The type of behavior exhibited when an animal recognizes itself in a m

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 this sentence is that the type of behavior exhibited when an animal recognizes itself in a mirror comes within the domain “theory of mind”, so this behavior is best studied as part of the field of animal cognition.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Verb Forms + Grammatical Construction

• If a sentence contains only two elements, they must be joined by a conjunction.
• The "comma + conjunction" construction is used to join the last element in a list with more than three elements; the other elements are joined with commas.
• The infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb" - "to + be" in this sentence) is the preferred construction for referring to the purpose/intent of the action.

A: This answer choice incorrectly uses the "comma + conjunction ("thus" in this sentence)" to join two elements in a list - the verb phrases "comes within the domain of “theory of mind" and "is best studied as part of the field of animal cognition"; remember, if a sentence contains only two elements, they must be joined by a conjunction, and the "comma + conjunction ("thus" in this sentence)" construction is used to join the last element in a list with more than three elements.

B: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "is best to be"; the use of the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb" - "to + be" in this sentence) illogically implies that the type of behavior exhibited when an animal recognizes itself in a mirror is best for the purpose of being studied as part of the field of animal cognition; the intended meaning is that the type of behavior exhibited when an animal recognizes itself in a mirror is best studied as part of the field of animal cognition; remember, the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb" - "to + be" in this sentence) is the preferred construction for referring to the purpose/intent of the action. Further, Option B incorrectly uses the "comma + conjunction ("and so" in this sentence)" to join two elements in a list - the verb phrases "comes within the domain of “theory of mind" and "is best to be studied as part of the field of animal cognition"; remember, if a sentence contains only two elements, they must be joined by a conjunction, and the "comma + conjunction ("and so" in this sentence)" construction is used to join the last element in a list with more than three elements.

C: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "of a “theory of mind,”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the type of behavior exhibited when an animal recognizes itself in a mirror comes within the domain of one of many theories of the mind; the intended meaning is that the type of behavior exhibited when an animal recognizes itself in a mirror comes within the domain of a singular theory known as “theory of mind".

D: Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase "of “theory of mind”, conveying the intended meaning - that the type of behavior exhibited when an animal recognizes itself in a mirror comes within the domain of a singular theory known as “theory of mind". Further, Option D uses the phrase "is best", conveying the intended meaning - that the type of behavior exhibited when an animal recognizes itself in a mirror is best studied as part of the field of animal cognition. Additionally, Option D correctly uses conjunction ("and thus" in this sentence) to join two elements in a list - the verb phrases "comes within the domain of “theory of mind" and "is best studied as part of the field of animal cognition"

E: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "is best to be"; the use of the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb" - "to + be" in this sentence) illogically implies that the type of behavior exhibited when an animal recognizes itself in a mirror is best for the purpose of being studied as part of the field of animal cognition; the intended meaning is that the type of behavior exhibited when an animal recognizes itself in a mirror is best studied as part of the field of animal cognition; remember, the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb" - "to + be" in this sentence) is the preferred construction for referring to the purpose/intent of the action.

Hence, D is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

Dear Nick90,

Are you asking about why the comma is inside the quote marks? This is a subtle difference between British and American punctuation standards. As a general rule, if a word or phrase with quotes appears before a comma or period, Brits will close the quotes and then have a period, whereas we Yanks will include the comma or period inside the quotes;
... "theory of mind", thus ... = British convention
... "theory of mind," thus ... = American convention

Neither is "wrong" --- it's just two different conventions. Remember, of course, that GMAC, the folks that write the GMAT and all the official guides, is centered here in Reston, Virginia. They never test punctuation, in part because native English speakers from different countries have different conventions. Nevertheless, sometimes, in a non-tested part of a question, you will see the American conventions followed. Thus, it is not a typo. It is not someone trying to follow the British convention and failing: it is actually an entirely separate convention.

Does all this make sense?
Mike

Hello vishakhagoel33@gmail.com,

My guess is that since you saw the word thus in the sentence, you expected to see an independent clause after this word. Hence, the confusion why and is not preceded by a comma to make the "thus" part of the sentence independent clause.

However, that is not the case with this official sentence. So the takeaway point for you here is that it not necessary that thus will be followed by an independent clause.

It can be used with a verb to present the result of another verb/action.

If I misunderstood your question, please feel free to correct me and explain a bit more as to what is your confusion with the correct answer choice.


Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha

Dear longhaul123,

I'm happy to respond.

My friend, you are taking an extremely rule-based approach to GMAT SC. While you found the correct answer here, more or less by POE, I think you may be missing the forest for the trees.

