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555-605 Level|   Modifiers|   Parallelism|      
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sallysea
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The coloration of insects can serve as camouflage, as in the 13 May 2017, 13:31
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Merged topics. Please, search before posting questions!
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The coloration of insects can serve as camouflage, as in the 01 Jul 2017, 15:04
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frankida
The coloration of insects can serve as camouflage, as in the case of green insects that spend their lives in or near foliage, or to warn predators, as in the case of insects colored in yellow and black, which often signals that it is poisonous.

a) or to warn predators, as in the case of insects colored in yellow and black, which often signals that it is poisonous.

b) or for warning predators, as in the case of insects that have yellow and black coloring, which often signals that it is poisonous.

c) or as a warning to predators, as in the case of insects bearing a combination of yellow and black, which often signals that they are poisonous.

d) or as a predator's warning, as in the case of insects that are colored yellow and black, which often signals that they are poisonous.

e) or to warn predators, as in the case of yellow-and-black insects, which often signals that they are poisonous.
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Chose C because of Parallel structure.

"serve as x or serve as y"

All other options can be easily eliminated based on the non parallel structure.


Hence, Answer is C
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The coloration of insects can serve as camouflage, as in the 06 Apr 2019, 02:59
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OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The correct answer is C. The first verb phrase of the sentence "can serve as camouflage" must be parallel with what follows "or". In the original sentence, however, "can serve as camouflage" and "to warn predators" are not parallel. Choice A is incorrect because of faulty parallelism. Choice B is incorrect because of faulty parallelism. Choice D is parallel because it fits the construction "as X or as Y." However, choice D also contains the incorrect construction "predator's warning" instead of the better "warning to predators" (the warning is to the predators; it doesn't belong to the predators). D also incorrectly uses "which", which should refer only to the previous noun, not to an entire action or clause. Choice E is incorrect because of faulty parallelism.
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The coloration of insects can serve as camouflage, as in the 15 Jul 2019, 10:52
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frankida
The coloration of insects can serve as camouflage, as in the case of green insects that spend their lives in or near foliage, or to warn predators, as in the case of insects colored in yellow and black, which often signals that it is poisonous.

a) or to warn predators, as in the case of insects colored in yellow and black, which often signals that it is poisonous.

b) or for warning predators, as in the case of insects that have yellow and black coloring, which often signals that it is poisonous.

c) or as a warning to predators, as in the case of insects bearing a combination of yellow and black, which often signals that they are poisonous.

d) or as a predator's warning, as in the case of insects that are colored yellow and black, which often signals that they are poisonous.

e) or to warn predators, as in the case of yellow-and-black insects, which often signals that they are poisonous.
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I was confused between C and E. I chose E because I thought 'as a' was not parallel. Can someone explain?Thanks in advance!
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The coloration of insects can serve as camouflage, as in the 16 Jul 2019, 17:58
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SPatel1992
frankida
The coloration of insects can serve as camouflage, as in the case of green insects that spend their lives in or near foliage, or to warn predators, as in the case of insects colored in yellow and black, which often signals that it is poisonous.

I was confused between C and E. I chose E because I thought 'as a' was not parallel. Can someone explain?Thanks in advance!
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SPatel1992, the difference between C and E is quite clear once you ID what is being compared. If simplified, the original sentence says that The coloration ... can serve as camouflage, as in the case of [blah], or to warn predators, as in the case [blah].

So, the coloration can serve as camouflage OR as [something else]. So, something else should be parallel to noun camouflage. Now let's look at C and E.

c) or as a warning to predators, as in the case of insects bearing a combination of yellow and black, which often signals that they are poisonous.
Here camouflage is compared to warning.

e) or to warn predators, as in the case of yellow-and-black insects, which often signals that they are poisonous.
We need a noun, but we have a to warn, which is obviously not parallel. Actually, this is the same mistake as in A. Also, there is a big problem with modifier which (what does it refer to?).


Hope that helps.
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The coloration of insects can serve as camouflage, as in the 02 Oct 2019, 19:57
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The combination is what warns predators
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The coloration of insects can serve as camouflage, as in the 23 Jan 2021, 09:38
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The coloration of insects can serve as camouflage, as in the case of green insects that spend their lives in or near foliage, or to warn predators, as in the case of insects colored in yellow and black, which often signals that it is poisonous.

a) or to warn predators, as in the case of insects colored in yellow and black, which often signals that it is poisonous.
- 'or' is the parallelism marker. 'To warn..' is a preposition that CANNOT be parallel to 'camouflage'. Secondly 'it' is referring to plural 'insects' and that usage is wrong. Eliminate A

b) or for warning predators, as in the case of insects that have yellow and black coloring, which often signals that it is poisonous.
- again same error of parallelism and singular antecedent as in option A. Eliminate B.

c) or as a warning to predators, as in the case of insects bearing a combination of yellow and black, which often signals that they are poisonous.
- Parallelism is clear here. Noun to noun. The error of singular antecedent is rectified by the usage of 'they'. Keep C.

d) or as a predator's warning, as in the case of insects that are colored yellow and black, which often signals that they are poisonous.
- 'predator's warning' changes the meaning of the sentences. It means that coloration serves as a warning to insects and NOT to the predator. Eliminate D.

e) or to warn predators, as in the case of yellow-and-black insects, which often signals that they are poisonous.
- Parallelism error as in Option A. Secondly, it is not the 'yellow and black insects', which are poisonous but it is the color combo of yellow and black. Eliminate E.

Option C is our winner.
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The coloration of insects can serve as camouflage, as in the 26 Jan 2021, 19:36
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Quote:
The coloration of insects can serve as camouflage, as in the case of green insects that spend their lives in or near foliage, or to warn predators, as in the case of insects colored in yellow and black, which often signals that it is poisonous.

a) The coloration of insects can serve as camouflage, as in the case of green insects that spend their lives in or near foliage, or to warn predators, as in the case of insects colored in yellow and black, which often signals that it is poisonous.

b) The coloration of insects can serve as camouflage, as in the case of green insects that spend their lives in or near foliage, or for warning predators, as in the case of insects that have yellow and black coloring, which often signals that it is poisonous.

c) The coloration of insects can serve as camouflage, as in the case of green insects that spend their lives in or near foliage, or as a warning to predators, as in the case of insects bearing a combination of yellow and black, which often signals that they are poisonous.

d) The coloration of insects can serve as camouflage, as in the case of green insects that spend their lives in or near foliage, or as a predator's warning, as in the case of insects that are colored yellow and black, which often signals that they are poisonous.

e) The coloration of insects can serve as camouflage, as in the case of green insects that spend their lives in or near foliage, or to warn predators, as in the case of yellow-and-black insects, which often signals that they are poisonous.
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The coloration of insects can serve as camouflage, as in the 06 Sep 2023, 00:55
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