The cathedrals of the Middle Ages were community centers just as much

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-


Choice A: In this answer choice, the use of the word "and" is inappropriate as the two clauses are already joined by a semicolon. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice B: In this answer choice, there is a parallelism error; "a public realm" is a noun, meaning it cannot be parallel to the adjective "private". Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice C: In this answer choice, the same parallelism error that is seen in Option B occurs. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice D: In this answer choice, proper parallelism, and conjunction use are maintained throughout the sentence. Moreover, this answer choice also preserves the intended meaning of the sentence. Thus, this answer choice is correct.

Choice E: In this answer choice, there is a subtle meaning-related error; "opposite of a" carries a slightly different meaning than "as opposed to" does. The former implies that a public realm is the antonym of a private realm, indicating that the contrast between the two is as high as possible, while the latter phrase implies a contrast but does not indicate the degree of the same. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Hence, D is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

Official Explanation

Rhetorical construction; Diction

The given sentence conveys the idea that the medieval cathedrals were community centers as well as religious edifices. Therefore, these cathedrals represented cities' commitment to a public realm.

A. In the sentence as written, the referent of the pronoun they is unclear. Furthermore, the sentence is unnecessarily wordy: just as much as would be better written as much as, and the word being is unnecessary.

B. In this choice, the referent of the pronoun they is unclear. Furthermore, the phrase as opposed to private is misplaced; it would be correct if placed immediately before realm.

C. In this choice, the plural phrase not private ones refers to the singular a public realm.

D. Correct. This choice avoids using a pronoun with no clear referent and correctly expresses the comparison between a public realm, as opposed to a private one, where both noun phrases are singular.

E. This choice uses opposite of a private one to refer to a public realm, unreasonably suggesting that a public realm cannot coexist with a private realm.

The correct answer is D.

1. The C's were X's as much as Y's. Not Parallel

2. Does "they" refer to cathedrals, community centers, or edifices? Pronoun Error

3. Comparing "public realm" we need an apples to apples comparison. "... representing a public realm, as opposed to private." We need "private realm" Or "private one"


1. Does "they" refer to cathedrals, community centers, or edifices? Pronoun Error

2. Comparing "public realm" we need an apples to apples comparison. We have "commitment to a public realm, not private ones (realms)". This is an apple(s) to apple. Comparison Error


The C's were as much X's as Y's. Clearly parallel

We have no pronouns, so there is no pronoun ambiguity.

"Commitment to a public realm, as opposed to a private one (realm). Clear comparison


1. The first structure says "The C's were as much X's as they were Y's." Is this parallel?

2. Does "they" refer to cathedrals or community centers? Pronoun uncertainty

3. Comparing "public realm" we need an apples to apples comparison. We have "commitment to a public realm, opposite of a private one." Is this logical?

With D, the sentence is:

The cathedrals of the Middle Ages were as much community centers as purely religious edifices, structures that represented a city’s commitment to a public realm, as opposed to a private one.

Can’t we interpret this sentence in two ways:

1. The cathedrals of the Middle Ages were as much community centers as (the cathedrals of the Middle Ages were) purely religious edifices

2. The cathedrals of the Middle Ages were as much community centers as purely religious edifices (were community centers)

So, it seems to me that option D is "ambiguous" in interpretation. Then why is it the right answer? GMATGuruNY GMATNinja, other experts.

A comparison is ambiguous only if it allows for more than one LOGICAL interpretation
Here, interpretation 2 is not logical.
A PURELY religious edifice is -- because of the usage of purely -- a building with only ONE purpose: RELIGION.
A building with only ONE purpose cannot also have a SECOND purpose: to serve as a community center.
Thus, the red portion above is not a logical interpretation.
Since only interpretation 1 is logical, the comparison in the OA Is not ambiguous.

Thanks Sir, but the intended meaning of the sentence itself is counter to this interpretation of yours: clearly, these "religious edifices" were also "community centers" and hence, didn't serve only the purpose of "religion".

A cathedral is defined as a building for Christian worship.
OA: The cathedrals of the Middle Ages were as much community centers as purely religious edifices.
Given the definition above, a reader might logically assume that cathedrals of the Middle Ages served only a religious purpose.
Here, the green portion conveys that such an assumption would be incorrect.
Whereas SOMETIMES cathedrals were purely religious edifices -- when a religious service was held, for example -- at other times they functioned as community centers.
The usage of much implies that cathedrals of the Middle Ages played these two roles TO THE SAME EXTENT.

Dear GMATGuruNY

1-what is the type of modifier 'structures that represented.......' in OA? resumptive modifier ?

