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archbarc
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Resembling both a lion and a man, ancient Egyptians constructed the Sp Updated on: 20 Sep 2018, 22:24
Originally posted by archbarc on 27 Aug 2010, 05:50.
Last edited by Bunuel on 20 Sep 2018, 22:24, edited 4 times in total.
Renamed the topic and edited the question.
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Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

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59% (00:48) correct 41% (00:55) wrong based on 1008 sessions

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Resembling both a lion and a man, ancient Egyptians constructed the Sphinx nearly 4,000 years ago.


A. Resembling both a lion and

B. Building it to resemble both a lion and

C. Resembling it to both a lion and

D. Having a resemblance to both a lion and

E. Building it to resemble not only a lion and also
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B
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Resembling both a lion and a man, ancient Egyptians constructed the Sp 21 Mar 2014, 20:04
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goodyear2013
Resembling both a lion and a man, ancient Egyptians constructed the Sphinx nearly 4,000 years ago.

A) Resembling both a lion and
B) Building it to resemble both a lion and
C) Resembling it to both a lion and
D) Having a resemblance to both a lion and
E) Building it to resemble not only a lion and also

OE:
Show Spoiler
(B) CORRECT. By including the singular pronoun “it,” the introductory phrase refers to the singular “the Sphinx” rather than the plural “ancient Egyptians.”

Hi, can anyone explain why the answer is the right choice, please
Show more

The opening modifier is modifying 'ancient Egyptians'

Now A,C and D would mean that it were the ancient Egyptians who resembled like a man and a lion.

B and E would mean that it were the ancient Egyptians who built it.

E is wrong because 'not only' needs to have a 'but also' too. Which isn't there in choice E. Hence B.

I hope it's clear. you can PM me if you need clarifications. : )
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Resembling both a lion and a man, ancient Egyptians constructed the Sp 25 Mar 2014, 22:20
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alex39
goodyear2013
Resembling both a lion and a man, ancient Egyptians constructed the Sphinx nearly 4,000 years ago.

A) Resembling both a lion and
B) Building it to resemble both a lion and
C) Resembling it to both a lion and
D) Having a resemblance to both a lion and
E) Building it to resemble not only a lion and also

OE:
Show Spoiler
(B) CORRECT. By including the singular pronoun “it,” the introductory phrase refers to the singular “the Sphinx” rather than the plural “ancient Egyptians.”

Hi, can anyone explain why the answer is the right choice, please


isn't the phrase " resembling it" implies that Egyptians constructed it to resemble sth, and thus went for C being concise than B and usage of correct modifier.
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Alex,

"resembling it to lion" conveys an illogical meaning. I can 'build something to resemble a lion' but i cannot 'resemble it to a lion'. The difference might be subtle but it is conveying the wrong meaning. Plus it is unidiomatic.

eg.

The house resembling a mansion was built by alex.

vs.

The house resembling to a mansion was built by alex.

Do you follow how 'to' makes it unidiomatic?

Egyptians built pyramids resembling a lion

vs

Egyptians built pyramids resembling to a lion.

As you yourself said 'Egyptians constructed it to resemble sth' and not 'Egyptians resembled it TO sth'.

You could PM me if this doesn't make it clear to you. : )
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Resembling both a lion and a man, ancient Egyptians constructed the Sp 25 Mar 2014, 21:55
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goodyear2013
Resembling both a lion and a man, ancient Egyptians constructed the Sphinx nearly 4,000 years ago.

A) Resembling both a lion and
B) Building it to resemble both a lion and
C) Resembling it to both a lion and
D) Having a resemblance to both a lion and
E) Building it to resemble not only a lion and also

OE:
Show Spoiler
(B) CORRECT. By including the singular pronoun “it,” the introductory phrase refers to the singular “the Sphinx” rather than the plural “ancient Egyptians.”

Hi, can anyone explain why the answer is the right choice, please
Show more


isn't the phrase " resembling it" implies that Egyptians constructed it to resemble sth, and thus went for C being concise than B and usage of correct modifier.
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Resembling both a lion and a man, ancient Egyptians constructed the Sp 15 Apr 2015, 13:59
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archbarc
Resembling both a lion and a man, ancient Egyptians constructed the Sphinx nearly 4,000 years ago.
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1. Resembling both a lion and
ing+comma modifies either the preceding clause or the the preceding noun. stated in this way, we can deduct that ancient egyptians resemble both a lion and a man. that is not correct.

2. Building it to resemble both a lion and
this choice changes the meaning of the sentence, which is the correct one. it removes the ambiguity and clearly modifies the preceding clause, explaining how they constructed the Sphinx.

