It had been hot and there had been no rains, thus I slept in

Question

It had been hot and there had been no rains, thus I slept  in the night, on the verandah, instead of at  the house.

(A) in the night, on the verandah, instead of at

(B) at the verandah in the night instead of on

(C) in the verandah on the night instead of at

(D) at night, on the verandah instead of inside

(E) at night, on the verandah instead of in

mallelac · Answer

I choose D because it gives the correct sense of outside the house -verandah & inside the house.

At the house is unidiomatic. So, A is ruled out. 

On the house is unidiomatic. So, B is ruled out.

On the night is unidiomatic. So, C is ruled out.

Verandah is considered part of the house unless we say specifically "inside the house". So, E is ruled out.

Do let me know the correct answer.

srijay007 · Answer

I also picked D

But OA is E

Bhai any explanations on why you chose E over D?

dj · Answer

this one checks the prepositions: at, on, in (prepositions of place). In D, we used at (prep.)... on (prep.) ... inside (noun...huh!!), this doesn't make the sentence parallel and prepositionally correct :-D

ob · Answer

Things happen at night , on the verandah , and in the house , not necessarily in that order :lol:

. Hence E.

mallelac · Answer

I am not too sure how E is correct answer.
From the dictionary, the verandah means "A porch along the outside of a building (sometimes partly enclosed)". Thus, in the house may not mean differently from verandah. Only "inside the house" makes the sense clear.

Probably, it is better to ask the author of the query to explain. One thing might be that "in the house" is idiomatic. However, that does not give the complete sense. 

Srijay, Is the author available for seeking explanation?

ob · Answer

That's funny. Guys, don't try to find some hidden message where there's none. :lol:

mallelac · Answer

My aim is not to point out anybody/imply some non-existing stuff. It is better to know exactly why one answer is correct and others are wrong. It may not help if we go with the flow because there may be something beyond the common comprehension. 

That is the purpose of contacting the author/mentor/teacher always.

abisurd · Answer

Should we be discussing the dictionary meanign fo the word verandah? I thought SD does not deal with such detailed interpretations of common nouns. I guess we should stick to the idioms and usage of words here.

Praetorian · Answer

Let me try.

FROM MSN Encarta,

 Inside  , as a preposition, means "within a time".

within a time: done in a period of time less than the one stated

We managed to completely redecorate the room inside seven hours.

One of the meaning of  IN  , as as preposition, indicates a place

He spent a whole year  in  Russia.

Srijay, is it clear now that E is better

ashkg · Answer

an additional exmaple from my side ! Many times we hear people say "Why don't you come in ?" here "in"= inside the room/house/wherever the person asking is. = "within" Taking this meaning, I hope that makes E sounds better as an answer. However, I really dont have any decent argument against D

To add to the confusion, here's what I found on the web. "inside" \In"side`\, prep. or adv. Within the sides of; in the interior; contained within; as, inside a house, book, bottle, etc. I really see no difference between D and E.

Praetorian · Answer

i agree ashish. srijay, i dont think you would see such questions on gmat. its too controversial Atleast we wont forget prepositions now

It had been hot and there had been no rains, thus I slept in

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