On the Great Plains, nineteenth-century settlers used mud and grass to

Question

On the Great Plains, nineteenth-century settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, doing it without timber and nails.

(A) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, doing it without

(B) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, did it without

(C) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, making them while not having

(D) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, making do without

(E) settlers’ homes were built of mud and grass, making do without

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https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/12/us/economic-pulse-great-plains-plains-while-still-bleak-offer-chance-few.html

Survival has always demanded ingenuity in the Great Plains, where 19th-century settlers, making do without timber and nails, used mud and grass to build their homes.

I need explanations ..No IMO pls

even if you say its B, pls explain WHY not ACDE?
This way, we will learn more
[Edited:Also, what's the meaning of "making do without"? :? ]

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Official Answer

D

even if you say its B, pls explain WHY not ACDE? This way, we will learn more :? ]

SaraiYaseenGMAT · Accepted Answer

]On the Great Plains, nineteenth-century  settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, doing it without  timber and nails

(A) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, doing it without
 "IT" here is 'trying' to refer to the entire concept-- "build their homes". But 'it', a pronoun, must have a specific  written  noun to which it refers in the sentence.

(B) settlers, using mud and grass to build their homes, did it without
 Same problem as in A.

(C) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, making them while not having
 "Them" is a bit ambiguous, for it sounds as thought it could be referring to "mud and grass". Moreover, the meaning is incorrect. It makes sense to say that I did my homework while riding the bus, but it does not make sense to say that I did my homework while not having a pen. "While" should express to actions in process at the same time, but 'possessing' something is not a process, but just a state.

(D) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, making do without

"Make do without" means "to get by without"-- Ex. We made do with what provisions we had at the camp site.

(E) settlers’ homes were built of mud and grass, making do without

The subject here is homes. Because of the possessive (settlers') there are NO SETTLERS in the sentences.   GMAX tip:    The possessive works like an adjective!!  So the present participle 'making' has nothing logical to describe.

SaraiYaseenGMAT · Answer

Just to encourage the non-native speakers out there, an idiom that is familiar to native speakers, but not always to international students, comes into play here:

"to make do without" means "to get by without".

Nevertheless, focusing on the misuse of pronouns and making sure that the modifier "making" has someone to modify should get you to the right answer even if the idiom is new to you....

icandy · Answer

This is a tough Q.

Unless one knows that "make do" is a valid english construct, he/she will not pick D

Another long and difficult way of arriving at D is POE

doing it, did it are always wrong.

them in C can refer to M & G / Homes

E has an issue because says that Homes made do.

nitya34 · Answer

Its D
discussed two weeks back

(A) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, doing it without
(B) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, did it without
(C) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, making them while not having
(D) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, making do without
(E) settlers’ homes were built of mud and grass, making do without

Non-Native speaker has to understand the meaning of "making do" :idea:

nitya34 · Answer

did googling and got
===
make do with/ without(idiom) => use whatever you can find, substitute, to succeed in dealing with a situation by using what is available/despite not having something, to manage with that is not really satisfactory, to manage with the things that you have e.g When our kids don't have toys, they make do with pots and pans.
==============
https://gmatsentencecorrection.blogspot. ... html#links

bakfed · Answer

On the Great Plains, nineteenth-century settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, doing it without timber and nails. 
(A) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, doing it without 
(B) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, did it without 
(C) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, making them while not having 
(D) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, making do without 
(E) settlers’ homes were built of mud and grass, making do without

Here's my take on this question (I also apply the same knowledge as I take on any other SC Q's)
(A) says "doing it without". At this very point, you need to ask yourself what is "it" referring to? "It" cannot refer to homes as homes is a plural noun; therefore, the least the answer can do is put doing "them" without.
(B) repeats the same problem in (A), which is the pronoun problem, something that is deeply tested on all standardized tests when SC applies, and pronoun error is always and forever wrong.
(C) switches "it" to "them", for which you need to ask yourself again the question of what is "them"?" Is "them" referring to homes? Is "them" referring to settlers? If you cannot distinguish the referrent of that pronoun, the pronoun is ambiguous, which is (again) always and forever wrong.
(D) has the construct of "making do", which is correct. Even if you didn't know that, POE can bring you down to just D alone.
(E) switches the main focus of settlers to settlers' homes. The change is subtle, but in terms of the construction of the sentence, it distorts the meaning. Are the "homes" themselves making do without timber? That is impossible; it has to be that the settlers can build these houses w/out timbers.

After all the POE, the only one that can make any remote sense is (D).

GyanOne · Answer

The answer should be (D).

In (A), 'doing it without' is awkward usage.
In (B), 'did it without' is grammatically incorrect. 
In (E), the passive voice is used, and it is unclear who did without the timber and nails - the settlers or the homes 
In (C), the usage is more awkward ('making them while not having') as compared to (D).

(D) is the best choice because it is in active voice, the settlers (subject) can clearly be seen to be acting on the timber and nails (object), and 'making do without' clearly conveys the meaning without the awkwardness in (C).