3. Resembling it to both a lion and
modifier error as in A.

4. Having a resemblance to both a lion and
modifier error as in A.

5. Building it to resemble not only a lion and also
this answer choice introduces a new error. the correct idiom is not only X but also Y.
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Resembling both a lion and a man, ancient Egyptians constructed the Sp 20 Sep 2018, 16:11
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archbarc
Resembling both a lion and a man, ancient Egyptians constructed the Sphinx nearly 4,000 years ago.

A. Resembling both a lion and
B. Building it to resemble both a lion and
C. Resembling it to both a lion and
D. Having a resemblance to both a lion and
E. Building it to resemble not only a lion and also
Show more

Official Solution (Credit: Manhattan Prep)



In the original sentence, the introductory adjective phrase “resembling both a lion and a man” incorrectly describes “ancient Egyptians.” When in doubt, an introductory modifier describes the first available noun after it. The underlined portion of the sentence must be altered to ensure that “the Sphinx” rather than “ancient Egyptians” is properly modified.

(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.

(B) CORRECT. By including the singular pronoun “it,” the introductory phrase refers to the singular “the Sphinx” rather than the plural “ancient Egyptians.”

(C) In this choice, “resembling it to” is awkward and ungrammatical.

(D) In this choice, the introductory phrase incorrectly describes “ancient Egyptians” rather than “the Sphinx.” When in doubt, an introductory modifier describes the first available noun after it.

(E) Although this choice corrects the modifier error by including the singular pronoun “it,” it uses the unidiomatic “not only a lion and also a man.” The proper idiom is “not only X but also Y.”
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Resembling both a lion and a man, ancient Egyptians constructed the Sp 19 Oct 2018, 23:43
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I chose option C, and I realize that "resembling to" is unidiomatic but doesnt option B introduce redundancy by using building and constructed both?
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Resembling both a lion and a man, ancient Egyptians constructed the Sp 20 Oct 2018, 05:59
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A. Resembling both a lion and -- lion and man is for Sphinx not egyptian- OUT

B. Building it to resemble both a lion and -Correct usage

C. Resembling it to both a lion and -Same as A

D. Having a resemblance to both a lion and -Same as A modifying egyptian instead of Sphinx

E. Building it to resemble not only a lion and also- Not only .. but also is not correctly used
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Resembling both a lion and a man, ancient Egyptians constructed the Sp 20 Oct 2018, 22:13
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A. Resembling both a lion and -- lion and man is for Sphinx not egyptian- OUT

B. Building it to resemble both a lion and -Correct usage

C. Resembling it to both a lion and -Same as A

D. Having a resemblance to both a lion and -Same as A modifying egyptian instead of Sphinx

E. Building it to resemble not only a lion and also- Not only .. but also is not correctly used
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But what about the reduncancy introduced because of "building" and "constructed" both used in the sentence.
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Resembling both a lion and a man, ancient Egyptians constructed the Sp 20 Oct 2018, 22:31
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singh8891
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A. Resembling both a lion and -- lion and man is for Sphinx not egyptian- OUT

B. Building it to resemble both a lion and -Correct usage

C. Resembling it to both a lion and -Same as A

D. Having a resemblance to both a lion and -Same as A modifying egyptian instead of Sphinx

E. Building it to resemble not only a lion and also- Not only .. but also is not correctly used

But what about the reduncancy introduced because of "building" and "constructed" both used in the sentence.
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Hi singh8891

This is typically a modifier tested problem.we need a modifier to modify egyptians but resembling lion or man is modifier for Sphinx
As resembling lion and man cant modify egyptians.
It is logical to modify the correct entity.Hope it helps

Posted from my mobile device
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Resembling both a lion and a man, ancient Egyptians constructed the Sp 23 Oct 2018, 12:31
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I also rejected B based on redundancy between building and constructed. Is this a correct question?

Experts please help.
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Resembling both a lion and a man, ancient Egyptians constructed the Sp 06 Jul 2019, 13:06
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Hi,

Option B stated that the Egyptians constructed the sphinx by building it to resemble a lion. Isn't it redundant to use building and constructed together?

Also,in option C how is resembling pointing to the Egyptians if there is 'it' after it?
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Resembling both a lion and a man, ancient Egyptians constructed the Sp 31 Jan 2022, 02:11
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archbarc
Resembling both a lion and a man, ancient Egyptians constructed the Sphinx nearly 4,000 years ago.


A. Resembling both a lion and

B. Building it to resemble both a lion and

C. Resembling it to both a lion and

D. Having a resemblance to both a lion and

E. Building it to resemble not only a lion and also
Show more


Firstly : Resembling is referring to Sphinx not ancient Egyptians(subject of main clause) . Pronoun It refers to Sphinx .
If still it confuses you try substituting It with Sphinx .
Hope that helps clarifying the meaning.
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