2- why 'opposite of a private one' in choice E wrong?

Thanks

daagh
isnot d ambiguous?
The cathedrals of the Middle Ages were as much community centers as purely religious edifices, structures that represented a city’s commitment to a public realm, as opposed to a private one

1)
The cathedrals of the Middle Ages were as much community centers as The Cathedrals were purely religious edifices
2)
The cathedrals of the Middle Ages were as much community centers as purely religious edifices were community centres.
is not it ambigous?
how do we come to know that it is comparison btwn
two features of cathedrals
i.e. they were community centrres to same extent as they were religious centres.
Please clear

I may like to tell you what I would do if I encounter this question. I would check grammar first and come to the conclusion that except D, all others have redudncey. I will be don`e with it and wouldn't much care about the ambiguity aspect of it as along as it is clear that D is the only choice without error.

Does your doubt imply that GMAT is wrong even after you know it is the correct choice? Our mindset shouldn't be that, I suppose. Right or wrong, let's accept what GMAT approves until at least we finish the test.

I think the ambiguity problem has unduly haunted this simple question turning it into a mosnter, which it is not.

Hope you can see my point.

An APPOSITIVE is a noun or noun phrase that serves to explain another noun or noun phrase.

OA: The cathedrals of the Middle Ages were as much community centers as purely religious edifices, structures that represented a city’s commitment to a public realm, as opposed to a private one.
Conveyed meaning:
Both colored noun phrases refer to the cathedrals.
The green noun phrase serves to explain the blue noun phrase and thus seems to function as an appositive.


John is a rich man, the opposite of a poor man.
Here, the red portion is redundant.
By definition, a rich man and a poor man are OPPOSITES.

E: structures representing a city’s commitment to a public realm, opposite of a private one
Here, the red portion is redundant.
It seems to define a PUBLIC realm as the opposite of a PRIVATE realm.
By definition, a public realm and a private realm are OPPOSITES.

I think meaning issue is more important here.

The cathedrals of the Middle Ages were community centers just as much as they were purely religious edifices

What does this mean?
This sentence may have two meanings
[For meaning I am cancelling "just" and replacing "they" with its "NOUN references"].

(1) The cathedrals of the Middle Ages were community centers just as much as the cathedrals were purely religious edifices
Meaning: The cathedrals of the Middle Ages were used as "community centers" and "religious edifices". The cathedrals were used for both purpose at the same extent.

(2) The cathedrals of the Middle Ages were community centers as much as the community centers were purely religious edifices.
Meaning: “The cathedrals of the Middle Ages were community centers”, and “the community centers were purely religious edifices”. Both usages are done at same extent.

Both meanings are logical. This sentence is providing two meanings. So, we need something to ensure un-ambiguity in the meaning..

If you look carefully, all options except C & D are ambiguous.

But, C changes the meaning
As....as= extent/ how much
And= Additional something.

I love SC and CR. (Meaning: I just love both. I am not saying how much I love SC or how much I love CR)
I love SC as much as I do CR. (Meaning: I love both. I love both at same extent i.e. I am saying how much I love SC or how much I love CR)

GMATNinja VeritasKarishma AjiteshArun GMATCoachBen ChiranjeevSingh

i could not decipher the intended meaning for the the phrase " as opposed to private realm"

i think author intended to say that "structures represented commitment to public realm and not represented commitment to private realm."

Grammatically, ' opposed to private' is similar to 'unlike private', so in option B & D- PHRASE 'OPPOSED TO' compares - unlike private, structures tat represented....Is my understanding correct w.r.t usage of 'opposed to' .Kindly help in understanding grammatical usage of 'opposed to' & how it should be consider while reading & comprehending.

Also would be great if yo may share your reasoning to evaluate incorrect answer choices

Hi gmatassassin88,

Maybe we should read that as opposed to as rather than (see this dictionary entry). The intended meaning, therefore, is this:

... that represented a city’s commitment to a public realm, as opposed to a private one. ← "commitment to X, rather than Y" or ~ "commitment to X, not Y".

The cathedrals were two things in equal proportion: community centers and purely religious edifices. The cathedrals represented a city’s commitment to a public realm rather than to a private realm.

There are four problems in the original sentence:

1. The use of “being” is incorrect in “the opposite of being a private one”. We are talking about realms in general, not in a temporary state depicted by “being”.

2. Without “being”, the construction would be “...public realm, the opposite of a private one”. “The opposite of a private one” modifies “public realm” i.e. the sentence is trying to convey that a public realm is the opposite of a private realm. Isn’t that obvious given the literal meanings of “public” and “private”? Logically, the sentence shouldn’t say this and should rather say that cathedrals represented a city’s commitment to a public realm as opposed to a private realm.

