It is called a palace, but the ornately adorned Taj Mahal is actually

Question

It is called a palace, but the ornately adorned Taj Mahal is actually the largest tomb in the world, which is surrounded  by beautiful lakes with fountains and flower gardens.

A. It is called a palace, but the ornately adorned Taj Mahal is actually the largest tomb in the world, which is surrounded

B. Although it is called a palace, actually the ornately adorned Taj Mahal is the largest tomb in the world, which surrounds

C. Though called a palace, but it actually is the largest tomb in the world, the ornately adorned Taj Mahal surrounded

D. Despite being called a palace, the largest tomb in the world is actually the ornately adorned Taj Mahal, surrounding

E. Though called a palace, the ornately adorned Taj Mahal is actually the largest tomb in the world, and is surrounded

Source-  GMAT  Whiz

JHWU · Answer

E. Though called a palace, the ornately adorned Taj Mahal is actually the largest tomb in the world, and is surrounded - is it necessary to have "it" in front of "is surrounded"?

NiftyNiffler · Answer

It is called a palace, but the ornately adorned Taj Mahal is actually the largest tomb in the world, which is surrounded  by beautiful lakes with fountains and flower gardens.

At first glance, "which" should modify Taj mahal and not "world" and "It is called a palace" is unnecessarily wordy with pronoun in it and thus can be done away with the usage of a right conjunction.

A. It is called a palace, but the ornately adorned Taj Mahal is actually the largest tomb in the world,  which  is surrounded

B. Although it is called a palace, actually the ornately adorned Taj Mahal is the largest tomb in the world,  which  surrounds

C. Though called a palace, but it actually is the largest tomb in the world, the ornately adorned Taj Mahal surrounded  -- Very awkward and wordy.

D. Despite being called a palace, the largest tomb in the world is actually the ornately adorned Taj Mahal, surrounding  -- "being" (booooo !)

E. Though called a palace, the ornately adorned Taj Mahal is actually the largest tomb in the world, and is surrounded  -- CORRECT, modifiers in place and no unwanted pronouns

NunuBot · Answer

It is called a palace, but the ornately adorned Taj Mahal is actually the largest tomb in the world, which is surrounded  by beautiful lakes with fountains and flower gardens.

A. It is called a palace, but the ornately adorned Taj Mahal is actually the largest tomb in the world,   which   is surrounded

B. Although it is called a palace, actually the ornately adorned Taj Mahal is the largest tomb in the world,   which surrounds

C. Though called a palace, but it actually is the largest tomb in the world, the ornately adorned Taj Mahal   surrounded

D. Despite being called a palace, the largest tomb in the world is actually the ornately adorned Taj Mahal,   surrounding

E. Though called a palace, the ornately adorned Taj Mahal is actually the largest tomb in the world,   and   is surrounded

---

B / C / D can be immediately eliminated because Taj Mahal cannot "surrounds by" or "surrounding by", and "Taj Mahal surrounded by..." requires a verb.

A is eliminated because "which" modifies the nearest noun, which in this option is "tomb".

E is correct - (Taj Mahal is the largest tomb) and (is surrounded by lakes ...), the construct is parallel and grammatically correct.

daagh · Answer

It is called a palace, but the ornately adorned Taj Mahan is actually the largest tomb in the world, which is surrounded  by beautiful lakes with fountains and flower gardens.

The first thing to be remembered here is that the relative pronoun ‘which’ logically and legally refers to the tomb and not to the world. Please do not be in a hurry to reject choices A and B because of the touch rule foul.

A. It is called a palace, but the ornately adorned Taj Mahal is actually the largest tomb in the world, which is surrounded ----- A is wordy’. There is no need to call it a palace and then also a tomb; the word ’actually’ doesn’t serve any special purpose in the context. This can be eliminated.

B. Although it is called a palace, actually the ornately adorned Taj Mahal is the largest tomb in the world, which surrounds --- the tomb doesn’t surround the lakes and gardens. It is the reverse. -- drop

C. Though called a palace, but it actually is the largest tomb in the world, the ornately adorned Taj Mahal surrounded --- ‘Though and but’ are redundant. --- Drop

D. Despite being called a palace, the largest tomb in the world is actually the ornately adorned Taj Mahal, surrounding --- modification error’ – What is called a palace is the Taj Mahal, not the tomb.

E. Though called a palace, the ornately adorned Taj Mahal is actually the largest tomb in the world, and is surrounded ---  The correct choice.

SiffyB · Answer

Hi  daagh ,

Why can't which refer to Taj Mahal?

daagh · Answer

abcd
Because tomb is the nearest noun and TajMahal is beyond a verb(is), which a relative pronoun cannot jump over and refer to.

It is called a palace, but the ornately adorned Taj Mahal is actually

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

It is called a palace, but the ornately adorned Taj Mahal is actually

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