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655-705 Level|   Adjectives and Adverbs|   Modifiers|   Modifiers|            
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Since the 1930s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes Updated on: 05 Jun 2023, 22:33
Originally posted by batliwala on 19 Apr 2004, 00:52.
Last edited by Bunuel on 05 Jun 2023, 22:33, edited 6 times in total.
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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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65% (hard)

Question Stats:

45% (01:22) correct 55% (01:31) wrong based on 10095 sessions

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Since the 1930s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes with frictionless wings, shaped so smoothly and perfectly that the air passing over them would not become turbulent.


(A) wings, shaped so smoothly and perfectly

(B) wings, wings so smooth and so perfectly shaped

(C) wings that are shaped so smooth and perfect

(D) wings, shaped in such a smooth and perfect manner

(E) wings, wings having been shaped smoothly and perfectly so


SC58461.01


Show Spoiler
https://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/11/science/new-plan-wing-design-greatly-cuts-drag-to-save-fuel.html

Since the 1930's aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes with laminar-flow wings, wings so smooth and perfectly shaped that the air passing over them would not become turbulent. The World War II B-24 Liberator bomber and P-51 Mustang fighter had wings designed to maintain laminar flow, but manufacturing imperfections, dents and other inevitable flaws always spoiled laminar flow.
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B
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Since the 1930s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes 01 Mar 2021, 04:58
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Quote:
Since the 1930's aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes with frictionless wings, shaped so smoothly and perfectly that the air passing over them would not become turbulent.

(A) wings, shaped so smoothly and perfectly
(B) wings, wings so smooth and so perfectly shaped
(C) wings that are shaped so smooth and perfect
(D) wings, shaped in such a smooth and perfect manner
(E) wings, wings having been shaped smoothly and perfectly so
Show more

A and E: shaped SMOOTHLY
smoothly means performed WITHOUT DIFFICULTY.
Thus, shaped smoothly means shaped WITHOUT DIFFICULTY, implying that the process of shaping the wings is easy.
Not the intended meaning.
The intended meaning is not that the shaping PROCESS is smooth but that the WINGS themselves are SMOOTH.
Eliminate A and E.

C: are shaped so smooth and perfect
Here, smooth and perfect (two adjectives) seem to modify are shaped (a verb).
An adjective cannot modify a verb.
An adjective must serve to modify a NOUN.
Eliminate C.

D: shaped in such a smooth and perfect manner
Like A and E, this option implies that the MANNER of shaping the wings is EASY.
Not the intended meaning.
The intended meaning is not that the shaping MANNER is smooth but that the WINGS themselves are SMOOTH.
Eliminate D.

Show Spoiler
B

OA: Since the 1930's aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes with frictionless wings, wings so smooth and so perfectly shaped that the air passing over them would not become turbulent.

The portion in green is an example of a RESUMPTIVE MODIFIER.
A resumptive modifier:

-- repeats a key word in the sentence
-- conveys additional information about that key word
-- often includes a that-clause
-- usually appears at the end of a sentence

In the OA, the resumptive modifier makes it clear that so smooth and so perfectly shaped refers only to the WINGS, not to the entire airplane.
Check here for another example of a resumptive modifier:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/yellow-jacke ... 13500.html
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Since the 1930s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes 25 May 2021, 02:43
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Since the 1930's aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes with frictionless wings, shaped so smoothly and perfectly that the air passing over them would not become turbulent.


(A) wings, shaped so smoothly and perfectly

(B) wings, wings so smooth and so perfectly shaped

(C) wings that are shaped so smooth and perfect

(D) wings, shaped in such a smooth and perfect manner

(E) wings, wings having been shaped smoothly and perfectly so


Since the 1930's aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes with frictionless wings, shaped so smoothly and perfectly that the air passing over them would not become turbulent.

the second part of the sentence- "shaped so smoothly and perfectly"- what is this modifying? wings or airplanes? manufacturers have tried to build airplanes with frictionless wings, shaped so smoothly and perfectly that the air passing over them would not become turbulent.
What does "them" refer to? wings or airplanes?.
The subject of both the modifiers is "wings". Options B and E correct this ambiguity by adding the subject "wings" before the dependent clause and making it an absolute phrase.