I agree that we need "and," so (A) & (C) are out. I disagree that the pronoun "it" is ambiguous in any answer choice. Many elements at many levels inform the pronoun-antecedent relationship, and students often underestimate how much parallelism plays a role in determining this relationship. In particular, when two clauses are in parallel, and the subject of the second clause is a pronoun, this setup strongly suggests that the antecedent is the subject of the first clause. Another factor that influences the pronoun-antecedent relationship rhetoric, in particular, the focus of the sentence. The focus of the first clause is the subject "type of behavior," so it's crystal clear that this is the antecedent of "it."

I would say that (B) & (D) & (E) are all grammatically correct. The GMAT loves to create incorrect answer choices that are grammatically correct, because these befuddle the folks who look only at grammar.

The problem with (B) & (E) is that they are awkward. They both have the awkward structure "so is best to be studied as . . ." That's not grammatically wrong, but it's awkward. It feels off. It is a wordy, weak, sloppy way to convey this information. By contrast, (D) is sleek and elegant.

If you look only at the level of grammar rules, you will miss what the GMAT SC is about. On a correct answer on the GMAT SC, grammar and logic and rhetoric all coherently come together to produce meaning. You have to be thinking at all levels to understand the GMAT SC.

Does all this make sense?
Mike

Dear Arpit adkikani,

How are you, my friend? I'm happy to respond.

Here's the original sentence with (B) & (E) as well as the OA, (D):
The type of behavior exhibited when an animal recognizes itself in a mirror comes within the domain of “theory of mind,” thus is best studied as part of the field of animal cognition.
B. “theory of mind,” and so is best to be
D. of “theory of mind” and thus is best
E. of the “theory of mind,” and so it is best to be

First of all, there is zero pronoun ambiguity. Pronouns are 100% fine in this problem.

Think about if we split this into two sentences---something that is not an option on the GMAT SC, but often a choice that a real world writer would make.
The type of behavior exhibited when an animal recognizes itself in a mirror comes within the domain of “theory of mind.”
Thus, this type of behavior is best studied as part of the field of animal cognition.
That second sentence is elegant and well-spoken.

Consider this change.
Thus, this type of behavior is best to be studied as part of the field of animal cognition
That's awkward. The structure is to be [past participle] is a relatively infrequent formal structure indicating a kind of philosophical necessity.
Harmonious relationships with all are to be cultivated in human life.
The structure, which fits in that sentence, has a ring of dogmatic authority, as if both Plato and Aristotle are assuring us that this is true. This might be fine for some grand sweeping philosophical statements, but for what amounts to a practice recommendation about a particular scientific field, this grammatical structure sounds 100% out of place.

Does all this make sense?
Mike

Dear vishakhagoel33@gmail.com,

I'm happy to respond. Unfortunately, I don't know that I fully understand your question. In this question, in no choice are there two independent clauses. The sentence is attempting, with greater or lesser success, to put to verbs in parallel for the same subject. The subject is "type of behavior" and the parallel verbs are "comes" and "is [best] studied." Also, a semicolon is not used in any answer here. Are you asking about this question or another question?

Mike

hi mikemcgarry egmat

Can you please explain B/E in terms of wordiness and pronoun ambiguity, if any.
Why is phrase to be studied considered awkward in (B)

WR,
Arpit

Dear Mansoor50,

I'm happy to respond.

In version (D), the OA, the larger structure of this sentence is
[subject][verb #1]"and"[verb #2]
Technically, the entire sentence is one clause, and within this single clause, two verbs are in parallel. Here's an outline of version (D):

The type of behavior = SUBJECT
exhibited = participle, noun-modifier modifying the subject
when an animal recognizes itself in a mirror = verb-modifying phrase, modifies the participle "exhibited"
All of that first part is the subject and its long modifier. Then we get to the verbs:
comes = VERB #1
within the domain of “theory of mind” = predicate of verb #1
and = conjunction linking the two verbs
thus = adverb
is best studied = VERB #2
as part of the field of animal cognition. predicate of verb #2

Does all this make sense?
Mike

dcummins, I think you have it!

This sentence boils down to, "The type of behavior exhibited when [...] comes within the domain of [...] and thus is best studied..." In this case, "thus" is just an adverb modifying the verb "is". So, stripping out the modifiers, we are left with a perfectly parallel list of verbs: "The type 1) comes within the domain... and 2) is best studied..." The subject of both verbs ("comes" and "is") is "type" (or, more specifically, "type of behavior").

