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The North American moose's long legs enable it to move quickly through

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MartyTargetTestPrep

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06 Mar 2023, 05:05

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zoezhuyan

dear MartyTargetTestPrep

at first I narrowed down D and E, because I am not sure whether "to move" should be parallel with "to step", but the OA is E, which shows no parallelism between "move" and "step",

Don't you think it is better if "to move" parallels to "to step"

genuinely need your help.

thanks in advance.

Hi zoezhuyan.

The question writer used the parallel "to move" and "to step" to tempt you to choose an incorrect choice because you see those parallel elements. The thing is that there's no reason why those elements have to be parallel.

Consider the following two sentences.

John helped Bob fix the bike, holding the parts together while Bob tightened the bolt.

John helped Bob fix the bike and held the parts together while Bob tightened the bolt.

The second one has the parallel "helped" and "held." However, the first sentence makes more sense because it better conveys the logical meaning that, as John "helped Bob," John was "holding the parts together."

What's going on in this SC question is similar. "To move" and "to step" are more parallel in (D). However, it makes more sense to convey that, as a moose moves quickly through the woods, it is "stepping easily over downed trees."

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02 Jun 2023, 04:19

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SidJainGMAT

Hi Verbal Experts (CrackVerbalGMAT/eGmat/GmatNinja/mikemcgarry),

Have a query in option D?
Option D also has a ,+V-ing Modifiew "enabling it ..". That would refer to the subject moose as per the current structure of the sentence. But, I guess as per the meaning of the sentence, it should refer to legs. Hence, I feel the comma before the V-ing modifier must be removed to fix this so that then it will refer to legs.

Is this understanding correct? Please let me know later.

Thanks in advance!

Hello SidJainGMAT,

Yes, your analysis is absolutely correct. The moose does not enable itself to move quickly through the woods. It his longs legs that do so. Hence, use of comma + enabling is incorrect in Choice D.

Hope this helps.

Thanks.
Shraddha

MAnkur

Hi Shraddha/Other Experts
Let me first thank you for your numerous explanations across posts. They are really helpful.

I have a doubt in regards to this explanation, comma + present participle modifies the preceding clause and applies to the subject of the preceding clause modifying the how/why. In D does "enabling" not modifey the entire preceding clause "Moose has long legs" and thereby correctly applies to the subject Moose and tells how having long legs enable it to move quickly.

Thanks in advance for your reply!

OPTION D IN THE SENTENCE:

(D) The North American moose has long legs, enabling it to move quickly through the woods and to stop easily over downed trees while predators pursuing them must leap or go around [the fallen trees].

Hi MAnkur , Part #1 of your question:
In D does "enabling" not modifey the entire preceding clause "Moose has long legs"

Slightly rewritten in the affirmative: In D, does "enabling" modify the entire preceding clause moose has long legs?

Yes. enabling modifies the entire preceding clause [the] moose has long legs.
comma + present participle (comma + verbING) typically IS a modifier of the entire previous clause.

Part 2 of your question, slightly rephrased:
[Because enabling modifies the entire previous clause, does enabling] thereby correctly apply to the subject Moose and tell how having long legs enables it to move quickly?

• Let's get rid of "thereby correctly apply to the subject Moose"
A participial phrase that modifies an entire clause is adverbial.

That kind of modifier is not a noun modifier.
A modifier that modifies an entire clause does not modify a specific noun.
enabling . . . does not modify moose.

Rather, enabling indicates a result of the whole previous clause.
This notion is hard to convey in English, but I will try,
The fact that the moose has long legs enables it to move quickly and step over trees.
enabling X and Y is a result of the moose has long legs
Animals with short legs cannot move quickly through the woods or step easily over fallen trees.

• the second part of this part 2 is circular: does enabling tell how having long legs enables it to move quickly?
No. enabling it to move quickly is a result of its having long legs.
The previous clause does not mention moving quickly.
This enabling phrase is a result phrase, not a how phrase.