So A, C, and D are out.
​
Another error in option C is that - wings that are shaped so smooth and perfect

"shaped" is a verb that should be modified by adverbs and not adjectives. "Smooth" and "perfect" are adjectives.
shaped so smoothly and perfectly- correct grammatically but distorts the meaning of the sentence.


E- wings, wings having been shaped smoothly and perfectly so
The use of the perfect participle to modify "wings" is Incorrect.

B- Since the 1930's aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes with frictionless wings, wings so smooth and so perfectly shaped that the air passing over them would not become turbulent.
The use of absolute phrase corrects the ambiguity in the original sentence.
wings so smooth and so perfectly shaped- "smooth" and perfectly "shaped" -adjectives modify the noun- "wings". [color=#00a651]Correct.[/color]

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Since the 1930s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes 17 Feb 2022, 02:38
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Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
batliwala
Since the 1930's aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes with frictionless wings, shaped so smoothly and perfectly that the air passing over them would not become turbulent.


(A) wings, shaped so smoothly and perfectly

(B) wings, wings so smooth and so perfectly shaped

(C) wings that are shaped so smooth and perfect

(D) wings, shaped in such a smooth and perfect manner

(E) wings, wings having been shaped smoothly and perfectly so

Show more

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of the crucial part of this sentence is that “wings” (and not “airplanes”) were smooth and perfectly shaped; hence, “so smooth and perfectly shaped that the air passing over them would not become turbulent” must clearly modify “airplanes”; only choices B and E do that.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers + Tenses

• "so cause that effect" is the correct, idiomatic usage.
• In a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.
• An adjective can only modify a noun; it cannot modify another adjective; to modify an adjective, an adverb must be used; generally, adjective+ly leads to an adverb.

A: Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the phrase “shaped so smoothly and perfectly” to modify the noun “airplanes” rather than the noun “wings”, altering the sentence to incorrectly imply that the airplanes are shaped in a smooth and perfect manner; the intended meaning is that the wings are smooth and perfectly shaped; remember, in a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.

B: Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase “wings so smooth and so perfectly shaped” to modify the noun “wings”, preserving the intended meaning of the sentence- that the wings are smooth and perfectly shaped. Further, Option B correctly modifies the noun "wings" with the adjectives "smooth" and "perfectly shaped". Additionally, Option B correctly uses the idiomatic construction "so cause that effect". Besides, Option B is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

C: Trap. This answer incorrectly uses the adjectives “smooth” and “perfect” rather than their adverb forms to modify the verb "shaped”; please remember, an adjective can only modify a noun; generally, adjective+ly leads to an adverb.

D: Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the phrase “shaped in such a smooth and perfect manner” to modify the noun “airplanes” rather than the noun “wings”, altering the sentence to incorrectly imply that the airplanes are shaped in a smooth and perfect manner; the intended meaning is that the wings are smooth and perfectly shaped; remember, in a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.

E: This answer incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "cause so that effect”; please remember, "so cause that effect" is the correct, idiomatic usage. Further, Option E incorrectly uses the needlessly wordy phrase “having been shaped”, leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

Hence, B is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Phrase Comma Subject" and "Subject Comma Phrase" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1minute):



All the best!
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Since the 1930s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes 22 Sep 2019, 04:21
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batliwala
Since the 1930's aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes with frictionless wings, shaped so smoothly and perfectly that the air passing over them would not become turbulent.


