Namangupta1997 wrote:
Hi
KarishmaB AndrewN Isn't there a slight meaning issue in C ? It seems like ,in option C, it is
a pre-defined goal to gradually instill the given notion. In option A, the sentence seems to highlight that as we speak habitually of the "truly needy",
this particular practice of speaking results in the gradual instilment of the mentioned notion.
Isn't option A closer to the intended meaning despite a parallelism flaw ?
Two points,
Namangupta1997. First, I cannot see the
pre-defined goal you are referring to in your interpretation of (C). In the construct
To X is to Y, element Y is simply the subject complement, one that either defines or describes element X. Perhaps you are reading too much into the infinitive and spinning it into something more like
[in order] to, but that is not what we see in the sentence at hand. You can replace the initial infinitive with a
when clause and make slight alterations to the subsequent main clause to get closer to what I would say sentence expresses:
When we speak habitually of the “truly needy,” we gradually instill the notion that many of those who are just called “needy” actually have adequate resources; such a conclusion is unwarranted. We would still need to address parallelism in such a sentence, but above,
speak and
instill would pass the test.
The second point I would like to address is that
the intended meaning is a subjective measure
if you are pointing to anything that is underlined. We can only look to the non-underlined portion of the sentence to glean intended meaning. Anything else can be negotiated, so be careful not to project onto the sentence what you want it to say.
In this particular sentence, the original version does have a flaw in parallelism, one that is addressed in answer choices (C) and (E), but the latter drops out of contention because a
gradual notion is a nonsensical description, as I and others have discussed in earlier posts.
Thank you for thinking to ask me about the question.
- Andrew