Last visit was: 19 Nov 2025, 05:16 It is currently 19 Nov 2025, 05:16
Close
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

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Sub 505 Level|   Parallelism|               
User avatar
BillyZ
User avatar
Current Student
Joined: 14 Nov 2016
Last visit: 03 May 2025
Posts: 1,143
Own Kudos:
22,215
 [49]
Given Kudos: 926
Location: Malaysia
Concentration: General Management, Strategy
GMAT 1: 750 Q51 V40 (Online)
GPA: 3.53
Products:
4
Kudos
Add Kudos
44
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Most Helpful Reply
User avatar
MartyTargetTestPrep
User avatar
Target Test Prep Representative
Joined: 24 Nov 2014
Last visit: 11 Aug 2023
Posts: 3,476
Own Kudos:
5,579
 [7]
Given Kudos: 1,430
Status:Chief Curriculum and Content Architect
Affiliations: Target Test Prep
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Posts: 3,476
Kudos: 5,579
 [7]
5
Kudos
Add Kudos
2
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
General Discussion
User avatar
US09
Joined: 15 Oct 2017
Last visit: 06 Apr 2021
Posts: 247
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 338
GMAT 1: 560 Q42 V25
GMAT 2: 570 Q43 V27
GMAT 3: 710 Q49 V39
Products:
GMAT 3: 710 Q49 V39
Posts: 247
Kudos: 302
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
Tulkin987
Joined: 28 Nov 2017
Last visit: 08 Sep 2020
Posts: 108
Own Kudos:
168
 [4]
Given Kudos: 135
Location: Uzbekistan
Posts: 108
Kudos: 168
 [4]
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
hazelnut
SC01481
While Hollywood makes films primarily for entertainment, the motion picture was not first developed to entertain, but it was to allow detailed analysis of animal motion.

A. was not first developed to entertain, but it was

B. was developed not first to entertain, but it was

C. was first developed not to entertain, but

D. did not first develop for entertainment, but

E. did not first develop for entertainment, but it was

Only C maintains the correct idiom usage: not to entertain, but to allow
User avatar
hiranmay
Joined: 12 Dec 2015
Last visit: 22 Jun 2024
Posts: 459
Own Kudos:
560
 [1]
Given Kudos: 84
Posts: 459
Kudos: 560
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
While Hollywood makes films primarily for entertainment, the motion picture was not first developed to entertain, but it was to allow detailed analysis of animal motion.

A. was not first developed to entertain, but it was --> "not ... but" construction. not parallel

B. was developed not first to entertain, but it was --> not parallel

C. was first developed not to entertain, but --> correct

D. did not first develop for entertainment, but --> not parallel

E. did not first develop for entertainment, but it was --> not parallel
User avatar
GyMrAT
Joined: 14 Dec 2017
Last visit: 03 Nov 2020
Posts: 412
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 173
Location: India
Posts: 412
Kudos: 509
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Answer C. Not X But Y parallelism is correct.


Thanks,
GyM
User avatar
tejyr
Joined: 26 Dec 2017
Last visit: 24 Dec 2021
Posts: 113
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 109
Products:
Posts: 113
Kudos: 90
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
hazelnut
SC01481
While Hollywood makes films primarily for entertainment, the motion picture was not first developed to entertain, but it was to allow detailed analysis of animal motion.

A. was not first developed to entertain, but it was

B. was developed not first to entertain, but it was

C. was first developed not to entertain, but

D. did not first develop for entertainment, but

E. did not first develop for entertainment, but it was

IMO it is C by parallelism to entertain,to...
User avatar
vasuca10
User avatar
Current Student
Joined: 06 Feb 2016
Last visit: 23 Jul 2022
Posts: 238
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 148
Status:On the journey of achieving
Affiliations: Senior Manager, CA by profession, CFA(USA) Level 2
Location: India
Concentration: Finance, Finance
GMAT 1: 560 Q44 V23
GMAT 2: 530 Q39 V24
GMAT 3: 580 Q46 V24 (Online)
GMAT 4: 640 Q50 V26
GPA: 3.82
WE:Other (Commercial Banking)
Products:
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Option C as the perfect parallelism structure "NOT X BUT Y"
Rest all Options are violating parallelism
avatar
Abhishekrao12
Joined: 30 Jun 2019
Last visit: 21 Feb 2024
Posts: 52
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 74
Location: India
Concentration: Operations, Finance
WE:Engineering (Manufacturing)
Posts: 52
Kudos: 65
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
The OG tells that there is no clear antecedent to the pronoun it in this question. But I think that it clearly refers to motion picture.
User avatar
thangvietnam
Joined: 29 Jun 2017
Last visit: 09 Mar 2023
Posts: 768
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 2,198
Posts: 768
Kudos: 418
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
something about " allow"
I am allowed to speak
if I am permited to do something, the above pattern is fit.
but if you allow, not were allow, some action done by other persons which can or cant mentioned, we say
I allow speaking English in this country.
speaking is not done by I. it done by other persons not mentioned in the sentence.

