Last visit was: 19 Nov 2025, 14:54 It is currently 19 Nov 2025, 14:54
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   3   4 
555-605 Level|   Idioms/Diction/Redundancy|   Parallelism|                                 
User avatar
marine
User avatar
Joined: 08 Apr 2004
Last visit: 04 Oct 2004
Posts: 108
Own Kudos:
5,557
 [584]
Location: Corea
Posts: 108
Kudos: 5,557
 [584]
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.
51
Kudos
Add Kudos
530
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
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.
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]
The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 21 Dec 2021, 06:04
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
VIGHNESHKAMATH
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?

Regards
Vighnesh
Show more

Hello VIGHNESHKAMATH,

We hope this finds you well.

Having gone through the question and your query, we believe we can resolve your doubt.

The intended meaning here is that the "killer whale" is one of the 32 species that make up the dolphin family - in other words, the 32 species that make up the dolphin family include the killer whale.

The verb "include" must act upon "32 species" because it is the species that do the act of "including" the killer whale; the killer whale is not "including" anything.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
avatar
GVelarde
avatar
Joined: 06 Mar 2020
Last visit: 19 Oct 2022
Posts: 13
Own Kudos:
6
Given Kudos: 3
Location: United States (CA)
GMAT 1: 770 Q50 V45 (Online)
GMAT 1: 770 Q50 V45 (Online)
Posts: 13
Kudos: 6
The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 31 Jan 2022, 16:01
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
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.


(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 more

I looked at the parallelism required after "and" first. What is logically parallel here is "are closely related to whales" and "include the...whale". Since the verb phrases are parallel, I need a plural verb, eliminating choices 4 and 5.

Choices 1, 2, and 3 all say include the animal known as the killer whale.

So, I compare what follows the word "whale":

Choice 1: whale, which can grow to be 30 feet long and is
Choice 2: whale, growing as big as 30 feet long and
Choice 3: whale, growing up to 30 feet long and being

From reading this segment, I immediately know the answer is #1.

I know that what "can grow to be 30 feet long" has to be a whale. This fact means that whatever word I have here needs to connect to whale.

#1: "which" describes "whale" :thumbsup:
#2: "growing" does not describe "whale"; it describes "32 species...include"
#3: ditto #2
User avatar
EtaCarnia
User avatar
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Last visit: 22 Aug 2025
Posts: 68
Own Kudos:
41
Given Kudos: 73
Location: India
Schools: Sauder '22 DeGroote "22 Smurfit Alberta University
GPA: 3.5
Schools: Sauder '22 DeGroote "22 Smurfit Alberta University
Posts: 68
Kudos: 41
The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 01 Feb 2022, 12:08
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
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
Correct. "Include" correctly refers to the plural subject "the 32 species". "which" correctly modifies the the whale and the construction gives the logical meaning.

(B) include the animal known as the killer whale, growing as big as 30 feet long and
"Include" correctly refers to the plural subject "the 32 species" but "growing" modifies the verb " include" , which distorts the meaning

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

(D) includes the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow as big as 30 feet long and is
Subject Verb issue. The 32 species (Plural) have a singular verb "includes "

(E) includes the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow to be 30 feet long and it is
Same as D
User avatar
Fdambro294
User avatar
Joined: 10 Jul 2019
Last visit: 20 Aug 2025
Posts: 1,350
Own Kudos:
742
 [1]
Given Kudos: 1,656
Posts: 1,350
Kudos: 742
 [1]
The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 19 Oct 2022, 23:44
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Nevernevergiveup
I just wondered why it is mentioned in OG that as big as is incorrect here and here I feel is the satisfying reason.

word big relates to size of the whale.

see the below sentences:

  • The biggest recorded blue whale was a female in the Antarctic Ocean
    that was 30.5 m long
      (more than 3.5 times the length of a double-decker bus and
      as long as a Boeing 737 plane)
    with an estimated weight of 144 tonnes (almost the same as 2,000 men).
  • The tongue alone of a blue whale can weigh as much as an elephant and an entire football team could stand on it!
  • The heart of a blue whale is about the size of a VW Beetle car and weighs up to 450kg.

Hence we cannot say killer whale can grow as big as 30 feet since it clearly indicates only length. we can only say it is 30 feet long.
we can also say killer whale is as big as size of VW beetle car.(as above)
Show more


Great post, except for the last example:

*”The killer whale is as BIG as the SIZE of a VW beetle car.’l

Logically, something can not be as BIG as a SIZE.

You would just compare the “killer whale” to the “VW beetle”

Posted from my mobile device
User avatar
HC1993
User avatar
Joined: 25 Aug 2020
Last visit: 11 Dec 2022
Posts: 21
Own Kudos:
3
Given Kudos: 10
WE:Account Management (Advertising and PR)
Posts: 21
Kudos: 3
The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 20 Oct 2022, 12:52
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
I have one doubt anyone can help with option C

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

Why growing being verb-ing modifier isn't modifying killer whale?
I chose C as i thought its grammatically correct but now i see it's meaning changed but for my knowledge of modifiers. How can you be sure if the modifier (growing) is modifying killer whale or 32 species or any verb?

Please help.
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
The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 21 Oct 2022, 05:52
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
HC1993
I have one doubt anyone can help with option C

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

Why growing being verb-ing modifier isn't modifying killer whale?
I chose C as i thought its grammatically correct but now i see it's meaning changed but for my knowledge of modifiers. How can you be sure if the modifier (growing) is modifying killer whale or 32 species or any verb?