(A) wings, shaped so smoothly and perfectly

(B) wings, wings so smooth and so perfectly shaped

(C) wings that are shaped so smooth and perfect

(D) wings, shaped in such a smooth and perfect manner

(E) wings, wings having been shaped smoothly and perfectly so


SC58461.01


Show Spoiler
https://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/11/science/new-plan-wing-design-greatly-cuts-drag-to-save-fuel.html

Since the 1930's aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes with laminar-flow wings, wings so smooth and perfectly shaped that the air passing over them would not become turbulent. The World War II B-24 Liberator bomber and P-51 Mustang fighter had wings designed to maintain laminar flow, but manufacturing imperfections, dents and other inevitable flaws always spoiled laminar flow.
Show more

Official Explanation

Diction; Logical predication

The sentence as written is not stated clearly. For example, it is unclear what is shaped so smoothly and perfectly; it could be either the airplanes or the wings. Upon considering the likely intended meaning, along with a review of the other answer choices, it seems most likely that the phrase is intended to modify frictionless wings.

Next, we need to consider whether it makes more sense to say that the wings are smooth or shaped smoothly. This issue can be determined only by considering the most plausible intended meaning rather than by considering just the grammar of the sentence. The idea of being smoothly shaped would seem already to be part of the idea of being shaped perfectly, and therefore it is redundant. On the other hand, having a surface that is very smooth would be crucial in a quest to make an airplane wing frictionless; for this reason, it makes sense to point out that the wings themselves are smooth.

A. This choice is incorrect for the reasons stated above.

B. Correct. Given the repetition of the word wings, it is clear that what follows modifies wings and not airplanes. Describing the wings as smooth and perfectly shaped clearly conveys what is most likely intended.

C. In this version, note that shaped is modified. For this reason, proper grammar requires that the adverbs smoothly and perfectly are needed rather than the adjectives smooth and perfect. However, as discussed previously, the intended meaning of the sentence would be better conveyed if we used the adjective smooth to modify wings rather than the adverb smoothly to modify shaped.

D. It is initially unclear what is being described as having been shaped in such a smooth and perfect manner; it could be either the airplane or its wings. Even if that were clarified, however, the sentence would be flawed: the sentence is intended to describe the wings themselves, not the manner in which the wings were shaped. That is, this wording could be interpreted as referring to the nature of the wings themselves or to the process through which they were made. This ambiguity makes the meaning of the sentence unclear.

E. This version is very awkwardly worded, mainly because of having been. Furthermore, this version describes the act of shaping the wings. Because the sentence is instead meant to describe the wings themselves, this choice is incorrect.

The correct answer is B.
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Since the 1930s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes 25 Apr 2004, 19:40
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A) "shaped so smoothly..." is a dependent clause with no subject
B) correctly introduces the dependent clause with the subject "wings"
C) "smooth and perfect" are adjectives. We need adverbs "smoothly and perfectly" in order to modify verb "shaped"
D) again, the dependent clause is introduced with no subject or pronoun (ie which or that) which refers to the subject of the independent clause
E) to convey the idea of magnitude, "so" should have been placed before the adverbs which intend to modify the verb "shaped". Also, use of present perfect is unappropriate
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Since the 1930s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes 26 Apr 2004, 06:11
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batliwala
7. Since the 1930's aircraft manufacturers have tried to
build airplanes with frictionless wings, shaped so
smoothly and perfectly that the air passing over
them would not become turbulent.

(A) wings, shaped so smoothly and perfectly
(B) wings, wings so smooth and so perfectly shaped
(C) wings that are shaped so smooth and perfect
(D) wings, shaped in such a smooth and perfect manner
(E) wings, wings having been shaped smoothly and
perfectly so
Show more


Dharmin,Anand

you are correct. but lets set a trend ourselves. When i was taking my GMAT, i used to attempt to explain most ,if not all, of my answers, right or wrong. let us try to promote this culture. Anand does a great job, but we want others to explain their answers too.

Here the absolute phrase starting with "shaped" needs to clearly identify what is shaped...wings are shaped OR airplanes are shaped.

