Early administrative decisions in Chinas Ming Dynasty eventually caus

Question

Early administrative decisions in China’s Ming Dynasty eventually caused

and

also failed to make sufficient investment in vital transportation infrastructure.

(A) the collapse of the currency system, and failed
(B) the collapse of the currency system, and failing
(C) and the collapse of the currency system, also failed
(D) the collapse of the currency system, as well as failing
(E) and the collapse of the currency system, as well as a failure

mikemcgarry · Accepted Answer

Dear AbdurRakib , I'm happy to respond. :-)

A great question about parallelism ! We have four elements 1) a drastic fall in tax revenues = fixed, before the underline 2) a reduction in military preparedness = fixed, before the underline 3) some form of " the collapse of the currency system " 4) something about failing " to make sufficient investment in vital transportation infrastructure " The prompt has , , , and = an obvious failure of parallelism Correct possibilities: 1) We could have parallelism with three nouns and then have a verb after it: , , and , and That verb would be parallel to the first verb, so the parallelism of the nouns would be nested inside the parallelism of the verbs. No answer choice does this. 2) We could have four nouns , , , and , No answer choice does this. 3) We could have three nouns in parallel and than an additive phrase , , and , as well as Choice (E) does this. This is the only choice that does something correct. OA = (E) Does all this make sense? Mike

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear CorporateFinancier , I'm happy to respond. :-)

1) First of all, let's use the proper terminology. When a verb form ending in -ing is used as a noun, this is called a gerund . Just " failing " by itself is a simple gerund. When we add an article, " the failing ," then it becomes a complex gerund. As a general rule, we put only complex gerunds in parallel with ordinary nouns, not simple gerunds. Furthermore, there is something incredibly awkward about using a complex gerund form when there's a very clear ordinary noun form of the same word. We wouldn't say " the failing of X " because we can say " the failure of X ." 2) The use of " and " and " as well as " in (E) is not redundant, because there's a subtle distinction at work here--it's not pure parallelism. When we say " both P and Q as well as R ," we are putting P & Q at the same level, side-by-side, but we are saying that somehow R is a slightly different thing, not quite the equivalent of P & Q . In this sentence we have Early administrative decisions in China’s Ming Dynasty eventually caused (P1) a drastic fall in tax revenues, (P2) a reduction in military preparedness, and (P3) the collapse of the currency system, (additional) as well as a failure to make sufficient investment in vital transportation infrastructure. The three elements in parallel, P1, P2, and P3, were all immediate and pressing problems that the early Ming Dynasty had to face. The addition item is something that might not have seemed immediate and pressing at the time, but later evolved into a big problem, as infrastructural debt became to mount. Because of the different moments in time when these played out, the author logically separated out this additional element to distinguish it. Does all this make sense? Mike :-)

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear  Vezax27 ,

I'm happy to respond. :-)

My friend, the problem with this interpretation is that, for the three nouns in parallel, we would need an additional " and " before the third noun. We would need
 Decision caused: 
Noun #1
Noun #2 
 and 
Noun #3 
and failed to make . . . .  
The " and " already in (A) is for the parallelism between the two verbs, " caused " & " failed ." The second " and " would have to be added for the parallelism of the three nouns.

If we added that additional " and ," then (A) would become correct. 
 Early administrative decisions in China’s Ming Dynasty eventually caused a drastic fall in tax revenues, a reduction in military preparedness,    and    the collapse of the currency system, and failed to make sufficient investment in vital transportation infrastructure.

Does this make sense?
Mike :-)

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Concepts tested here: Parallelism + Grammatical Construction

• All elements in a list must be parallel.
• Semicolons and the “comma + conjunction” construction are used to link two independent clauses; commas are used to link an independent clause with a dependent one; comma cannot be used to join two independent clauses.
• Any elements joined by a conjunction ("as well as" in this case) must be parallel.

A:  This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism among "a drastic fall in tax revenues", "a reduction in military preparedness", "the collapse of the currency system" - all noun phrases - and "failed to make sufficient investment in vital transportation infrastructure" - a verb phrase; remember, all elements in a list must be parallel.

