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In July 1965 Mariner IV passed by Mars and took the first-ever close-u
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03 Jul 2017, 06:49
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Question Stats:
71% (01:08) correct 29% (01:28) wrong based on 499 sessions
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In July 1965 Mariner IV passed by Mars and took the first-ever close-up photographs of another planet, which showed that the Martian surface was like that of the Moon’s in that it was pockmarked by moonlike craters and was dry and apparently dead.
(A) which showed that the Martian surface was like that of the Moon’s in that it was pockmarked by moonlike craters and was dry and apparently dead
(B) which showed a dry, apparently dead Martian surface, and it was pockmarked by craters like the Moon has
(C) which showed the Martian surface as a dry, apparently dead one, which was pockmarked with craters such as the Moon’s
(D) photos showing the Martian surface to be like that of the Moon’s, dry and apparently dead, and it was pockmarked by moonlike craters
(E) photos that showed a dry, apparently dead Martian surface pockmarked with craters like those on the Moon
In July 1965 Mariner IV passed by Mars and took the first-ever close-u
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03 Jul 2017, 06:56
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In July 1965 Mariner IV passed by Mars and took the first-ever close-up photographs of another planet, which showed that the Martian surface was like that of the Moon’s in that it was pockmarked by moonlike craters and was dry and apparently dead.
(E) photos that showed a dry, apparently dead Martian surface pockmarked with craters like those on the Moon ------------ Correct "Like is comparing"Martian surface craters to crates on moon. Hence Martian surface pockmarked with craters like "those" on the Moon Answer (E)...
Re: In July 1965 Mariner IV passed by Mars and took the first-ever close-u
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03 Jul 2017, 18:37
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In July 1965 Mariner IV passed by Mars and took the first-ever close-up photographs of another planet, which showed that the Martian surface was like that of the Moon’s in that it was pockmarked by moonlike craters and was dry and apparently dead.
(A) which showed that the Martian surface was like that of the Moon’s in that it was pockmarked by moonlike craters and was dry and apparently dead Use of WHICH to modify an idea presented in earlier sentence is incorrect. Use of THAT leads to Redundancy. Other errors exist as well in this sentence. Hence Incorrect. (B) which showed a dry, apparently dead Martian surface, and it was pockmarked by craters like the Moon has Use of WHICH to modify an idea presented in earlier sentence is incorrect. Use of HAS leads to Redundancy. Other errors exist as well in this sentence. Hence Incorrect. (C) which showed the Martian surface as a dry, apparently dead one, which was pockmarked with craters such as the Moon’s Use of WHICH to modify an idea presented in earlier sentence is incorrect. Other errors exist as well in this sentence. Hence Incorrect. (D) photos showing the Martian surface to be like that of the Moon’s, dry and apparently dead, and it was pockmarked by moonlike craters Use of THAT leads to Redundancy Surface to be like SURFACE of the Moon's or Surface to be like SURFACE of the Moon's surface Hence Incorrect. (E) photos that showed a dry, apparently dead Martian surface pockmarked with craters like those on the Moon Correct _________________
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Re: In July 1965 Mariner IV passed by Mars and took the first-ever close-u
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27 May 2018, 03:06
Hi,
Can someone explain why the sentence construction in option E is correct. Why is there not connector needed after ' of another planet,' and before ' photos that showed a dry'? This looks like a run on sentence to me.
Re: In July 1965 Mariner IV passed by Mars and took the first-ever close-u
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27 May 2018, 04:20
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Lionila wrote:
Hi,
Can someone explain why the sentence construction in option E is correct. Why is there not connector needed after ' of another planet,' and before ' photos that showed a dry'? This looks like a run on sentence to me.
In July 1965 Mariner IV passed by Mars and took the first-ever close-up photographs of another planet, which showed that the Martian surface was like that of the Moon’s in that it was pockmarked by moonlike craters and was dry and apparently dead.
(E) photosthat showed a dry, apparently dead Martian surface pockmarked with craters like those on the Moon - it is a construction of a 'Noun + Noun modifier'. Here 'that' is modifying the noun 'photos' and in the latter part there is a comparison between 'craters' on Mars and those(craters) on the moon.
In July 1965 Mariner IV passed by Mars and took the first-ever close-u
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27 May 2018, 08:37
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Lionila wrote:
Can someone explain why the sentence construction in option E is correct. Why is there not connector needed after ' of another planet,' and before ' photos that showed a dry'? This looks like a run on sentence to me.
Hi Lionila, a run-on sentence is when there are two Independent clauses, connected by a comma.
Here photos that showed a dry, apparently dead ..... is not an Independent clause.
The structure is: Noun (photos) + Noun-modifier (that showed a dry, apparently dead..)
As Kchaudhary mentions, this kind of a structure is called an Absolute Phrase.
p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses Absolute Modifier, its application and examples in significant detail. If someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.
_________________
If you're asking whether it's possible that "which" violates the touch rule in this question the same way it violates the touch rule in the Emily Dickinson question, the answer is sure. The touch rule isn't absolute, and when it's violated, there tends to be another modifier in between "which" and the noun it refers to. So I wouldn't be comfortable eliminating A,B,C solely on the grounds that "which" doesn't touch "photographs." All of those options have more concrete errors.
