In their physical characteristics, bat species range from the hog

Question

Project SC Butler: Day 172: Sentence Correction (SC2) 
 For SC butler Questions  Click Here

In their physical characteristics, bat species range from the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighing about as much as a penny, to fruit eating bats that weigh two pounds and have a wingspan of up to six feet.

A) the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighing about as much as a penny, to 
 
B) the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighs about as much as a penny, to

C) the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and it weighs about as much as a penny to

D) those of the hog-nosed type, equal in size to a bumblebee and in weight about as much as a penny, to those of

E) those of the hog-nosed type, which is the size of a bumblebee, weighing about as much as a penny, to those of

generis · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Project SC Butler: Day 172: Sentence Correction (SC2)

THE PROMPT

THE OPTIONS

•  In their physical characteristics  is an introductory prepositional modifier (starts with IN).
-- these modifiers are versatile. Typically they modify the whole subsequent clause, as this modifier does.
-- the sentence describes the physical characteristics of bat species, from the very small hog-nosed type of bat to very large fruit-eating bats (of various types).
The species have wide range. (The physical characteristics do, too, but "bat species" is the subject that takes the verb "range."
-- this sentence is logical

• IDIOM is  From X to Y . In this option, correct.

• PARALLELISM? The hog-nosed type   is modified by an appositive (a noun phrase that re-names or re-describes the noun or provides supplemental information).
-- That appositive describes two characteristics of the hog-nosed bat, P and Q. 
-- P and Q are parallel: they both function as  adjectives  that describe the size and weight of the hog-nosed bat type.
KEEP

• NOT PARALLEL
--  the size of a bumblebee  is a  noun  phrase that functions as an adjective
--  weighs    is a  verb 
The word "and" must join similar parts of speech. 
A noun and a verb are not parallel.
Eliminate B

• Not parallel
The noun phrase  the size of a bumblebee  is not parallel to the full clause  it weighs about as much as a penny 
• missing comma? Might ruin  From X to Y  but that fact doesn't matter because the parallelism in the modifier is nonexistent.
Eliminate C

• easiest error to spot, I think: what in the heck does "equal . . . in weight about as much as a penny" mean? 
Answer: nothing. The phrasing is babble.
. . .  equal about as much as  ? Nonsense.

•  those of the  - antecedent? logic?
I am not a fan of pronoun ambiguity because GMAC is more tolerant than many people believe.
The guideline is that there must be only one logical antecedent. Many nouns can qualify. Only one can be logical.
In this case, both species and characteristics seem logical. I got annoyed trying to decide what  those  referred to.

Substitute both nouns:

In their physical characteristics, bat species range from   species  of the hog-nosed type, equal in size to a bumblebee and in weight about as much as a penny, to  species  of   fruit eating bats that weigh two pounds and have a wingspan of up to six feet. 
-- Illogical meaning. A species does not range from a species to a species.

In their physical characteristics, bat species range from   characteristics  of the hog-nosed type, equal in size to a bumblebee and in weight about as much as a penny, to  characteristics  of   fruit eating bats that weigh two pounds and have a wingspan of up to six feet. 
-- that substitution is slightly more logical—or maybe not. 
A species does not range from characteristics of one kind to a characteristics of another kind.

In short, "those of the" makes no sense.
Eliminate D

• those of - same error as that in D
• weighing about as much as a penny?
-- The weighing phrase could modify the preceding clause,  which is the size of a bumblebee , but that construction is hella awkward and strained.
-- why not just "and weighs"?
-- compare to (A). Option A wins. (We don't need to do this comparison.  Those of  is more than enough to eliminate this answer.
Eliminate E

The answer is A

• ISSUES

Is the parallelism in (A perfect?
Probably not.
Is the parallelism in (A) logical? 
Yes.

In the idiom From X to Y, X and Y must be parallel
X = the hog-nosed type  
Y = fruit-eating bats

Both X and Y are  types  of bats. X is rendered in either the generic singular or the specific singular
-- "the" hog-nosed type   could mean 
1) the species type, "hog-nosed bat," in which "the" refers to the generic representative. 
2) that there is only one type of hog-nosed bat and it is tiny

-- fruit-eating bats could also entail one type of bat or many types

Oddly, though, it seems as though any hog-nosed bat (one type or all types if there is more than one type) is tiny, and any fruit-eating bat is large.

Both X and Y are species of bats. They are both nouns. They both have modifiers and those modifiers are similar.
In short: the other answers have  fatal  errors;
parallelism is supposed to help clarify meaning, and the meaning of (A) seems clear enough to me; and
whether parallelism is a bit strained does not matter because the parallelism does not result in logical absurdity and does convey meaning.

