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12 Days of Christmas 🎅 GMAT Competition with Lots of Questions & FunNavigating the unforgiving Antarctic terrain, in 1911 Roald Amundsen and his four-man crew began their groundbreaking expedition to the South Pole, and they were equipped only with four sleds and basic provisions.
(A) Navigating the unforgiving Antarctic terrain, in 1911 Roald Amundsen and his four-man crew began their groundbreaking expedition to the South Pole, and they were equipped only
(B) In 1911, Roald Amundsen and his four-man crew began their groundbreaking expedition to the South Pole, navigating the unforgiving Antarctic terrain equipped only
(C) In 1911, Roald Amundsen and his four-man crew, navigating the unforgiving Antarctic terrain, began their groundbreaking expedition to the South Pole, and they were only equipped
(D) Having navigated the unforgiving Antarctic terrain, in 1911Roald Amundsen and his four-man crew began their groundbreaking expedition to the South Pole; they were only equipped
(E) Roald Amundsen and his four-man crew, in 1911began their groundbreaking expedition to the South Pole, navigating the unforgiving Antarctic terrain, equipping themselves only
Experts' Global Official Explanation:
Meaning + Verb Forms + Grammatical Construction + Modifiers + Tenses + Redundancy/AwkwardnessUnderstanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that in 1911, Roald Amundsen and his four-man crew began their groundbreaking expedition to the South Pole, navigating the unforgiving Antarctic terrain equipped only with four sleds and basic provisions.
• In a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.
• The introduction of present participle (“verb+ing” - “equipping” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship.
A. Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses “Navigating the…” to modify “1911”, illogically implying that the year 1911 was navigating the unforgiving Arctic terrain; the intended meaning is that Roald Amundsen and his four-man crew were navigating the unforgiving Antarctic terrain; please remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Moreover, Option A alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “and they were equipped only…”; the use of an independent clause incorrectly implies that Roald Amundsen and his crew beginning their expedition and them being equipped only with four sleds and basic provisions are two independent actions; the intended meaning is that Roald Amundsen and his crew were equipped with only four sleds and basic provisions, as they began their expedition. Besides, Option A redundantly uses the independent clause “they were equipped only…”, rendering it needlessly wordy.
B. Correct. This answer choice correctly uses “In 1911” to modify “Roald Amundsen and…”, conveying the intended meaning- that Roald Amundsen and his four-man crew began their expedition to the South pole in 1911. Further, Option B uses the “comma + present participle (“verb+ing” – “navigating” in this sentence)” construction and the past participle (“verb+ed – “equipped” in this sentence), conveying the intended meaning- that Roald Amundsen and his crew navigated the unforgiving Antarctic terrain as a result of beginning their expedition to the South Pole and were equipped with only four sleds and basic provisions while doing so. Additionally, Option B is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.
C. Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “and they were only equipped…”; the use of an independent clause incorrectly implies that Roald Amundsen and his crew beginning their expedition and them being only equipped with four sleds and basic provisions are two independent actions; the intended meaning is that Roald Amundsen and his crew were only equipped with four sleds and basic provisions, as they began their expedition. Besides, Option C redundantly uses the independent clause “they were only equipped…”, rendering it needlessly wordy and awkward.
D. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “Having navigated”; the use of the past participle (“navigated” in this sentence) incorrectly implies that Roald Amundsen and his crew had already navigated the unforgiving Antarctic terrain before beginning their expedition; the intended meaning is that Roald Amundsen and his crew navigated the unforgiving Antarctic terrain as part of their expedition. Besides, Option D redundantly uses the independent clause “they were only equipped …”, rendering it needlessly wordy.
E. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase, “equipping themselves only”; the use of the “comma + present participle (“verb+ing”- “equipping” in this sentence) incorrectly implies that Roald Amundson and his crew equipped themselves with only four sleds and basic provisions because they began their expedition to the South Pole; the intended meaning is that Roald Amundsen and his crew were equipped with only four sleds and basic provisions, as they began their expedition; please remember, the introduction of present participle (“verb+ing”- “equipping” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship.
B is the best answer choice.____________________________
Video Explanation: