The Roman continued to use lead vessels in making wine even after they

Question

The Romans continued to use lead vessels in making wine even after they had been warned that  they might poison themselves by doing it .

(A) they might poison themselves by doing it

(B) it might be poisonous for them to do that

(C) doing so might be poisonous for themselves

(D) they might be poisoning themselves by doing so

(E) it could be poisonous for them to do that

a) "it" is incorrect

b) "that" is incorrect

c) I picked ( After checking the answer, read this sentence again, and it sounded awkward. But still can't find the errors in c)

d) "poisoning" < ing-form. I heard somewhere that GMAT doesn't like ing-form as an answer. That's why I ruled out d.

e) "that" is incorrect.

Please, post your reasoning and opinion about my reasoning.

DmitryFarber · Accepted Answer

Choice C describes "doing so" as poisonous. An activity (in this case, making wine) can't be poisonous. It's the wine itself that is poisonous. You can eliminate B, C, and E for this reason.

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem: 
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of the crucial part of this sentence is that the Romans might be poisoning themselves by using lead vessels in making wine.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Pronouns + Idioms

• “do so” is the correct, idiomatic usage when “do” refers to an action; in this construction, “so” rather than a pronoun is used to refer to the action, as pronouns cannot refer to actions.

A:  This answer choice incorrectly uses the pronoun "it" to refer to the action "use lead vessels in making wine"; remember, “do so” is the correct, idiomatic usage when “do” refers to an action; in this construction, “so” rather than a pronoun is used to refer to the action, as pronouns cannot refer to actions.

B:  This answer choice incorrectly uses the pronoun "that" to refer to the action "use lead vessels in making wine"; remember, “do so” is the correct, idiomatic usage when “do” refers to an action; in this construction, “so” rather than a pronoun is used to refer to the action, as pronouns cannot refer to actions.

C:  This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the clause "doing so might be poisonous"; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that the   action   of using lead vessels in making wine,   itself  , could be poisonous in nature; the intended meaning is that using lead vessels in making wine could   lead to   the Romans becoming poisoned.

D:   Correct.  This answer choice correctly uses "doing so" to refer to the action "use lead vessels in making wine". Further, Option D uses the clause "they might be poisoning themselves by doing so", conveying the intended meaning - that using lead vessels in making wine could   lead to   the Romans becoming poisoned.

E:  This answer choice incorrectly uses the pronoun "that" to refer to the action "use lead vessels in making wine"; remember, “do so” is the correct, idiomatic usage when “do” refers to an action; in this construction, “so” rather than a pronoun is used to refer to the action, as pronouns cannot refer to actions.

Hence, D is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

crick20002002 · Answer

+1 for D.

"doing so" is correct usage. "doing it" is wrong.

Crick

rickyfication · Answer

Thank you

. Can you please explain the difference b/w the 2 choices C & D? To me they both appears same, only the order is changed.

DmitryFarber · Answer

Well, D doesn't use the word "poisonous." It uses the verb "poisoning." By using lead vessels, the Romans were poisoning themselves--they were exposing themselves to poison. (By the way, the sentence should of course say "Romans" and not "Roman.")

rickyfication · Answer

So the cho/ice C lacks the verb and  that  here introduces a subordinate clause, which should have a subject and a verb.
Am I right?

DmitryFarber · Answer

Yes, but the subordinate clause in C also has a subject and a verb. The subject is "doing so" and the verb phrase is "might be." It's a similar construction to "Submitting your application early might be helpful." Should I submit my application early? Sure. Doing so might be helpful.

The problem in C is one of meaning: making wine is not poisonous. Also, the word "themselves" is not necessary in C, since no one is doing something to themself (as in D).

jaisonsunny77 · Answer

The Romans continued to use lead vessels in making wine even after they had been warned that  they might poison themselves by doing it.  
 
(A) they might poison themselves by doing it  -  the pronoun ''it'' cannot be used to describe an action/event. 
  
(B) it might be poisonous for them to do  that   -  the singular demonstrative pronoun ''that'' does not have a clear antecedent. (''that'' cannot refer to the action of ''making wine'' since pronouns cannot be used to refer to an action)
  
(C) doing so might be poisonous for themselves  -  we do not have a clear subject that can take the present progressive verb ''doing''. 
 
(D) they might be poisoning themselves by doing so - has no error. hence,   (D) is the right answer choice.  
  