• TAKEAWAYS  
-- our job is to eliminate the four worst answers and check the fifth to make sure it is logical and grammatical
-- the fifth answer may be less than perfect. Next question: is it better than all the others? Yep.
-- don't do black/white with parallelism, especially with the word AND (in contrast, say, to greater . . . than). 
There is better parallelism and worse parallelism.
There are degrees of parallelism: the modifiers in B and C are not at all parallel because they are not the same parts of speech.
By contrast, the parallelism in (A) is a singular noun that is probably a categorical noun and (b) a plural noun that may be a categorical noun.
But  they are both nouns  that are examples of species of bats.

COMMENTS

Very impressive. Nearly every post is really good. Six or seven answers are outstanding. No one uses identical approaches.

Good! I don't want cookie cutters. The variation will help others, too. Nice work. Kudos to all who explained or showed good effort. Have a good weekend.

zhanbo · Answer

This is a tough question. I really could not pick a plausible answer.

For one, we need to have parallelism in "From" and "To".

In A B C, a type ("the hog-nosed type") is used after "From" whereas "fruit eating bats" used after "to". A type is not compatible with bats.

In D E, "those of the hog-nosed type" can be interpreted as "bats of the hog-nosed type", which should work with "fruit eating bats". But now, we see "those of fruit eating bats". Does it mean "bats of fruit eating bats"? I could not favor such construction.

I am confident that B, C are definitely wrong. That is not enough to help me choose one answer.

ArtVandaley · Answer

This is a good question

I will vote for A.

Idiom used- from X to Y. Y has to be a type of bat and hence, D and E can be eliminated outrightly.

In b & c, a clause is made parallel to noun modifier. Eliminate

Posted from my mobile device

LalitaSiri · Answer

In their physical characteristics, bat species range from the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighing about as much as a penny, to fruit eating bats that weigh two pounds and have a wingspan of up to six feet.

A) the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighing about as much as a penny, to -CORRECT

B) the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and  weighs  about as much as a penny, to - noun is needed to be parallel

C) the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and  it  weighs about as much as a penny to - there should be a comma before to

D) those of the hog-nosed type, equal in size to a bumblebee and in weight about as much as a penny, to those of - those of = "bat species of the hog-nosed type" - no need those of

E) those of the hog-nosed type, which is the size of a bumblebee, weighing about as much as a penny, to those of -same as D.

So the correct answer choice is A

Raxit85 · Answer

Imo. A

In their physical characteristics, bat species range from the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighing about as much as a penny, to fruit eating bats that weigh two pounds and have a wingspan of up to six feet.

A) the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighing about as much as a penny, to - ... range from X to Y, and maintains parallelism. Hold it.
 
B) the hog-nosed type, the  size of a bumblebee and weighs about as  much as a penny, to - the size of (noun) ... and weighs (verb), parallelism error

C)  the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and it weighs about as much as a penny to  - idiom error... range from X to Y, and pronoun error

D)  those of the hog-nosed type, equal in size to a bumblebee and in weight about as much as a penny, to those of  - Diction error (...equal in size and in weight..) and comparison error

E)  those of the hog-nosed type, which is the size of a bumblebee, weighing about as much as a penny, to those of   - comparison error

Shishou · Answer

In their physical characteristics, bat species range from the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighing about as much as a penny, to fruit eating bats that weigh two pounds and have a wingspan of up to six feet.

A) the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighing about as much as a penny, to  This is correct. Uses two modifiers in parallel to describe the hog nosed bat

B) the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighs about as much as a penny, to   The size of a bumblebee modifies the hog-nosed type.What follows the parallelism indicator and should also be a modifier that modifiers the hog-nosed type.Instead its a clause and does not act a a modifier.Hence, it is not parallel

C) the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and it weighs about as much as a penny to - What could you possibly earn from introducing an "it" here. I guess nothing. So no we do not need an it here.

D) those of the hog-nosed type, equal in size to a bumblebee and in weight about as much as a penny, to those of  What does those refer to here.It seems to be the bats and the sentence can be read as: the bats of the hog nosed type.Even if this were right, the construction "in weight about as much as a penny is not parallel to the equal in size portion". The last those when replaced with bats will read as ".....to the bats of the fruit eating bats that weigh.......". This is very illogical

E) those of the hog-nosed type, which is the size of a bumblebee, weighing about as much as a penny, to those of  Uses those of just as D does and makes the same errors of those of

joohwangie · Answer

In their physical characteristics, bat species range from the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighing about as much as a penny, to fruit eating bats that weigh two pounds and have a wingspan of up to six feet.

A) the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighing about as much as a penny, to - correct

B) the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighs about as much as a penny, to - the cause doesn't make hog-nosed type and fruit eating parallel

C) the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and it weighs about as much as a penny to - not parallel .. range from X to Y

D)  those of  the hog-nosed type, equal in size to a bumblebee and in weight about as much as a penny, to  those of   - "those of" is irrelevant

E)  those of  the hog-nosed type, which is the size of a bumblebee, weighing about as much as a penny, to  those of  - "those of" is irrelevant

exc4libur · Answer

MEANING: 
bat species range FROM the hog type… TO the fruit type;
bat species range from the hog-nosed type,   the size of a bumblebee; and…
bat species range from the hog-nosed type,   weighing as much as a penny.

