generis wrote:
Nicely done! You took the initiative to research an issue, digested what you found, and returned with a well-formulated question.
(A) is not ungrammatical. You're right.
You're probably not going to like this answer, but stylistically, (A) is not quite as good as (E).
In Ron's example, although means "but":
She'll be coming tonight, although I don't know exactly when.Example taken from the definition
HEREIn this case, although means "despite the fact that" or "despite being."
She walked home by herself, although she knew that it was dangerous.Nevertheless means "in spite of that fact."
In (A), the simultaneous use of
although and
nevertheless is at best not necessary and at worst redundant.
The negation in the sentence makes matters worse (the FBI does NOT enforce law).
Sometimes really stripped versions help. Compare A and E:
(A) Even though X is an ABC, nevertheless X does not DEF.
(E) X, although it is an ABC, does not DEF.
I vote for E on three bases:
1) I'm sure that there are no redundancy issues.
2) Clarity - my native inner ear easily hears A without issue, but when I compare E to A, as I did in the stripped versions, E is clearer
3) concision: E says the same thing as A does, but E uses fewer words. (I admit that I am not a fan of this basis when options are this close, but GMAC is fairly strict about concision.)
Good work! +1
Hi Generis,
I enjoyed your detailed explanation. However, let me share a bit dissenting view.
A. Although it is a federal body, nevertheless the Federal Bureau of Investigation does not enforce law in the United States...In this particular choice both
although and
nevertheless indeed mean
despite the fact that. Nevertheless, I don’t think that their simultaneous usage is at best not necessary and at worst redundant. Please consider the following example from the 2002 CGEL, page 776, example [2.iii], Huddleston Rodney, Pullum Geoffrey K. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language:
Although he affects a gruff exterior in many instances, nevertheless he is fundamentally a man of warm heart and gentle disposition.Here is the explanation given in the book: “Another very common case is represented in [2.iii], where the connective adjunct has a
reduplicative role: the relation between the main and subordinate clauses is already marked by although, so that nevertheless simply marks this relationship a second time”. In above example
although and
nevertheless both again mean
despite the fact that, and their simultaneous usage is stylistically justifiable. Therefore, A has no mistake. Even though E is more concise than A, I still prefer A to E because E has a more serious mistake. Let’s sort E out.
E. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, although it is a federal body, does not enforce law in the United States...According to Ron and Cambridge Dictionary the red part of the sentence is incorrect. Ron says that “If (al)though xxxxx INTERRUPTS the sentence, then xxxx should be only a modifier. In this case, xxxxx should NOT be a complete sentence”. For example:
Paula, though exhausted, managed to stay awake through her son's entire piano recital. Audrey just admitted, though inadvertently, how she really feels about her mother-in-law. The strong retail sales figures released today seem to indicate that the economy, although growing slowly, is not nearing a recession. (
OG 13, SC36)
In all above examples (al)though xxxxx is in the form of a modifier and doesn’t have a verb in it. But in E ‘
although it is a federal body’ is a complete sentence with a verb
is and thus E is incorrect.
More on Ron’s view please read here:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/foru ... 31750.html Additionally, Cambridge Dictionary says that “In formal situations, we can use
although and
though to introduce an
-ing clause”. For example:
Peter, although working harder this term, still needs to put more work into mathematics. The patient, though getting stronger, is still not well enough to come off his medication.Cambridge Dictionary continues that “In formal speaking or writing, we can use
although,
though and
even though to introduce a clause
without a verb (a reduced clause)”. For example:
Raymond, although very interested, didn’t show any emotion when she invited him to go for a walk. Though more expensive, the new model is safer and more efficient.More on Cambridge Dictionary explanation please read here:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/gra ... -or-though and
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/gra ... nctions__3 'Position of subordinating conjunctions' part
In a nutshell, E has a serious mistake that makes it incorrect choice. D is incorrect for the same reason and for subject-verb disagreement. The correct usage of although (interrupting the sentence as a modifier) is given in C. “Although a federal body” in C acts as a noun modifier, not a complete sentence. However, C is incorrect due to subject-verb disagreement and flawed absolute phrase structure. A and B have the same structure and both are correct. The fact that this question has two correct answers and both of them are not an official one makes it a low quality question, as I wrote in my earlier post.
Please, let me know your stance on my thoughts.
close
13 Apr 2016, 20:55
