Last visit was: 19 Nov 2025, 09:15 It is currently 19 Nov 2025, 09:15
Home
GMAT
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Rewards
Chat
My Profile
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
   1   2 
User avatar
Namangupta1997
User avatar
Joined: 23 Oct 2020
Last visit: 05 Apr 2025
Posts: 145
Own Kudos:
8
Given Kudos: 63
GMAT 1: 710 Q49 V38
GMAT 1: 710 Q49 V38
Posts: 145
Kudos: 8
Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Ch 12 Apr 2022, 17:46
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
I eliminated D because the modifier "having been sent by the king and queen of Spain" wrongly modifies India. Can someone confirm ?
User avatar
ParamjitDasGMAT
User avatar
Joined: 01 Jan 2016
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 83
Own Kudos:
97
Given Kudos: 24
Status:GMAT Private Tutor
Affiliations: Co-founder at a GMAT Prep Company
Location: India
GMAT Focus 1: 705 Q88 V89 DI84
GMAT 1: 710 Q50 V35
GMAT 2: 720 Q49 V40
GMAT 3: 770 Q50 V44
GMAT 4: 750 Q50 V41
GPA: 3.66
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 705 Q88 V89 DI84
GMAT 4: 750 Q50 V41
Posts: 83
Kudos: 97
Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Ch 12 Apr 2022, 19:16
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Namangupta1997
I eliminated D because the modifier "having been sent by the king and queen of Spain" wrongly modifies India. Can someone confirm ?
Show more

That's not quite correct. A comma+ing modifier can, and usually does, modify the entirety of the preceding clause. This is the role it is playing in this sentence.

Posted from my mobile device
avatar
Varane
avatar
Joined: 24 Mar 2022
Last visit: 16 Dec 2022
Posts: 66
Own Kudos:
6
Given Kudos: 471
Posts: 66
Kudos: 6
Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Ch 01 May 2022, 08:11
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Himalayan
Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by traveling west.


(A) Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by sailing west.

(B) Rather than accepting the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by sailing west.

(C) Instead of accepting the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus sailed west to see whether he could reach India, having been sent by the king and queen of Spain.

(D) Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus sailed west to see whether he could reach India, having been sent by the king and queen of Spain.

(E) Instead of accepting the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to sail west to see if he could reach India.


This question is part of the GMAT Club Sentence Correction : Parallelism" Revision Project.
Show more


GMATNinja, EMPOWERgmatVerbal, DmitryFarber

Can you explain why C is wrong?

And if it was instead of accepting, CC started sailing west.....would it have been correct?

Posted from my mobile device
User avatar
Anshul1223333
User avatar
Joined: 04 Oct 2017
Last visit: 29 Nov 2022
Posts: 69
Own Kudos:
2
Given Kudos: 36
Posts: 69
Kudos: 2
Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Ch 21 Aug 2022, 03:47
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
please review my understanding below:

A. Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by traveling west.


[It is ambiguous who didn't accept the conventional wisdom. King and Queen OR Christopher Columbus]


B. Rather than accepting the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by sailing west.

[do we need to compare -''accepting'' and ''was sent'' to be parallel

I understand the meaning as: ''Columbus rather than accepting the wisdom, was sent by the king

what is the ambiguity w.r.t parallelism here?]
User avatar
ExpertsGlobal5
User avatar
Experts' Global Representative
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,195
Own Kudos:
4,765
 [1]
Given Kudos: 43
Location: India
GMAT Date: 11-01-2019
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 5,195
Kudos: 4,765
 [1]
Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Ch 21 Aug 2022, 04:51
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Anshul1223333
please review my understanding below:

A. Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by traveling west.


[It is ambiguous who didn't accept the conventional wisdom. King and Queen OR Christopher Columbus]


B. Rather than accepting the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by sailing west.

[do we need to compare -''accepting'' and ''was sent'' to be parallel

I understand the meaning as: ''Columbus rather than accepting the wisdom, was sent by the king

what is the ambiguity w.r.t parallelism here?]
Show more

Hello Anshul1223333,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, your understanding of the meaning error in Option A is largely correct.

Further, in Option B, the structure of the sentence seems to incorrectly suggest that the actions of "accepting" and "being sent" should be parallel.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
User avatar
RonTargetTestPrep
User avatar
Target Test Prep Representative
Joined: 19 Jul 2022
Last visit: 07 Nov 2022
Posts: 430
Own Kudos:
537
 [2]
Given Kudos: 1
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Posts: 430
Kudos: 537
 [2]
Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Ch 22 Aug 2022, 02:49
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Anshul1223333
please review my understanding below:

A. Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by traveling west.


