The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region

Hi Shraddha
I felt that this usage of "that" with "there was" was awkward and therefore did not pick option D. I thought that only FANBOYS can connect two clauses.
Would you be able to share some examples, other OG questions where "that" is used to connect two clauses?

Thanks in advance.

In D, is usage of “that” to introduce a clause is using it as “subordinating conjunction”?


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Is there any better way to reach OA here than to know idioms?

"The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region can, in part, be explained as a very rapid movement of people from one end of North America to the other.
(A)  The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region can, in part, be explained as
(B)  Thule artifacts being remarkably similar throughout a vast region, one explanation is
(C)  That Thule artifacts are remarkably similar throughout a vast region is, in part, explainable as
(D)  One explanation for the remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region is that there was
(E)  Throughout a vast region Thule artifacts are remarkably similar, with one explanation for this being "

Why do we eliminate options B and E, as per my understanding we eliminate A and C because of "explained as" because "AS" equates things.

(B)  Thule artifacts being remarkably similar throughout a vast region, one explanation is

(E)  Throughout a vast region Thule artifacts are remarkably similar, with one explanation for this being "

The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region can, in part, be explained as a very rapid movement of people from one end of North America to the other.


(A) The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region can, in part, be explained as

(B) Thule artifacts being remarkably similar throughout a vast region, one explanation is

(C) That Thule artifacts are remarkably similar throughout a vast region is, in part, explainable as

(D) One explanation for the remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region is that there was

(E) Throughout a vast region Thule artifacts are remarkably similar, with one explanation for this being

I rejected options with "one explanation" because the original sentence intends to say that 'a part of the reason is ...'. "One explanation" would mean that there are multiple potential explanations and one of them is.... Thoughts?

The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region can, in part, be explained as a very rapid movement of people from one end of North America to the other.

(A) The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region can, in part, be explained as

(B) Thule artifacts being remarkably similar throughout a vast region, one explanation is

(C) That Thule artifacts are remarkably similar throughout a vast region is, in part, explainable as

(D) One explanation for the remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region is that there was

(E) Throughout a vast region, Thule artifacts are remarkably similar, with one explanation for this being

bharatmatta wrote:
I rejected options with "one explanation" because the original sentence intends to say that 'a part of the reason is ...'. "One explanation" would mean that there are multiple potential explanations and one of them is... Thoughts?

Hello Everyone!

Let's take a closer look at this question, since it appears that the original posting had to be updated at some point to fix typos. We'll look at each option and narrow it down to the right answer. To get started, here is the question with any major differences between each option highlighted in orange:

The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region can, in part, be explained as a very rapid movement of people from one end of North America to the other.


(E) Throughout a vast region Thule artifacts are remarkably similar, with one explanation for this being

This is INCORRECT because the first clause "Throughout a vast region Thule artifacts are remarkably similar" is missing a comma after the word region.

There you have it - option D is the correct answer! This was a difficult question, for sure!

Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.

Hi EMPOWERgmatVerbal
I was looking at 'with' modifier and I stumbled upon this qn.

Let's say we do add a comma - after dependent clause - throughout a vast region and consider this as a stand alone statement (not in context with other options)....Is the usage of 'with' correct? I also change latter part of the sentence to ignore any concerns with being. Is the use of 'With' good here to explain how they were remarkably similar.

Throughout a vast region, Thule artifacts are remarkably similar, with one explanation that there was a rapid movement..

Official explanation for using 'with' is below
E This version is awkward, introducing the causal connection with the unnecessarily wordy and indirect string of prepositional phrases, with one explanation for this. . . .

Hello Everyone!

Let's take a closer look at this question, since it appears that the original posting had to be updated at some point to fix typos. We'll look at each option and narrow it down to the right answer. To get started, here is the question with any major differences between each option highlighted in orange:

The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region can, in part, be explained as a very rapid movement of people from one end of North America to the other.

(A) The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region can, in part, be explained as
(B) Thule artifacts being remarkably similar throughout a vast region, one explanation is
(C) That Thule artifacts are remarkably similar throughout a vast region is, in part, explainable as
(D) One explanation for the remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region is that there was
(E) Throughout a vast region Thule artifacts are remarkably similar, with one explanation for this being

Right away, if we just read the orange parts in each option, we start to see some problems:

(A) The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region can, in part, be explained as

This answer is INCORRECT because it's saying that the similarity of Thule artifacts IS a rapid movement of people from one end of North American to another, which doesn't really make logical sense. It should say that the similarity is CAUSED BY a rapid movement of people. It's also not clear that this is only ONE explanation of many - it just says that this partly explains the similarity of artifacts.

(B) Thule artifacts being remarkably similar throughout a vast region, one explanation is

This is INCORRECT because it's unclear what the subject of the sentence is. The phrase "Thule artifacts being remarkably similar throughout a vast region" needs a verb directly after it to work because it is acting like a subject here. "One explanation" is also acting as the subject. We can't have two subjects that are just stacked on top of each other like this, with nothing connecting them.

(C) That Thule artifacts are remarkably similar throughout a vast region is, in part, explainable as

This is INCORRECT for the same reason as option A. If you read carefully, it says that the phenomenon of similar artifacts IS the movement of people, not that it was CAUSED BY a sudden movement of people. This doesn't make logical sense, so let's toss this option aside.

(D) One explanation for the remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region is that there was
This is CORRECT because it conveys the proper meaning (the movement of people is one explanation for finding similar artifacts in several places), and this is absolutely clear to readers. This isn't to say this option is perfectly grammatically correct - many of you took issue with the phrase "is that there was" being overly wordy. However, this is the best answer because it conveys its meaning the clearest - even if you could argue that you could cut a few words out.

(E) Throughout a vast region Thule artifacts are remarkably similar, with one explanation for this being

This is INCORRECT because the first clause "Throughout a vast region Thule artifacts are remarkably similar" is missing a comma after the word region.

There you have it - option D is the correct answer! This was a difficult question, for sure!


Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.

This answer is INCORRECT because it's saying that the similarity of Thule artifacts IS a rapid movement of people from one end of North American to another, which doesn't really make logical sense

EMPOWERgmatVerbal - I am unable to understand the explanation for option A.

How did you derive this part? I ask this because the original sentence mentions that the similarity can be explained and not that the similarity is

Hello experts,

I think the meaning changes when we say-in parts and one explanation.
It changes from- the reason is partially responsible- to- one of the explanation out of many or some explanations-

1. Right? Or their meaning is different from mine?

Hence I thought D is changing the meaning.
I was keeping original choice’s meaning as the right meaning.

2. Also, when as is used as a reason, doesn’t it require a clause?
The only clause after as is in choice D.

3. What’s wrong with choice B exactly?