Only B and E fit that criteria. It wouldnt be hard to eliminate E.

B is so much better and concise.

regards
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Since the 1930s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes 17 Feb 2005, 22:38
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I looked into this one again and I believe the reason why A is not as good as B is simply because the relative pronoun "them" at the end of the sentence does not have any clear referrent. Does it refer to "airplanes" or "wings"? The same goes for A's participial phrase form which could refer to either one of those 2 preceding nouns.

For example, you have these 2 participial phrase structures:
eg The airplane kit model in the closet, built with such perfection that it amazed the whole family, was part of his collection.

As you can see above, there is an ambiguity as to what was built with such perfection. Is it the subject of the prepositional phrase in red or is it the "airplane kit model"? Because of this ambiguity, relative pronoun "it" also have an ambiguous referrent. If the author meant that it was the closet which was built with..., then he should repeat the word closet to clear such ambiguity. By the same token, "it" should then have a clear referrent.

eg The airplane kit model in the closet, a closet built with such perfection that it amazed the whole family, was part of his collection.

You can apply this same concept to the original question
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Since the 1930s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes 01 Mar 2005, 18:48
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I got my answer.
Such a silly question :wall .

In (B), "smooth" and "shaped" (adjectives) are modifying Noun (wings). So it is right.
In (C), "smooth" and "perfect" (adjectives) are modifying Verb (shaped) but we know that only Adverbs can modify Verb. So it is wrong.
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Since the 1930s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes 09 Oct 2008, 05:37
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amitdgr
Since the 1930’s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes with frictionless wings, shaped so smoothly and perfectly that the air passing over them would not become turbulent.

(A) wings, shaped so smoothly and perfectly
(B) wings, wings so smooth and so perfectly shaped
(C) wings that are shaped so smooth and perfect
(D) wings, shaped in such a smooth and perfect manner
(E) wings, wings having been shaped smoothly and perfectly so
Show more

This is a complex question which has been discussed earlier also. You can search it on the forum.

The answer is B.

We need to repeat the word WINGS to clarify that it was the wings that the manufacturers were trying to smoothen and give a perfect shape to.

In A, shaped so smoothly and perfectly ends up modifying Aircraft manufacturers creating an absurd meaning.

In C, we need SMOOTHLY and PERFECTLY (Adverbs) rather than SMOOTH and PERFECT (adjectives) to modify the verb SHAPED

D has a problem similar to A

E repeats the word WINGS but is idiomatically wrong - the correct idiom is SO X THAT Y
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Since the 1930s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes 29 Mar 2011, 10:03
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whichscore
Since the 1930's aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes with frictionless
wings, shaped so smoothly and perfectly that the air passing over them would not
become turbulent.
(A) wings, shaped so smoothly and perfectly
(B) wings, wings so smooth and so perfectly shaped
(C) wings that are shaped so smooth and perfect
(D) wings, shaped in such a smooth and perfect manner
(E) wings, wings having been shaped smoothly and perfectly so

could anyone tell me if this question could appear on the real GMAT ? I doubt wether this sentence is accurate.
Show more

Got it wrong in first go!

only B & C are compelling options!
this question is checking concept of "resumptive modifiers", which demands repartition of word "wings"
Also, option C could have been right provided we had perfectly; only adverbs can modify verb (verb = shaped). perfect is adjective. Further, "shaped smoothly" would have been wrong. you can shape perfectly, but not smoothly. In B this is corrected; wings so smooth (adjective) and perfectly (adverb) shaped
. . so answer is B


Now, What are RESUMPTIVE MODIFIERS;read below

By adding modifying phrases to the end of a sentence, a writer can take the reader in new, sometimes unexpected directions. A resumptive modifier picks up a word or phrase from a sentence that seems to be finished and then adds information and takes the reader into new territory of thought. Because resumptive modifiers are, by nature, repetitive, they tend also to add a sense of rhythm to a sentence.

