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A
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
25%
(medium)
Question Stats:
75% (01:24) correct
25%
(01:32)
wrong
based on 10982
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Dressed as a man and using the name Robert Shurtleff, Deborah Sampson, the first woman to draw a soldier's pension, joined the Continental Army in 1782 at the age of 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had become too ill to serve.
(A) 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had become
(B) 22, was injured three times, while being discharged in 1783 because she had become
(C) 22, and was injured three times, and discharged in 1783, being
(D) 22, injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she was
(E) 22, having been injured three times and discharged in 1783, being
01.jpg [ 179 KiB | Viewed 86546 times ]
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(A) 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had become
(B) 22, was injured three times, while being discharged in 1783 because she had become
(C) 22, and was injured three times, and discharged in 1783, being
(D) 22, injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she was
(E) 22, having been injured three times and discharged in 1783, being
Attachment:
01.jpg [ 179 KiB | Viewed 86546 times ]
Attachment:
02.jpg [ 114.86 KiB | Viewed 86457 times ]
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03 Apr 2018, 01:22
Kudos
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Quote:
I often hear people say that (A) isn’t parallel: “…Deborah Sampson… joined the Continental Army…, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783…” That’s actually completely fine: we have three parallel verbs, and they make perfect sense, since they are three actions that Sampson performed.
The objection is usually that the three verbs “aren’t in the same form” or “don’t sound the same.” Neither of those are legitimate objections. All that really matters is that they’re three verbs that logically are three actions performed by the subject of the clause. It’s not a problem that one is an action verb (“joined”) and the other two are states of being (“was injured” and “was discharged”).
The only other potential issue is the past perfect tense (“had become”) at the end of the sentence. We can only use past perfect tense to describe an action that happened in the past, but BEFORE some other past action, which is usually in simple past tense. And we have that: she “had become too ill too serve” before she “was discharged.”
So let’s keep (A).
Quote:
My biggest issue is with the phrase “while being discharged in 1783.” Literally, that seems to be saying that she simultaneously was discharged and was injured three times in 1783. And that makes no sense – there’s no way that those things can happen at the same exact time.
Plus, I think we would need an “and” somewhere in here: there are several actions, and at least two of them (“joined the Continental Army” and “was injured three times”) already seem to be parallel. So the “and” is necessary.
That’s enough to eliminate (B).
Quote:
Now this is a weird mess. Sampson “joined the Continental Army… and was injured… and discharged…” Huh? First of all, those three actions (“joined”, “was injured”, and “was discharged”) are logically parallel to each other, so we only need one “and” – not two.
Second, it’s wrong to say that Sampson “discharged in 1783.” We could say that she WAS discharged from the Army, or I guess we could say that she “discharged a weapon” (a semi-obscure way to say that she fired it). But you wouldn’t just say that “Sampson… discharged.”
And “being” is also a mess. It seems to be trying to act as a modifier of some sort, but that’s rarely an acceptable use on the GMAT. (More on “being” here.)
So we have tons of reasons to ditch (C).
Quote:
(D) isn’t too bad, but it doesn’t make sense to say that Sampson “injured three times.” You can say that she WAS injured three times, or maybe that she injured three enemy soldiers. But you can’t say that she “injured three times.”
And that’s enough to disqualify (D).
Quote:
Whenever you see a “having + verb” construction on the GMAT, it generally needs to be the first of two past actions. So you could say something like “having studied all night, Souvik collapsed on the sofa and watched three consecutive Marvel films.” In other words, he studied first, and then collapsed. Fair enough.
But in (E), it sounds like Sampson was injured and discharged first, and THEN she joined the Army. And that makes no sense at all.
We also have a problem with “being”, which is apparently being used as a modifier in (E) – and that’s a use that we almost never see on correct GMAT questions. “Being” isn’t always wrong on the GMAT, but it’s probably wrong here.
But even if you really love “being” in (E) for some inexplicable reason, we still have lots of reasons to eliminate (E). And we’re left with (A).
21 Apr 2013, 12:44
Kudos
Bookmarks
Dressed as a man and using the name Robert Shurtleff, Deborah Sampson, the first woman to drawa soldier’s pension, joined the Continental Army in1782 at the age of 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had become too ill to serve.
