The psychologist William James believed that facial expressions not

Hi,
Please tell me "itself" is referring to which word in the following sentence-

The psychologist William James believed that facial expression not only provide a visible sign of an emotion but also actually contribute to the feeling itself.

Source- OG VR SC Question 46

i would say IT, is used in the 'placeholder' sense here? But I could be wrong... essentially it could be referring to "emotion" ... but it seems that maybe the sentence could be wrong, since it does not actually state an emotion.

Of course if a GMAT instructor has anything to add or clarify, i would be interested as well! lol

Is C parallel? Doesn’t the word ‘actually’ intrude into the co-relative conjunction // ism; no doubt C is the only clause resulting in a complete sentence. Or is this what GMAT means by saying that it will give preference to meaning rather than grammar?

As far as I know, an adjective or an adverb can intrude without affecting the parallelism...

The psychologist William James believed that facial expressions not only provide a visible sign of an emotion, actually contributing to the feeling itself.

(A) emotion, actually contributing to the feeling itself - Not only...But also is correct. 'Contributing' is present participle and not parallel to verb 'Provide'.
(B) emotion but also actually contributing to the feeling itself - Contributing' is present participle and not parallel to verb 'Provide'.
(C) emotion but also actually contribute to the feeling itself - Correct
(D) emotion; they also actually contribute to the feeling of it - Semicolon is wrong as it makes both sentences ICs. 'But also' is required. It is ambiguous.
(E) emotion; the feeling itself is also actually contributed to by them - Semicolon is wrong as it makes both sentences ICs. 'But also' is required. Them is ambiguous. PAssive construction.

The psychologist William James believed that facial expressions not only provide a visible sign of an emotion, actually contributing to the feeling itself.

Issue: Idiom

Analysis:
1. The correct idiom is "not only X but also Y"
- X and Y should be comparable objects i.e. noun, verb or clause
- X and Y should have similar connotation and can not be opposites

(A) emotion, actually contributing to the feeling itself
- Unidiomatic
- Not parallel

(B) emotion but also actually contributing to the feeling itself
- Not parallel

(C) emotion but also actually contribute to the feeling itself

(D) emotion; they also actually contribute to the feeling of it
- Unidiomatic

(E) emotion; the feeling itself is also actually contributed to by them
- Unidiomatic

Answer: (C)

in this question we know that contributing is a participle,
but how do participles differ from verb?
Is there a way we can point out that this is a participle and not a verb?

Hello cubs,

I will be glad to help you out with this one.

Always remember that just a verb-ing word that is NOT preceded by any helping verb such as is/are/am/was/were etc. can NEVER act as a verb.

The reason is very simple. Verbs have three basic properties:

i. Tense - Past, Present, or Future
ii. Number - Singular or Plural
iii. Voice - Active or Passive

If I ask you to take a good look at the word contributing, will you be able to tell me the tense, the number or the voice of this word? I am sure not.

Now look at the following simple sentences:

1. She was preparing dinner when I visited her last night.

2. They are going to the rock concert.

Now if I ask you the same question about the above-mentioned example sentence, then you will surly be able to answer.

In sentence 1. was preparing is a past continuous/progressive tense verb that is singular in number. The verb is in active voice.

Similarly, in sentence 2, are going is a plural verb in present continuous/progressive tense. This again is an active voice verb.

Takeaway: A verb-ing word can NEVER act as a verb on its own unless preceded by a helping verb.


Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha

(A) emotion, actually contributing to the feeling itself
(B) emotion but also actually contributing to the feeling itself
(C) emotion but also actually contribute to the feeling itself
(D) emotion; they also actually contribute to the feeling of it
(E) emotion; the feeling itself is also actually contributed to by them

This question tests the idiomatic construction ‘not only X… but also Y’. Now, we can arrive at the right answer in a matter of seconds.

The options use semicolon and passive constructions to confuse us. But if we know the idiom and realise that both X and Y should be parallel, we can eliminate other options quickly.

(A) emotion, actually contributing to the feeling itself
(B) emotion but also actually contributing to the feeling itself
(C) emotion but also actually contribute to the feeling itself
(D) emotion; they also actually contribute to the feeling of it
(E) emotion; the feeling itself is also actually contributed to by them

Eliminate Options A, D and E.

Between Options B and C –
B uses ‘contributing’ which is not parallel with the non-underlined part of the sentence. Eliminate.

Option C is the best choice.

Hope this helps!

facial expressions not only ... but also actually contributing (action noun with action noun) according to the principle of parallelism it is right

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Concepts tested here: Pronouns + Verb Forms + Idioms

• Habitual actions are best conveyed through the simple present tense.
• “not only A but also B” is the correct, idiomatic usage; A must be parallel to B.

A:
1/ This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "not only A + comma B"; remember, “not only A but also B” is the correct, idiomatic usage; A must be parallel to B.

B:
1/ This answer choice incorrectly uses the present participle ("verb+ing" - "contributing" in this sentence) to refer to a habitual action; remember, habitual actions are best conveyed through the simple present tense.

C: Correct.
1/ This answer choice correctly uses the simple present tense verb "contribute" to refer to habitual action.
2/ Option C avoids the pronoun error seen in Option D, as it uses the reflective pronoun "itself", which clearly refers to the noun "feeling", rather than the subject pronoun "it", as seen in D.
3/ Option C correctly uses the idiomatic construction "not only A ("provide a visible sign of an emotion") but also B ("contribute to the feeling itself"), maintaining parallelism between A and B.
4/ Option C is free of awkwardness or redundancy.


D:
1/ This answer choice suffers from a pronoun error, as the pronoun "it" lacks a clear and logical referent.
2/ Option D incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "not only A + semicolon B"; remember, “not only A but also B” is the correct, idiomatic usage; A must be parallel to B.

E:
1/ This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "not only A + semicolon B"; remember, “not only A but also B” is the correct, idiomatic usage; A must be parallel to B.
2/ Option E uses the passive voice construction "the feeling itself is also actually contributed to", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

Hence, C is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team

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