our choice C mean
it allow an analysis.
it allow an action of analysis done by someone else.

these two patterns can confuse us when we are in the test room.
User avatar
ARIEN3228
Joined: 18 Jan 2018
Last visit: 28 Dec 2021
Posts: 144
Own Kudos:
334
 [1]
Given Kudos: 107
Location: India
Concentration: Operations, International Business
GPA: 3.27
WE:Operations (Other)
Posts: 144
Kudos: 334
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
While Hollywood makes films primarily for entertainment, the motion picture was not first developed to entertain, but it was to allow detailed analysis of animal motion.

Subject verb pair: the motion picture, was developed
The question is testing parallelism. Not X but Y.
X: first developed to entertain
Y: it was to allow detailed analysis of animal motion.

The way sentence is written, X and Y are not parallel.
Here X is a phrase, Y is an entire clause.

A. was not first developed to entertain, but it was


B. was developed not first to entertain, but it was

options A and B out.

C follows parallel structure Not to entertain but to allow detailed analysis of animal motion. X and Y are phrases.


C. was first developed not to entertain, but

D. did not first develop for entertainment, but - option D This is RUN ON sentence. Why? Main subject verb pair missing.

E. did not first develop for entertainment, but it was verb missing for subject the motion picture
avatar
lisk123
Joined: 24 Sep 2016
Last visit: 15 Jan 2022
Posts: 3
Own Kudos:
2
 [1]
Given Kudos: 41
Location: India
GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V41
GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V41
Posts: 3
Kudos: 2
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
While Hollywood makes films primarily for entertainment, the motion picture was not first developed to entertain, but it was to allow detailed analysis of animal motion.
(A) was not first developed to entertain, but it was
..but it(motion picture) was to allow..Nonsense
actual meaning: it was developed to allow..
(B) was developed not first to entertain, but it was
same as A
(C) was first developed not to entertain, but
parallelism: not to entertain but to .. : CORRECT
(D) did not first develop for entertainment, but
The meaning should be : the motion picture was developed...
(E) did not first develop for entertainment, but it was
Same as D
User avatar
deetsbeast
Joined: 23 Mar 2021
Last visit: 22 Jun 2022
Posts: 6
Own Kudos:
1
 [1]
Given Kudos: 12
Concentration: Strategy, Technology
Posts: 6
Kudos: 1
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
BillyZ
GMAT® Official Guide Verbal Review 2019

Practice Question
Question No.:
Online test bank question number : SC01481
While Hollywood makes films primarily for entertainment, the motion picture was not first developed to entertain, but it was to allow detailed analysis of animal motion.

(A) was not first developed to entertain, but it was

(B) was developed not first to entertain, but it was

(C) was first developed not to entertain, but

(D) did not first develop for entertainment, but

(E) did not first develop for entertainment, but it was

When I read this question, my mind first went to the "...,but ..."
I see this as the OG sentence was to have 2 independent clauses connected by a conjunction. Why is this structural rule disregarded for "not X but Y" ?? To me, the idiom should not have a comma in it. But since there are no options sans comma, it supports the idea of 2 independent clauses being joined by ",but"

Where did I go wrong?
User avatar
akmech
Joined: 10 Jul 2022
Last visit: 29 Mar 2023
Posts: 3
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 21
Location: India
GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V40
GPA: 3.92
GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V40
Posts: 3
Kudos: 1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
deetsbeast
BillyZ
GMAT® Official Guide Verbal Review 2019

Practice Question
Question No.:
Online test bank question number : SC01481
While Hollywood makes films primarily for entertainment, the motion picture was not first developed to entertain, but it was to allow detailed analysis of animal motion.

(A) was not first developed to entertain, but it was

(B) was developed not first to entertain, but it was

(C) was first developed not to entertain, but

(D) did not first develop for entertainment, but

(E) did not first develop for entertainment, but it was

When I read this question, my mind first went to the "...,but ..."
I see this as the OG sentence was to have 2 independent clauses connected by a conjunction. Why is this structural rule disregarded for "not X but Y" ?? To me, the idiom should not have a comma in it. But since there are no options sans comma, it supports the idea of 2 independent clauses being joined by ",but"

Where did I go wrong?


