ExpertsGlobal5 wrote:
Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
Fistail wrote:
The Anasazi settlements at Chaco Canyon were built on a spectacular scale with more than 75 carefully engineered structures, of up to 600 rooms each, were connected by a complex regional system of roads.
A. with more than 75 carefully engineered structures, of up to 600 rooms each, were
B. with more than 75 carefully engineered structures, of up to 600 rooms each,
C. of more than 75 carefully engineered structures of up to 600 rooms, each that had been
D. of more than 75 carefully engineered structures of up to 600 rooms and with each
E. of more than 75 carefully engineered structures of up to 600 rooms each had been
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that the Anasazi settlements at Chaco Canyon were built on a spectacular scale and had more than 75 carefully engineered structures, and these structures had 600 rooms each and were connected by a complex regional system of roads.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Tenses + Grammatical Construction• 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.
• If a list contains only two elements, they must be joined by a conjunction.
• The simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past.
• The past perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past".
A: This answer choice incorrectly uses a comma to join two elements in a list - "were built..." and "were connected..."; please remember, if a list contains only two elements, they must be joined by a conjunction.
B: Correct. The sentence formed by this answer choice uses the phrase "were built on a spectacular scale with more than 75 carefully engineered structures", conveying the intended meaning - that the Anasazi settlements at Chaco Canyon were built on a spectacular scale and had more than 75 carefully engineered structures. Moreover, Option B correctly modifies "75 carefully engineered structures" with "connected by a complex regional system of roads", conveying the intended meaning - that the structures themselves were connected by a regional system of roads. Further, Option B avoids the tense error seen in Options C and E, as it uses the past participle "connected" rather than an active verb. Additionally, Option B avoids the grammatical construction error seen in Option A, as it presents no elements in a list.
C: The sentence formed by this answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "were built on a spectacular scale of more than 75 carefully engineered structures"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that the Anasazi settlements at Chaco Canyon were built on a spectacular scale and had more than 75 carefully engineered structures. Moreover, Option C incorrectly modifies "600 rooms" with "each that had been...roads", illogically implying that each of the 600 rooms of the 75 structures was connected by a regional system of roads; the intended meaning is that the structures themselves were connected by a regional system of roads; please remember, in a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the past perfect tense verb "had been connected" to refer to an event that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past, and the past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past".
D: The sentence formed by this answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "were built on a spectacular scale of more than 75 carefully engineered structures"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that the Anasazi settlements at Chaco Canyon were built on a spectacular scale and had more than 75 carefully engineered structures. Moreover, Option D further alters the meaning through the phrase "600 rooms and with each"; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that each of the 600 rooms of the 75 structures was connected by a regional system of roads; the intended meaning is that the structures themselves were connected by a regional system of roads.
E: The sentence formed by this answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "were built on a spectacular scale of more than 75 carefully engineered structures"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that the Anasazi settlements at Chaco Canyon were built on a spectacular scale and had more than 75 carefully engineered structures. Moreover, Option E further alters the meaning through the phrase "each had been"; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that each of the 600 rooms of the 75 structures was connected by a regional system of roads; the intended meaning is that the structures themselves were connected by a regional system of roads. Further, Option E incorrectly uses the past perfect tense verb "had been connected" to refer to an event that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past, and the past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past".
Hence, B is the best answer choice.ExpertsGlobal5 hello expert, I went through your explanation and thanks for your input, but I’m confused between B and D. As this is a SC question(only one sentence and there is no context), how can we know it’s intended meaning? Honestly I think the meaning in D(“each of the 600 rooms of the 75 structures was connected by a regional system of roads”) also make sense to me.
Besides, in B, there are 3 mordifiers, and I think there should be an “and” before the last modifier(“connected by...roads”). Hope you help and thanks in advance.
We hope this finds you well.
To answer your query, we can say that Option D conveys an incorrect meaning because it implies that the rooms within the structures were connected by a regional system of roads. Logically, it makes no sense that rooms
are connected by roads; we would not say that "There is a road connecting the lobbies of the two hotels." because, logically, the road must end where the building begins.
We hope this helps.
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17 Mar 2022, 06:52
