Since numbers do not have physical manifestations other than

Question

Since numbers do not have physical manifestations other than the symbols that represent them and  there is little probability of infants spontaneously forming numerical concepts without any perceptual input, the development of number concepts must begin with the acquisition  of symbols followed by the configuration of their conceptual contents

A. there is little probability of infants spontaneously forming numerical concepts without any perceptual input, the development of number concepts must begin with the acquisition

B. it is improbable that infants form numerical concepts spontaneously without any perceptual input, thus, the development of number concepts must begin with the acquiring

C. it is improbable that, without any perceptual input, numerical concepts in infants form spontaneously, the development of number concepts must begin with the acquisition

D. since there is little chance of infants forming numerical concepts spontaneously without any perceptual input, therefore, number concepts' development must begin with the acquiring

E. since it is improbable that infants form numerical concepts spontaneously, without any perceptual input, the development of number concepts must begin with the acquisition

gmatbull · Answer

A. "there is little probability of..." is awkward and unnecessarily wordy
B. since X, and it is Y,... with the acquiring... choppy, wordy and ungrammatical 
C. same as B; in fact, (C) has a horrible construction
D. although uses the preferred structure of "since X and since Y,..." it needlessly distorts original meaning with a lot of wordiness: "since there is little chance that infants..." is wordy and less precise when compared to "since it is improbable that infants..."
E. the best response, uses more precise and concise language.

Just my 2 cents; others will be appreciated.

nusmavrik · Answer

IMO : E
Between D and E. I would say "since" parallelism. 
"there" is passive that eliminates D.

RGM · Answer

Agree with E - D & E recall the "since" usage and "therefore" is not needed and 'number concepts' development' imply that the number concepts themselves develop.

seekmba · Answer

my pick is E too.

but I am confused about a part of sentence in options A and E. Can someone explain which one is correct below and why?

A) there is little probability of infants spontaneously forming numerical concepts

E) since it is improbable that infants form numerical concepts spontaneously

utin · Answer

I wonder if using "Since" twice in E is correct???

SaraiYaseenGMAT · Answer

A. there is little probability of infants spontaneously forming numerical concepts without any perceptual input, the development of number concepts must begin with the acquisition
  "There is little probability..." is an independent clause (a subject and verb that could be a sentence on its own).     REMEMBER! A COMMA MUST COME BEFORE THE "AND" CONNECTING TWO INDEPENDENT CLAUSES.

Ex. I like steak   my brother likes fish.

Also, the prepositional phrase "of infants" is not an adequate description of "probability." There is no "probability of infants."   
B. it is improbable that infants form numerical concepts spontaneously without any perceptual input, thus, the development of number concepts must begin with the acquiring
  Same punctuation problem as in A-- a comma is needed before the 'and' if the sentence continues with a second independent clause ("it is improbable...")

Also, "thus" cannot attach two independent clauses to one another.

Ex. 
Incorrect: I am hungry, thus/therefore/hence I will eat.
Correct: I am hungry; thus/therefore/hence I will eat.
OR I am hungry. Thus/Therefore/Hence I will eat.
OR I am hungry, and thus/therefore/hence I will eat.

Finally, the gerund "acquiring" is inferior to the noun "the acquisition"

C. it is improbable that, without any perceptual input, numerical concepts in infants form spontaneously, the development of number concepts must begin with the acquisition

Same punctuation problem as in A and B.

D. since there is little chance of infants forming numerical concepts spontaneously without any perceptual input, therefore, number concepts' development must begin with the acquiring

The punctuation here is fine. 
The "AND" joins two relative clauses ("since+suject+verb... and since+subject+verb...") NO COMMA APPEARS BEFORE THE 'AND' JOINING TWO RELATIVE CLAUSES!

However, the prepositional phrase "of infants" is not an accurate description of "the chance". There is no "chance of infants."

Finally, "therefore" cannot join two independent clauses, the same problem that appeared in C.

E. since it is improbable that infants form numerical concepts spontaneously, without any perceptual input, the development of number concepts must begin with the acquisition

CORRECT: The punctuation is correct as it was in D. Here the definition of what is "improbable" is also correct-- "that infants form..."

adalfu · Answer

hey Sarai,

I was just curious... is there a name for these "sentence connectors":  therefore, thus, hence, however, still, nonetheless, etc .

obviously they're not conjunctions (can't be used to connect two sentences) nor they're prepositions (can't be in form  therefore + noun phrase )...

i mean, aren't they just "special" adverbs?

SaraiYaseenGMAT · Answer

Hi,

Sorry for the delay-- no those words do not have special name in parts of speech. They're just transition words.

Best,
Sarai

Since numbers do not have physical manifestations other than

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