HOW does a moose have long legs? In what way does a moose have long legs?
That question does not really make sense.
(HOW does a moose have long legs? Well, the genes of a moose tell it to have four legs.

)

Are you under the impression that a participial modifier must modify both the subject and the verb of the previous clause?
If so, that impression is not accurate.

I am fairly sure that Dmitry Farber already addressed your question in THE POST ABOVE, HERE.

Is there something about that answer that does not make sense?

The first part of your question is accurate.
This __ING phrase modifies the entire previous clause.
But that phrase does not modify the subject or the verb.
It modifies the whole clause. Participial phrases are often used to indicate results, as is the case in this question.

Hope that helps.

Hi, I am still unclear whether in option D, the use of enabling is correct. From what has been explained, the "Moose has long legs and as a result of this, enabling the Moose to move quickly" so the use of enabling seems to be correct.

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05 Jun 2023, 20:26

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KarishmaB Why is D wrong and is the use of comma+ enabling wrong- seems perfectly fine to me? An expert here has mentioned latter is fine and another has mentioned it is not so not sure whats the rule.

Also when are we supposed to not try and associate comma verbing with the previous doer?

I understand stepping as verbing is showing connection to previous clause but what is really wrong with making it parallel to 'to move'. The long legs do enable them to do both so how exactly do we pick the intended meaning.

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06 Jun 2023, 07:06

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Elite097

Option (D) uses 'them' for singular North American moose. Hence it is incorrect.

As for the other problem you mentioned in (D),

(D) The moose has long legs, enabling it to move quickly through the woods and to step easily over downed trees

What enables it to move quickly? We can say 'the long legs' which isn't great because 'comma + ing' should refer to the subject i.e. the moose. But the moose is not enabling. Or I could say that it is modifying the entire clause 'the moose has long legs' and this fact enables it to move quickly. Well, that isn't bad so I would hold on to it. I will look for a better option but not eliminate this.

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28 Jun 2023, 17:54

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I understand why B and C are wrong for other reasons, but aren't they also wrong because it refers to a possessive. I read in other threads that the GMAT is consistent with that rule (i.e. it cannot refer back to a possessive)

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28 Jun 2023, 23:10

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kelly_jacques

There are official questions in which a non-possessive pronoun refers to a possessive. So the GMAT is not consistent with the rule. That the IT refers to a possessive in (B) and (C) is a fact one can notice. But as errors go, this is a minor error or perhaps not an error at all.
In contrast, "predators pursuing them" is a major, definite error.

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12 Aug 2023, 01:06

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The North American moose's long legs enable it to move quickly through the woods, stepping easily over downed trees, but predators pursuing it must leap or go around them.

(A) moose's long legs enable it to move quickly through the woods, stepping easily over downed trees, but predators pursuing it must leap or go around them
Mistakes : leap (over) is missing ; leap over Vs go around them - parallelism .
Another problem with A:
Moose’s long legs enable moose to move … no issue. Moose steps easily over trees but not moose legs step easily .. meaning issue

(B) moose's long legs enable it to move quickly through the woods, stepping easily over downed trees while predators pursuing them must leap or go around
Predators pursuing long legs . 😀❌

(C) moose's long legs enable it to move quickly through the woods and to step easily over downed trees, but predators pursuing them must leap over or go around them
Long legs enable moose to step over trees . Meaning issue . Predators pursuing legs ❌

(D) moose has long legs, enabling it to move quickly through the woods and to step easily over downed trees while predators pursuing them must leap or go around
Pursuing them ❌

(E) moose has long legs that enable it to move quickly through the woods, stepping easily over downed trees while predators pursuing it must leap over or go around them
Pursuing it ; yes we are waiting to see this . Pursuing it ( it refers back to moose ) so, E ✅

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13 Oct 2023, 14:14

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Quote:

Expert's help need:

He HAS a cow, helping people to get milk.
Is the sentence above correct? Sometimes, my thinking says that the 'linking verb' (IS, HAS, HAVE, ARE) can't produce 'adverbial modifier'! Is my thinking wrong?