Whereas, when first observed, more than a million trees were

Whereas, when first observed, more than a million trees were planted in Nebraska on Arbor Day, it is now observed throughout the nation and the world.
a) Whereas, when first observed, more than a million trees were planted in Nebraska on Arbor Day, it is now observed throughout the nation and the world.
- Completely awkward & illogical . What was 1st observed. Thus Incorrect.

b) Whereas, Arbor Day was first observed with the planting of more than a million trees in Nebraska, now the entire nation and the world observe Arbor Day.
CORRECT

c) Whereas, Arbor Day was first observed in Nebraska with the plantation of more than a million trees, it is now observed throughout the nation and the world.
Placement of "In Nebraska" is incorrect as it now means that the Arbor day was observed in Nebraska & plantation of trees took place at a unknown location. Thus Incorrect.

d) Whereas, Arbor Day was first observed with the planting of more than a million trees in Nebraska, now the entire nation and the world observes Arbor Day.
Plural verb "OBSERVE" should be used because the subject (entire nation and the world) is plural. Thus Incorrect

e) Whereas, Arbor Day was first observed along with the plantation of more than a million trees in Nebraska, now the entire nation and the world observe Arbor Day.
"Along with the Plantation" changes the intended meaning as it means that Arbor day was observed on the same day as the plantation of trees took place. Thus Incorrect

OE:
What does the sentence mean - This sentence shows a contrast between Arbor day celebration in the past and current time.
1: In the past = More than a million trees were planted in Nebraska.
2: In present = It is observed throughout the nation and the world.
It appears that the point of contrast is the location of celebration of Arbor day.

What does the question test - This question tests your expertise in establishing correct comparison/contrast.

What are the errors in the original sentence – The original sentence has parallelism error since the contrast is not established correctly. As explained in the meaning, the emphasis of the sentence is that in the past, it was celebrated such that more than million trees were planted. In order to establish correct contrast, emphasis should be placed on the location where Arbor Day was celebrated.

a) Whereas, when first observed, more than a million trees were planted in Nebraska on Arbor Day, it is now observed throughout the nation and the world.
This choice does not establish correct comparison as explained in sentence analysis.

b) Whereas, Arbor Day was first observed with the planting of more than a million trees in Nebraska, now the entire nation and the world observe Arbor Day.
This choice has two parallelism based errors:
1: Comparison error as in Choice A.
2: Parallelism Error – The two parallel (contrasting) clauses should be parallel and hence should be stated in same voice. But clause 1 – Arbor day was observed – is in passive voice and clause 2 – entire nation observe – is in active voice.

c) Whereas, Arbor Day was first observed in Nebraska with the plantation of more than a million trees, it is now observed throughout the nation and the world.
Correct Choice

d) Whereas, Arbor Day was first observed with the planting of more than a million trees in Nebraska, now the entire nation and the world observes Arbor Day.
This choice has three errors
1: Parallelism errors as explained in Choice B
2: SV-Number error – entire nation and world is plural subject and hence use of singular “observes” is incorrect.

e) Whereas, Arbor Day was first observed along with the plantation of more than a million trees in Nebraska, now the entire nation and the world observe Arbor Day
This choice has parallelism errors as explained in Choice B.
It also changes the meaning of the sentence by stating “arbor day was first observed along with the plantation of…”. This implies as if “Arbor day” and “plantation of trees” are two separate events that took place in Nebraska.

a) too wordy, also doesn't seem right to me. - wrong
b) the mail fact of the sentence is that Arbor day was first observed in Nebraska, but the sentence in option B gives more emphasis to the planting of the trees, hence conflict in meaning - wrong
c) correctly emphasizes the observation of Arbor day in Nebraska, also the pronoun "it" correctly refers to Arbor day. - correct
d) same as B, planting of trees comes before observation in Nebraska, I don't agree with this. - wrong
e) same as B, planting of trees comes before observation in Nebraska, I don't agree with this. - wrong

forgive me is there is something wrong, please correct me if needed.

Kudos me if my post helped you. cheers.

Blueseas,

I agree with the Logical parallelism error in option B but i don't agree with the use of word PLANTATION in option C.
What is the source of this question?