I hope that helps!

danielddf

Actually, "theory of mind" is not a particular theory. It simply refers to our understanding of others as having mental states distinct from our own. (There's much debate about which species other than humans have theory of mind.) However, the GMAT won't rely on our content knowledge. As Mike and others have pointed out, there is plenty to disqualify E, and since that's the only choice with "the," we know "the" isn't needed. Honestly, it would be a little too good to be true if there were a clearly needed word that only occurred in one answer. I suppose that happens occasionally, but not much. It's more common that we decide a particular word or phrasing is needed without a strong basis for that decision, and then we end up crossing out the right answer prematurely.

Hello thangvietnam,

I will glad to help you with this one.

IMHO, the meaning error that you are talking about with the usage of it in Choice E does not stand. It is so because the the later part of the sentence uses the word so that establishes the relationship of the this part with the rest of the sentence.

Jone is good and he is also smart.

In the above-mentioned sentence too, there is no meaning issue because there is only one person mentioned in the sentence - Jone. Hence, the pronoun he will refer to Jone only.

But yes, we do have a structural problem in Choice E. The two independent clauses are not connected properly.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha

Hello sandysilva,


I must say you have done a great analysis if this official sentence. Very neat and precise. Keep up the good work.

I would just like to add a few points about the incorrect Choices B and E.


Choice B misses the preposition of after domain. This is incorrect because A is studied in the domain of XYZ. So missing preposition is an additional error in this choice.


Choice E uses the expression it is best to be studied, suggesting that this type of behavior must be studied as part of the field of animal cognition as if it is not studied already in the present.


Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha

This is how i solved this question. So the option B is out because of the missing preposition. The use of pronoun IT in options C and E are incorrect because it can refer to either the behavior or the animal. In between A and D we need AND since the there are two independent clauses. Please correct me if am wrong.

Hello teaserbae,

Thank you for your query.

In this official sentence, exhibited is not a verb because it is not an action done by the subject The type of behavior.

The word exhibited is a verb-ed modifier that modifies The type of behavior because the said behavior gets exhibited.

Please review our popular article to learn how to distinguish between a simple past tense verb and a verb-ed modifier in the following link:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ed-forms-verbs-or-modifiers-134691.html


Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha

Hi,

I'm having difficulty understanding this sentence.

As I understand, a conjunctive adverb must be preceded by a semicolon and followed by a comma when it is used to join two independent clauses, but conjunctive adverbs can be used without the semi-colon - comma requirement if they are joining parts of the same independent clause.

This would allow us to eliminate (C) as (C) contains comma, conjunctive adverb, subject + verb (another independent clause)

For example: The CEO agreed with the board. The Board, however, disagrees with him.

I don't understand WHAT the subject is after "theory of mind" across (A), and (D)

Is (D) correct because "comes within the domain... AND...thus is best studied..." are parallel?

Bit confused

teaserbae Two points here:

1) "exhibited" isn't a verb here. It's a past participle modifying "behavior." Since it is working like an adjective, it isn't a verb and doesn't have a tense. Notice that the behavior didn't do anything. In a similar vein, we might say "This is the kind of stove used in the best restaurants." This doesn't mean the stove was used in the past--it is currently being used.

2) Even if we did have a past tense verb, that wouldn't stop us from using a present tense verb elsewhere, since the two parts of the sentence are not parallel. (Even then, we can shift from past to present if the meaning requires it.) For instance, we might say "The guitar that Jimi Hendrix played at Woodstock is now on display in a museum."

If you want to look at it from the perspective of pure grammar then:

So --> Conjunction

He was tired so he decided to sleep

Thus --> Adverb

He was tired and thus he decided to sleep: CORRECT

He was tired thus he decided to sleep: INCORRECT

I found this page to be pretty accurate in explaining this particular concept well: https://jakubmarian.com/so-thus-therefo ... n-english/

Having said so, I would pick an easier grammar rule to eliminate the answer options:

C & E have an "it" -> can it refer to "The type of behavior exhibited when an animal recognizes itself in a mirror"? Doesn't make it a clear referent so we can remove.

B & E have a "to be" -> we just need to say that is best studied as part of something

That would leave you with A & D and the only difference is the knowledge of the concept above. I would break the sentence this way:

SUBJECT : [The type of behavior exhibited when an animal recognizes itself in a mirror]

PREDICATE 1: comes within the domain of “theory of mind,”

AND

PREDICATE 2: thus is best studied as part of the field of animal cognition.


Hope this helps