IDIOM: From…To

B) "range from the hog-nosed type,   WEIGHS about as much as a penny" unintended and not parallel;
C) "range from the hog-nosed type,   IT WEIGHS about as much as a penny to" unintended and not parallel;
D) "species range from those  … to those  " redundant; "equal in weight about as much as a penny" something is equal to something else, not equal to about as much as…, unintended;
E) "those of…to those of" redundant; "from the hog-nosed type, which…, weighing…, to" fragment mod error and unintended;

Answer (A)

J2S2019 · Answer

IMO the correct answer is A
 
In their physical characteristics, bat species range from  the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighing about as much as a penny, to  fruit eating bats that weigh two pounds and have a wingspan of up to six feet.

A) the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighing about as much as a penny, to
B) the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighs about as much as a penny, to - weighs is not parallel to the size. the size and the weight would have been parallel.

B) the hog-nosed type,  the size of a bumblebee  and  weighs  about as much as a penny, to -  Not parallel - Incorrect

C) the hog-nosed type,  the size of a bumblebee  and  it weighs  about as much as a penny to -  Not parallel - Incorrect

D) those of the hog-nosed type, equal in size to a bumblebee and in weight about as much as a penny, to those of - " equal. .......in weight about  as much as a penny  - Redundant usage - Incorrect

E) those of the hog-nosed type, which is the size of a bumblebee, weighing about as much as a penny, to those of - " weighing about as much as a penny" - Incorrect usage of Participial modifier.

Same Good Kid · Answer

Selected D. 
correct relation between "the hog nose type.... & those of". This helped me narrow down to D & E.

mykrasovski · Answer

In their physical characteristics, bat species range from the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighing about as much as a penny, to fruit eating bats that weigh two pounds and have a wingspan of up to six feet.

Quick glance over the answer choices reveals that there is a 3-2 split. After reading thoroughly, one can observe that the sentence tests meaning, comparison (between different bats), and idiom (from X to Y).

A)  the hog-nosed  type  ,  the size of a bumblebee and weighing about as much as a penny , to
 - Correct.  The green part makes sense with fruit eating bats in the non-underlined part. The modifier in  blue  looks fine: each parallel part of the modifier correctly modifies   type  .

B)  the hog-nosed type , the size of a bumblebee and  weighs  about as much as a penny, to
 - Incorrect.  There is a parallelism error inside the modifier, i.e. weighs is a verb and we want a noun.

C)  the hog-nosed type , the size of a bumblebee and  it weighs  about as much as a  penny   to 
 - Incorrect.  There is a very clear issue with  it weights  piece, which breaks parallelism inside the modifier. In fact, the modifier itself is broken because there is  no comma  between  penny  and  to , but since punctuation is rarely tested on the GMAT, one should not look for such errors in the beginning of the analysis.

D)  those of the hog-nosed type , equal in size to a bumblebee and in weight about as much as a penny, to those of
 - Incorrect.  Replace "those" with bat species: bat species range from bat species of the hog-nosed type to ... That is a clear tautology, so we have a pronoun error.

E)  those of the hog-nosed type , which is the size of a bumblebee, weighing about as much as a penny, to those of
 - Incorrect  for the same reason as D.

Great question,  generis . It simultaneously tests a range of things.

eakabuah · Answer

Option B: In their physical characteristics, bat species range from the hog-nosed type,  the size of a bumblebee  and  weighs about as much as a penny , to fruit eating bats that weigh two pounds and have a wingspan of up to six feet.
There is a parallelism error. Noun phrase  the size of a bumblebee  is not parallel to a verb  weighs .

Option C: In their physical characteristics, bat species range from the hog-nosed type,  the size of a bumblebee  and  it weighs about as much as a penny  to fruit eating bats that weigh two pounds and have a wingspan of up to six feet.
There is a parallelism error here as well. A noun phrase  the size of a bumblebee  cannot be parallel to the clause  it weighs about as much as a penny .

Option D: In their physical characteristics, bat species range from those of the hog-nosed type,  equal   in size to a bumblebee  and  in weight  about as much as  a penny , to those of fruit eating bats that weigh two pounds and have a wingspan of up to six feet.
 equal in about as much as a penny  is illogical. The word  about  is not appropriate in the context. Equal requires an exact comparison. Hence D is incorrect.

Option E: In their physical characteristics, bat species range from those of the hog-nosed type, which is the size of a bumblebee,   weighing about as much as a penny  , to those of fruit eating bats that weigh two pounds and have a wingspan of up to six feet.
Dangling modifier: What is   weighing about as much as a penny   modifying in the sentence? the which clause? bumblebee? This is incorrect.

