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22 Jul 2008, 06:40
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Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
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Like embryonic germ cells, which are cells that develop early in the formation of the fetus and that later generate eggs or sperm, embryonic stem cells have the ability of developing themselves into different kinds of body tissue.
(A) embryonic stem cells have the ability of developing themselves into different kinds of body tissue
(B) embryonic stem cells have the ability to develop into different kinds of body tissue
(C) in embryonic stem cells there is the ability to develop into different kinds of body tissue
(D) the ability to develop themselves into different kinds of body tissue characterizes embryonic stem cells
(E) the ability of developing into different kinds of body tissue characterizes embryonic stem cells
(A) embryonic stem cells have the ability of developing themselves into different kinds of body tissue
(B) embryonic stem cells have the ability to develop into different kinds of body tissue
(C) in embryonic stem cells there is the ability to develop into different kinds of body tissue
(D) the ability to develop themselves into different kinds of body tissue characterizes embryonic stem cells
(E) the ability of developing into different kinds of body tissue characterizes embryonic stem cells
22 Oct 2012, 06:55
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Hi folks,
In this official question, selection of correct answer lies on the knowledge of correct idiom and not mere conciseness. “Ability of” and “ability to” both are correct expressions. However, they are used differently.
“Ability of” is generally followed by a “proper” noun. This noun can be a person, an organization, a group, a thing, etc. Here we are not talking about a noun form of any word or a gerund. Following are a few examples from The New York Times:
1. Separately, some of the animals also were injected with a drug that blocks the ability of male sex hormones to bind to receptors in the brain.
2. International relief officials reported an increasingly grim aid crisis stemming from the Syria conflict on Tuesday, with two million people there not getting desperately needed help, and a sudden acceleration of refugees overwhelming the ability of neighboring countries to absorb them.
3. An experimental drug preserved and even improved the walking ability of boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy in a clinical trial, raising hopes that the first effective treatment for the disease may be on the horizon.
When we use "ability to, it is followed by a verb.
Now let’s study the official question.
Like embryonic germ cells, which are cells that develop early in the formation of the fetus and that later generate eggs or sperm, embryonic stem cells have the ability of developing themselves into different kinds of body tissue.
This sentence is clearly talking about the ability of embryonic stem cells, a noun, to do something. Hence, we must use the expression “ability to” to communicate that. Notice that use of “ability of developing” is not correct here because “developing” is an ‘ing” noun form, a gerund, and not a “proper” noun.
Hence, the context of the sentence determines the correct usage of the idiom appropriate for that particular sentence.
Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha
In this official question, selection of correct answer lies on the knowledge of correct idiom and not mere conciseness. “Ability of” and “ability to” both are correct expressions. However, they are used differently.
“Ability of” is generally followed by a “proper” noun. This noun can be a person, an organization, a group, a thing, etc. Here we are not talking about a noun form of any word or a gerund. Following are a few examples from The New York Times:
1. Separately, some of the animals also were injected with a drug that blocks the ability of male sex hormones to bind to receptors in the brain.
2. International relief officials reported an increasingly grim aid crisis stemming from the Syria conflict on Tuesday, with two million people there not getting desperately needed help, and a sudden acceleration of refugees overwhelming the ability of neighboring countries to absorb them.
3. An experimental drug preserved and even improved the walking ability of boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy in a clinical trial, raising hopes that the first effective treatment for the disease may be on the horizon.
When we use "ability to, it is followed by a verb.
Now let’s study the official question.
Like embryonic germ cells, which are cells that develop early in the formation of the fetus and that later generate eggs or sperm, embryonic stem cells have the ability of developing themselves into different kinds of body tissue.
This sentence is clearly talking about the ability of embryonic stem cells, a noun, to do something. Hence, we must use the expression “ability to” to communicate that. Notice that use of “ability of developing” is not correct here because “developing” is an ‘ing” noun form, a gerund, and not a “proper” noun.
Hence, the context of the sentence determines the correct usage of the idiom appropriate for that particular sentence.
Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha
03 Sep 2018, 11:24
Kudos
Bookmarks
Quote:
Like embryonic germ cells, which are cells that develop early in the formation of the fetus and that later generate eggs or sperm, embryonic stem cells have the ability of developing themselves into different kinds of body tissue.
As it's written, the sentence makes a comparison between embryonic germ cells and embryonic stem cells. The structure of the sentence supports this comparison grammatically. Let's start by eliminating any answer choices that have straightforward grammatical errors.
Quote:
(C) in embryonic stem cells there is the ability to develop into different kinds of body tissue
This choice introduces an error by introducing a comparison of two things that definitely aren't intended to be compared. If we choose (C), then we'll end up with the following erroneous construction:- Like embryonic germ cells, which are cells that develop early in the formation of the fetus and that later generate eggs or sperm, in embryonic stem cells there is the ability to develop into into different kinds of body tissue.
"Embryonic germ cells" cannot be compared to "in embryonic stem cells." They must be compared to "embryonic stem cells." So let's eliminate (C).
Quote:
(D) the ability to develop themselves into different kinds of body tissue characterizes embryonic stem cells
We'll eliminate this choice for the exact same reason we eliminated choice (C): It breaks the author's intent to compare one type of cell to another type of cell."Embryonic germ cells" cannot be compared to "the ability," so eliminate (D) and move on.
Quote:
(E) the ability of developing into different kinds of body tissue characterizes embryonic stem cells
We'll eliminate this choice for the exact same reason we eliminated choice (C) and choice (D)."Embryonic germ cells" cannot be compared to "the ability," so eliminate (E).
OK! Now that we've gotten the easy stuff out of the way, let's get back to (A) and (B).
Quote:
(A) embryonic stem cells have the ability of developing themselves into different kinds of body tissue.
Here, we see that the underlined portion itself isn't quite right. We typically use the phrase "the ability of _________________" when an ability belongs to whatever is filling in the blank:- In their efforts to develop a new kind of skin graft, scientists have harnessed the ability of lizards to regenerate tails.
- The abilities of Superman are virtually limitless.
But in this sentence, we're told that "embryonic stem cells have the ability of developing themselves into different kinds of body tissue." This choice of preposition ("of") isn't appropriate for what the author means. The author means that embryonic stem cells can develop themselves into different kinds of body tissue, not that embryonic stem cells have the same kind of ability that "developing themselves" has.
You could also argue that there's no good reason to say "developing themselves." It's probably enough just to say that the cells "develop into" some other type of cell, so "developing themselves into" another type of cell is probably redundant.
So we have a couple of good reasons to eliminate (A).
Quote:
(B) embryonic stem cells have the ability to develop into different kinds of body tissue
This looks good! It's exactly the same as the original underlined portion, except that the preposition error has been fixed, and the potential redundancy of "developing themselves has been eliminated. So (B) is our winner.
