* Comma splice problem

[arul.bharath]

The people of the ancient Assyrian Empire were renowned warriors, although they also crafted some of the best-preserved ancient art.
Consider the agreement between the subject and verb.
A) were renowned warriors, although they also crafted
B) had been renowned warriors, although they also crafted
C) were renowned warriors, and also crafted
D) was renowned warriors, although they also crafted
E) were renowned warriors, but also crafting

Is there a comma splice in option C??? can someone please explain comma splice error.. and also which is the best fit? i thought option C was the best fit but the answers showed option A as the best fir. Are the usage of the words although and also not redundant in option A??

[vivek.bs2010]

Option A seems right.
I'm sorry I am not aware of the varied 'comma splice', 'comma fanboi' concepts, so I'll skip it. We can wait for some experts to answer that. However, my reasoning for picking A is the following -
A - looks good. Will come back to it later.
Eliminate B - Incorrect use of past perfect. No prior past action has been mentioned in the sentence.
C - looks ok, but slightly awkward. Will come back later.
Eliminate D - S-V disagreement with 'was'. It should be 'were'
Eliminate E - 'Crafting' creates parallelism error. Also no prior 'not only' for the 'but also' .

Between A and C, I'm suddenly beginning to dislike C because of the 'and also crafted' usage. This splits the idea of the Assyrian people crafting some cool stuff into an independent idea, but grammatically, it doesn't end up being an independent clause. We want the sentence to showcase the fact that the Assyrians were famed warriors even though they crafted a lot of awesome ancient art.
(A) does this, along with no errors.

[saptadeepc]

The people of the ancient Assyrian Empire were renowned warriors, although they also crafted some of the best-preserved ancient art.
Consider the agreement between the subject and verb.
A) were renowned warriors, although they also crafted
B) had been renowned warriors, although they also crafted
C) were renowned warriors, and also crafted
D) was renowned warriors, although they also crafted
E) were renowned warriors, but also crafting

Is there a comma splice in option C??? can someone please explain comma splice error.. and also which is the best fit? i thought option C was the best fit but the answers showed option A as the best fir. Are the usage of the words although and also not redundant in option A??

I think A is the best fit.

"Although" introduces a subordinate clause. This problem may be easier, if the subordinate comes before the independent sentence. Therefore I just reversed the place of the subordinate and complete clause to sort the answer

A : The people of the ancient Assyrian Empire were renowned warriors, although they also crafted some of the best-preserved ancient art.

changed to

Although they also crafted some of the best-preserved ancient art, the people of the ancient Assyrian Empire were renowned warriors

similarly for others, if you invert and put the options in the statement, it may be easier.

I predict I will draw a lot of flak for this analysis. But, I found it easier to reason.

[abemartin87]

The people of the ancient Assyrian Empire were renowned warriors, although they also crafted some of the best-preserved ancient art.
Consider the agreement between the subject and verb.
A) were renowned warriors, although they also crafted
B) had been renowned warriors, although they also crafted
C) were renowned warriors, and also crafted
D) was renowned warriors, although they also crafted
E) were renowned warriors, but also crafting

Is there a comma splice in option C??? can someone please explain comma splice error.. and also which is the best fit? i thought option C was the best fit but the answers showed option A as the best fir. Are the usage of the words although and also not redundant in option A??

So I was split between (A) and (C). I think the reason (C) is incorrect is because its lack "they" - a subject.

were renowned warriors, and they also crafted

Therefore making the second clause truly an independent clause.

Am I wrong?

[cooldude1986]

The problem is not about comma splice, it is about parallelism.
As someone pointed, the subject "they" is required after "and".

Actually, in the main clause, the word "renowned" is an adjective to warriors, which is a noun.

We need a parallelism of nouns than anything else while joining two sentences with any conjunction in this case.

Even if you want to rewrite this sentence using "and", the sentence will be best written this way:

The people of the ancient Assyrian Empire were renowned warriors, and they crafted some of the best-preserved ancient art.
(The comma is optional)

Note: "were" used in the first clause expresses what the subject "is". Refer Manhattan Study Guide. Chapter on "Parallelisms"

[abemartin87]

The people of the ancient Assyrian Empire were renowned warriors, although they also crafted some of the best-preserved ancient art.
.
A) were renowned warriors, although they also crafted
B) had been renowned warriors, although they also crafted
C) were renowned warriors, and also crafted
D) was renowned warriors, although they also crafted
E) were renowned warriors, but also crafting


Great Analysis Cooldude1986.

Now that we know the "they" is important in option (C), it begs the questions "When can the subject be an ellipsis?"

When I first read option (C) I subconsciousnessly did this:

The people of the ancient Assyrian Empire were renowned warriors, and (THE PEOPLE) also crafted some of the best-preserved ancient art.

I assumed that the subject "The people" would be immediatly carried over. But this is'nt the case. Why? My speculation is the change of tense.

The first clause is in present, while the second is in the past.

Therefore the RULE is:

If we have parraleleism in a subject and there is a change of tense, THE SUBJECT MUST BE REPEATED.

Eg. John is walking to the park and John is eating a hotdog.

We don't have to repeat the same subject twice in this sentence because both verbs are in the present tense verb.

Eg. John is walking to the park and John will eat a hotdog.

WE NEED TO REPEAT JOHN A SECOND TIME BECAUSE WE ARE CHANGING TENSE.

Am I correct in my analysis guys? Can someone verify. Thank you in advance!

[abemartin87]

Hold on!!

Can we have an ellipsis with another brand new clause?

Sure we can have an ellipsis in a parallel construction

X,Y, and Z .......E.g. John is happy, swell, and danndy.

But can the ellipsis subject carry over into a BRAND NEW INDEPENDENT CLAUSE?

Michelangelo was renowned for his work, and sculpted the famous piece "the David". Incorrect

These are two independent clauses set of by "Comma + and" not in a parallel construction. Therefore, the subject doesnt carry over and must be repeated.

Michelangelo was renowned for his work, and (Michelangelo) sculpted the famous piece "the David". Correct

However, I have seen this sentence before:

In comparison with tropical radar systems, subtropical radar systems have a relatively broad zone of maximum winds located farther from the center, and typically have a less symmetric wind field.

Wierd because the Subtropical systems is carried over into the next clause.

Which is it? Help MGMAT instructors!! For I am a mere peasant and thou are my masters!!

[RonPurewal]

this problem definitely does not look like an official gmat prep problem. remember, this folder of the forum is reserved for problems from the gmat prep software only.

in the next week or so, please do one of the following:

* if this problem is actually from the gmat prep software (unlikely), then please upload a screenshot. you may post the screenshot directly, or you may upload it to an image hosting site such as postimage.org and then link to it.

* if, as i suspect, this problem is NOT from the gmat prep software, please post a new thread in the general verbal folder, per the forum rules.
when you post a new thread, be sure to mention the original source of this problem. thanks.