(A) 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had become
(B) 22, was injured three times, while being discharged in 1783 because she had become
(C) 22 and was injured three times, and discharged in 1783, being
(D) 22, injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she was
(E) 22, having been injured three times and discharged in 1783, being
first of all i will say that verb-ed form is either acts as a verb or as a modifier
verb-ed -->this will act as a verb when subject itself does this (verb-ed thing) action ex: alex played well ....here played is acting as verb
verb-ed--->this will act as a modifier when this (verb-ed thing) is not done by the subject.
now coming to question
here the subject is Deborah Sampson
in the non underlined part it is written Deborah Sampson joined......here "joined" acts as a verb
in the underlined part it is written Deborah Sampson...was injured .....,and was discharged....so its list kind of thing x,y,and z therefore x,y,z should be parallel
..now----- joined ,was injured ,and was discharged are all verb so its parallel....
note if in place of was injured....only injured is written and in place of " was discharged "only discharged is written then in that case discharged and injured act as modifier as in option C,D,E.....HENCE it is not parallel to JOINED .....so it is wrong
now choosing answer
(A) 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had become(parallel so correct)
(B) 22, was injured three times, while being discharged in 1783 because she had become( meaning is wrong ..in this it means she was injured and discharged simultaneously...which is not the intended meaning)
(C) 22 and was injured three times, and discharged in 1783, being(...here joined ,was injured are verb while discharged is modifier so non parallel therefore incorrect)
(D) 22, injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she was(again injured is not parallel.....so incorrect)
(E) 22, having been injured three times and discharged in 1783, being( againg discharged is modifier and not verb ,...and therefore not parallel....also it means having been injured and discharged ..both actions are occuring together which is not correct.
hope it helps..
SKM
(A) 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had become
(B) 22, was injured three times, while being discharged in 1783 because she had become
(C) 22 and was injured three times, and discharged in 1783, being
(D) 22, injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she was
(E) 22, having been injured three times and discharged in 1783, being
first of all i will say that verb-ed form is either acts as a verb or as a modifier
verb-ed -->this will act as a verb when subject itself does this (verb-ed thing) action ex: alex played well ....here played is acting as verb
verb-ed--->this will act as a modifier when this (verb-ed thing) is not done by the subject.
now coming to question
here the subject is Deborah Sampson
in the non underlined part it is written Deborah Sampson joined......here "joined" acts as a verb
in the underlined part it is written Deborah Sampson...was injured .....,and was discharged....so its list kind of thing x,y,and z therefore x,y,z should be parallel
..now----- joined ,was injured ,and was discharged are all verb so its parallel....
note if in place of was injured....only injured is written and in place of " was discharged "only discharged is written then in that case discharged and injured act as modifier as in option C,D,E.....HENCE it is not parallel to JOINED .....so it is wrong
now choosing answer
(A) 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had become(parallel so correct)
(B) 22, was injured three times, while being discharged in 1783 because she had become( meaning is wrong ..in this it means she was injured and discharged simultaneously...which is not the intended meaning)
(C) 22 and was injured three times, and discharged in 1783, being(...here joined ,was injured are verb while discharged is modifier so non parallel therefore incorrect)
(D) 22, injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she was(again injured is not parallel.....so incorrect)
(E) 22, having been injured three times and discharged in 1783, being( againg discharged is modifier and not verb ,...and therefore not parallel....also it means having been injured and discharged ..both actions are occuring together which is not correct.
hope it helps..
SKM
12 Nov 2021, 06:30
Kudos
Bookmarks
Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that Deborah Sampson joined the Continental Army in 1782 at the age of 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had become too ill to serve.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Tenses + Grammatical Construction
• If a list contains only two elements, they must be joined by a conjunction; the "comma + and construction" (oxford comma) is used for the last element in a list of three or more elements.
• The passive continuous tense is only used to refer to ongoing actions.
• The introduction of the present participle ("verb+ing"- “having” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship.
A: Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase "was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783"; the construction of this phrase conveys the intended meaning - that Deborah Sampson joined the Continental Army in 1782 at the age of 22, and as two separate actions was injured three times, and discharged in 1783 because she had become too ill to serve. Further, Option A correctly uses the past perfect tense verb "had become" to refer to the earlier of two actions that concluded in the past - Sampson becoming too ill to serve and her being discharged. Additionally, in a list of three elements Option A correctly uses a comma to join the first and second. Moreover, Option A avoids the grammatical construction error seen in Option B, as it only has a list with three elements.
B: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "while being discharged"; the use of "while" illogically implies that Deborah Sampson was injured three times, at the time when she was being discharged; the intended meaning is that Deborah Sampson was injured three times, and a separate action she was discharged; please remember, "while" is used to refer to actions that take place simultaneously. Further, Option B incorrectly uses a comma to join two elements in a list - the actions "joined" and "was injured"; please remember, in a list with only two elements, the elements must be joined by a conjunction.
