Events & Promotions
| Last visit was: 20 Sep 2026, 19:25 |
It is currently 20 Sep 2026, 19:25 |
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Sep 2107:00 PM EDT
-10:00 PM EDT
Boost your GMAT score in less than one month in a live online class + 6 months access to TTP OnDemand video courses included!
Sep 1810:00 AM IST
-11:00 PM IST
Start your journey with a fully customized action plan and work with a dedicated mentor to achieve a 735+ score.
Sep 2003:30 AM EDT
-04:30 AM EDT
Looking for your GMAT motivation to break through the score plateau? Pragati improved her score by massive 160 points with strategic guidance and hard-work! Find out how personalized mentorship and a strong mindset can turn GMAT struggles into success.
Sep 2312:30 AM EDT
-01:30 AM EDT
Learn how Keshav, a Chartered Accountant, scored an impressive 705 on GMAT in just 30 days with GMATWhiz's expert guidance. In this video, he shares preparation tips and strategies that worked for him, including the mock, time management, and more
Sep 2601:00 PM EDT
-04:00 PM EDT
Top scores are possible when you enroll in a powerful GMAT course, taught live online + 6 months access to TTP OnDemand video courses included. Class starts Saturdays Sept. 26, 2026 - Dec. 19, 2026, 1:00pm-4:00pm ES
Sep 2606:00 PM PDT
-07:00 PM PDT
Free- full-length test + 15 concept videos + 150+ short videos + study plan!
B
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
65%
(hard)
Question Stats:
51% (01:26) correct
49%
(01:30)
wrong
based on 10547
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Neanderthals had a vocal tract that resembled those of the apes and so were probably without language, a shortcoming that may explain why they were supplanted by our own species.
(A) Neanderthals had a vocal tract that resembled those of the apes
(B) Neanderthals had a vocal tract resembling an ape’s
(C) The vocal tracts of Neanderthals resembled an ape’s
(D) The Neanderthal’s vocal tracts resembled the apes’
(E) The vocal tracts of the Neanderthals resembled those of the apes
(A) Neanderthals had a vocal tract that resembled those of the apes
(B) Neanderthals had a vocal tract resembling an ape’s
(C) The vocal tracts of Neanderthals resembled an ape’s
(D) The Neanderthal’s vocal tracts resembled the apes’
(E) The vocal tracts of the Neanderthals resembled those of the apes
Every tricky question should trigger a follow up quiz.
Build that habit with
GMAT Club Forum Quiz →.
20 Sep 2013, 03:32
Kudos
Bookmarks
WaterFlowsUp
reply2spg
Answer = B
Two Independent clauses connected by co-ordinating conjunction ('AND' in this case) should have a parallel structure.
Clause 1 :- Neanderthals had a vocal tract that resembled those of apes ------> Subject - InTransitive Verb - Predicate
Clause 2 :- so were probably without language --------> Subject - InTransitive Verb - Predicate
The logical antecedent of 'So', which is the Subject of second clause, is 'Neanderthals'. Hence 'Neanderthals' should be a subject of the First clause.
Only Choice A and B have their subject as 'The Neanderthal'. So C, D, E are out.
In Choice A has the Pronoun Agreement Error. 'Those of Apes'(plural) can not refer to the 'Vocal Tract of Neanderthals'(Singular)
Choice B Wins.
09 Feb 2009, 20:41
Kudos
Bookmarks
reply2spg
C,D,E out.. vocal tracts.. were probably without language.. --> completely wrong.. Neanderthals were without language is correct.
A -- we are comparing vocal tract with "those" (vocal tracts) of apes.. Wrong comparision.
B is perfect.
Neanderthals had a vocal tract resembling an ape’s [vocal tract] ...
24 Jan 2021, 14:31
Kudos
Bookmarks
sudeshpatodiya
Quote:
First, check out the parallelism: "Neanderthals (1) had a vocal tract {...} and (so) (2) were probably without language..." - we have a parallel list of verbs, and both verbs make sense with the subject "Neanderthals". No issue there.
But notice that the comparison is between ONE vocal tract (“a vocal tract”) and MULTIPLE ape vocal tracts (“those of the apes”). Comparing a singular vocal tract to plural vocal tracts isn't ideal here.
In addition, the use of “the” in front of "apes" makes it seem like the vocal tracts of the Neanderthals are like those of SPECIFIC apes, not apes in general. Is that grammatically wrong? Probably not... but it doesn't fit with the context, which suggests that the author wants to compare the vocal tracts of Neanderthals to those of apes in general. The use of "the" leaves the reader wondering, "WHICH specific apes are we talking about?".
Admittedly, these aren't particularly solid reasons to eliminate (A), so let's hang on to it for now and check out the other options.
Quote:
Again, the parallelism checks out: "Neanderthals (1) had a vocal tract {...} and (so) (2) were probably without language..." - We have two parallel verbs, and both work with the subject "Neanderthals".
In (B), we are comparing a SINGULAR body part (the vocal tract of Neanderthals) to another SINGULAR body part (the vocal tract of an ape), so the comparison works a little better than the one in (A).
Also, (B) compares the vocal tract of a general ape (AN ape) to the Neanderthals’ tract. If that's not clear, consider of these two examples:
- 1) "The ape has five fingers on each hand." - The article "the" suggests that we are talking about ONE specific ape.
2) "An ape has five fingers on each hand." - The article "an" suggests that we are talking about a non-specific ape--pick an ape, any ape, and that ape ought to have five fingers.
That's probably enough to go with (B) over (A), so let's keep this one.
Quote:
There are two main problems here.
First, the comparison isn’t great... the issue is similar to what we saw in (A), only now we have MANY Neanderthal vocal tracts compared to only ONE ape vocal tract.
More importantly, there's a meaning issue with the parallelism: “The vocal tracts of Neanderthals (1) resembled an ape’s and (so) (2) were probably without language...”.
- We have a parallel list of verbs, but notice that both verbs can be tied back to the subject "vocal tracts"--that gives us, "The vocal tracts … were probably without language.”
- That doesn't make much sense. As explained in this post, "vocal tracts" can produce sound, but they can't have a language of their own--parts of the body usually can’t speak on their own (unless we're talking about Osmosis Jones--then maybe!).
We can get rid of (C).
Quote:
Here the sentence is comparing ONE Neanderthal’s vocal tracts to MULTIPLE apes’ vocal tracts. My knowledge of biology isn’t great, but I’m pretty sure Neanderthals (and humans) only have ONE vocal tract, so this doesn’t make much sense.
Also, as we saw above, it’s a bit weird to compare the tract(s) of SPECIFIC (“the”) Neanderthal’s to the tract(s) of SPECIFIC ("the") apes.
More importantly, we have the same meaning issue that we saw in (C): “the Neanderthal’s vocal tracts … were probably without language.” It’s the Neanderthals who were probably without language, not their vocal tracts.
We can say goodbye to (D).
Quote:
The comparison is okay here, but, again, the articles aren't ideal: we have "the" (specific) Neanderthals and "the" (specific) apes.
But we have the same glaring meaning issue that we saw in (C) and (D), so (E) is out.
(B) is the best one!
Disclaimer: If you aren't convinced that (B) is better than (A), don't stress over it too much. Most of these are pretty subtle arguments, and that might be why this question was retired from the official guides before 2009.
) 
