We will begin with painting first, and then secondly we will start the

“AND” is necessary here because there’re 2 independent clauses:

1) We will begin with painting
2) We will start the decoupage process

Without “AND”, this sentence will be run-on sentence. Remember “, FANBOYS” rules.

Thanks a lot embroi.. i missed it dearly

My Approach:
We will begin with painting first/firstly. Either way it is an Independent clause so we need an and.
Eliminate D and E.

A is obviously wrong because we are not using the same structure on both sides.

Between B and C: Both are parallel and Both use "and". We will begin with painting first/firstly. If I were to read it is as an Independent Clause, the former choice makes better sense.
Hence C.

Thank you!

C is the correct answer.

A. Incorrect idiomatically. "First" and "second" are the appropriate adverbs used to identify order.
B. Incorrect idiomatically. "First" and "second" are the appropriate adverbs used to identify order.
D. Comma splice. "then second we will start ..." is an independent clause with subject and verb; therefore, we need to combine the clauses with a comma and FANBOYS (for, and, nor, or, but, yet, so) conjunction or a semicolon and conjunction.
E. Comma splice. "second we will start ..." is an independent clause with subject and verb; therefore, we need to combine the clauses with a comma and FANBOYS (for, and, nor, or, but, yet, so) conjunction or a semicolon and conjunction.

Can you please tell me the "FANBOYS" rule

Hi TestPrepUnlimited

Do then & second represent same thing??

There are at least three issues with this question. The GMAT would never test the distinction between "second" and "secondly", because there's no agreement on which is preferable. In old writing, "secondly" was more common while in contemporary writing, "second" is used more often. The word "then" is also used as a conjunction all the time in modern writing, as the American Heritage Dictionary points out:

"Usage Note: Sticklers for grammar sometimes assert that then is not a coordinating conjunction, and that the sentence She took a slice of pie, then left is thus incorrect; it must be rewritten as She took a slice of pie and then left, in which the then acts as an adverb and the halves of the compound predicate are linked by the coordinating conjunction and. But this use of then as a coordinating conjunction is actually both widespread and widely accepted; in our 2012 survey, more than three quarters of the Usage Panel found the sentence She took a slice of pie, then left completely acceptable."

and I found a site that quoted more than one example from the NY Times using "then" as a conjunction, without "and". So there's no agreement either that the word "and" is necessary in a sentence like this one.

But probably the most important issue: I can't think of any reason someone would write a sentence like the one in this question, unless the writer was trying to write badly. Why wouldn't the author just write We will begin with painting, then start the decoupage process? Naturally the thing you "begin with" is the thing you're doing "first", and the thing you "then" do is the thing you're doing "second", so the words "first" and "second" are redundant.

So even the "right answer" here isn't well-written, and the question tests things in ways the GMAT never would, so I wouldn't suggest devoting any time to it.