Contrary to popular myth promulgated partly by Greek classics and part

Question

Contrary to popular myth promulgated partly by Greek classics and partly by the Hollywood movie industry, war heroes rarely earn their status by acting as  if they themselves are invincible .

(A) if they themselves are invincible
(B) though they are invincible
(C) being invincible
(D) if they themself are invincible
(E) if they were invincible

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The correct answer is (E).

The original version intends to express a contrary-to-fact situation, so the subjunctive  were  (instead of  are ) is appropriate here. Also, the reflexive pronoun  themselves  is improper here. (Compare the phrase  consider themselves invincible , which uses the reflexive form properly.) Choice (E) corrects both problems.

Sumi1010 · Answer

Contrary to popular myth  promulgated partly by Greek classics and partly by the Hollywood movie industry , war heroes rarely earn their status by acting as  if they themselves are invincible.

War heroes act as if they are invincible. The fact is that this belief is hypothetical. A hypothetical subjunctive can be used to reflect this meaning.

(A) if they  themselves  are invincible
 Reflex Pronoun is used when subject consider itself as object. Not required here.  
(B) though they are invincible
 Requires hypothetical subjunctive . 
(C) being invincible
 Requires hypothetical subjunctive.  
(D) if they  themself  are invincible
 Reflex Pronoun is used when subject consider itself as object. Not required here.  
(E) if they  were  invincible
 Correct.

IMO  E

carouselambra · Answer

IMO E

Contrary to popular myth promulgated partly by Greek classics and partly by the Hollywood movie industry, war heroes rarely earn their status by acting as if they themselves are invincible.

(A) if they  themselves  are invincible
(B)  though  they are invincible
(C)  being  invincible
(D) if they  themself  are invincible
(E) if they were invincible - Correct

Pankaj0901 · Answer

ANSWER IMO E

(A) if they themselves are invincible
color=#ff0000]Incorrect. "themselves" not needed. 
(B) though they are invincible
 Incorrect. "though" not required. 
(C) being invincible
 Incorrect- "being" not required 
(D) if they themself are invincible
 Incorrect. "themselves" not needed. 
(E) if they were invincible
 Correct.

Pankaj0901 · Answer

Can someone please share more details on Reflexive pronoun? When it is used and different cases with examples. Thanks in advance.

Pankaj0901 · Answer

DanTe02  - Could you please share some knowledge on  Reflex pronoun ? Thanks

DanTe02 · Answer

Pankaj0901  Reflexive pronouns are pronouns like itself,herself,myself, and themselves. They are used to refer back to the subject. 
example-> She made herself a cup of tea 
and
example -> The party disbanded itself
They are used to put emphasis on the action
You can refer to MGMAT Edition section on - Reflexive pronoun I believe it is in 6th and 5th edition under extras section

generis · Answer

DanTe02  , nicely done.+1
I'm going to add just a little more detail to the foundation you've laid.

Pankaj0901  , in English, we use reflexive pronouns in quite a few situations.
These situations are the most common:

1) The doer and recipient of the action are the same person.
→  You should give yourself a break. 
→  I poured myself a small glass of wine.

2) (usually with a preposition) We want to emphasize the condition of the subject.
→  Just two weeks after Yanni's corrective surgery for his injured back, he could walk by himself.  (Before the surgery, he could not walk unassisted.)
→  She fixed the light socket herself.  (An electrician did not fix the socket.)

3) We want to emphasize or  intensify  a person or thing, especially if the person, thing, or situation is peculiar or unexpected. 
→  A former colleague testified that the president himself authorized the illegal payment of hush money to a mistress. 
→  The anti-immigration neo-Nazi was himself an undocumented immigrant.

People can read more about reflexive pronouns  here . That site contains a short and effective overview of reflexive pronouns.

People may also wish to read one of my posts on reflexive pronouns, which you can find  here .
The question is very challenging, so don't get discouraged if my answer does not make sense immediately.
Review the website and revisit the explanation.

I hope that answer helps.

Pankaj0901 · Answer

Thanks a lot  DanTe02  and  generis 
This is very very helpful.

CEdward · Answer

I got this question wrong twice now.  generis  can you explain what's the indicator for the subjunctive here?

lathikashyam · Answer

Contrary to popular myth promulgated partly by Greek classics and partly by the Hollywood movie industry, war heroes rarely earn their status by acting as  if they themselves are invincible.

(A) if they themselves are invincible – ‘themselves’ is redundant 
(B) though they are invincible – ‘as if’ is idiomatic 
(C) being invincible – use of being is always wrong on GMAT 
(D) if they themself are invincible – ‘themself’ is wrong and unnecessary 
 (E) if they were invincible – clear and concise

VerbalBot · Answer

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Contrary to popular myth promulgated partly by Greek classics and part

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