Chembeti · Answer

"make" can take many different prepositions like "make do", "make up", "make for", etc.

"make do" --> to adjust/accomplish with whatever is available

here we are saying those settlers, even though they did not have timber and nails, could build homes with just mud and grass

thevenus · Answer

"making do" is pretty uncommon ! Need experts advice on this.POE can give the answer very well but logic remains unclear.

MGMAT has given a fantastic solution for the same; find out thru the following ling:-

https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/on- ... t4299.html

egmat · Answer

HI @thevenus, Yes, I agree that "make do" is not a very common idiom for non-natives. However, thorough PoE can lead us to the correct answer choice. In choices A and B , "it" does not have a noun antecedent. In choice C , "while not having" is awkward. In choice E , there is a modifier error. Comma + making (the verb-ing) modifier does not make sense with "settler's home". Hence, choice D stands. So now we know that "make do" is a correct idiom. However, now official questions are more meaning-based. In fact, idioms are not being tested so much now. This one is a one-off question. But we can still learn from it the new idiom. Hope this helps.

Thanks. Shraddha

semwal · Answer

On the Great Plains, nineteenth-century  settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, doing it without  timber and nails

incorrect portions highlighted.........

(A) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, doing it  without....WHAT WAS THIS "IT"
(B) settlers, using  mud and grass to build their homes,  did it without
(C) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, making them  while  not having...WAS IT A SIMULTANEOUS ACT WITH SOMETHING ELSE ?
(D) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, making do without.... CORRECT
(E) settlers’ homes were built of mud and grass, making do without.... BUT WE KNOW THEY BUILT IT THEMSELVES....

vaibhavgpt138 · Answer

In this question, the option (D) specifies "settler" and not "settlers". This makes it easy to eliminate "D". Any clarifications on this would be helpful.

AryamaDuttaSaikia · Answer

Yes, the option needs to specify "Settlers" rather than "Settler" (Since, the option uses "Their").

D is the best (logically and grammatically) among the five options.

a. Doing it - Wrong usage (action can't be represented by it)

b. same problem as in a

c.awkward and incorrect usage of while (it is used as a contrast marker in this sentence, it must be followed by a clause)

e. no clear referent of verbing "making"

mihir0710 · Answer

Explanation by Ron on Manhattan Forum :

First off, " make do " is an idiomatic expression meaning, roughly, "get the job done" or "accomplish some planned goal". So that's fine, the above guest poster's assertion to the contrary notwithstanding.

(a) and (b) are gone because "it" doesn't have an antecedent.

(e) is gone because "settlers' homes" is the subject, creating the absurd meaning that the homes themselves "made do" — i.e., that the homes built themselves.

(d) is better than (c) for the following reasons:

* " making them " would be wholly redundant, because we just got done saying "to build their homes". If this were the intended meaning, we'd just write "...used mud and grass to build their homes, without timber and nails". On the other hand, "making do" (which, as noted above, is an acceptable idiom) is acceptable as a modifier because it doesn't restate anything from the main clause.

* " while not having " is way, way inferior to " without ". In fact, if you've seen enough official problems, you'll eliminate wordy constructions like this on sight; they're common, and they're basically never correct (especially when they're alongside much more compact constructions, such as "without", in the answer choices).

gmatimothy · Answer

"Making do" = idiom meaning "Getting by"

(D) correct

Oppenheimer1945 · Answer

KarishmaB ,
 Can you suggest how option A can be corrected? 
settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, doing without

I've never come across such idiom as given in option D.

Raman109 · Answer

On the Great Plains, nineteenth-century  settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, doing it without  timber and nails.

Option Elimination -

(A) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, doing it without - "it" as a pronoun refers to the act of "building" which is wrong. A pronoun can refer to a noun but a verb. Wrong.

(B) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, did it without - same issues as A.

(C) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, making them while not having - "them" referring to "homes" is redundant when we already know, and we have "homes" present earlier. Why then repeat it in such a short sentence? Wrong. There is nothing inherently wrong with "while not having," but it's less concise than "without." Both "while not having" and "without" are grammatically correct, but D is a better option if we look at redundancy and lack of conciseness in option C.

(D) settlers used mud and grass to build their homes, making do without - ok 
 make do  is used when one needs to adapt or improvise due to lacking resources, time, or options. 
Examples - 
We don't have enough chairs for everyone, so we'll make do with some cushions on the floor.
Sorry, I don't have all the ingredients for the recipe, but I'll make do with what I have in the pantry.

(E) settlers’ homes were built of mud and grass, making do without - "homes" is not the right subject for "making do without." Who does "making do without"? Settlers and not homes.

vedha0 · Answer

A and B have the proposition IT which can't be used to modify an action like building homes.

C uses while and messes with the meaning. intended meaning is to say they build homes with one material despite not having other material. not WHILE not having not other material.

E messes with the meaning by making homes as the subject. we are commenting about how settlers built their homes.

D has everyhting right

On the Great Plains, nineteenth-century settlers used mud and grass to

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On the Great Plains, nineteenth-century settlers used mud and grass to

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