Similar question GMATNinja egmat @

Does comma + FANBOYS require an independent clause. Is comma in the OA even required
User avatar
ExpertsGlobal5
User avatar
Experts' Global Representative
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,195
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 43
Location: India
GMAT Date: 11-01-2019
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 5,195
Kudos: 4,765
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
akmech
deetsbeast
BillyZ
GMAT® Official Guide Verbal Review 2019

Practice Question
Question No.:
Online test bank question number : SC01481
While Hollywood makes films primarily for entertainment, the motion picture was not first developed to entertain, but it was to allow detailed analysis of animal motion.

(A) was not first developed to entertain, but it was

(B) was developed not first to entertain, but it was

(C) was first developed not to entertain, but

(D) did not first develop for entertainment, but

(E) did not first develop for entertainment, but it was

When I read this question, my mind first went to the "...,but ..."
I see this as the OG sentence was to have 2 independent clauses connected by a conjunction. Why is this structural rule disregarded for "not X but Y" ?? To me, the idiom should not have a comma in it. But since there are no options sans comma, it supports the idea of 2 independent clauses being joined by ",but"

Where did I go wrong?


Similar question GMATNinja egmat @

Does comma + FANBOYS require an independent clause. Is comma in the OA even required

Hello akmech,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, yes; if "comma + FANBOYS" is used to link two clauses, they must both be independent clauses.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
User avatar
woohoo921
Joined: 04 Jun 2020
Last visit: 17 Mar 2023
Posts: 516
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 623
Posts: 516
Kudos: 142
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
To answer your query, yes; if "comma + FANBOYS" is used to link two clauses, they must both be independent clauses.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team[/quote]

ExpertsGlobal5

I hope that you are having a wonderful week!

I have a similar question to others on the form that I am still left a bit confused on. You confirmed that you always need a comma before FANBOYS for connecting two independent clauses.

However, why is the comma needed in the correct answer? Is it just stylistic? I realize that you should NOT focus on comma usage on the GMAT in isolation, but this really threw me off, as I was looking for a FANBOYS and complete independent clause instead of Choice B.
User avatar
egmat
User avatar
e-GMAT Representative
Joined: 02 Nov 2011
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,108
Own Kudos:
32,884
 [1]
Given Kudos: 700
GMAT Date: 08-19-2020
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 5,108
Kudos: 32,884
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hey woohoo921

Happy to help.

Yes, it is true that "when two ICs are connected with FANBOYS, the conjunction must be preceded by a comma". But, this does NOT mean that every time we see a "Comma + FANBOYS", it has to be followed by an IC. FANBOYS also connect a list of phrases and even a list of words. And, thanks to the Oxford Comma Rule, you will find "comma + FANBOYS" right before the last entity in every list of three or more words, phrases, or clauses. For example:

a. I play cricket, football, and basketball.

So, should we expect an IC after ", and"? No, right?



Yes, the use of the comma in choice C can be called purely stylistic. Choice C contains the correlative connector "not (x) but (y)". Now, we could choose to separate the not-phrase from the but-phrase with a comma if each phrase is long enough or if we wish demarcate the end of the not-phrase.


There are much worse errors in the other choices to be worrying about the comma in choice C. So, the second take-away from this question is to learn to prioritize errors in GMAT SC. There are some errors that are more deterministic than others. Try to create a mental note of that hierarchy.


I hope this helps improve your understanding.

Happy Learning!


Abhishek
User avatar
ExpertsGlobal5
User avatar
Experts' Global Representative
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,195
Own Kudos:
4,765
 [1]
Given Kudos: 43
Location: India
GMAT Date: 11-01-2019
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 5,195
Kudos: 4,765
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
woohoo921
To answer your query, yes; if "comma + FANBOYS" is used to link two clauses, they must both be independent clauses.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

ExpertsGlobal5

I hope that you are having a wonderful week!

I have a similar question to others on the form that I am still left a bit confused on. You confirmed that you always need a comma before FANBOYS for connecting two independent clauses.

However, why is the comma needed in the correct answer? Is it just stylistic? I realize that you should NOT focus on comma usage on the GMAT in isolation, but this really threw me off, as I was looking for a FANBOYS and complete independent clause instead of Choice B.[/quote]

Hello woohoo921,

We hope this finds you well.

We just wanted to chime in to confirm that, as egmat has written above, the comma is purely stylistic in Option C.

We can consider this usage part of the same category of flaws that redundancy belongs to - flaws that make the answer choice slightly worse but are not deal breakers or grammatically incorrect.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
Moderators:
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7443 posts
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
231 posts
188 posts