The large populations and impressive cultural achievements of the Azte

Question

The large populations and impressive cultural achievements of the Aztecs, the Mayas, and the Incas could not have come about without corn, which was not only nutritious but also was able to be dried, transported, and stored for long periods.

(B) which not only WAS nutritious but also COULD be
(E) not only nutritious but also able to be

(A) which was not only nutritious but also was able to be
(B) which not only was nutritious but also could be
(C) which was not only nutritious but also it could be
(D) not only nutritious but it could also be
(E) not only nutritious but also able to be

SC90561.01

gmatt1476 · Accepted Answer

Official Explanation

Parallelism; Grammatical construction

To answer this question, we need to understand the correct use of the construction not only . . . but also . . . . We can easily eliminate the choices that use the construction inappropriately. Note that whatever immediately follows not only and but also must be grammatically parallel.

In this sentence, what immediately follows not only is an adjective (nutritious), but what immediately follows but also is a verb phrase (was able to be dried, . . . ). Therefore, this sentence does not use not only . . . but also . . . correctly, because what follows not only is not grammatically parallel with what follows but only.

Furthermore, could be dried is more idiomatically correct than was able to be dried, as is used here.

A. This choice is incorrect for the reasons discussed above.

B. Correct. This choice uses not only . . . but also … correctly. What immediately follows not only is a verb phrase (was nutritious), as is what immediately follows but also (could be dried, . . . ). Therefore, this choice has an appropriate, grammatically parallel structure.

C. This choice does not use not only . . . but also . . . correctly, because what follows not only is not grammatically parallel with what follows but only. What immediately follows not only is an adjective (nutritious), whereas what immediately follows but also is an independent clause (it could be dried, . . . ).

D. This choice uses a slight variation on the not only . . . but also construction. It is idiomatically acceptable to separate the but and also; for instance, rather than writing but also could be, you could correctly write but could also be. This variation, however should function in essentially the same way as not only . . . but also does. Grammatically parallel structures must be associated with both not only and but . . . also . . . But that is not the case in this choice: what is associated with not only is an adjective (nutritious), but what is associated with but . . . also . . . is an independent clause (it could also be dried, . . . ). Therefore, this choice is not correct.

E. This choice does not use not only . . . but also . . . correctly, because what follows not only is not grammatically parallel with what follows but also. What immediately follows not only is an adjective, whereas what follows but also is a verb phrase. Furthermore, could be dried is more idiomatically correct than able to be dried, as is used here.

The correct answer is B.

Arka107 · Answer

The large populations and impressive cultural achievements of the Aztecs, the Mayas, and the Incas could not have come about without corn, which was not only nutritious but also was able to be dried, transported, and stored for long periods.

(A) which was not only nutritious but also was able to be was able to be dried is incorrect
(B) which not only was nutritious but also could be correct
(C) which was not only nutritious but also it could be use of it distorts parallelism
(D) not only nutritious but it could also be distorts parallelism
(E) not only nutritious but also able to be grammatical usage incorrect

The idiom Not only X..... but also Y.... the words in it should be parallel.

IMO B

hazelnut: The question does not have the underlined portion.

chaitralirr · Answer

The large populations and impressive cultural achievements of the Aztecs, the Mayas, and the Incas could not have come about without corn, which was not only nutritious but also was able to be dried, transported, and stored for long periods.

(B) which not only WAS nutritious but also COULD be
(E) not only nutritious but also able to be

(A) which was not only nutritious but also was able to be   was able to be dried is incorrect 
(B) which not only was nutritious but also could be  correct 
(C) which was not only nutritious but also it could be  use of it distorts parallelism 
(D) not only nutritious but it could also be  distorts parallelism 
(E) not only nutritious but also able to be  grammatical usage incorrect

The idiom Not only X..... but also Y.... the words in it should be parallel.

IMO B

hazelnut : The question does not have the underlined portion.

romen2017 · Answer

B.
Not only X, but also X , so A,C,E are gone.
Between B and D , in B which modifies corn, so B is the answer.

ArtVandaley · Answer

I like B for using correct parallelism.

Btw how did you get these questions?? Do you have the entire book??

Posted from my mobile device

NeoNguyen1989 · Answer

Hi, for the option E, I think 'able' is an adjective, at least by definition of Cambridge Dictionary, and so 'able' is parallel with 'nutritious'. I wonder whether another reason exists for the incorrectness of option E.

daagh · Answer

The large populations and impressive cultural achievements of the Aztecs, the Mayas, and the Incas could not have come about without corn, which was not only nutritious but also was able to be dried, transported, and stored for long periods.

