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555-605 Level|   Idioms/Diction/Redundancy|   Parallelism|                                 
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to Updated on: 11 Jun 2021, 09:35
Originally posted by marine on 26 Aug 2004, 03:42.
Last edited by Bunuel on 11 Jun 2021, 09:35, edited 10 times in total.
Renamed the topic and edited the question.
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to whales and in fact include the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow to be 30 feet long and is famous for its aggressive hunting pods.


(A) include the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow to be 30 feet long and is

(B) include the animal known as the killer whale, growing as big as 30 feet long and

(C) include the animal known as the killer whale, growing up to 30 feet long and being

(D) includes the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow as big as 30 feet long and is

(E) includes the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow to be 30 feet long and it is




Show Spoiler
https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/06/health/evidence-puts-dolphins-in-new-light-as-killers.html

Closely related to whales, the 32 species that make up the dolphin family (Delphinidae in scientific nomenclature) include killer whales, which grow up to 30 feet long and are famous for their aggressive hunting pods. But the rest are smaller. The common dolphin is up to 7 feet long, and the bottlenose, up to 12 feet. Many dolphins have a pronounced beak and all have a central dorsal fin and sharp teeth for feeding, mainly on squid and fish.
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 31 Oct 2019, 20:56
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Tushrgupta
" The 32 species " is followed by that...just wondering is use of that right here coz if its a relative pronoun than the 32 species must be singular..
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Hi! All relative pronouns can refer to either singular or plural nouns.

So, both the following would be correct:

Michael, who is preparing for GMAT, is studying hard.
- Relative pronoun who referring to singular noun Michael.

Michael's friends, who are preparing for GMAT, are studying hard.
- Relative pronoun who referring to plural noun Michael's friends.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses Relative Pronouns, their application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 12 Dec 2019, 16:53
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to whales and in fact include the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow to
be 30 feet long and is famous for its aggressive hunting pods.

(A) include the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow to be 30 feet long and is

(B) include the animal known as the killer whale, growing as big as 30 feet long and

(C) include the animal known as the killer whale, growing up to 30 feet long and being

(D) includes the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow as big as 30 feet long and is

(E) includes the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow to be 30 feet long and it is

For option (B)

Please correct me if I'm wrong some where

Clauses
Cl1 32 species make up the dolphin family
Cl2 32 species that.... family are closely related(Verb1) to whales & in fact
include (Verb 2) the animal know as the killer whale,

Now we know that for the Verb-ing modifier
S V Object , -ing
-ing modifies whole preceding clause (DESCRIBE/RESULT) and not the preceding noun or the subject

As per the explaination in the OG for choice B
"Changing the verb to the participial growing
introduces ambiguity, because it could refer
backto the subject of the sentence {32
species)."

1) Please help to clarify how can -ing modify(thus create amiguity) the subject and not the whole clause

2) For choice B
CL2 : 32 species <are closely related ...> & <include .....whale>,

mod1 <growing upto 30 feet> :

If we consider only this mod. would it be correct to say that it(such an -ing modifier) can meaningfully describe about the CL2 as a whole ?
would it make any sense here

Because it becomes confusing in few questions in which -ing is used to modify the preceding clause (whereas it made more sense to modify preceding noun by using relative pronoun)
(i.e can such cases of modifier be considered as a DESCRIPTION of the preceding clause)

(if possible Please explain with an example for this doubt )

Hi there,

Thanks for posting your doubt here. :-)

I am not sure what you mean to convey through the clause analysis. So here is how we would break the sentence with Choice B into clauses.

The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to whales and in fact include the animal known as the killer whale, growing as big as 30 feet long and famous for its aggressive hunting pods.

Cl. 1: The 32 species

Cl. 2: that make up the dolphin family

Cont. of Cl. 1: are closely related to whales and in fact include the animal known as the killer whale, growing as big as 30 feet long and famous for its aggressive hunting pods.

So as highlighted, the first clause has two verbs "are related" and "include", and the second clause has one verb "make up".

Now the comma + verb-ing modifier "growing" modifies the preceding clause "The 32 species... are related... and include...." One thing to always keep in mind about the verb-ing modifiers is that they denote some action. That's why we call them "verb-ing" modifiers. The action that they denote must have a doer. Generally, the doer of the action denoted bu the "comma + verb-ing" modifiers is teh Subject of the modified clause.

