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EducationAisle
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Sculpted boulders found at Lepenski Vir, an example of the 03 Aug 2017, 23:34
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rma26
Why ''including...'' can't modify previous clause here? I considered that part a modifier and chose A, as I thought it gives a new meaning which is more meaningful!
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Hi rma26, the property that you've mentioned (modify previous clause) is applicable for participial phrases.

The word including is actually a preposition (not a present participle) and hence, the normal rules of present participles do not apply to including.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana makes a special note of this usage of including. Have attached the corresponding section of the book, for your reference.
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Sculpted boulders found at Lepenski Vir, an example of the 04 Aug 2017, 01:30
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hfbamafan
Sculpted boulders found at Lepenski Vir, an example of the earliest monumental art known from central and western Europe, includes 15 figures with human features similar to Upper Paleolithic forms and to Middle Eastern Nantufian stone figurines.

(A) Vir, an example of the earliest monumental art known from central and western Europe, includes
(B) Vir, examples of the earliest monumental art known from central and western Europe, include
(C) Vir, earliest of monumental art known from central and western Europe, include
(D) Vir are examples of the earliest monumental art known from central and western Europe and includes
(E) Vir are examples of the earliest monumental art known from central and western Europe, including
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look at choice C.
"boulders " can not be "art". this meaning/logic error is typical of gmat. be ready to see the frequency of this error on SC. frankly speaking, this kind of error is basis of gmat SC apart from grammar points.
gmat test this kind of error to make our formal written english logic. in spoken english, we say

5 eggs per week is good for health

this is wrong in formal written english because 5 eggs can not be good.

eating 5 eggs per week is good for health

this is logic.

this point is very simple and can be learned easily but is fatally important. we need to change our thinking of spoken english.
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Sculpted boulders found at Lepenski Vir, an example of the 10 Aug 2018, 22:02
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hfbamafan
Sculpted boulders found at Lepenski Vir, an example of the earliest monumental art known from central and western Europe, includes 15 figures with human features similar to Upper Paleolithic forms and to Middle Eastern Nantufian stone figurines.

(A) Vir, an example of the earliest monumental art known from central and western Europe, includes
(B) Vir, examples of the earliest monumental art known from central and western Europe, include
(C) Vir, earliest of monumental art known from central and western Europe, include
(D) Vir are examples of the earliest monumental art known from central and western Europe and includes
(E) Vir are examples of the earliest monumental art known from central and western Europe, including

look at choice C.
"boulders " can not be "art". this meaning/logic error is typical of gmat. be ready to see the frequency of this error on SC. frankly speaking, this kind of error is basis of gmat SC apart from grammar points.
gmat test this kind of error to make our formal written english logic. in spoken english, we say

5 eggs per week is good for health

this is wrong in formal written english because 5 eggs can not be good.

eating 5 eggs per week is good for health

this is logic.

this point is very simple and can be learned easily but is fatally important. we need to change our thinking of spoken english.
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nice explanation.
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Sculpted boulders found at Lepenski Vir, an example of the 26 May 2019, 00:59
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Gmat

Hi Shraddha, I am still unsure after reading your explanation. I picked answer choice E. You say that you can ignore modifiers and apply "including" to the noun. In this case, is "...from central and western Europe" not a modifier? Thanks!
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Sculpted boulders found at Lepenski Vir, an example of the 26 May 2019, 05:45
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Gmat

Hi Shraddha, I am still unsure after reading your explanation. I picked answer choice E. You say that you can ignore modifiers and apply "including" to the noun. In this case, is "...from central and western Europe" not a modifier? Thanks!
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Greetings crazi4ib!

While the experts reply here are my 2 cents,

Yes, "including" can jump " from central and western Europe" but still it is of no good.

The logical noun to be modified is "Sculpted boulders", which is 1) pretty far, 2) due to presence of verb "are" "incluing" cannot modify "Sculpted boulders".

Please let me know If I missed out on something, I would be happy to expand more.
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Sculpted boulders found at Lepenski Vir, an example of the 28 May 2019, 05:55
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crazi4ib
Gmat

Hi Shraddha, I am still unsure after reading your explanation. I picked answer choice E. You say that you can ignore modifiers and apply "including" to the noun. In this case, is "...from central and western Europe" not a modifier? Thanks!
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Gmat or any other experts please kindly advise!
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Sculpted boulders found at Lepenski Vir, an example of the 31 May 2019, 23:35
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egmat or other experts please kindly chime in on this!

