrect in that version.
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Hi MartyTargetTestPrep DmitryFarber GMATNinja

OG says that the use of ''To reveal'' is correct in the below sentence. But there is a comma between 1st independent sentence and ''to reveal'' ,
will not ''comma without the conjunction'' make it a run-on??

''In 1974 a large area of the surface of Mercury was photographed from varying distances, to reveal a degree of cratering similar to the Moon's''

Thanks
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In 1974 a large area of the surface of Mercury was photographed from 14 Jul 2023, 15:06
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ashutosh_73
OG says that the use of ''To reveal'' is correct in the below sentence. But there is a comma between 1st independent sentence and ''to reveal'' ,
will not ''comma without the conjunction'' make it a run-on??

''In 1974 a large area of the surface of Mercury was photographed from varying distances, to reveal a degree of cratering similar to the Moon's''

Thanks
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Hi Ashutosh.

Notice that "to reveal a degree of cratering similar to the Moon's" is not a clause with a subject and a verb. Rather, it's an infinitive phrase based on the infinitive "to reveal."

Since "to reveal a degree of cratering similar to the Moon's" is not a clause, no conjunction is needed for connecting it to the clause that precedes it.
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In 1974 a large area of the surface of Mercury was photographed from 04 Jan 2024, 03:49
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MartyTargetTestPrep

The act of photographing is not mentioned. We can all tell what the sentence is meant to convey, but if we go by how modifiers work, while that closing participial phrase modifies the preceding clause, it should have an agent in the preceding clause, and the only possible agent is "a large area of the surface of Mercury."
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GMATNinja could you please comment on Marty’s response? I’m very confused because he’s saying that C is incorrect, but only the better answer choice of the 5
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In 1974 a large area of the surface of Mercury was photographed from 04 Jan 2024, 03:55
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MartyTargetTestPrep

Hi Ashutosh.

Notice that "to reveal a degree of cratering similar to the Moon's" is not a clause with a subject and a verb. Rather, it's an infinitive phrase based on the infinitive "to reveal."

Since "to reveal a degree of cratering similar to the Moon's" is not a clause, no conjunction is needed for connecting it to the clause that precedes it.
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Hi MartyTargetTestPrep. I’m not familiar with the usage of the comma before “to reveal”. Is the comma necessary/Can we remove the comma? Does it change the meaning of the sentence by removing the comma?
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