B:  This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism among "a drastic fall in tax revenues", "a reduction in military preparedness", "the collapse of the currency system" - all noun phrases - and "failing to make sufficient investment in vital transportation infrastructure" - a verb phrase; remember, all elements in a list must be parallel.

C:  This answer choice incorrectly uses the "comma + conjunction ("also" in this case)" construction to join the independent clause "Early administrative decisions in China’s Ming Dynasty eventually caused...the currency system" and the dependent clause "failed to make sufficient investment in vital transportation infrastructure"; remember, semicolons and the “comma + conjunction” construction are used to link two independent clauses; commas are used to link an independent clause with a dependent one; comma cannot be used to join two independent clauses.

D:  This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism among "a drastic fall in tax revenues", "a reduction in military preparedness", "the collapse of the currency system" - all noun phrases - and "failing to make sufficient investment in vital transportation infrastructure" - a verb phrase; remember, all elements in a list must be parallel.

E:   Correct.  This answer choice correctly maintains parallelism among "a drastic fall in tax revenues", "a reduction in military preparedness", and "the collapse of the currency system". Further, Option E maintains parallelism between the noun phrases "a drastic fall in tax revenues, a reduction in military preparedness, and the collapse of the currency system" and "a failure to make sufficient investment in vital transportation infrastructure"; remember, two elements joined by a conjunction ("as well as" in this case) must be parallel. Additionally, Option E correctly uses a comma to join the independent clause "Early administrative decisions in China’s Ming Dynasty eventually caused...the currency system" and the dependent clause "as well as a failure to make sufficient investment in vital transportation infrastructure".

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

Additional Note:  Option E slightly alters the construction of the sentence by separating the final element of the list - "a failure..." - into an additive phrase, modifier phrases that add nouns onto another noun but are not part of the main subject of a sentence.

To understand the use of punctuation on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~9 minutes):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWwVPnWryBM

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

CorporateFinancier · Answer

Hi, could you please clarify 2 things:

1) Why "failing" couldn't be considered as a noun? Or if we want to use it as a noun, then we need an article?
2) Isn't the use of both "and" and "as well as" in option E redundant? I would be much better to eliminate "and" in this case, in my view.

I chose D instead of E because of these 2 considerations.

Thanks.

Vezax27 · Answer

How can we be so sure that answer A) is incorrect? I was thinking of the following parallelism:

i) Decisions  caused: 
  - noun
 - noun
 - noun 
  ,and failed to make

Is this infeasible because of the 'to make' and especially the 'to', which would ne parallelism?

kumarparitosh123 · Answer

I am a big fan of your explanations Mike !!!!

Sent from my Lenovo TAB S8-50LC using  GMAT Club Forum mobile app

PurpleDrank3000 · Answer

For A

In this case, we would have grammatical parallelism, but not logical parallelism, correct? With your changes, if I get rid of all the fluff, the sentence would say “Decisions caused...” and “Decisions failed to make sufficient investment”. The second part is illogical, right? Decisions can’t make investments.

egmat · Answer

Hello PurpleDrank3000 , I must say you have done a brilliant analysis of Choice A with regards to the parallelism between caused and failed . Your meaning-based analysis is absolutely correct. Even of we add and before the third noun entity the collapse of the currency system , then also the choice will remain incorrect because decisions cannot make investments. So yes, as rightly pointed out by you, caused and failed are can be grammatically parallel, but they cannot be logically parallel in the given context of this official sentence. Hope this helps.

Thanks. Shraddha

ankitmining · Answer

egmat Hi Shraddha, Your post reminds me of your video lessons

How to eliminate C? Is it because of the same reasoning mentioned above. Regards -Ankit

egmat · Answer

Hello Ankit ankitmining , Thank you for you query.

Choice C is incorrect because although the three nouns are parallel and connected properly by the marker and , the verb failed that is supposed to be parallel to the verb caused is not connected with caused by any connector. The verb failed is preceded by also that is not a connector. And there can be no parallel list without a marker. Take a look at the following structure per Choice C: Early administrative decisions in China’s Ming Dynasty eventually caused a drastic fall in tax revenues, a reduction in military preparedness, and the collapse of the currency system, also failed to make sufficient investment in vital transportation infrastructure. However, the fact remains that logically failed CANNOT be parallel to caused because decisions cannot make investments. Hence, use of verb failed is incorrect in the context of this sentence. Hope this helps.