Option A: In their physical characteristics, bat species range from the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighing about as much as a penny, to fruit eating bats that weigh two pounds and have a wingspan of up to six feet.
Correct. We have an appositive!!! (this is the first time I have recognized it in a question lol thanks to a previous SC butler question I got wrong)  the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee  and  weighing about as much as a penny . The parallelism is correct between the two noun modifiers. The appositive construction is correct with only a comma separating the modified noun and the noun modifier.
 A is the answer .

ccheryn · Answer

In their physical characteristics, bat species range from the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighing about as much as a penny, to fruit eating bats that weigh two pounds and have a wingspan of up to six feet.

one of the question i want to try , even though i dont know where i am heading.. hahah generis, waiting for your OA

D) those of the hog-nosed type, equal in size to a bumblebee and in weight about as much as a penny, to those of

E) those of the hog-nosed type, which is the size of a bumblebee, weighing about as much as a penny, to those of

those of should refer physical characteristics. but it gives wrong meaning. . But species i thought it is singular, but as u used range, i assume it as plural. so those of can refer to species also.. special of hog - nosed type ..no wrong intended meaning

remove D and E
 
C) the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and it weighs about as much as a penny to

and it weighes separate ic so it has separater problem of missing comma, remove that

B) the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighs about as much as a penny, to

range is not paralleled with weighs change of verb in agreement.. so remove B

hey good i can remove rest of 4, so choosing A. no other reason. i cant understand how grammar works either.

ans is A

snoep · Answer

In their physical characteristics, bat species range from the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighing about as much as a penny, to fruit eating bats that weigh two pounds and have a wingspan of up to six feet.

A) the hog-nosed type, the  size of a bumblebee   and  weighing   about as much as a penny, to 
bat species range from the hog-nosed type to fruit eating bats -> Parallel
hog-nosed type is described as a size of a bumble bee and weighing about as much as penny . Parallelism required with both the modifiers

B) the hog-nosed type,  the size of a bumblebee  and  weighs  about as much as a penny, to 
while there is a parallelism in the elements that range from X to Y
hog-nosed type is described as a size of a bumblebee and weighs about as much as penny -> one is a noun modifier and other is verb, hence not parallel

C) the hog-nosed type,  the size of a bumblebee  and  it weighs about as much as a penny  to 
Parallelism is not achieved between the two things that describe hog-nosed type bats

D)  those  of the hog-nosed type, equal in size to a bumblebee and in weight about as much as a penny, to  those  of 
there is a comparison error here, bat species range from those of the hog-nosed type to those of . those refer to bat species again 
other error is - equal in weight as much as penny - redundancy

E)  those  of the hog-nosed type, which is the size of a  bumblebee ,  weighing about as much as a penny , to  those  of 
there is a comparison error here, bat species range from those of the hog-nosed type to those of. those refer to bat species again 
second modifier - weighing modifies bumblebee instead of hog-nosed type bats

A is the answer!

generis · Answer

I have posted the official explanation  HERE

TheNightKing · Answer

Option D and E are trying to say this: In their physical characteristics, bat species range from physical characteristics of the X...... What? Species can't range from characteristics to characteristics. So that is just wrong.

ravigupta2912 · Answer

A) the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighing about as much as a penny, to — correct choice

B) the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and weighs about as much as a penny, to — we need a present participle to modify the hog nosed type. “Weight” is a verb and is unable to modify HNT.

C) the hog-nosed type, the size of a bumblebee and it weighs about as much as a penny to - same as B

D) those of the hog-nosed type, equal in size to a bumblebee and in weight about as much as a penny, to those of
E) those of the hog-nosed type, which is the size of a bumblebee, weighing about as much as a penny, to those of

E) those of the hog-nosed type, which is the size of a bumblebee, weighing about as much as a penny, to those of — incorrect. Now in this case we needed a “and” weighs. “Weighing” here is incorrectly modifying bumblebee.

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bidskamikaze · Answer

Hi  generis  ,

I have one question:
Do the phrases with an "of" preposition count as appositives (Noun + Noun Modifier) ?
As per my understanding, appositive must contain one of the following: that clause, present participle, or past participle.
The second part of option A (.. and weighing about as much as a penny ) seems ok, but what about  " the size of a bumblebee " ?

Please correct my understanding.

Mavisdu1017 · Answer

I do not think any options is correct answer.
In A, size is a noun, while weighing is verb (“the weighing” would be correct), so this one does not parallel.
Also, our task is to eliminate the wrong option, but this one is also a wrong opinion. And we can not compare the fallacy of each option and judge whose fallacy is more serious.

In their physical characteristics, bat species range from the hog

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

In their physical characteristics, bat species range from the hog

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