The Iroquois were primarily planters, but supplementing their cultivat

Question

The Iroquois were primarily planters, but supplementing their cultivation of maize, squash, and beans with fishing and hunting.

(A) but supplementing

(B) and had supplemented

(C) and even though they supplemented

(D) although they supplemented

(E) but with supplementing

alicegmat · Accepted Answer

Ah, the -ing contrast error as I call it!

The Iroquois were primarily planters, but supple-
menting their cultivation of maize, squash, and
beans with fishing and hunting.

(A) but supplementing
(B) and had supplemented
(C) and even though they supplemented
(D) although they supplemented
(E) but with supplementing

A - but supplementing - wrong. folks, the ing modifier canNOT appear with but. The obvious reason, the ing modifier clause builds up on the opening clause. It does NOT indicate a contrast. Check the meaning, the second clause is actually showing a contrats to the first one. Also, note here that ing is not a progressive tense. it is a modifier.

B - and had supplemented - wrong again. two reasons. 1. and cannot show a contrast. it is usually used to link two independent clauses. the intended meaning is a contrast. 2. had supplemented - incorrect tense. it indidcates that this action was before they were planters. incorrect meaning. the actions are simultaneous and the tenses should be consistent. both - simple past.

C - and even though they supplemented - incorrect. this indicates a contrast - meaning-wise correct. but this is not a complete sentence. it is a fragment.  ]and  must connect independent clauses. the second clause does not have a working verb that will make it an independent clause. it is wordy too.

D - although they supplemented - wow! correct! although indicates contrast. they supplemented is correct. also, althouth needs a clause (sub + verb) this clause has both - correct. the tense supplemented (simple past) is correct as well. it is consistent with the non underlined tense.

E - but with supplementing - this is a modifier, not a verb. same error, ing modifier that is introducing a contrast. does not work. incorrect.

Take-aways -
Although needs a clause
Ing modifier cannot indicate a contrast

sameer_kalra · Answer

I was reading the explanation in this post and found that everyone is overlooking a small error. Hence, posting a reply to correct the understanding. While explanation for A, B, D, E is mostly correct in all the replies, explanation about C is wrong. (C) "and even though they supplemented" : It is a sentence fragment but not because it does not have a verb. . This sentence has a perfect verb i.e. supplemented just like in (D). However, this sentence is a fragment because it starts with "and", which requires further explanation after the subordinate clause "even though....." ends. -Sameer Press kudos if this post helped

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Choice A:  This answer choice employs the "Verb+ing" modifier, rather than the continuous verb "supplementing"; in doing so, this answer choice fails to bring out the needed contrast and implies that the Iroquois' supplementation is an ongoing process. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice B:  This answer choice incorrectly uses the past perfect tense to refer to the Iroquois' supplementation; this tense is only used when referring to the earlier of two events, and this sentence makes it clear that the Iroquois practiced farming, hunting, and fishing simultaneously. Additionally, this answer choice uses the conjunction "and", which does not convey contrast. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice C:  This answer choice incorrectly links a dependent clause to an independent clause through the conjunction "and". Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice D:  This answer choice maintains proper conjunction and tense use and conveys the intended meaning of the sentence. Thus, this answer choice is correct.

Choice E:  This answer choice repeats the error found in Option A. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Hence, D is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Although, Though, Despite, and While on GMAT", you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpOCnhX6o9w

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

buzzgaurav · Answer

Should be D.
To show proper contrast we need "  although  ".

The original sentence is trying to tell that the Iroquois were planters  despite the fact  that they supplemented their cultivation of......with......

The Iroquois were  primarily a planters ,  although they  supplemented their cultivation of maize, squash, and beans with fishing and hunting.

googi · Answer

The Iroquois were primarily a planters, but supplementing their cultivation of maize, squash, and beans with fishing and hunting. 
A. 
B. and had supplemented 
C. and eventhough they supplemented 
D. although they supplemented 
E. but with supplementing 

A. as if they are still supplementing. so wrong
B wrong connecting word. it shuld be but
c and eventhough. two connecting words make it awkward 
d .correct
e . but corrects one prob . the -ing is wrong

ajit257 · Answer

The Iroquois were primarily planters,  but supple-
menting  their cultivation of maize, squash, and
beans with fishing and hunting.

(A) but supplementing
(B) and had supplemented
(C) and even though they supplemented
(D) although they supplemented
(E) but with supplementing

Can someone explain the ans. I have a doubt on the usage of one of the words but like to see some views first. Thanks

skovinsky · Answer

Hi,

in the original, "supplementing" leaves us wanting more - the sentence needs another phrase to be complete. Eliminate A and E.

We predict: "but supplemented" would fix the problem, so let's scan the choices.

B has the connector "and" - changes the meaning of the sentence (we lose the contrast) - get rid of B.