Thanks. Shraddha

gmatexam439 · Answer

What a beautiful question.

Early administrative decisions in China’s Ming Dynasty eventually caused

and

also failed to make sufficient investment in vital transportation infrastructure.

We need a "and" before "the collapse", because the decisions caused 3 things "fall", "reduction"   and  "collapse". We never say that "At the party John ate, danced, kissed"; we need a "and" before the final thing that John did at the party. The correct version would be "At the party John ate, danced   and   kissed". 
 So as per the aforesaid statements, A, B and D are out. (P.S. note the usage of "and" before D in this line)

Now obviously out of C and E, E is the correct answer because in "C" we again need a connecting "and" before "also".

"   Early administrative decisions in China’s Ming Dynasty eventually caused a drastic fall in tax revenues, a reduction in military preparedness, and the collapse of the currency system, as well as a failure to make sufficient investment in vital transportation infrastructure   ." --> This version of sentence is absolutely correct.

A. the collapse of the currency system, and failed
 B. the collapse of the currency system, and failing
 C. and the collapse of the currency system, also failed
 D. the collapse of the currency system, as well as failing
 E.  and the collapse of the currency system, as well as a failure

daagh · Answer

A. the collapse of the currency system, and failed
B. the collapse of the currency system, and failing
C. and the collapse of the currency system, also failed
D. the collapse of the currency system, as well as failing
E. and the collapse of the currency system, as well as a failure

1. A cursory glance at the prompt will reveal that there is list parallelism involved in the question.
 
2. Let us go to the choices now. If there are four items in the list then there should be an 'and' before the last item. Although A and B do have an 'and', unfortunately, the supposed fourth item is not parallel with the rest. Therefore, they are gone.

3. C is a double - verbed fragment.
 
4. 'As well as' is not equal in status or usage with 'and' as it is not a parallelism marker. D is out.

5. E is the lone remainder. The collapse, as well as a failure, is part of the last item of the list. Correct choice.

Piggu18 · Answer

Can some one explain me How "Caused" and "and failed" are not logically Parallel.
Would it be something like this :
Early Decisions also failed to make ......
Please correct if i am wrong .

DmitryFarber · Answer

Piggu18  Two reasons:

1) The verb doesn't match the subject. Decisions can't fail.  People  failed because of the decisions.

2) Even if we wanted to match "failed" with "decisions," we'd still need to close out the parallel list first. We can't say "Decisions CAUSED x, y, z, and failed." We need "Decisions CAUSED x, y,  and  z, AND FAILED."

nitesh50 · Answer

Hi
Can any expert please help me in this question:

The decisions have failed to make investments in infrastructure.
This sentence is incorrect because it doesnot make sense. Decisions cannot fail. Administration/person can.

The decisions have caused a failure to make investments in infrastructure.
If the above is not logical, why is this sentence correct?
how could decision cause a failure.
This is option E of the above question.

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DavidTutorexamPAL · Answer

Hi  nitesh50 
You are right that decisions can't fail, but they definitely  can cause a failure . 
This is what E tells us.

VeritasPrepBrian · Answer

Notice that pretty huge difference between the examples you gave. "The decisions have failed to make investments" --> "to make investments" is an active verb. Someone has to make those investments, and decisions cannot actively do that - the decision makers can, but not the decisions.

"The decisions caused a failure" --> that's expressing a cause/effect relationship, which isn't necessarily an active verb situation. "My untied shoelace caused me to trip" doesn't mean that the shoelace actively, consciously tripped me, but I did trip as a result of the shoelace. Just like the failures happened as a result of the decisions, even though the decisions weren't actively choosing the failures (the way that the other option suggests that they were actively making investments).

freekite23 · Answer

Hi  GMATNinja

Could you please explain here "after as well as: a failure" is a modifier parallel to Verb ed modifier "caused a drastic" ?

Thank you!

Early administrative decisions in Chinas Ming Dynasty eventually caus

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Early administrative decisions in Chinas Ming Dynasty eventually caus

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