C: This answer choice incorrectly uses the passive continuous tense verb "being" to refer to the earlier of two actions that concluded in the past - Sampson becoming too ill to serve and her being discharged; please remember, the past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past", and the passive continuous tense is only used to refer to ongoing actions. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the "comma + conjunction ("and" in this sentence)" construction to join the first and second elements in a list with three elements; please remember, the "comma + and construction" (oxford comma) is used for the last element in a list of three or more elements, and the rest are joined by a comma.
D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "injured three times"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that Deborah Sampson joined the Continental Army in 1782 at the age of 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had become too ill to serve. Further, Option D incorrectly uses the simple past tense verb "was" to refer to the earlier of two actions that concluded in the past - Sampson becoming too ill to serve and her being discharged; please remember, the past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past", and the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past.
E: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "having been injured three times and discharged in 1783"; the use of the "comma + present participle ("verb+ing" - "having" in this sentence) illogically implies that Deborah Sampson joined the Continental Army in 1782 at the age of 22 because she had been injured three times and discharged in 1783; the intended meaning is that Deborah Sampson joined the Continental Army in 1782 at the age of 22, and as two separate actions was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783; please remember, the introduction of the present participle ("verb+ing"- “having” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship. Further, Option E incorrectly uses the passive continuous tense verb "being" to refer to the earlier of two actions that concluded in the past - Sampson becoming too ill to serve and her being discharged; please remember, the past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past", and the passive continuous tense is only used to refer to ongoing actions.
Hence, A is the best answer choice.
To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
To understand the concept of "Past Perfect Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
KC
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that Deborah Sampson joined the Continental Army in 1782 at the age of 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had become too ill to serve.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Tenses + Grammatical Construction
• If a list contains only two elements, they must be joined by a conjunction; the "comma + and construction" (oxford comma) is used for the last element in a list of three or more elements.
• The passive continuous tense is only used to refer to ongoing actions.
• The introduction of the present participle ("verb+ing"- “having” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship.
A: Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase "was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783"; the construction of this phrase conveys the intended meaning - that Deborah Sampson joined the Continental Army in 1782 at the age of 22, and as two separate actions was injured three times, and discharged in 1783 because she had become too ill to serve. Further, Option A correctly uses the past perfect tense verb "had become" to refer to the earlier of two actions that concluded in the past - Sampson becoming too ill to serve and her being discharged. Additionally, in a list of three elements Option A correctly uses a comma to join the first and second. Moreover, Option A avoids the grammatical construction error seen in Option B, as it only has a list with three elements.
B: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "while being discharged"; the use of "while" illogically implies that Deborah Sampson was injured three times, at the time when she was being discharged; the intended meaning is that Deborah Sampson was injured three times, and a separate action she was discharged; please remember, "while" is used to refer to actions that take place simultaneously. Further, Option B incorrectly uses a comma to join two elements in a list - the actions "joined" and "was injured"; please remember, in a list with only two elements, the elements must be joined by a conjunction.
C: This answer choice incorrectly uses the passive continuous tense verb "being" to refer to the earlier of two actions that concluded in the past - Sampson becoming too ill to serve and her being discharged; please remember, the past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past", and the passive continuous tense is only used to refer to ongoing actions. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the "comma + conjunction ("and" in this sentence)" construction to join the first and second elements in a list with three elements; please remember, the "comma + and construction" (oxford comma) is used for the last element in a list of three or more elements, and the rest are joined by a comma.
D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "injured three times"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that Deborah Sampson joined the Continental Army in 1782 at the age of 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had become too ill to serve. Further, Option D incorrectly uses the simple past tense verb "was" to refer to the earlier of two actions that concluded in the past - Sampson becoming too ill to serve and her being discharged; please remember, the past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past", and the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past.
E: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "having been injured three times and discharged in 1783"; the use of the "comma + present participle ("verb+ing" - "having" in this sentence) illogically implies that Deborah Sampson joined the Continental Army in 1782 at the age of 22 because she had been injured three times and discharged in 1783; the intended meaning is that Deborah Sampson joined the Continental Army in 1782 at the age of 22, and as two separate actions was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783; please remember, the introduction of the present participle ("verb+ing"- “having” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship. Further, Option E incorrectly uses the passive continuous tense verb "being" to refer to the earlier of two actions that concluded in the past - Sampson becoming too ill to serve and her being discharged; please remember, the past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past", and the passive continuous tense is only used to refer to ongoing actions.
Hence, A is the best answer choice.
To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
To understand the concept of "Past Perfect Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
