On most calendars in North America, Sunday is the first day of the wee

Question

On most calendars in North America,  Sunday is the first day of the week and Saturday the last —in contrast to those in many other locations, where the standard week begins with Monday and ends with Sunday.

(A) Sunday is the first day of the week and Saturday the last

(B) Sunday is the first day of the week, Saturday being the last

(C) the first day of the week is Sunday, the last is Saturday

(D) Sunday is the first day of the week, ending on Saturday

(E) the first day of the week is Sunday, and it ends with Saturday

Day 7 Question of the Verbal Contest: GMAT Club RATT Race 
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souvik101990 · Accepted Answer

(A) CORRECT 
This choice correctly sets off the two days, Sunday and Saturday, as parallel elements. The opening modifier modifies each of these separately: On most calendars, Sunday is the first day of the week… On most calendars, Saturday (is) the last (day of the week). The parallelism allows you to pick up the words is and day of the week and apply them equally to the second parallel element.

(B) Incorrect
Modifier: The second part of this choice, Saturday being the last, is now constructed as a modifier, but it does not logically refer to the text before it (Sunday is…). Rather, Saturday and Sunday should play equal roles in the sentence; one should not modify the other.

(C) Incorrect
Sentence Structure: This one is almost okay! However, it’s missing the word and between the two parallel elements. This is a proper sentence: The first day of the week is Sunday and the last is Saturday. This is a run-on sentence: The first day of the week is Sunday, the last is Saturday.

(D) Incorrect
Modifier: a comma –ing modifier is an adverbial modifier, not a noun modifier. It refers to the main subject and verb of the clause to which it is attached. In this case, that clause is Sunday is the first day of the week. It is illogical to say that Sunday is the first day ends on Saturday. The week ends on Saturday, not Sunday or the first day of the week.

(E) Incorrect
Meaning / Parallelism / Pronoun: This choice is trying to say that the week ends with Saturday, but the parallel structure implies that the subject pronoun it refers to the subject the first day. The first day does not, of course, end with Saturday.

zxcvbnmas · Answer

I'm keeping my fingers crossed. since we are comparing days so I think the right way is "first day comma then last day" :roll:

pushkar2014 · Answer

On most calendars in North America, Sunday is the first day of the week and Saturday the last—in contrast to those in many other locations, where the standard week begins with Monday and ends with Sunday.

(A) Sunday is the first day of the week and Saturday the last...........  there is no verb in .....saturday the last
 
(B) Sunday is the first day of the week, Saturday being the last...........  being is wrongly used here

(C) the first day of the week is Sunday, the last is Saturday.................. correct choice as per me

(D) Sunday is the first day of the week, ending on Saturday...............  sunday is not ending on saturday rather the week ends on saturday
 
(E) the first day of the week is Sunday, and it ends with Saturday..............  the first day does not end with saturday......

atturhari · Answer

The POE is between A and C.

B is wrong, as "being" is used to represent temporary occurrence.

A lacks a verb, so "C" for me.

Ok now would this "Sunday is the first day of the week,  and Saturday the last" be correct?

spetznaz · Answer

Got this wrong. Can someone explain why in option A the verb is missing ?

i.e in Sunday is the first day of the week and Saturday the last : The parallel elements are 
1) Sunday is the first day of the week 
2) Saturday the last.

Should not 2) be Saturday is the last ?

If I assume that "is" is common , in that case the phrases "the first day of the week" and "Saturday the last" will have to be parallel(which I assume is not the case !) ?

Experts please help !

sayantanc2k · Answer

Here two clauses are parallel, not two phrases. They are:
X = Sunday is the first day of the week
Y = Saturday (is) the last (day of the week)

It is allowed (although not mandatory) to omit repeated parts (even a verb) from the second item of two parallel elements, if the meaning is not obscured.

Hence it is alright to say:

Sunday is the first day of the week and Saturday  (is)  the last  (day of the week) .

dabhishek87 · Answer

On most calendars in North America,  Sunday is the first day of the week and Saturday the last —in contrast to those in many other locations, where the standard week begins with Monday and ends with Sunday.

(A) Sunday is the first day of the week and Saturday the last  correct, parallelism

(B) Sunday is the first day of the week, Saturday being the last  being the last is incorrect

(C) the first day of the week is Sunday, the last is Saturday  run on sentence, no conjuction

(D) Sunday is the first day of the week, ending on Saturday  second part is acting as modifier modifying Sunday

(E) the first day of the week is Sunday, and it ends with Saturday  changes meaning, "it" does not have clear antecedent

deep31993 · Answer

Can someone mention why choice A is wrong? Verb "is" is missing in choice A

gmatstuff123 · Answer

Bunuel  There is a lot of confusion here, request you to kindly clarify. Especially between the options A and C.

On most calendars in North America, Sunday is the first day of the wee

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

On most calendars in North America, Sunday is the first day of the wee

Prep Toolkit

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