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dums
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Parallelism - take the plunge 05 May 2021, 03:03
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I found the following explanation on the GMAT OG for parallelism :

Correct: “The only way to know is to take the plunge.”
Incorrect: “The only way to know is taking the plunge.”

My question : Is the following sentence correct? If not, why?

The only way to know is by taking the plunge

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Parallelism - take the plunge 05 May 2021, 03:04
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I would like an explanation on the parallelism please
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Parallelism - take the plunge 05 May 2021, 08:16
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dums
I found the following explanation on the GMAT OG for parallelism :

Correct: “The only way to know is to take the plunge.”
Incorrect: “The only way to know is taking the plunge.”

My question : Is the following sentence correct? If not, why?

The only way to know is by taking the plunge
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Is it possible for you to post the whole question or the link here
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AndrewN
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Parallelism - take the plunge 05 May 2021, 09:21
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dums
I found the following explanation on the GMAT OG for parallelism :

Correct: “The only way to know is to take the plunge.”
Incorrect: “The only way to know is taking the plunge.”

My question : Is the following sentence correct? If not, why?

The only way to know is by taking the plunge
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Hello, dums. In terms of parallelism, there is no better way to express the vital information of the sentence than what we see above in the correct sentence. The parallel elements are infinitives.

1) The only way to know is to take...

Although your proposed sentence is grammatically and idiomatically sound, it would not be favored on the GMATTM over the original sentence because it lacks parallel elements.

2) The only way to know is by taking...

Sure, in isolation, an infinitive and an -ing phrase can be paired in such a manner, but in SC, the game is to select the least objectionable iteration of the sentence among the five options provided. Although I would not suggest making parallelism your primary concern, you can, when you notice non-parallel elements, check to see whether other options may tighten up the structure just that extra bit more. Your sentence might be more GMATTM-appropriate if it were rewritten to adopt the following parallelism:

3) The only way of knowing [something] is by taking...

Even here, however, I would say that the parallel infinitives would be preferred—verbs, even if they are morphed into nouns, generally fall higher in the hierarchy than prepositional phrases. My best advice to SC is to take a big-picture approach and look at the way five answer choices are presented together. You could study one sentence in isolation as much as you wanted, and you might still miss that same concept in an actual question, in which there might be two or three other concepts tested at the same time.

I hope that helps. Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew

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