This is a copy of the following GMAT Prep question: https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-first-po ... 29174.html
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(A) The first balloon passengers were a sheep, a duck, and a rooster that were ascended
should be in active voice

(B) The first balloon passengers were a sheep, a duck, and a rooster that ascended
correct verb

(C) A sheep, a duck, and a rooster were the first balloon passengers that ascended
correct grammar, but altered meaning.

(D) A sheep, a duck, and a rooster were the first balloon passengers to ascended
"to" should be followed by infinitive

(E) a duck, and a rooster were the first balloon passengers ascending
altered meaning

Can you explain in more depth about the meaning changing in C please?

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(B) The first balloon passengers were a sheep, a duck, and a rooster that ascended ==> correct use.

Answer is (B)

Thanks for your reply. I have one more question "that" does not only modify a rooster?
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I'm a little stuck on how C is wrong.

We have:

A sheep, a duck, and a rooster (the noun and subjects) were the first balloon passengers (descriptive modifier right?) that ascended (correct verb)

I just don't see it. its parallel, subjects agree with tense and verb is in correct froml. Help please.

C is grammatically correct, but SC cares about both the grammar and the meaning.

C says: A sheep, a duck, and a rooster were the first balloon passengers that ascended from Versailles, France, in a basket beneath a hot-air balloon in September 1783.

which means that a sheep, a duck, and a rooster were the first passengers to launch from Versailles, but there may be other passengers before them who launched from other places other than Versailles.

While the main passage says that the first passengers (of all times) to ride the balloon were a sheep, a duck, and a rooster.

Now I see. dang nabbit.

A should be answer.

Reason a sheep, a duck, and a rooster cannot themselves ascend. These noun cannot perform the act of "ascend.".

These have to take passive structure

(Problem with E is that it misses the sheep)

Should A not be the answer?

The animals could not have ascended on their own and so, should A not be correct becasue of the usage of 'WERE' ?

"To ascend" means "to go up." So, you can't ascend something in the way "ascend" is used in (A). In other words, you could not "go up" the animals, and the animals would not be "gone up."

So, "were ascended" in (A), which means "were gone up," is nonsensical.

The use of "ascended" in (B) makes sense. While the animals did not actively make use of the balloon to ascend, they did indeed ascend.
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Hi Expert, can you help?

In B, What "That ascended..." modifies to?

Is it modifies the roaster or it modifies a sheep, a duck , and a rooster? I believe that the intended meaning is that "That ascended..." should modify all animals.

So, in B we have 2 meanings? Can B be the correct answer?

Hi,
I don't understand how B conveys the intended meaning.
So we have a duck , a sheep and a "rooster that ascended from France" together on the first balloon?
Or was the balloon ascended from France?
"That" modifies the noun just preceding it and in this case...
Well, please help me out!!

GMATNinja, abhimahna, chetan2u

Hi,

My 2 cents,

Option B corrects the double "were" error in the original sentence. Option B clearly conveys that the first Air Baloon passengers were a Sheep, a Duck, and a Rooster that.........

Option C is good, it could have been the right answer if the order was different.
Option C states that A Sheep, a Duck and a Rooster were the first Balloon passengers that ascended from Versailles, France, in a basket beneath a hot-air balloon in September 1783.

The meaning of the initial sentence is that the Duck, Sheep etc were the first Air Balloon passengers ever!!
Option C states that these 3 animals were the first to ascend from Versailles.

It changes the meaning completely.

The author is referring to the first passengerS, who ascended first, not who ascended from France only.
This eliminated CDE
Between A & B , i have considered B as they ascended instead of were ascended.

This makes sense, Thanks !

I have the same doubt. Experts are requested to clarify.