(B) which not only WAS nutritious but also COULD be
(E) not only nutritious but also able to be

(A) which was not only nutritious but also was able to be
(B) which not only was nutritious but also could be
(C) which was not only nutritious but also it could be
(D) not only nutritious but it could also be
(E) not only nutritious but also able to be

As a matter of strategy, we must first look into the parallelism of the correlative conjunctions when we see one and then into all the rest. Not only …but also is the one under consideration here. Not only was nutritious but also could be is the only parallel structure as seen in B. All others are just jumbles. 
It is surprising that such an entry-level question is included in a collection that is supposedly advanced.

kornn · Answer

Dear AjiteshArun AnthonyRitz DmitryFarber GMATGuruNY MartyTargetTestPrep GMATNinja Q1. In B., why do we use PAST SIMPLE to describe "corn"? Since "corn" still exists today and the properties described is still true in the present, would it be appropriate to use PRESENT SIMPLE? According to comment from GMATNinja https://gmatclub.com/forum/long-oversha ... l#p2112024: Q2. In E., why is "nutritious" not parallel to "able to"? Both are adjectives. I'm very confused here.

AnthonyRitz · Answer

You only quoted half of GMATNinja's comment! The rest was

The sentence in question in that case was

Not only the fact that the Olmec culture "is" more ancient but also that the legacy in question is described as something that historians "are now exploring" counsels against the use of the simple past tense in that sentence. No such concerns exist in our sentence about the Aztecs.

More generally, the use of the universal present to describe something that *was, is, and always will be true* is largely a question of style (and context). It is sometimes preferred but generally not required. There's no reason we cannot use simple past here, and certainly the parallelism requirement is where we should direct our attention.

I don't see why they can't parallel, but you create far more modifier ambiguity with a pair of adjectives than you do with a relative clause, since the latter *must* modify "corn" (as well it should), whereas the former is not so restricted. The "which" also makes clear that this is an unnecessary modifier. This is a good thing, since presumably all corn is nutritious and transportable. E raises the possibility that the Aztecs' success depended on their access to various kinds of corn: the nutritious kind, and the driable transportable storable kind. I also wonder whether the different usages of these adjectives should bother us. We say "nutritious corn" but "corn able to be dried"; we do not say "able corn," nor "corn nutritious." So these adjectives do not modify corn in exactly the same forms.

Basically, there's just no way that not using a relative clause is better than, or even as good as, using a relative clause in this sentence.

(To make clear the lack of a parallelism problem more generally, I will note that "which was not only nutritious but also able to be..." would have posed no difficulty that I can detect.)

haidunzu617 · Answer

Can I understand it in this way:
Corn was nutritious & Corn was able to be dried.......

In E, "be" is omitted, and so they are actually parallel.

However, the OA said that what follows not only is and adjective and what follows but also is a verb phrase. Hence they are not parallel.

I am confused here. Please help me

haidunzu617 · Answer

On another note, is there any difference between "could be dried" and "was able to be dried"

Simplicity?

AnthonyRitz · Answer

The problem is, in E, the former actually doesn't say "was nutritious," which is a verb phrase. Instead, it simply says "nutritious," which is a modifier. You can't omit the helping "is" from the first element of the parallel structure. And you couldn't have used a verb here without having a relative clause to include it anyway. Actually, though, I think both are modifiers -- "able" is also an adjective. So the parallelism issue is subtler and goes to how the two modifiers actually modify "corn" -- as I noted above. Beyond that, note my other objections to E above. This is definitely not the right answer.

I don't think there is an important distinction for this question between "could be dried" and "was able to be dried." (But again note that E does not include either since it lacks the verb.)

rajatrajat · Answer

not only  X  but also  Y

1.  not only  nutritious (  adj  )  but also  was able (  verb  )
2.  not only  was (  verb  )  but also  could be (  verb  )
3.  not only  nutritious (  adj  )  but also  it (  pronoun/noun  )
4.  not only  nutritious (  adj  )  but also  it (  pronoun/noun  )
5.  not only  nutritious (  adj  )  but also  to be (  infinitive  )

So, option B) is correct.

Rebaz · Answer

Not only X but also Y. X and Y must be parallel.

Not only was(verb & simple past tens).... but also could(verb & simple past tense of the verb Can)

choice B is the correct answer.

vamsikaranam · Answer

Can you please explain the difference between "was not only" and "not only was". I am confused between option B and C apart from it removed from C.

SnorLax_7 · Answer

Hi Experts,

Kindly can you help to know why option E is wrong in this, when both 'nutritious' and 'able to be dried,...' are adjectives and modifying corn ?

Thanks

johnnymbikes · Answer

Question  GMATNinja  - isn't corn being nutritious a general fact and therefore should use the present tense. (Similar to other OG gmat questions - I recall something about dolphins). 
Hence, why is it acceptable to use "corn was nutritious" - "was" in the past tense ?

GMATNinja · Answer

Whoa, there's still some action on this thread! Very exciting.
 
The sentence is describing the specific corn that the Aztecs/Mayas/Incas consumed  in the past , so there's nothing wrong with using the past tense to describe that corn. Who knows, maybe corn has changed over time because of weather, agricultural practices, selective breeding, or some other factor.

More importantly, (D) and (E) don't work, so we're stuck with "was".

RIP, SC!

The large populations and impressive cultural achievements of the Azte

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