[It is ambiguous who didn't accept the conventional wisdom. King and Queen OR Christopher Columbus]
Show more

Not ambiguous. Columbus is THE (only) subject in this sentence, so Columbus is the only possible grammatical subject for the verb accept. (Moreover, Rather than accept... is an initial modifier, whose referent follows immediately—a rule that also points to "Columbus".)

The phrasing of this sentence doesn't make sense, though. The passive voice ("was sent") indicates something that was done TO / imposed UPON Columbus BY someone else—in this case, the king and queen—so that verb can't sensibly be written as something that Columbus did "rather than" doing something else.


Quote:
B. Rather than accepting the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by sailing west.

[do we need to compare -''accepting'' and ''was sent'' to be parallel
Show more

Yes, "rather than" should be a parallel marker. The _ing form isn't parallel to the other part, so, this one's gone.



By the way, I don't like the look of this modifier ("Rather than" + verb) at the beginning of a sentence. I'm pretty sure GMAC would do no such thing in a correct sentence.
User avatar
Anshul1223333
User avatar
Joined: 04 Oct 2017
Last visit: 29 Nov 2022
Posts: 69
Own Kudos:
2
Given Kudos: 36
Posts: 69
Kudos: 2
Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Ch 27 Aug 2022, 00:13
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
RonTargetTestPrep

Moreover in option D] we have '' comma + having been sent by...'' how do I understand the usage of this verb form?

RonTargetTestPrep
Anshul1223333
please review my understanding below:

A. Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by traveling west.


[It is ambiguous who didn't accept the conventional wisdom. King and Queen OR Christopher Columbus]

Not ambiguous. Columbus is THE (only) subject in this sentence, so Columbus is the only possible grammatical subject for the verb accept. (Moreover, Rather than accept... is an initial modifier, whose referent follows immediately—a rule that also points to "Columbus".)

The phrasing of this sentence doesn't make sense, though. The passive voice ("was sent") indicates something that was done TO / imposed UPON Columbus BY someone else—in this case, the king and queen—so that verb can't sensibly be written as something that Columbus did "rather than" doing something else.


Quote:
B. Rather than accepting the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by sailing west.

[do we need to compare -''accepting'' and ''was sent'' to be parallel

Yes, "rather than" should be a parallel marker. The _ing form isn't parallel to the other part, so, this one's gone.



By the way, I don't like the look of this modifier ("Rather than" + verb) at the beginning of a sentence. I'm pretty sure GMAC would do no such thing in a correct sentence.
Show more
User avatar
RonTargetTestPrep
User avatar
Target Test Prep Representative
Joined: 19 Jul 2022
Last visit: 07 Nov 2022
Posts: 430
Own Kudos:
537
 [1]
Given Kudos: 1
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Posts: 430
Kudos: 537
 [1]
Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Ch 28 Aug 2022, 21:03
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Anshul1223333
in option D] we have '' comma + having been sent by...'' how do I understand the usage of this verb form?
Show more

There's no verb in that part. Keep in mind that __ING forms are NOT VERBS.

The requisite understanding has two parts:

• This is just a comma + __ING modifier. Like other modifiers of that type, it modifies the action of the preceding clause—which in this case is Columbus's sailing to faraway places.

• "Having been sent" refers to a PREVIOUSLY completed/performed action (i.e. before the main timeframe of the sentence) that's relevant in the main timeframe. That's exactly what is true here—Columbus sailed because he HAD ALREADY ACQUIRED royal support for the journey.
Contrast this with the normal __ING form (which would be "being sent" here). The standard __ING form represents an action IN the main timeframe, which would be nonsense here.
User avatar
Anshul1223333
User avatar
Joined: 04 Oct 2017
Last visit: 29 Nov 2022
Posts: 69
Own Kudos:
2
Given Kudos: 36
Posts: 69
Kudos: 2
Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Ch 28 Aug 2022, 23:54
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
RonTargetTestPrep


what would make the parallelism right in B]

for e.g, if I write the sentence as below:

''Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus went on to sail the west...''

--do we have ''accept' and 'sent' parallel here.? Just a bit puzzled when I compare the sentence above with the structure- ''Rather than X, Y'' ??

what will be X and Y in sentence above or may be in your modified version of B]

RonTargetTestPrep
Anshul1223333
please review my understanding below:

A. Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by traveling west.


[It is ambiguous who didn't accept the conventional wisdom. King and Queen OR Christopher Columbus]

Not ambiguous. Columbus is THE (only) subject in this sentence, so Columbus is the only possible grammatical subject for the verb accept. (Moreover, Rather than accept... is an initial modifier, whose referent follows immediately—a rule that also points to "Columbus".)