In this case. the Subject of the modified clause is "The 32 species". Now ask yourself, do the 32 species grow as big as 30 feet long? Certainly not. This answer is absolutely illogical. So we see here that the action denoted by the "comma + verb-ing" modifier does not make sense with the Subject of the modified clause. Hence, use of "comma + verb-ing" is incorrect in Choice B.

You can read the following article for more information on this topic:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/usage-of-verb ... 35220.html

Hope this helps. :-)
Wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. :-)
Thanks.
Shraddha
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Shraddha
egmat

I know this post is old, but I wanted to ask something:

When it comes to the ing modifier set of by commas as in this example (did I use as correctly or was it supposed to be like? sorry for the question apart :D).

Now when it comes to these modifiers, can they in certain circumstances refer back to a noun that is not the subject? Or in such cases, it has to be either the subject or the entire clause?

Thanks :)
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 12 Dec 2019, 23:07
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philippi
in such cases, it has to be either the subject or the entire clause?
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Not either or...there is an and relationship.

Such present participial phrases modify the subject of the preceding clause and have to present a result/describe the previous clause.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses Present Participial Phrase, its application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 20 Mar 2020, 04:15
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Option B: The participial modifier ‘growing’ modifies the subject of the preceding clause i.e. the 32 species. This is incorrect. ‘Growing’ and ‘famous’ are not parallel. Also, ‘as big as 30 ft long is redundant and incorrect depending on the way you look at it. Eliminate.

Option C: The same reason as B. the modifier should qualify ‘killer whale’. Usage of ‘being’ can be considered redundant. The sentence means the same without ‘being’. Eliminate.

Option D: The verb 'includes' should be 'include' as '32 species of dolphin' is plural. "as BIG as 30 ft LONG" is redundant and incorrect. Eliminate.

Option E: Same reason as D. SVA issue. In this option, the introduction of ‘and it is’ breaks the parallelism. Eliminate.

Now let’s come back to Option A.

Option A maintains parallelism and the Subject and Verb are in agreement. This is the best choice.

Hope this helps!
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 28 Apr 2020, 09:21
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Here's my explanation of this question. Definitely, there's some good theory of modifiers that could be applied.





Regards,


Rod
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 04 Nov 2020, 10:58
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Please can someone do a full breakdown of each choice and why it is wrong?
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 02 Jan 2021, 13:08
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Please can someone do a full breakdown of each choice and why it is wrong?
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This question serves up two unusually juicy decision points:

First, you have a choice between "include" and "includes." If we strip out some of the modifiers, the main clause becomes:

Quote:
The 32 species are closely related to whales and in fact include/includes...
Show more
As others have noted, the subject "the 32 species" is plural, so we need the verb "include." Any answer choice with "includes" is out -- that kills (D) and (E).

Next, you have a choice between "which" and "growing." "Which" must describe a noun or noun phrase.

And anytime you have the construction "CLAUSE + COMMA + -ING," the -ING modifier will describe the entire previous clause.

Take another look at (A):

Quote:
The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to whales and in fact include the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow to be 30 feet long and is famous for its aggressive hunting pods.
Show more
Here, "which" seems to modify to the "killer whale." That makes sense: the whale can grow to 30 feet long. Keep (A).

In (B) we have:

Quote:
The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to whales and in fact include the animal known as the killer whale, growing as big as 30 feet long.
Show more
Because "growing" must modify the entire previous clause, it sounds as though: 1) the 32 species that make up the dolphin family -- rather than the killer whale -- are growing up to 30 feet long, and 2) this growth is somehow a consequence of being related to whales. This is nonsense. Families of dolphins don't grow to 30 feet long, and even if they did, it wouldn't be because they're related to whales.

Because the use of "growing" is incoherent here, we can eliminate (B). (C) has the exact same problem, so that's out too.

We're left with (A), which is our winner.

I hope that helps!
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 24 Jan 2021, 04:05
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How does the parellelism work here? Isnt "which" only parallel to another "which"?
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 24 Jan 2021, 04:40
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randarth
How does the parellelism work here? Isnt "which" only parallel to another "which"?
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Hi randarth, the parallelism here is between can and is.

Of course, following would not have been incorrect either:

....killer whale, which can grow to be 30 feet long and which is....

You might want to go thru this post to understand how/when GMAT typically repeats relative pronouns (which/that etc.)
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 04 Mar 2021, 00:37
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A. the killer whale, (relative pronoun)which can grow to be 30 feet long and (verb)is

EducationAisle

Can someone explain that why is it not a parallelism error? Shouldn't be like this "the killer whale, (relative pronoun)which can grow to be 30 feet long and (relative pronoun)which is" as relative pronouns should come also after conjunction.

