Pack 4 Q1: Since gymnastics appeared on the schedule...

Since gymnastics appeared on the schedule of the modern Olympics, male and, eventually, female gymnasts pushed the limits of the human body by performing increasingly more difficult stunts; a double-twisting, double somersault dismount in competition, Simone Biles alone pulled off, and during the same competition, she became the first woman to successfully complete the triple-twist, double-flip move in her floor routine.

A. a double-twisting, double somersault dismount in competition, Simone Biles alone pulled off, and
"alone" is not the correct word choice to mention , Simone was the only one in that competition to pull off difficult stunts. Also, by having no object to "pulled off" it wants us to assume that those stunts were pulled off. whereas pulled off <something> needs an object.

B. a double-twisting, double somersault dismount in competition, but only one, Simone Biles pulled off;
but only one, Simone Biles pulled off -> only one modifies Simone , which is good, but what did she pull off? we could say only one Simone pulled it off
but only one, and during the same competition -> the two sentences fragments are not well connected to logically intend any meaning

C. and, only one Simone Biles, pulling off a double-twisting, double somersault dismount in competition
We don't need a connector 'and' to connect two independent clauses separated by semicolon.
Only one Simone pulling off difficult stunts in competition during the competition ->two prepositions run on each other, where during the completion is the different thought and should be separated from earlier preposition . Also this changes the intended meaning of the sentence.

D. only one Simone Biles, pulled off, and a double-twisting, double somersault dismount in competition
only one Simone pulled off and a double-twisting. there is no object to pulled off.
only one Simone and a double-twisting - doesn't make sense and fragments are all over

E. only one, Simone Biles, pulled off a double-twisting, double somersault dismount in competition, and
only one Simone pulled off difficult stunts, and during the competition -> two thoughts/independent clauses are logically connected with comma+fanboys
only one pulled off -> looks fine

E is the better option!

E. only one, Simone Biles, pulled off a double-twisting, double somersault dismount in competition, and

Can proper names be separated with commas? As I learned prior in some study materials, names are essential modifiers and cannot be separated with commas ..

Well done on choosing the correct answer, ankaua!

To answer your question, proper names CAN be separated with commas! They are not always vital pieces of information to a sentence - we just commonly recommend adding them in where you can to make your writing clearer to readers. It's good practice for writing in your future studies and professional careers.

In this case, the name "Simone Biles" is being used as an appositive. Appositives are words or phrases, set between commas, that give us more information. In this case, her name is giving us more information on who the "one" is that pulled off the gymnastics stunt. It's not 100% vital to the meaning of the sentence - if you were to remove her name, it would still be correct. However, adding in her name gives us more context, and it makes the pronoun "she" later on in the sentence clearer (as to WHO pulled off the stunt).

I hope that helps! Make sure to tag me at EMPOWERgmatVerbal if you have any other questions!

A. a double-twisting, double somersault dismount in competition, Simone Biles alone pulled off, and - Doesn't convey meaning correctly that Simone pulled of twisting and somersault.
B. a double-twisting, double somersault dismount in competition, but only one, Simone Biles pulled off; - Divides sentence into 3 fragments. Same as A
C. and, only one Simone Biles, pulling off a double-twisting, double somersault dismount in competition
D. only one Simone Biles, pulled off, and a double-twisting, double somersault dismount in competition
E. only one, Simone Biles, pulled off a double-twisting, double somersault dismount in competition, and- Correct

Official Explanation:

Since gymnastics appeared on the schedule of the modern Olympics, male and, eventually, female gymnasts pushed the limits of the human body by performing increasingly more difficult stunts; a double-twisting, double somersault dismount in competition, Simone Biles alone pulled off, and during the same competition, she became the first woman to successfully complete the triple-twist, double-flip move in her floor routine.

A. a double-twisting, double somersault dismount in competition, Simone Biles alone pulled off, and
B. a double-twisting, double somersault dismount in competition, but only one, Simone Bilespulled off;
C. and, only one Simone Biles, pulling off a double-twisting, double somersault dismount in competition
D. only one Simone Biles, pulled off, and a double-twisting, double somersault dismount in competition
E. only one, Simone Biles, pulled off a double-twisting, double somersault dismount in competition, and

At first glance it seems that we have five very different answer choices with this sentence, but a closer look shows that the differences deal with verb form and placement, conjunction placement, and comma placement.

We can ignore the first part of the sentence, which isn’t underlined, because it is followed by a semicolon and is an independent clause. What follows the semicolon is another independent clause, and that is where we need to focus our attention. We need to find the verb. It is “pulled off.” The important thing to recognize with this verb is that is a transitive verb, which means it must have an object that follows it. Without an object, this verb doesn’t make any sense. When we look at our answer choices, we see that Options A, B, and D are all missing an object for “pulled off.” They cannot be the correct answers.

Option C has “only one Simone Biles” with no comma. This implies that there were more than one Simone Biles at the competition, and only one of the many there did this. That doesn’t make any sense. More importantly, this sentence would read “only one Simone Biles, pulling off a double-twisting, double somersault dismount in competition during the same competition . . .” That doesn’t make any sense! Even if we added in some punctuation, this wouldn’t make sense. Option C cannot be the correct answer.

We have successfully eliminated four answer choices. Option E has an object for the transitive verb and correctly puts a comma between “only one” and “Simone.”

Well done, Hital! You figured out the meaning problems with the incorrect options. How would you describe the problems with options C & D, though? You have great, concise explanations for A & B!

Well done, kunaldutt15! You cracked the code on this one! Great explanations for each option, too!

Kudos to you!

Well done, harsh8686! You cracked the code on this one!

To answer your question:
In this context, the pronoun "she" is actually referring back to "one." We added in her name as an appositive so it would be easier for readers to understand WHO the "she" is referring back to - a woman.

I hope that helps! Make sure to tag me EMPOWERgmatVerbal if you have any other questions!

Kudos to you!

Well done, snoep! Another great explanation for each option, and you cracked the code too!

Kudos to you!

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