(E) Vir are examples of the earliest monumental art known from central and western Europe, including

I picked answer choice (E) and interpreted 'including' to be referring to 'examples of the earliest monumental art known...'. I don't understand why this answer choice is wrong. How come the 15 figures must refer to the 'sculpted boulders'?
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Sculpted boulders found at Lepenski Vir, an example of the 31 May 2019, 23:54
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crazi4ib It's useful to notice that "comma + -ing" creates an adverbial modifier, not a noun modifier. So regardless of proximity, "including" can't modify "boulders" or "art." Rather, it would have to modify the previous action: "Boulders are examples." The "including" phrase doesn't add any depth, explanation, or result to the idea that the boulders are examples, so this doesn't work.
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Sculpted boulders found at Lepenski Vir, an example of the 01 Jun 2019, 00:40
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DmitryFarber

Thanks for your input. If 'comma-ing' is not a noun modifier, how come others are all saying that it seems 'including' is referring to 'central and western Europe'?
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Sculpted boulders found at Lepenski Vir, an example of the 05 Jun 2019, 07:46
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EducationAisle daagh KyleWiddison sayantanc2k egmat or other experts please kindly chime in on this!

(E) Vir are examples of the earliest monumental art known from central and western Europe, including

I picked answer choice (E) and interpreted 'including' to be referring to 'examples of the earliest monumental art known...'. I don't understand why this answer choice is wrong. How come the 15 figures must refer to the 'sculpted boulders'?
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Sculpted boulders found at Lepenski Vir, an example of the 24 Apr 2020, 16:33
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yeah this is such a poor explanation lol. the prerequisite definition she uses doesnt align consistently with any of her examples.

jmuduke08
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Marcab
Hii Shraddha.
I need to ask one question. Doesn't the "including" modifies the subject of the preceding clause and I guess subject is "examples of the earliest monumental art".

Hi Marcab,

Sorry for getting back on this so late.
We know that when comma + verb-ing modifier appears after a clause, it modifies the entire preceding clause while making sense with the subject of that clause. However, "including" is an exception" to this rule. Preceded by a comma or not, "including" always modifies the preceding noun.

So basically, the thing to keep in mind is that "including" is a versatile NOUN modifier. It always modifies a NOUN. But it is usually separated by a comma. And it may modify a noun that is separated by modifiers as well. Here are a few official sentences:
Example 1: (GMATPrep)
A study by the Ocean Wildlife Campaign urged states to undertake a number of remedies to reverse a decline in the shark population, which includes the
establishment of size limits for shark catches, closing state waters for shark fishing during pupping season, and requiring commercial fishers to have federal shark permits.

D. including establishing size limits for shark catches, closing

Comma + Including modifies "REMEDIES". But look at the modifiers that lie between this modifier and the modified noun.

Example 2: (GMATPrep)
The new image of Stone Age people as systematic hunters of large animals, rather than merely scavenging for meat, have emerged from the examination of tools found in Germany including , three wooden spears that archaeologists believe to be about 400,000 years old.

E)mere scavengers of meat, has emerged from the examination of toolsfound in Germany, including

Comma + Including modifies "TOOLS". But look at the modifier that lie between this modifier and the modified noun.

Example 3: (GMATPrep & Verbal 2nd Edition #107)
Bluegrass musician Bill Monroe, whose repertory, views on musical collaboration, and vocal style were influential on generations of bluegrass artists, was also an inspiration to many musicians, that included Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia, whose music differed significantly from his own.
Correct choice has , including where including modifies preceding noun

B) influenced generations of bluegrass artists, also inspired many musicians, including Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia, whose music differed significantly from
Comma + Including modifies "musicians" - in this case the closest noun.

Hope this helps. :)
Thanks.

apologies for revisiting this thread but i am still a bit confused. you said that including always modifies a noun and in your examples it can modify a noun separated by modifiers. In this question, why arent we allowed to say including is describing sculpted boulders and the rest is modifying sculpted boulders?
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Sculpted boulders found at Lepenski Vir, an example of the 23 Jul 2020, 12:51
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I still find it difficult to determine what is "examples of... modifying.." does it refer to the boulders or to the site lepavinvski
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Sculpted boulders found at Lepenski Vir, an example of the 17 Nov 2020, 03:06
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Sculpted boulders found at Lepenski Vir, an example of the earliest monumental art known from central and western Europe, includes 15 figures with human features similar to Upper Paleolithic forms and to Middle Eastern Nantufian stone figurines.

(A) Vir, an example of the earliest monumental art known from central and western Europe, includes - SV agreement

(B) Vir, examples of the earliest monumental art known from central and western Europe, include -- Correct

(C) Vir, earliest of monumental art known from central and western Europe, include - changes the meaning

(D) Vir are examples of the earliest monumental art known from central and western Europe and includes - SV agreement

(E) Vir are examples of the earliest monumental art known from central and western Europe, \(including\) -- 'including' modifies the whole previous clause. Doesn't make sense.
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Sculpted boulders found at Lepenski Vir, an example of the 25 Nov 2022, 03:57
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Sculpted boulders found at Lepenski Vir, an example of the earliest monumental art known from central and western Europe, includes 15 figures with human features similar to Upper Paleolithic forms and to Middle Eastern Nantufian stone figurines.



eliminate a and d , subject verb error the subject is sculpted boulders plural and includes is singular verb
eliminate e , including modifies western europe
eliminate c meaning error
answer b
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Sculpted boulders found at Lepenski Vir, an example of the 23 Dec 2023, 15:32
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