Thanks!
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 04 Mar 2021, 02:16
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Adambhau
A. the killer whale, (relative pronoun)which can grow to be 30 feet long and (verb)is

EducationAisle

Can someone explain that why is it not a parallelism error? Shouldn't be like this "the killer whale, (relative pronoun)which can grow to be 30 feet long and (relative pronoun)which is" as relative pronouns should come also after conjunction.
Show more
Hi Adambhau, thanks for tagging me on this.

Let's start with an easy example:

Peter is a person who is tall and handsome.

The above sentence is a perfectly valid sentence. Parallelism is between tall and handsome (both of them adjectives)

We don't necessarily need to say:

Peter is a person who is tall and who is handsome.

The above sentence is also valid, though slightly longer. Parallelism is obviously between who and who (both of them relative pronouns).

Hope it is clear that repetition of a relative pronoun after the conjunction is not a question of parallelism but of preference & clarity. Please refer to this response, wherein I address this issue of repeating a relative pronoun.
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 07 Mar 2021, 08:30
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Quote:
The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to whales and in fact include the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow to be 30 feet long and is famous for its aggressive hunting pods.
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Here is my approach:
32 species is plural noun because non underline mentioned "are"

Quote:
(D) includes the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow as big as 30 feet long and is

(E) includes the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow to be 30 feet long and it is
Show more

Hence D and E are out

Quote:
(B) include the animal known as the killer whale, growing as big as 30 feet long and

(C) include the animal known as the killer whale, growing up to 30 feet long and being
Show more
for B and C; "growing incorrectly modifies 32 species, rather than killer whale"

Quote:
(A) include the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow to be 30 feet long and is
Show more

Hence correct ans is A
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 05 Apr 2021, 20:57
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How does one identify when to repeat "which" for the second part of the sentence (before "is famous") as in

include the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow to be 30 feet long and WHICH is famous for its aggressive hunting pods.

I know it's not repeated in the answer for this question. Is it because it's implied to repeat? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 05 Apr 2021, 22:45
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daprince
How does one identify when to repeat "which" for the second part of the sentence (before "is famous")
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Hi daprince, you might want to go thru this post on when to repeat which/that.
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 11 Jun 2021, 09:26
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marine
The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to whales and in fact include the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow to be 30 feet long and is famous for its aggressive hunting pods.


(C) include the animal known as the killer whale, growing up to 30 feet long and being

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(C) include the animal known as the killer whale, growing up to 30 feet long and being

Is "growing up to 30 feet long" redundant? egmat EducationAisle
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 29 Jun 2021, 11:37
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is it correct way to say "which can grow to be 30 feet long"?
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 13 Aug 2021, 20:02
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to whales and in fact include the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow to be 30 feet long and is famous for its aggressive hunting pods.

if I remove red font to understand include refers to "The 32 species".
The 32 species .... include the animal known as the killer whale,

my doubt is The 32 species is singular or plural, I think it is singular because of definite article "The". if this is the case then includes should be used.
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 14 Aug 2021, 23:00
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tramobile
The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to whales and in fact include the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow to be 30 feet long and is famous for its aggressive hunting pods.

if I remove red font to understand include refers to "The 32 species".
The 32 species .... include the animal known as the killer whale,

my doubt is The 32 species is singular or plural, I think it is singular because of definite article "The". if this is the case then includes should be used.
@empowergmat
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tramobile, the sentence already tells you that The 32 Species is plural. Notice the part that says - The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely....". Also, 32 species has to be plural.

The presence of "The" does not dictate whether a noun is plural or singular. Some very basic examples that you can relate to -
1. The girls in my class ARE extremely smart.
2. The Eiffel Tower IS the best thing I've ever seen.
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 13 Sep 2021, 06:42
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can someone explain the correctness of the idiomatic phrases "can grow to be 30 feet long" vs. "can grow upto 30ft"
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The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 20 Dec 2021, 21:33
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Why here '' include'' need to refer to the thirty-two species as its subject? Why we can't use''includes'' to refer to the subject ''whale'' which is singular. I have observed that verb may not always follow the preceding subject in the same sequence. In some cases of inverted sentence construction verb subject follows the verb.

Is it mandatory that SUBJECT-VERB sequence is the only, correct way?

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