The phrasing of this sentence doesn't make sense, though. The passive voice ("was sent") indicates something that was done TO / imposed UPON Columbus BY someone else—in this case, the king and queen—so that verb can't sensibly be written as something that Columbus did "rather than" doing something else.


Quote:
B. Rather than accepting the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by sailing west.

[do we need to compare -''accepting'' and ''was sent'' to be parallel

Yes, "rather than" should be a parallel marker. The _ing form isn't parallel to the other part, so, this one's gone.



By the way, I don't like the look of this modifier ("Rather than" + verb) at the beginning of a sentence. I'm pretty sure GMAC would do no such thing in a correct sentence.
Show more
User avatar
ExpertsGlobal5
User avatar
Experts' Global Representative
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,195
Own Kudos:
4,765
Given Kudos: 43
Location: India
GMAT Date: 11-01-2019
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 5,195
Kudos: 4,765
Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Ch 29 Aug 2022, 02:31
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Anshul1223333
RonTargetTestPrep


what would make the parallelism right in B]

for e.g, if I write the sentence as below:

''Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus went on to sail the west...''

--do we have ''accept' and 'sent' parallel here.? Just a bit puzzled when I compare the sentence above with the structure- ''Rather than X, Y'' ??

what will be X and Y in sentence above or may be in your modified version of B]

RonTargetTestPrep
Anshul1223333
please review my understanding below:

A. Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by traveling west.


[It is ambiguous who didn't accept the conventional wisdom. King and Queen OR Christopher Columbus]

Not ambiguous. Columbus is THE (only) subject in this sentence, so Columbus is the only possible grammatical subject for the verb accept. (Moreover, Rather than accept... is an initial modifier, whose referent follows immediately—a rule that also points to "Columbus".)

The phrasing of this sentence doesn't make sense, though. The passive voice ("was sent") indicates something that was done TO / imposed UPON Columbus BY someone else—in this case, the king and queen—so that verb can't sensibly be written as something that Columbus did "rather than" doing something else.


Quote:
B. Rather than accepting the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by sailing west.

[do we need to compare -''accepting'' and ''was sent'' to be parallel

Yes, "rather than" should be a parallel marker. The _ing form isn't parallel to the other part, so, this one's gone.



By the way, I don't like the look of this modifier ("Rather than" + verb) at the beginning of a sentence. I'm pretty sure GMAC would do no such thing in a correct sentence.
Show more

Hello Anshul1223333,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, in your modified version of Option B "accept" is parallel to "went on".

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
User avatar
Aditi31
User avatar
Joined: 04 Apr 2022
Last visit: 10 Oct 2022
Posts: 26
Own Kudos:
8
Given Kudos: 248
Posts: 26
Kudos: 8
Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Ch 29 Aug 2022, 09:10
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
The explanations below have eliminated the options based on Rather than and Instead of. I do not like this approach. Can anybody enlighten me on how to work on such a question.
User avatar
DmitryFarber
User avatar
Manhattan Prep Instructor
Joined: 22 Mar 2011
Last visit: 08 Nov 2025
Posts: 3,020
Own Kudos:
8,563
Given Kudos: 57
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 745 Q86 V90 DI85
Posts: 3,020
Kudos: 8,563
Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Ch 31 Aug 2022, 15:41
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Aditi31


You're not going to have much luck bypassing the instead of/rather than distinction here, because that's the only reason to choose D over C. Sure, the form of "accept" is different, but that fits with the prepositional phrase used in C. We'd never say "of accept." So we need to know that "instead of" is used to compare nouns to answer this question definitively!
User avatar
vv65
User avatar
Joined: 01 Mar 2015
Last visit: 10 Nov 2025
Posts: 534
Own Kudos:
395
Given Kudos: 774
Location: India
GMAT 1: 740 Q47 V44
GMAT 1: 740 Q47 V44
Posts: 534
Kudos: 395
Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Ch 31 Aug 2022, 20:19
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Himalayan
Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Christopher Columbus was sent by the king and queen of Spain to see if he could reach India by traveling west.
Show more
The GMAT would never have a question or sentence like this 😡, because the statement is absurd. People in Colombus's time did not believe that the world was flat.
https://www.historytoday.com/archive/in ... flat-earth

The question is irritating for another reason too: Many students tend to fixate on trying to understand the distinction between RATHER and INSTEAD. But understanding that difference will not really be useful in the GMAT.

Posted from my mobile device
User avatar
VerbalBot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 01 Oct 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 18,830
Own Kudos:
986
Posts: 18,830
Kudos: 986
Rather than accept the conventional wisdom that the earth was flat, Ch 04 Sep 2023, 00:02
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
   1   2 
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7443 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
231 posts
miag
189 posts