Florida s Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail, a mixed-use

Read it this way:

Florida’s Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail, a mixed-use recreation trail paved over an old rail bed, is a curious paradox: it is X yet (it) is Y.
This is not // when you use it.

"Yet is" is correct here.
D has incorrect use of but also.

So the correct answer is A.

Does that mean that the sentence below is also correct ??
it is pricy , yet is affordable.
or should it be
it is pricey yet it is affordable.

I think this should be the correct structure. By elimination we can reach A easily.
B) not only is but also exclusively designed ----- not only but also should have parallel parts
C) not only missing.
D) not only missing.
E) not only completely man-made but also is ---- not only but also should have parallel parts

It depends on the exact sentence but it would be correct to say :

......it is pricy , yet is affordable.....
or
......it is pricy yet affordable.

The choice depends on how it is used and how the sentence ends.

"it is pricey yet it is affordable." is wordy.

Hope it helps.

Thanks for the explanation Matt. However, in choice A not only preceedes an adverb (completely) while but also preceedes a verb (designed). Doesn't it make the sentence structurally not parallel. Please help

Dear rishabchoraria,
I'm happy to respond. BTW, my name is Mike.

Here's version (A), the OA:
Florida’s Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail, a mixed-use recreation trail paved over an old rail bed, is a curious paradox: it is not only completely man-made but also designed exclusively for human use, yet is classified as a state park.

The Parallelism in this OA is perfect. You see, parallelism is not purely a grammatical structure following strict mathematical rules --- if you get too formalistic about parallelism, you will completely misunderstand it. Logic & meaning are as important to parallel structure as is grammar. Here, we are giving two descriptions of the Trail --- it is
(1) completely man-made
(2) designed exclusively for human use
In terms of meaning, these two phrases are completely parallel. Don't be so literalistic in your analysis of parallelism --- parallelism is a highly sophisticated structure that accommodates a wide variety of constructions. If you approach it in a formulaic manner, you will totally misunderstand it.

Here are a couple blogs you may find helpful:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2013/parallelis ... orrection/
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2013/gmat-paral ... ce-inside/
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2013/dropping-c ... -the-gmat/

Does all this make sense?
Mike

Mike please explain why in A , "yet (it) is classified.." why "it" is assumed here? Why ? when do we know that the subject even when not stated is there by default?
Just because of this i thought A was wrong. and marked B in a hurry

Dear tushain,
I'm happy to help.

Parallelism is very tricky, because it can take many forms. One perfectly valid form is two independent clauses in parallel, typically used when the two subjects are different.
I walk and Chris runs.
When the subject is the same, we can simply put two verbs in parallel with the same subject.
I walk sometimes and drive sometimes.
It would be repetitive to state the subject twice.

Fundamentally, that's the structure here. Here it is, very simplified.
... it is man-made, yet is classified as a state park.
It's just that the first independent clause is very complicated --- it has a "not only ... but also" structure nested inside of it. Nevertheless, we have the same parallelism --- two verbs parallel with a common subject.
... it is not only completely man-made but also designed exclusively for human use, yet is classified as a state park.

Recognizing parallelism is hard, because parallelism can often take so many forms, and because the GMAT loves long sentences with one complicated grammatical structure nested inside another, as we have here. For more on nested grammatical structures, see:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2014/nested-gra ... orrection/

My friend, you have probably heard me say this before, but the only way you develop the skills to recognize complex parallelism is by reading. You need to read every day, at least an hour a day --- that's over and above any GMAT preparations you are doing. Here are some suggestions for what to read:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/gmat-reading-list/
There are no magical rules that will help you in 100% of the cases. You need to do the hard work of reading every day, so that you build intuition for the deep structure of sentences.

Does all this make sense?
Mike

A is also wrong , it violates the grammar rules. The correct should be " It is X yet is Y" or "It is X , yet it is Y."

mike -

Shouldn't the answer be something like this ?

is not only completely man-made but also exclusively designed for human use, yet is

Dear vedavyas9,
I'm happy to respond. Here's the OA again:
Florida’s Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail, a mixed-use recreation trail paved over an old rail bed, is a curious paradox: it is not only completely man-made but also designed exclusively for human use, yet is classified as a state park.

Parallelism is funny. It's a pattern of matching, but it operates primarily at the level of logic, and only secondarily at the level of grammar. In parallelism, we need to match the overall framing ---- verb to verb, infinitive to infinitive, etc. --- but we don't have to match every single piece within the structure in the exact same place. That is NOT a requirement of parallelism. Sometimes, for rhetorical purposes, it's effective to extend that pattern of matching to the other words within the structure: that can be done for dramatic effect in some instances, but it's not a rigorous grammatical requirement.

Here, the framing structure consists of two noun modifiers in parallel, an adjective "man-made" and a participle "designed." Part of what is important is that these two words have a matching role grammatically. More important, they are also logically parallel --- they both describe the human activity & intentions in creating this trail. The placement of the adjective with respect to the noun-modifiers is secondary --- there is no compelling reason to put each adverb before its respective noun-modifier. In fact, the phrasing in the OA is more natural and make more sense logically. This is a superbly designed sentence: MGMAT produces very good problems.

See:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2013/paralleli ... orrection/

Does all this make sense?
Mike

Hi Mike,

Can you please justify the usage of comma ',' before yet in option A?

thanks.