I do have the same question. I eliminated C because of "plantation". I feel "plantation" shifts meaning a bit. Anyway, OA is OA.

hi pghai ,fameatop,

i dont think that use of plantation is wrong.

plantation: A plantation is a large agricultural property dedicated to planting a few crops on a large scale.
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/plantation
so it is actually an area where plants are grown.
now if we just replace plantation with area in correct option:

c) Whereas, Arbor Day was first observed in Nebraska with the area of more than a million trees, it is now observed throughout the nation and the world.

now it does make sense...we are comparing area of NEBRASKA with area all over the country.

any inputs..

Hi blueseas.

It's crystal clear now. +1 for you.

Best.

What is the source of this question?

I don't agree with the usage of plantation as it doesn't convey the right meaning.

Whereas, Arbor Day was first observed in Nebraska with the area of more than a million trees, it is now observed throughout the nation and the world.

This reasoning is flawed as per OE as the explanation for Option E is

It also changes the meaning of the sentence by stating “arbor day was first observed along with the plantation of…”. This implies as if “Arbor day” and “plantation of trees” are two separate events that took place in Nebraska.

Clearly OE is considering Plantation of trees to be an Event (not an area). That's clearly incorrect.

I looked for active and passive voice //lism errors in sentences. Only option C seemed to have the correct //lism construct. As for plantation, I dont think it changes the meaning of the sentence to an extent that we eliminate the option.
All in all, happy to get this right!

Great Explaintation Blueseas, I selected C, but I was confused between B and C. your explaination helped me to recollect the concept and application of it. The parallelism of active and passive voice.

Regards,
Amit

But which clause is subordinate clause and which is main clause in this sentence.

Whereas, Arbor Day was first observed in Nebraska with the plantation of more than a million trees, it is now observed throughout the nation and the world.

Whereas is a subordinating conjunction separated by comma, and I have never seen such construction before; it should not be comma separated.

I understand the Arbor Day is the day when you plant trees.
how can "plantation" be a correct comparison with "planting"?
"plantation" = area, place where people plant (noun)
"planting"/"plant" = an activity

Please enlighten me

I saw this in e-GMAT verbal review.

Has this appeared anywhere else? Not sure how GMAT-like this is...

a) Whereas, when first observed, more than a million trees were planted in Nebraska on Arbor Day, it is now observed throughout the nation and the world.
b) Whereas, Arbor Day was first observed with the planting of more than a million trees in Nebraska, now the entire nation and the world observe Arbor Day.
c) Whereas, Arbor Day was first observed in Nebraska with the plantation of more than a million trees, it is now observed throughout the nation and the world.
d) Whereas, Arbor Day was first observed with the planting of more than a million trees in Nebraska, now the entire nation and the world observes Arbor Day.
e) Whereas, Arbor Day was first observed along with the plantation of more than a million trees in Nebraska, now the entire nation and the world observe Arbor Day.



The subject of the modifying phrase shall not be more that one comma away ie the subject should be place next to the comma is the sentence is startingwith a modifying phrase.

The next thing to look for is that the 'throughout the country and the world' is plural and verb should have appropriate subject verb agreement.

Option C is the correct answer,

While C could be taken as the best choice as far as parallelism and comparison go as blueseas impressively points out, still the use of the word "plantation" rather than the gerund 'planting' is rather little disquieting. Plantation chiefly refers to a place where a good number of plants are grown while 'planting', the gerund aptly means the physical act of planting. Both are subtly different from each other in meaning. We need 'planting' rather than 'plantation'. If we do not take this error of diction seriously, then C is ok.

The original sentence did not say the Arbor Day was first observed in Nebraska, but OA did it. Doesn't it change meaning?
It might happen that Arbor Day was first observed in Alaska, but due to some unavoidable circumstances, tree planting was done in Nebraska.

If you say Arbor Day was observed in Alaska, then the phrase "when first observed" doesn't modify anything. In that case we would call this as a dangling modifier and the whole sentence would become run-on.

You are saying whereas , when first observed,... "what was first observed?" is not clear. Hence, OA can change the meaning of the sentence when the original sentence doesn't convey the right meaning.