That said, there are some differences that could be clarifying. Here's the relevant clause from the OA in the Emily Dickinson example: "Emily Dickinson’s letters to Susan Huntington, which were written over a period beginning..." You've already noted that "which" doesn't touch "letters." That really isn't a problem because "which" can't logically refer to Susan Huntington. First, we'd have to use "who" to refer to a person. And the verb associated with "which" is "were," telling us that the antecedent must be plural. The only plural noun "which" could possibly refer to is "letters." So there's no ambiguity. More importantly: all of the other options have definitive mistakes!
In this example, for (A) we have "In July 1965 Mariner IV passed by Mars and took the first-ever close-up photographs of another planet, which showed..." Again, I don't think the usage of "which" is a definitive mistake here, but this example introduces some ambiguity, as there's no grammatical reason that precludes "which" from referring to "planets" instead of "photographs." The use of "photos" in (D) and (E) clears up this ambiguity. So while I wouldn't use the "which" vs. "photos" as a decision point, it's a little different than the Emily Dickinson example, in the sense that there's a superior alternative.
Need an expert reply? Hit the request verbal experts' reply button -- and please be specific about your question. Feel free to tag @GMATNinja in your post. Priority is always given to official GMAT questions.
Re: In July 1965 Mariner IV passed by Mars and took the first-ever close-u
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26 Oct 2018, 20:45
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BARUAH wrote:
(D) photos showing the Martian surface to be like that of the Moon’s, dry and apparently dead, and it was pockmarked by moonlike craters
(E) photos that showed a dry, apparently dead Martian surface pockmarked with craters like those on the Moon
Between D & E, E is definitely better and hence I selected. But why D is not correct in grammatical terms ? Experts, plz help.
For whatever it's worth, incorrect answer choices don't always have grammatical errors. If (E) conveys the intended meaning of the sentence in a clearer, better way than (D), that's enough to make your decision -- even if (D) doesn't have any definite mistakes in it.
In this case, though, (D) does have a legit grammatical problem. The singular pronoun "that" refers to "surface", so then (D) gives us "... photos showing the Martian surface to be like [the surface] of the Moon's..." It's that last possessive that causes a problem. If the possessive phrase "the Moon's" implies "the Moon's surface", then the whole mess is redundant, because it's basically saying "...photos showing the Martian surface to be like [the surface] of the Moon's [surface]..."
Need an expert reply? Hit the request verbal experts' reply button -- and please be specific about your question. Feel free to tag @GMATNinja in your post. Priority is always given to official GMAT questions.
If you're asking whether it's possible that "which" violates the touch rule in this question the same way it violates the touch rule in the Emily Dickinson question, the answer is sure. The touch rule isn't absolute, and when it's violated, there tends to be another modifier in between "which" and the noun it refers to. So I wouldn't be comfortable eliminating A,B,C solely on the grounds that "which" doesn't touch "photographs." All of those options have more concrete errors.
That said, there are some differences that could be clarifying. Here's the relevant clause from the OA in the Emily Dickinson example: "Emily Dickinson’s letters to Susan Huntington, which were written over a period beginning..." You've already noted that "which" doesn't touch "letters." That really isn't a problem because "which" can't logically refer to Susan Huntington. First, we'd have to use "who" to refer to a person. And the verb associated with "which" is "were," telling us that the antecedent must be plural. The only plural noun "which" could possibly refer to is "letters." So there's no ambiguity. More importantly: all of the other options have definitive mistakes!
In this example, for (A) we have "In July 1965 Mariner IV passed by Mars and took the first-ever close-up photographs of another planet, which showed..." Again, I don't think the usage of "which" is a definitive mistake here, but this example introduces some ambiguity, as there's no grammatical reason that precludes "which" from referring to "planets" instead of "photographs." The use of "photos" in (D) and (E) clears up this ambiguity. So while I wouldn't use the "which" vs. "photos" as a decision point, it's a little different than the Emily Dickinson example, in the sense that there's a superior alternative.
I hope that helps!
Great explanation as always. Thanks a ton!
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Re: In July 1965 Mariner IV passed by Mars and took the first-ever close-u
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01 Nov 2018, 07:28
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gmatacer400 wrote:
EducationAisle, GMATNinja In the OA E, Isn't "those" ambiguous as it may refer to either "craters" or "photos"
No, notice that "those of the moon" is part of the modifier "like those of the moon" - which directly modifies "craters." Because it's part of that modifier for "craters," "those" refers directly to craters.
In a larger strategic context, be careful using "ambiguous pronouns" as a primary tool for eliminating answers. I've seen lots of students turn themselves into ambiguity seekers, but keep in mind that it's nearly impossible to write a 20+ word sentence without including multiple nouns. Just because there are multiple nouns doesn't mean that any pronouns in the sentence are ambiguous. For that reason I tend to recommend that you make pronoun ambiguity a second or third decision point (unless the pronoun ambiguity is just a glaring mistake)...they of course do test it, but it's not as absolute as some of the other error types (pronoun or subject-verb agreement, etc.) so be careful with it.
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71% (01:08) correct 
