Fraternal Twins

[gnc88]

I can't find any post relating to this question.


The fact of some fraternal twins resembling each other greatly and others looking quite dissimilar highlights an interesting and often overlooked feature of fraternal-twin pairs, namely they vary considerably on a spectrum of genetic relatedness.
A. The fact of some fraternal twins resembling each other greatly and others looking quite dissimilar highlights an interesting and often overlooked feature of fraternal-twin pairs, namely they vary considerably
B. That some fraternal twins resemble each other greatly while others look quite dissimilar highlights an interesting and often overlooked feature of fraternal-twin pairs, namely that they vary considerably
C. With some fraternal twins resembling each other greatly and others looking quite dissimilar, it highlights an interesting and often overlooked feature of fraternal-twin pairs, namely considerable variation
D. With some fraternal twins resembling each other greatly and others looking quite dissimilar, it is a fact that highlights an interesting and often overlooked feature of fraternal-twin pairs, namely a considerable variation
E. Because some fraternal twins resemble each other greatly and others look quite dissimilar, this fact highlights an interesting and often overlooked feature of fraternal-twin pairs, namely they vary considerably

Can someone help to explain step-by-step method to get the right answer?

See Pic below for proof of question from GMATPrep.
http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/3170/fraternaltwinsof8.jpg

[gnc88]

Sorry. Forgot to underline the words.


The fact of some fraternal twins resembling each other greatly and others looking quite dissimilar highlights an interesting and often overlooked feature of fraternal-twin pairs, namely they vary considerably on a spectrum of genetic relatedness.
A. The fact of some fraternal twins resembling each other greatly and others looking quite dissimilar highlights an interesting and often overlooked feature of fraternal-twin pairs, namely they vary considerably
B. That some fraternal twins resemble each other greatly while others look quite dissimilar highlights an interesting and often overlooked feature of fraternal-twin pairs, namely that they vary considerably
C. With some fraternal twins resembling each other greatly and others looking quite dissimilar, it highlights an interesting and often overlooked feature of fraternal-twin pairs, namely considerable variation
D. With some fraternal twins resembling each other greatly and others looking quite dissimilar, it is a fact that highlights an interesting and often overlooked feature of fraternal-twin pairs, namely a considerable variation
E. Because some fraternal twins resemble each other greatly and others look quite dissimilar, this fact highlights an interesting and often overlooked feature of fraternal-twin pairs, namely they vary considerably

Can someone help to explain step-by-step method to get the right answer?

See Pic below for proof of question from GMATPrep.
http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/3170 ... insof8.jpg

[RonPurewal]

here are some splits.

* "namely" must be used either before a noun or before a noun phrase / clause.
you can't use it directly before an independent clause.
because of this principle, you can't say "namely they vary...". however, "namely that they vary..." and "namely considerable variation" are both fine.
this kills (a) and (e).

* "the fact of X doing Y" is universally incorrect.
this kills (a).

* the sentence openers starting with "with" are incorrect. to work properly, they'd have to be followed by a subject that's actually "with" those things.
example: with five all-state players in its backfield, ballard high looks to shut down opposing offenses completely --> this makes sense, because ballard high actually has five all-state players in its backfield, thus justifying the use of "with". there's no corresponding sense of possession / belonging here.
this kills (c) and (d).

* the structure of choice (e) indicates that "this fact" is something other than the cited fact about fraternal twins' resemblance.
that kills (e).

* "it" is a pronoun with no antecedent in (c). (by contrast, in (d), "it" is fine because it's part of the special construction "it is a fact that...", which behaves in the same manner as constructions such as "it is surprising that...").

--

the correct answer is (b).

make sure that you understand that "that X does Y" is a noun clause, and can function as a noun; indeed, it's the subject of the sentence in the correct answer choice.

[goelmohit2002]

* the structure of choice (e) indicates that "this fact" is something other than the cited fact about fraternal twins' resemblance.
that kills (e).

Hi Ron,

Can you please tell a bit more about "this" demonstrative pronoun usage....in what conditions it is correct and in what conditions it is wrong....

Manhattan SC guide 4th edition does not seem to be talking about the same and it seems to be tested quite frequently in GMAT.

Thanks
Mohit

[goelmohit2002]

* "the fact of X doing Y" is universally incorrect.
this kills (a).

Hi Ron,

Can you please tell more about this rule ?