Example: The Swiss watchmakers' failure to capitalize on the invention of the digital timepiece was both astonishing and alarming — astonishing in that the Swiss had, since the beginnings of the industrial revolution in Europe, been among the first to capitalize on technical innovations, alarming in that a tremendous industrial potential had been lost to their chief competitors, the watchmakers of Japan.

for TWO MORE EXAMPLES of this type of question, search following questions in forum
"Yellow jackets number among the 900 or so species . . . "
"In a crowded, acquisitive world, the disapperance of lifestyles such as those once . . ."

Target760
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Since the 1930s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes 18 Apr 2013, 07:29
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Why is "C" an easy elimination. I did not understand
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Since the 1930s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes 19 Apr 2013, 11:56
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Hi rrkan, tricky question, duped me too.

C is out cos - shaped so smooth and perfect (here smooth and perfect are supposed to modify shaped - ed verb - thus we need adverb and an adjective, but if you see we have both as adjectives)

Choice B it is, since "...so smooth....so perfectly shaped" i notice how adverb perfectly is modifying shaped and adjective smooth is modifying adverb perfectly and also parallelism of so x so y is maintained
Hope this helps
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Since the 1930s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes 19 Apr 2013, 12:41
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Not sure why A is wrong. Unless comma has a different meaning..

Per my analysis shaped is a verb playing the modifier role and -ed modifier always modifies the closest noun - which is wings.

Smoothly and Perfectly are adverbs intended for shaped and also the idiom so and that are considered.

Any help from experts?
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Since the 1930s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes 20 Apr 2013, 04:24
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nt2010
Not sure why A is wrong. Unless comma has a different meaning..

Per my analysis shaped is a verb playing the modifier role and -ed modifier always modifies the closest noun - which is wings.

Smoothly and Perfectly are adverbs intended for shaped and also the idiom so and that are considered.

Any help from experts?
Show more

A is wrong because there is a dangling modifier which does not clearly state whether the aircraft is smooth and perfectly shaped or the wings.

if you want to modify the noun 'wings' , you will need to place a 'which' (non essential modifiers) after the comma.
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Since the 1930s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes 20 Apr 2013, 04:52
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hi lostthepie,
Can you please explain why ed modifer can't modify the near by noun wings and only which can perform that?
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Since the 1930s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes 20 Apr 2013, 05:26
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skamal7
hi lostthepie,
Can you please explain why ed modifer can't modify the near by noun wings and only which can perform that?
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My 2 cents....

verb ed can modify nouns for sure. but if you notice carefully, here noun is "airplanes" "with....wings" is a prepositional phrase modifying "airplanes". Thus it creates an ambiguity as to what exactly verb ed is modifying

use of "that" will make the modifier an essential one, thus it will carefully modify the entire noun phrase "airplane .... wings" and not just airplanes or wings

hope this helps
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Since the 1930s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes 20 Apr 2013, 05:55
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So use of that and which is correct if we want to modify a noun with prepostional phrases and ver-ed modifier doesnt have this flexiblity ?am i right?
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sdas
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Since the 1930s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes 20 Apr 2013, 06:03
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skamal7
So use of that and which is correct if we want to modify a noun with prepostional phrases and ver-ed modifier doesnt have this flexiblity ?am i right?
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That is correct.

Follow the links below, very helpful in clearing the doubts in discussion here. It is better to understand the concept clearly than simply remember grammar rules

usage-of-that-doubt-150338.html

noun-modifiers-can-modify-slightly-far-away-noun-135868.html

verb-ed-modifiers-vs-verb-ing-modifiers-125611.html

Hope I was of help

Cheers
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Since the 1930s aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes 20 Apr 2013, 08:08
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+1 kudos mate for sharing the link.

But if you see those posts we see that verb-ed modifier is also a noun modifier for sure.SO all noun modifiers can modify the far away noun.So verb-ed modifiers can also modify far away noun i guess..please correct me if am wrong
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