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555-605 Level|   Grammatical/Rhetorical Construction|                           
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MartyTargetTestPrep
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The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region 07 Jun 2022, 09:11
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dcoolguy
I was keeping original choice’s meaning as the right meaning.
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Don't ever do that again.

There is nothing special about the meaning of the original version.
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The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region 16 Jul 2022, 11:00
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KarishmaB
Thank you for this helpful explanation. To clarify on the posts above, what is incorrect about "being remarkably similar"? Is it incorrect to have a gerund with an adverbial modifier? Thank you again.
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The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region 16 Jul 2022, 11:10
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MartyTargetTestPrep
dcoolguy
I was keeping original choice’s meaning as the right meaning.
Don't ever do that again.

There is nothing special about the meaning of the original version.
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MartyTargetTestPrep
To clarify for meaning SC problems, we are trying to decipher what the author logically meant, correct? So even if the original sentence is illogical, we should try to figure out what the author meant and choose the answer choice that best expresses the author's original intent?

Also, I have a question on Choice D's use of "is that there was"....
To clarify, the use of "that" in this answer follows the sentence structure subject-verb-THAT-subject-verb... because a verb is followed immediately by the word "that"?

Thank you for your help!
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The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region 16 Jul 2022, 11:15
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KarishmaB
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The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region can,in part,be explained as a very rapid movement of people from one end of North America to the other.

A. The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region can, in part, be explained as
B. Thule artifacts being remarkably similar throughout a vast region, one explanation is
C. That Thule artifacts are remarkably similar throughout a vast region is, in part, explainable as
D. One explanation for the remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region is that there was
E. Throughout a vast region Thule artifacts are remarkably similar, with one explanation for this being

Show Spoiler
OA: D
Can someone please explain what is wrong with E

Sorry: fixed answer choices, should be "remarkably" in B,C,E

Responding to a pm:

When you explain A as B, you are equating the two.

Here are a couple of real world examples of the usage:

The racial bias observed is not explainable as a response to local-level crime rates.
How cluster headache is explained as an intracavernous inflammatory process lesioning sympathetic fibers... (Heading)

When you want to give the cause of a certain phenomenon, you use "explain by"

Tomasetti and Vogelstein conclude that these differences can be explained by the number of stem cell divisions.

In options (A) and (C), the similarity of objects is because of the rapid movement of people. So "explained as" is not correct.
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KarishmaB

I am still a bit confused on the explanations above for Choice E. In your view, why do you need a comma? I thought that the GMAT does not ask you to decide if you need a comma or not and picks at bigger issues. Thank you again.
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The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region 16 Jul 2022, 17:04
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MartyTargetTestPrep
To clarify for meaning SC problems, we are trying to decipher what the author logically meant, correct? So even if the original sentence is illogical, we should try to figure out what the author meant and choose the answer choice that best expresses the author's original intent?
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I personally don't use or recommend that approach.

Rather, I recommend looking for a version that effectively conveys a logical meaning as written without seeking to decipher what the author meant from versions that do not convey logical meanings.

Quote:
Also, I have a question on Choice D's use of "is that there was"....
To clarify, the use of "that" in this answer follows the sentence structure subject-verb-THAT-subject-verb... because a verb is followed immediately by the word "that"?
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Yes, the structure is as you outlined, and "that" serves as a conjunction that introduces a noun clause that serves as a subject complement.
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The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region 18 Jul 2022, 06:24
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woohoo921
KarishmaB
blockman
The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region can,in part,be explained as a very rapid movement of people from one end of North America to the other.

A. The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region can, in part, be explained as
B. Thule artifacts being remarkably similar throughout a vast region, one explanation is
C. That Thule artifacts are remarkably similar throughout a vast region is, in part, explainable as
D. One explanation for the remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region is that there was
E. Throughout a vast region Thule artifacts are remarkably similar, with one explanation for this being

Show Spoiler
OA: D
Can someone please explain what is wrong with E

Sorry: fixed answer choices, should be "remarkably" in B,C,E

Responding to a pm:

When you explain A as B, you are equating the two.

