Last visit was: 19 Nov 2025, 06:29 It is currently 19 Nov 2025, 06:29
Home
GMAT
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Rewards
Chat
My Profile
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.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
   1   2   3 
805+ Level|   Clauses|   Comparisons|      
avatar
AG95
avatar
Joined: 15 Jun 2019
Last visit: 21 May 2022
Posts: 32
Own Kudos:
10
Given Kudos: 306
Location: United States (PA)
Posts: 32
Kudos: 10
While the Eastern Whip-poor-will a nocturnal bird that feeds 22 May 2021, 19:56
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi VeritasKarishma / GMATNinja , Can you please explain what 'They' is referring to in option D/E. I didn't mark these two options because of use of they.

VeritasKarishma
PiyushK
Although E conveys best meaning, E is not 100% correct. A prepositional phrase is placed between two clauses and such construction is technically ambiguous. phrase is eligible to modify any clause.

Subordinate clause, prepositional phrase, main clause.

While is a subordinate conjunction connecting a subordinate clause with the main clause.

While Sub Clause, Main Clause.

While the Eastern and the Common appear equal in size when they are seen on a branch or in a nest, in the air, the Common Nighthawk appears much larger because of its greater wingspan.

For more on conjunctions, check:
https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#/2014/06 ... -the-gmat/
Show more
User avatar
KarishmaB
User avatar
Joined: 16 Oct 2010
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 16,267
Own Kudos:
76,993
Given Kudos: 482
Location: Pune, India
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 16,267
Kudos: 76,993
While the Eastern Whip-poor-will a nocturnal bird that feeds 24 May 2021, 00:31
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
AG95
Hi VeritasKarishma / GMATNinja , Can you please explain what 'They' is referring to in option D/E. I didn't mark these two options because of use of they.

VeritasKarishma
PiyushK
Although E conveys best meaning, E is not 100% correct. A prepositional phrase is placed between two clauses and such construction is technically ambiguous. phrase is eligible to modify any clause.

Subordinate clause, prepositional phrase, main clause.

While is a subordinate conjunction connecting a subordinate clause with the main clause.

While Sub Clause, Main Clause.

While the Eastern and the Common appear equal in size when they are seen on a branch or in a nest, in the air, the Common Nighthawk appears much larger because of its greater wingspan.

For more on conjunctions, check:
https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#/2014/06 ... -the-gmat/
Show more

Use of 'they' is fine. Remove non essential modifiers and replace complicated names with variables to understand the structure of the sentence. The sentence boils down to:

While A and B appear equal in size when they are ... (here, 'they' refers to A and B)
Correct.

"appear equal in size to each other" has redundancy. When we say "They are equal in size," we don't need to add "to each other". It's redundant. When "they are equal," it means they are equal to each other. So (D) is not correct.
User avatar
kntombat
User avatar
Retired Moderator
Joined: 28 Feb 2020
Last visit: 19 Jan 2023
Posts: 900
Own Kudos:
519
Given Kudos: 839
Location: India
WE:Other (Other)
Posts: 900
Kudos: 519
While the Eastern Whip-poor-will a nocturnal bird that feeds 08 Aug 2021, 03:40
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
IanStewart, I would love to hear your take on this question.
User avatar
IanStewart
User avatar
GMAT Tutor
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 4,145
Own Kudos:
10,986
 [1]
Given Kudos: 99
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 4,145
Kudos: 10,986
 [1]
While the Eastern Whip-poor-will a nocturnal bird that feeds 08 Aug 2021, 10:42
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
kntombat
IanStewart, I would love to hear your take on this question.
Show more

I'm not sure I have anything interesting to say about it :)

We say "x and y are equal", and there's no reason to say "x and y are equal to each other", so that alone makes C or E better than the other choices. But the other choices also suggest a second meaning that isn't intended: "the two birds appear to each other that they are equal in size". The sentence is presumably describing how the birds look to people, and not how the birds look to each other.

I don't see any major issues with either C or E, except for that semicolon in C, which is clearly wrong (though easy to miss on a quick read). I don't think I've seen the actual GMAT ever take a perfectly good answer choice in SC, and turn it into a wrong answer just by replacing a comma with a semicolon -- that seems more a test of eyesight than of anything else. I think there's one superfluous comma in answer E, but it's not really wrong, just something I'd delete if I was editing it.
User avatar
martinfzb
User avatar
Joined: 05 Sep 2022
Last visit: 19 Dec 2022
Posts: 24
Own Kudos:
17
Given Kudos: 1
Posts: 24
Kudos: 17
While the Eastern Whip-poor-will a nocturnal bird that feeds 22 Oct 2022, 17:52
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Due to is used to modify noun and because of is used to modify verb. Here, for this case , it should use because of.
to make the sentence simple without too much modifiers, it can be clear on the correct choice on E

While the WP and the CN appear equal in size to each other when sitting on a branch , the CN appears much larger because of its greater wingspan.
User avatar
VerbalBot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 01 Oct 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 18,832
Own Kudos:
986
Posts: 18,832
Kudos: 986
While the Eastern Whip-poor-will a nocturnal bird that feeds 30 Nov 2023, 06:58
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
   1   2   3 
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7443 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
231 posts
miag
188 posts