Does it mean that "the fact" is always wrong in GMAT ?

if no, then can you please tell under what circumstances "the fact" is wrong and under what circumstances it is correct ?

Thanks
Mohit

[goelmohit2002]

* the structure of choice (e) indicates that "this fact" is something other than the cited fact about fraternal twins' resemblance.
that kills (e).

Hi Ron,

Just one small doubt.....

Can you please tell can't we kick out E based on the fact that there is no noun referent to which "this" can refer.....

I guess "this" needs to refer to proper noun and not the phrase("because blah blah....")

Kindly help !!!!

[RonPurewal]

* "the fact of X doing Y" is universally incorrect.
this kills (a).

Hi Ron,

Can you please tell more about this rule ?

Does it mean that "the fact" is always wrong in GMAT ?

if no, then can you please tell under what circumstances "the fact" is wrong and under what circumstances it is correct ?

Thanks
Mohit

you should use "the fact that...", followed by a normal independent clause.

i.e.,
i was surprised by the fact that no one has ever won this game.

(note that "no one has ever won this game" would be an independent clause by itself)

[RonPurewal]

* the structure of choice (e) indicates that "this fact" is something other than the cited fact about fraternal twins' resemblance.
that kills (e).

Hi Ron,

Just one small doubt.....

Can you please tell can't we kick out E based on the fact that there is no noun referent to which "this" can refer.....

I guess "this" needs to refer to proper noun and not the phrase("because blah blah....")

Kindly help !!!!

no.
in (e), "this" is an adjective (this fact...).

by the way, it's ALWAYS wrong to use "this" as a pronoun in formal english. so if you see "this is...", then you can just cross that choice out.

[herogmat]

* the structure of choice (e) indicates that "this fact" is something other than the cited fact about fraternal twins' resemblance.
that kills (e).

Hi Ron,

Just one small doubt.....

Can you please tell can't we kick out E based on the fact that there is no noun referent to which "this" can refer.....

I guess "this" needs to refer to proper noun and not the phrase("because blah blah....")

Kindly help !!!!

no.
in (e), "this" is an adjective (this fact...).

by the way, it's ALWAYS wrong to use "this" as a pronoun in formal english. so if you see "this is...", then you can just cross that choice out.

Ron, can you give an example about the wrong usage of 'this' ?

[RonPurewal]

Ron, can you give an example about the wrong usage of 'this' ?

anything in which "this" is used as a noun is incorrect. if you see "this is..."; "this shows that"; "this VERB" in general, then it's wrong.

the only acceptable use of "this" in formal written english is as an adjective: this fact, this predator, this notion, etc.

[herogmat]

Ron, can you give an example about the wrong usage of 'this' ?

anything in which "this" is used as a noun is incorrect. if you see "this is..."; "this shows that"; "this VERB" in general, then it's wrong.

the only acceptable use of "this" in formal written english is as an adjective: this fact, this predator, this notion, etc.

Thanks. We see lot of usages such as "This is to inform you ..." in formal written english. Can you please confirm if this construction is not correct ?

[herogmat]

Ron, can you please clarify ?

[RonPurewal]

Thanks. We see lot of usages such as "This is to inform you ..." in formal written english. Can you please confirm if this construction is not correct ?

technically incorrect. it should still be this letter, this memo, etc.

also, realize that you've gotten completely off the GMAT track with this sort of example. not only is the second person never used on the test (ALL sentences are third person only), but, also, the test would never test you on an "announcement" or "memo" type sentence.

[herogmat]

Thanks. We see lot of usages such as "This is to inform you ..." in formal written english. Can you please confirm if this construction is not correct ?

technically incorrect. it should still be this letter, this memo, etc.

also, realize that you've gotten completely off the GMAT track with this sort of example. not only is the second person never used on the test (ALL sentences are third person only), but, also, the test would never test you on an "announcement" or "memo" type sentence.

hmm :-) ok.

[RonPurewal]

Thanks. We see lot of usages such as "This is to inform you ..." in formal written english. Can you please confirm if this construction is not correct ?

technically incorrect. it should still be this letter, this memo, etc.

also, realize that you've gotten completely off the GMAT track with this sort of example. not only is the second person never used on the test (ALL sentences are third person only), but, also, the test would never test you on an "announcement" or "memo" type sentence.

hmm :-) ok.

it's important to realize the scope and limitations of the exam, in case you ever decide to study from third-party resources.