(E) it could be poisonous for them to do that  -  the singular demonstrative pronoun ''that'' does not have a clear antecedent. (''that'' cannot refer to the action of ''making wine'' since pronouns cannot be used to refer to an action)

197269 · Answer

Can someone tell me the difference between C and D. Why option C is wrong? 
E-GMAT/GMAT NINJA- PLEASE EXPLAIN

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

Hi

There is a logic issue in option (C). It states:

doing so  might be poisonous for themselves

Now, if you notice, the poisonousness is being sourced from "doing so", an activity, which clearly cannot be the case. It has to be the wine itself. This problem is not there in option (D), which states:

they  might be poisoning themselves by doing so.

The source of the poison is not mentioned but only the medium is mentioned as "they" ie; the Romans.

Hope this helps.

197269 · Answer

But,it has been given in the statement that Romans use lead glass in making wine. The entire process of making wine in lead glass can make poison for them. Where am I wrong in this logic?

Posted from my mobile device

GMATNinja · Answer

Let's see what happens when we replace "doing so" in choice (C): "The Romans continued to use lead vessels in making wine even after they had been warned that   might be poisonous for themselves."

You can say that  wine  itself   is  poisonous . However, you wouldn't say that   drinking  wine  is  poisonous . The adjective poisonous should describe the substance itself, not the act of ingesting that substance.

Similarly, you could say that "  continuing   to use lead vessels might be  hazardous/dangerous/deadly ." But, as explained by  CrackVerbalGMAT , it's not quite right to say "  continuing   to use lead vessels might be poisonous." It's the wine that's  poisonous , not the act of using lead vessels to make the wine.

I hope that helps a bit!

aditijain1507 · Answer

But isn't D doing the same? how is doing so of c different than d?

DmitryFarber · Answer

aditijain1507

(C) doing so might be poisonous for themselves

In this option, "poisonous" is an adjective. In this case, it modifies a noun phrase describing an activity: doing so. So this version is saying that the act of using lead vessels is itself poisonous. An act can  lead to  poisoning, but drinking out of a cup is not actually POISONOUS--only poison is poisonous.

(D) they might be poisoning themselves by doing so

In this option, "by doing so" is an adverbial modifier. It applies to the previous clause: "they might be poisoning themselves." So this is saying that BECAUSE people are drinking from lead vessels, they may be poisoning themselves. It isn't saying that the action itself contains poisonous.

In many other cases, we might use either form. For instance, I could say "taking 8 classes is stressful" or "I stressed myself out by taking 8 classes," since the actual ACT of taking many classes can be stressful. But if I wanted to say "I weighed myself down by carrying the chair," I can't say "Carrying the chair was heavy" (or "weighty"). It's a difference between adjectives that can reasonably describe an ACTIVITY, versus adjectives that can only describe an object involved in that activity. Taking classes can be stressful, but drinking isn't poisonous and carrying isn't heavy. For those cases, we can express what we want to say by showing the RESULT of our action: BECAUSE they drank, they poisoned themselves. BECAUSE I carried the chair, I was weighed down.

Raman109 · Answer

The Romans continued to use lead vessels in making wine even after they had been warned that  they might poison themselves by doing it.

Option Elimination -

(A) they might poison themselves by doing it - the "it" pronoun refers to the action of "using lead vessels in making wine." The use of pronouns to refer to verbs is wrong.

(B) it might be poisonous for them to do that - "that" pronoun refers to the action of "using lead vessels in making wine." The use of pronouns to refer to verbs is wrong.

(C) doing so might be poisonous for themselves - "doing so" refers to the action of "using lead vessels in making wine." The action itself is not poisonous. The wine that they used to make by this action of "using lead vessels in making wine" was poisonous. An act (doing so) is poisonous (might be poisonous) - ridiculous. ACTION IS POISONOUS.

Moreover, the reflexive pronoun "themselves" has to refer back to the subject. "that" introduces the relative clause. So, in this relative clause, "doing so" is the subject. "themselves" doesn't make sense with "doing so." But if we now look at option D, we have "they" as a subject (which refers back to "the Romans"), and "themselves" makes perfect sense with "they" and, in turn, with "Romans."

(D) they might be poisoning themselves by doing so - passive voice is a red herring. An act "doing so" leads to poisoning "poisoning themselves" - correct? Yes. As DmitryFarber pointed out, this is essentially saying that "Because they are drinking from the lead vessels, they may be poisoning themselves." ACTION LED TO POISONING. Moreover, the reflexive pronoun "themselves" correctly refers to the subject here, "they" and Romans.

(E) it could be poisonous for them to do that - "that" pronoun refers to the action of "using lead vessels in making wine." The use of pronouns to refer to verbs is wrong.

The Roman continued to use lead vessels in making wine even after they

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The Roman continued to use lead vessels in making wine even after they

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