Bunuel wrote:
The Swedish Navy boasts of two Visby-class corvettes, ships with highly effective, carbon fiber stealth
hulls, designed so intricately and perfectly that radar waves are almost completely absorbed by them.
(A) hulls, designed so intricately and perfectly
(B) hulls that are designed so intricate and perfect
(C) hulls, hulls so intricate and perfectly designed
(D) hulls, designed in such an intricate and perfect manner
(E) hulls, hulls having been designed intricately and perfectly so
Project SC Butler
For SC butler Questions Click Here Expert's Global Official Explanation:Meaning + Modifiers + TensesUnderstanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of the crucial part of this sentence is that “hulls” (and not “corvettes”) were intricately and perfectly designed; hence, “so intricately and perfectly that radar waves are almost completely absorbed by them” must clearly modify “hulls”; only choices C and E do that.
• “so A that B” is a correct, idiomatic construction.
• In a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.
• An adjective can only modify a noun; it cannot modify another adjective; to modify an adjective, an adverb must be used; generally, adjective+ly leads to an adverb.
A. Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the phrase “designed so intricately and perfectly” to modify the noun “ships” rather than the noun “hulls”, altering the sentence to incorrectly imply that the ships are designed in an intricate and perfect manner; the intended meaning is that the hulls are intricate and perfectly designed.
B. Trap. This answer incorrectly uses the adjectives “intricate” and “perfect” rather than their adverb forms to modify the verb “designed”.
C. Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase “hulls so intricate and perfectly designed that” to modify the noun “hulls”, preserving the intended meaning of the sentence- that the hulls are intricate and perfectly designed. Further, through this modification, Option C avoids pronoun ambiguity by directly modifying the second instance of the noun “hulls” with the phrase “so intricate and perfectly designed” and maintains a correct, idiomatic construction “so A that B”.
D. Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the phrase “designed in such an intricate and perfect manner” to modify the noun “ships” rather than the noun “hulls”, altering the sentence to incorrectly imply that the ships are designed in an intricate and perfect manner; the intended meaning is that the hulls are intricate and perfectly designed.
E. This answer choice fails to maintain a correct, idiomatic construction “so A that B”. Further, Option E incorrectly uses the present perfect continuous tense verb “having been designed” to refer to an action that occurred in the past; the simple past tense is needed here.
C is the best answer choice.