Dear DesiGmat,
I'm happy to respond. Here's the text of the question again:
Florida’s Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail, a mixed-use recreation trail paved over an old rail bed, is a curious paradox: it is not only completely man-made but also designed exclusively for human use, yet is classified as a state park.
(A) is not only completely man-made but also designed exclusively for human use, yet is
(B) not only is completely man-made but also exclusively designed for human use, yet it is
(C) is completely man-made but also exclusively designed for human use, yet
(D) is completely man-made but also has been designed exclusively for human use, yet is
(E) is not only completely man-made but also is exclusively designed for human use, yet

There are a few ways to respond to your question. One way is simply to say: ultimately, all written language reflects spoken language. The human race invented writing in the first place only because it lasts and what we speak doesn't. All punctuation ultimately reflects the natural pauses and cadences used in real-life speech.

Think about a person who actually knows and cares about Florida’s Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail. Imagine that person speaking this sentence to us. The nature of the contrast that happens at the word "yet" would almost necessitate a short pause there --- hence, the comma. Do you know the face that someone makes when they are telling you something that they know you won't expect or believe? Imagine the person telling us about this trail making that face right at that point in the sentence. The comma and the word "yet" correspond to the emotion in that face.

You see, if you try to understand punctuation purely as a rule-based, quasi-mathematical exercise, and you overlook the living quality of language, you will miss what really drives language. Think about it. Real people with real motivations & intentions & passions & dreams & frustrations & worries & doubts speak the language, and all those rich nuances of emotion are communicated in the language. Of course, on the GMAT SC, we don't get sentences about people fantasies or love-life problems: it's a little more academic and clinical. Nevertheless, even with this material --- issues of history, issues of economics, even things such as Florida’s Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail --- people have real feelings, real passions and concerns, and this is reflected in the language.

It's very easy to fall into a narrow literalist view when tackling GMAT SC. It can be so helpful to step back and remember: each sentence theoretically was written by someone who cares about the topic, who is concerned about it enough to communicate something about it to us. If you feel into that person's drives & motivations, that will give you a whole new level of understanding of the way language is used.

Now, having said all that, I can only say --- when there's a strong "change in direction" of the logic of the sentence, a surprising and unexpected turn in the flow of thought, then this often merits a comma. It's common to have commas separating the phrases & clause of strong contrast words from the rest of the sentence, precisely because there's a break in the logical flow of the sentence. That's a general pattern, but not a rigid mathematical rule. Again, it all depends on the living quality of the language.

How do you develop a deeper appreciation of the living quality of the language? Very simple. Read. Read every day, for an hour a day, over and above any GMAT preparations. See these blogs for more detail:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2014/how-to-imp ... bal-score/
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/gmat-reading-list/

Does all this make sense?
Mike

I have a query about the idiom.

Is it always necessary to have not only...but also together? Are there any instances where only 'but also' is used without the 'not only'???

Dear pra1785,

I'm happy to respond.

My friend, grammar is not math. Idioms are frequently occurring patterns, but not all of them have the 100% regularity of mathematical rules. The structures "not only" and "but also" are found together the majority of the time, but multiple variations exist that also are perfectly correct. There are correct sentences that have several variations, including either one without the other.

My friend, I will caution you. It is 100% impossible to arrive at SC mastery by learning some chimerical "complete collection" of grammar rules. No such collection exists and it would be of only limited value if it were to exist. The only way to arrive at SC mastery, especially for a non-native speaker, is to develop an assiduous habit of reading. See:
How to Improve Your GMAT Verbal Score

Does all this make sense?
Mike

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The sentence must be both structurally and logically parallel. Structurally, the parallel indicators not only … but also must precede grammatically identical constructions, and the two clauses separated by the coordinating conjunction “yet” must be grammatically parallel as well. In addition, the sentence must be idiomatically correct. In particular, the construction not only … but also is used for two ideas that reinforce one another, while the lone but also (used without not only) is used for two contrasting ideas.

(A) CORRECT. The parallel markers not only … but also are used idiomatically to emphasize logical correlation. The words man-made (which follows not only) and designed (which follows but also) are grammatically parallel: it is man-made and it is designed. Finally, the two main clauses, is not only… and is classified…, are separated by yet and are properly parallel. Since the pronoun it, referring to the trail, is the subject of the first clause, it is also by default the subject of the second; thus no subject is needed between yet and is. The verb is is required, though, to show that the second clause is parallel to the entire first clause; if is is absent, then that construction could be read, improperly, as parallel to designed exclusively for human use.

(B) Write the two parallel portions as separate sentences. It is completely man-made (following not only) is acceptable, but it exclusively designed for human use (following but also) is missing a verb! It should read it is exclusively designed.

(C) The use of but also by itself, without the accompanying not only, illogically suggests that completely man-made and designed exclusively for human use are in contrast to one another. The lack of a verb after yet creates an ambiguity in parallelism: it is unclear whether classified as a state park is parallel to the entire first clause (as intended) or only to exclusively designed.

(D) The use of but also by itself, without the accompanying not only, illogically suggests that completely man-made and designed exclusively for human use are in contrast to one another.

(E) The is before the not only...but also construction creates an issue with the second parallel element. Write the two parallel portions as separate sentences. [It is] completely man-made (following not only) is acceptable, but [it is] is exclusively designed for human use (following but also) incorrect repeats the verb is! It should only read exclusively designed. The lack of a verb after yet creates an ambiguity in parallelism: it is unclear whether classified as a state park is parallel to the entire first clause (as intended) or only to exclusively designed.

GMATGuruNY - in option A - there is a comma + FANBOY

Shouldn't a clause follow ?

I eliminated A because i did not see a clause after the Comma + Yet.