Please help.
Show more

Hello HC1993,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the "comma + present participle ("verb+ing" - "growing" in this sentence)" construction modifies the entirety of the preceding clause and in doing so it conveys that the subject of the clause - "The 32 species" in this case - takes the action conveyed through the participle.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
User avatar
GMATNinja
User avatar
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 7,443
Own Kudos:
69,787
Given Kudos: 2,060
Status: GMAT/GRE/LSAT tutors
Location: United States (CO)
GMAT 1: 780 Q51 V46
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Products:
GMAT Club Tests Forum Quiz
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Posts: 7,443
Kudos: 69,787
The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 17 Jan 2023, 08:59
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
HC1993
I have one doubt anyone can help with option C

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

Why growing being verb-ing modifier isn't modifying killer whale?
I chose C as i thought its grammatically correct but now i see it's meaning changed but for my knowledge of modifiers. How can you be sure if the modifier (growing) is modifying killer whale or 32 species or any verb?

Please help.
Show more
Relying on grammar "rules" often backfires on GMAT SC, unfortunately. Instead, let's simply compare (slightly shortened versions of) choice (A) and choice (C):

Quote:
(A) "The 32 species {...} are closely related to whales and include the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow to be 30 feet long..."
Show more
Here we have a noun modifier ("which...") that logically modifies the noun right before it: "the killer whale" (or "the animal known as the killer whale" -- it's the same meaning either way).

The reader doesn't really have to think twice here. It's obvious that the "which" clause describes the killer whale, and there's no reason to go all the way back to the beginning of the sentence.

But here's (C):

Quote:
(C) "The 32 species {...} are closely related to whales and include the animal known as the killer whale, growing up to 30 feet long..."
Show more
Sure, "-ing" words can describe nouns (as explained in this article). But if we wanted "growing" to modify "killer whale," why put a comma between them? The comma makes the reader think that the "-ing" modifier describes the entire preceding clause, which doesn't make much sense.

Can you figure out what the author intends here? Sure. But it's awfully confusing, and most readers will have to re-read the sentence to make sense of it.

So, we have one choice where the meaning of the modifier is clear and obvious and another that makes the reader think twice. That gives us a pretty solid reason to choose (A) over (C).

I hope that helps!
User avatar
kjo
User avatar
Joined: 23 Feb 2023
Last visit: 20 Mar 2024
Posts: 1
Given Kudos: 5
Concentration: Finance, International Business
Posts: 1
Kudos: 0
The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 23 Feb 2023, 07:35
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
if it was makes up instead of make up , would it have "include" or "includes" or how do we decide that when to use s/es form and when not
User avatar
EducationAisle
User avatar
Joined: 27 Mar 2010
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 3,891
Own Kudos:
3,579
 [1]
Given Kudos: 159
Location: India
Schools: ISB
GPA: 3.31
Expert
Expert reply
Schools: ISB
Posts: 3,891
Kudos: 3,579
 [1]
The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 23 Feb 2023, 10:59
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
kjo
if it was makes up instead of make up , would it have "include" or "includes" or how do we decide that when to use s/es form and when not
Show more
Yeah, make is one clue that "The 32 species" is plural; another clue is "are" (The 32 species ... are closely related to whales).
User avatar
KittyDoodles
User avatar
Joined: 21 Jan 2020
Last visit: 26 Mar 2025
Posts: 102
Own Kudos:
6
Given Kudos: 346
Schools: ISB '27 (A)
Schools: ISB '27 (A)
Posts: 102
Kudos: 6
The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 04 Jun 2023, 13:27
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi Experts,

Is the phrase "as big as 30 feet long" correct?

Thanks
Kitty
User avatar
UkrHurricane
User avatar
Joined: 04 Dec 2017
Last visit: 15 Nov 2025
Posts: 50
Own Kudos:
59
Given Kudos: 429
Location: Ukraine
Concentration: Finance, Human Resources
Schools: Simon '27
GMAT 1: 580 Q38 V32
GMAT 2: 590 Q49 V23
GMAT 3: 580 Q43 V27
GMAT 4: 630 Q45 V31 (Online)
GMAT 5: 670 Q47 V35 (Online)
GPA: 3.4
Schools: Simon '27
GMAT 5: 670 Q47 V35 (Online)
Posts: 50
Kudos: 59
The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 01 Aug 2023, 02:27
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
GMATNinja ExpertsGlobal5 MartyTargetTestPrep

If there were a tense shift in the sentence like this:

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 was once in danger of extinction.

Would the second 'which' be required to make the sentence parallel?

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 which was once in danger of extinction.
User avatar
MartyTargetTestPrep
User avatar
Target Test Prep Representative
Joined: 24 Nov 2014
Last visit: 11 Aug 2023
Posts: 3,476
Own Kudos:
5,579
 [1]
Given Kudos: 1,430
Status:Chief Curriculum and Content Architect
Affiliations: Target Test Prep
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Posts: 3,476
Kudos: 5,579
 [1]
The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to 01 Aug 2023, 04:07
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
UkrHurricane
If there were a tense shift in the sentence like this:

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 was once in danger of extinction.

Would the second 'which' be required to make the sentence parallel?

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 which was once in danger of extinction.
Show more
No, the sentence is fine without the second "which."
   1   2   3   4 
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7443 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
231 posts
miag
189 posts