3. The construction “they were structures” is redundant. Of course, cathedrals were structures. We should directly say that “they represented…”.

4. The use of ‘semicolon+and’ does not seem correct in this context; ‘comma+and’ should have been used. Please note that ‘semicolon+and’ can be correct in certain sentences. Refer this link and this link to know more.


A. community centers just as much as they were purely religious edifices; and they were structures that represented a city’s commitment to a public realm, the opposite of being a private one
Incorrect. For the problems highlighted above.

B. community centers as much as purely religious edifices; they were structures representing a city’s commitment to a public realm, as opposed to private
Incorrect. For the following reasons:

1. The third problem of the original sentence
2. The construction “...a public realm, as opposed to private” is incorrect. Two ways to correct it could be:

“a. ...a public, as opposed to a private, realm”
“b. ...a public realm, as opposed to a private one”

C. community centers as well as purely religious edifices; they were structures that represented a city’s commitment to a public realm, not private ones
Incorrect. For the following reasons:

1. The word “ones” in “not private ones” is incorrect since it refers to a singular “realm”.
2. The third problem of the original sentence

We’d also like to highlight a slight change in meaning in this option. While the original sentence highlighted that cathedrals were as much X as Y, this option just says that cathedrals were X and (“as well as”) Y. The meaning is different, though not illogical or wrong. For example, the below two sentences convey different meanings:

1. I care about GMAT and bananas.
2. I care as much about GMAT as about bananas.

D. as much community centers as purely religious edifices, structures that represented a city’s commitment to a public realm, as opposed to a private one
Correct.The construction “structures that …” is a Noun+Noun modifier modifying the subject “cathedrals”. You may wonder why “structures” is fine even though we pointed it out as a problem in the original sentence. We can take an analogy to understand this point:

1. Ram is a school teacher, a man known for his humble nature.
2. Let’s consider the below two versions:


a. Ram is a school teacher; and he is a man known for his humble nature.
b. Ram is a school teacher and is known for his humble nature.

The first sentence above is perfectly fine. Between the two options presented in the second point, the second option is the better one.

E. as much community centers as they were purely religious edifices, structures representing a city’s commitment to a public realm, opposite of a private one
Incorrect. Has the second error of the original sentence.

This question popped up on our Ask Me Anything About SC thread, and I'm reposting it here in case it helps somebody:

First, a quick note: "official explanations" are not written by the same people who write official questions. Sometimes they are well-written, and sometimes they're not incredibly helpful.

There are a couple of differences between (D) and (E) in the question you've mentioned. First, (E) has a "they" that could refer to "cathedrals" or to "community centers." This kind of pronoun ambiguity isn't always treated as a definite error, but it's a small mark against (E).

Then we've got "structures that represented" in (D), vs "structures representing" in (E). I'm not sure that one of these is better than the other -- both make it clear that we're modifying the word "structures."

Finally, we make it to the difference that you've asked about: "as opposed to" in (D) vs "opposite of" in (E).

"Opposite of" doesn't work here for a few reasons. First, when using "opposite" as a singular noun, you need to include an article. For example, "up is the opposite of down," or "Justin Beiber is the opposite of a great musician."

When you omit the article, it almost turns "opposite" into a preposition -- which really doesn't work with the meaning of the sentence. When we say "my house is opposite the village cemetery" we're talking about the physical locations of two things relative to one another. That obviously wouldn't fit the intended meaning of the sentence in question.

To be honest, it's not worth memorizing this kind of nitpicky, idiomatic rule that is very unlikely to show up on your GMAT. Instead, it's better to think through the logic of the sentence, and eliminate the options that don't clearly express the author's intended meaning.

From a meaning-based perspective, "as opposed to" just works much better here. The author's intention is to provide a contrast concerning the city's commitment -- (D) clearly shows that the city is committed to the public realm and not to the private realm. (E), on the other hand, doesn't provide this clear contrast -- instead, it (ungrammatically) informs us that the public and private realms are opposites of one another, without connecting this statement back to the intended contrast.

Because (D) clearly expresses the author's intended meaning and (E) does not, (D) is the winner.

I hope that helps!

GMATNinja, can you please help me understand choice D? I initially eliminated D&E because in "...as purely religious edifices, structures..." , "structures" seems to modify religious edifices instead of cathedrals. Is my understanding incorrect? Or is it not an absolute rule that a noun, noun has to modify the immediately proceeding noun, but instead it CAN modify the subject?