OFFICIAL EXPLANATIONgeneris wrote:
Project SC Butler: Day 153 Sentence Correction (SC1)
Customized electric cargo bicycles can use specialized cycle lanes to travel around congested cities,
to outpace their fuel-driven four-wheel rivals, and delivers a variety of goods and services.
(A)
to outpace their fuel-driven four-wheel rivals, and
delivers(B)
to outpace their fuel-driven four-wheel rivals, and
deliver(C)
outpacing their
fuel-driving four-wheeled rivals, and to deliver
(D)
outpacing their fuel-driven four-wheel rivals
, and
delivered(E) outpacing their fuel-driven four-wheel rivals and delivering
• This question forces us to reassess what we thought we saw in the first option—namely, a list of three not-yet-parallel things.
• Frequently we would see something such as:
Cargo bicycles can use specialized lanes
--
to travel through congested cities. . .
--
to outpace their fuel-driven four-wheel rivals,
-- and
-- [u]to deliver a variety of goods and services.
No answer choice contains
to travel, outpace, and deliver OR
to travel, to outpace, and to deliver-- The first part of a split verb (TO) must go before only the first term or before all three terms.
-- Both forms are correct, although GMAC almost always considers the second form redundant.
• participles (verbING) words get tested frequently on the GMAT, especially as
clause modifiers. That structure is what we see in the correct answer.
POE• Meaning? Until we get to option E, it may be hard to tell what the correct meaning is. By the time we see
outpacing in option C, though, we should start to get an idea.
Electric bicycles can use specialized lanes when they travel around congested cities. Because they use these lanes, the bikes outpace cars and deliver many goods and services.• Strategy?
Assess each answer, reading
only the verbs. We know they are a problem in option A.
They are likely to be a problem in other options.
Decide in seconds. If you cannot decide to eliminate, keep tentatively and move on.
THE PROMPTQuote:
Customized electric cargo bicycles can use specialized cycle lanes to travel around congested cities, to outpace their fuel-driven four-wheel rivals, and delivers a variety of goods and services.
THE OPTIONSQuote:
(A) Customized electric cargo bicycles can use specialized cycle lanes to travel around congested cities, to outpace their fuel-driven four-wheel rivals, and delivers a variety of goods and services.
• not parallel: to travel, to outpace, and delivers
• even if the other two verbs were parallel to
delivers, that third verb is wrong. The plural word "cycles" does not agree with the singular verb
delivers.
Eliminate A
Quote:
(B) Customized electric cargo bicycles can use specialized cycle lanes to travel around congested cities, to outpace their fuel-driven four-wheel rivals, and deliver a variety of goods and services.
• not parallel:
to travel, to outpace, deliver• if a multi-part verb (such as TO TRAVEL) is "split," either only the first item gets the first part of the verb or all three do.
Correct:
to travel, outpace, and deliver • infinitives are not always infinitives of purpose.
-- The river took eons
to cut through rock, but eventually the river created a deep canyon.
• no matter what, these three verbs are not parallel
Eliminate B
Quote:
(C) Customized electric cargo bicycles can use specialized cycle lanes to travel around congested cities, outpacing their fuel-driving four-wheeled rivals, and to deliver a variety of goods and services.
• there is no such thing as a "fuel-driving" car. Cars don't drive fuel. Fuel "drives" (propels) cars.
Fuel-driven is correct.
• not parallel:
to travel, outpacing, and to deliver-- second verb should be not an __ING word but rather an infinitive:
to outpaceEliminate C
(D) Customized electric cargo bicycles can use specialized cycle lanes
to travel around congested cities,
outpacing their fuel-driven four-wheel rivals, and delivered a variety of goods and services.
• Not parallel:
to travel, outpacing, and delivered• Aside from parallelism,
delivered is the wrong tense. This sentence gives facts about certain kinds of cargo bicycles. In the non-underlined portion we have
can use. The verbs should be present tense.
Eliminate D
Quote:
(E) Customized electric cargo bicycles can use specialized cycle lanes to travel around congested cities, outpacing their fuel-driven four-wheel rivals and delivering[/i] a variety of goods and services.
• Bingo.
• These verbals are parallel:
[i]outpacing and
delivering•
Outpacing and
delivering do not need to be parallel to the other verb
to travel• This sentence uses a very common construction:
main clause, comma + ___ING modifier of clause
-- the only difference? There are
two ___ING modifiers. That fact changes nothing. Both participial modifiers are correct.
A simplified sentence:
The bikes can use special lanes to travel around congested cities, outpacing cars and delivering many goods and services.Correct.
The answer is ETAKEAWAY: trust what you know. You know that ____ING words can modify a whole clause. Okay. Stretch a little: there are two participial modifiers—and they are both in the only sentence that does not violate parallelism or use the wrong verb tense or both.
Two participial __ING modifiers can be coupled by the word AND.
-- The rules should not obscure your common sense.
Where else would the second ___ING modifier be placed if not where it is?
The second modifier,
delivering, does modify the preceding
clause.Correct:
She picked a book of essays that intrigued her.The prepositional phrase and
that are both essential modifiers. They can't both touch the noun at the same time.
One word has to come second. Similarly, one __ING modifier must come second.
CORRECT and similar:
He worked in the yard, pulling weeds and clipping overgrown bushes. Both modifiers explain the way in which he worked in the yard.
Answer E is not the best of five bad options. Answer E is grammatical and not bad stylistically.
COMMENTSprashant212 and
ahabib , welcome to SC Butler.
I am very pleased to see people taking risks, wondering aloud, going with instincts, or going with rules. I like to see people grappling with the question -- that process of intellectual wrestling and doubting is one way to develop critical thinking skills.
An important aspect of critical thinking is the consistent ability to compare two options and decide which is better and which is worse.
You may not be able to articulate exactly why. This much I promise: If you rely too heavily on rules or try to eliminate every incorrect answer in isolation, you will not develop this crucial skill.
I will award kudos to all answers whose explanation is well-reasoned, even if the reasoning took a wrong turn.
Explanations range from good to very good. Nice work.
close
19 Aug 2019, 20:27
45%
(medium)
44%
(01:17)
wrong 