C has "and even though", requiring another verb in the sentence (just like A and E) - eliminate C.

Only D remains - "although they supplemented" is similar to our prediction and works just fine. Choose D!

ajit257 · Answer

Well i have a doubt about the usage of 'although'. I thought it was never used in the middle of the sc and always at the beginning.

skovinsky · Answer

I'm not aware of any such rule - it may be similar to the "never start a sentence with because" rule, which also isn't a real rule (i.e. it's OK to start a sentence with "because").

EducationAisle · Answer

More specifically,  and  is used as a  coordinating conjunction  in C, and so, must be followed with an  Independent clause  (this is a property of coordinating conjunctions). In this case,  and  is just followed by a  dependent clause , and hence is not correct.

p.s. Sentence fragments are tested quite extensively on GMAT. Our book discusses in detail, the various scenarios in which Sentence fragments appear. If you could PM me your mail id, I can send you the relevant section.

Skywalker18 · Answer

The Iroquois were primarily planters,  but supplementing  their cultivation of maize, squash, and beans with fishing and hunting.

(A) but supplementing -- since but is preceded by a comma , we should have a independent clause after but -- subject and verb missing
(B) and had supplemented -- contrast is lost ; usage of past perfect is incorrect ; comma+and must be followed by an independent clause
(C) and even though they supplemented -- usage of and--> contrast is lost ; need an independent clause after and
(D) although they supplemented -- Correct
(E) but with supplementing -- since but is preceded by a comma , we should have a independent clause after but -- subject and verb missing

Answer D

adkikani · Answer

Abhi077   VeritasKarishma   AjiteshArun   MentorTutoring

I treated supplementing as a gerund, i.e. noun acting as an action verb.
E.g. Travelling around the word is one of my dreams.

Also I cut off (D) since only FANBOYS can connect two independent clauses, not although. May I know where I faltered?

Abhi077 · Answer

Meaning of the sentence is important here, This sentence calls for a contrast, hence the  conjunction Although  is necessary for e.g, He decided to go, although I begged him not to, you can see the contrast presented by although. And yes, you're right about FANBOYS but then there's no verb in the 2nd clause making it a dependent clause. supplementing is not a verb.

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi  adkikani ,

1. One way to look at this to replace the (expected) nouns with X and Y.

The Iroquois were primarily X, but Y.

Let's ignore the comma for a moment. The main problem with this is that the Iroquois were not Y. That is, they were not "supplementing". For example, if we say something like "they were farmers", then  they   were   farmers  (Iroquois = farmers). But Iroquois = supplementing doesn't make any sense.

2.  Although   always  introduces a dependent clause. In other words,  although they supplemented  is a dependent clause. The mistake you made is that you looked at only the  they supplemented  and concluded that it was an independent clause.

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  adkikani . I think both  Abhi077  and  AjiteshArun  have provided excellent insights above. I thought I would speak more to why  supplementing...  in this sentence is  not  being used as a gerund. The reason is that there is no resolution to  supplementing... . Since it is not being used as a verb, the phrase needs such a verb to form a predicate. If the whole phrase were a gerund here, the subject of a second independent clause, you would expect a linking verb to follow, as in,

The Iroquois were primarily planters, but supplementing their cultivation of maize, squash, and beans with fishing and hunting  was  commonplace.

It is not that a gerund and a linking verb are  always  found together, since a gerund can be the object of a sentence (e.g.,  She dislikes  eating natto , since the smell reminds her of sweaty gym socks ). However, some sort of complete thought is a prerequisite to gerund usage. Otherwise, the apparent gerund would simply be acting as a modifier.

- Andrew

mba757 · Answer

Within A and E, are the test makers trying to make false parallelism? (i.e., "supplementing" with "fishing"/"hunting." Is incorrect to take out these answer choices based on that logic?

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

The question writer probably did intentionally make (A) and (E) look parallel as a way of making these incorrect choices seem possibly correct.

That said, that characteristic is not a reason to eliminate them. We would eliminate them because they are illogical.

Sneha2021 · Answer

KarishmaB MartyTargetTestPrep

The Iroquois were primarily planters, but supplementing their cultivation of maize, squash, and beans with fishing and hunting.

Why we can't read A as "The Iroquois were primarily planters, but WERE supplementing....."?

Can we repeat verb after "but" when we are using comma + fanboys? Would like to understand acceptable construction with "but"

Thanks in advance

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

The following sentence is OK.

The children were happy, but tired.

"Were" is understood to be repeated before "tired," and the presence of the comma is OK. It just creates a pause.

So, the (A) version of the sentence in this question is not incorrect because of the presence of comma before "but."

Rather, it's not a good sentence because the parallel structure is off with "were" first working with a noun and then working with the participle "supplementing."

The Iroquois were primarily planters, but supplementing their cultivat

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

The Iroquois were primarily planters, but supplementing their cultivat

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

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