Here are a couple of real world examples of the usage:

The racial bias observed is not explainable as a response to local-level crime rates.
How cluster headache is explained as an intracavernous inflammatory process lesioning sympathetic fibers... (Heading)

When you want to give the cause of a certain phenomenon, you use "explain by"

Tomasetti and Vogelstein conclude that these differences can be explained by the number of stem cell divisions.

In options (A) and (C), the similarity of objects is because of the rapid movement of people. So "explained as" is not correct.

KarishmaB

I am still a bit confused on the explanations above for Choice E. In your view, why do you need a comma? I thought that the GMAT does not ask you to decide if you need a comma or not and picks at bigger issues. Thank you again.
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Normally, when we start a sentence with a prepositional phrase, we do use a comma but I would not eliminate this option based on that. I have seen correct options in GMAT where I would prefer a comma but it was missing.
"with one explanation being ..." does not make a lot of sense to me. We use "with" to show "along" or "together with" etc. Here, there is no such meaning. Also, the intent of the sentence is to tell us that an explanation for the similarity is rapid movement. When we connect rapid movement to the rest of the sentence with preposition 'with,' this main intent is lost. It becomes an aside. If you are unsure of this, look at the two structures below:

One explanation for similarity is that there was rapid movement.
There was similarity, with one explanation being rapid movement.

The first one is direct and to the point. The focus is the explanation. The second one is awkward.

Hence (D) is much better.
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The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region 22 Jul 2022, 23:13
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In this I have one doubt, in the question stem we are using 'CAN' which shows possibility and the in D option which is considered the correct answer we are using 'IS' which shows fact. So isn't the meaning of the sentence changing ?

The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region can, in part, be explained as a very rapid movement of people from one end of North America to the other.

D. One explanation for the remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region is that there was
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The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region 02 Sep 2022, 00:01
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Regarding version (E), there is one potential issue that has not been discussed.

(E) Throughout a vast region Thule artifacts are remarkably similar, with one explanation being a very rapid movement of people…..

Vs

OA (D) One explanation for the remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts THROUGHOUT A VAST REGION is that there was a very rapid movement of people….

Notice the movement of the Prepositional Phrase from the correct version D to version E.

In version D, the modifier serves to define and further refine exactly which noun phrase we are discussing: “Thule artifacts (that exist) throughout a vast region”

These specific artifacts are remarkably similar.

However, in D, the Prepositional Phrase is moved to the front of the Subject + rest of clause. Generally, a prepositional phrase in the introductory position serves to modify the entire clause, rather than the specific noun phrase.

Therefore, in answer E the topic under discussion is ALL “Thule artifacts are remarkable similar.”

It doesn’t seem likely that the intention of the author was to explain the remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts, in general.

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The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region 30 Nov 2023, 04:48
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The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region can, in part, be explained as a very rapid movement of people from one end of North America to the other.

(A) The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region can, in part, be explained as When you examine the logic of this option, you will realise that this option sis saying that the similarity of Thule artifacts is a rapid movement of people from one end of North American to another, which doesn't really make logical sense. When an explanation is being offered, the phrase used should be “explained by”

(B) Thule artifacts being remarkably similar throughout a vast region, one explanation is “Thule artifacts being remarkably similar throughout a vast region” is a modifier that is telling us about the subject. The subject should immediately follow the comma. But in this options the subject seems to “one explanation.”

(C) That Thule artifacts are remarkably similar throughout a vast region is, in part, explainable as This option says that the phenomenon of similar artifacts IS the movement of people, not that it was CAUSED BY a sudden movement of people. This doesn't make logical sense.

(D) One explanation for the remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region is that there was This option clearly explains that the very rapid movement of people from one end of North America to the other is one explanation for the remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region.

(E) Throughout a vast region Thule artifacts are remarkably similar, with one explanation for this being If there were a comma after “Throughout a vast region”, this option would be clearly referring to what is the case throughout a vast region.
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The remarkable similarity of Thule artifacts throughout a vast region 13 Aug 2025, 17:40
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