GMAT prep SC help

[gt7er]

The human nervous system and a telephone system superficially resemble each other, not only because the former carries information in the form of electrical impulses and because all of its neural pathways converge in the brain and spinal cord, which together form a kind of central exchange.

A.
B. The human nervous system and a telephone system bear a superficial resemblance because they both carry
c. the human nervous system bears a superficial resemblance to a telephone system both because the former carries
d. superfically, a telephone system resembles the human nervous system both because they carry
e. there is a superficial resemblance between a telephone system and the human nervous system, not only because they both carry

C is correct but i dont understand how this part of the statement makes sense "the human nervous system bears a superficial resemblance to a telephone system both "...the "both" in there is throwing me off. wouldnt it be more correct to leave 'both' out of the sentence? I know in this case C is the best answer...but i didnt think that was even correct...

[RonPurewal]

The human nervous system and a telephone system superficially resemble each other, not only because the former carries information in the form of electrical impulses and because all of its neural pathways converge in the brain and spinal cord, which together form a kind of central exchange.

A.
B. The human nervous system and a telephone system bear a superficial resemblance because they both carry
c. the human nervous system bears a superficial resemblance to a telephone system both because the former carries
d. superfically, a telephone system resembles the human nervous system both because they carry
e. there is a superficial resemblance between a telephone system and the human nervous system, not only because they both carry

C is correct but i dont understand how this part of the statement makes sense "the human nervous system bears a superficial resemblance to a telephone system both "...the "both" in there is throwing me off. wouldnt it be more correct to leave 'both' out of the sentence? I know in this case C is the best answer...but i didnt think that was even correct...

i see your point, but, no, the sentence is fine. it has perfect parallelism, and it uses the construction 'both ... and' in an acceptable manner.

remember that the name of the game is not picking a perfect sentence; it's picking the best sentence from the available choices, which may, in the worst cases, mean that you have to pick the least imperfect sentence.

as you've said, you already recognize that choice c is the best of the lot; therefore, you should close your eyes, bite down hard, and pick it.

[Guest]

Can someone explain why answer B is incorrect/answer C is correct?


Thanks ~

[Sajay]

Choice B is wrong because it implies that "The human nervous system" and "The telephone system" both have neural pathways that converge in the brain and spinal cord. Choice C corrects this by using "because the former carries " refering only to the human nervous system

[RonPurewal]

Choice B is wrong because it implies that "The human nervous system" and "The telephone system" both have neural pathways that converge in the brain and spinal cord. Choice C corrects this by using "because the former carries " refering only to the human nervous system

correct.

also, in (b), the pronoun "its" is completely stranded; there's no antecedent for it anywhere.
takeaway:
if a sentence contains a COMPOUND NOUN (X and Y), you CANNOT use a pronoun to refer to just X or just Y, unless you use "the former" or "the latter" to make the distinction explicit.

* see #109 in the yellow og11. in that problem, all four of the incorrect answers try to use the singular pronoun "his" to refer to 1/2 of a compound noun. that's forbidden.
DO NOT post additional details of that problem here.

* this rule still holds even if X and Y take separate pronouns.
for instance:
joe and jane both have prestigious jobs, although her salary is much higher
would still be disallowed under the strict rules generally endorsed by the gmat, even though "her" can only refer to jane (since joe is male).
in this case, you'd just have to substitute "jane's" for "her".
that's the way it goes.

[zijing4546]

What is wrong with D?

[esledge]

What is wrong with D?

(D) has a problem that is similar to one in (B) and (E).
1. its is stranded with no clear antecedent, or worse, an apparent antecedent of telephone system, the subject of the clause.

...and an error unique to (D):
2. The meaning has changed from the intended human-nervous-system-is-like-a-telephone-system to the reverse. ("...a telephone system resembles the human nervous system...")

One might also argue that the beginning of the sentence is an odd place to put superficially. I think it is grammatically OK, as it is an adverbial modifier that would still correctly refer to resembles. It is marginally better to place the words together, as the other choices do with superficially resemble or superficial resemblance.

[goelmohit2002]

What is wrong with D?

(D) has a problem that is similar to one in (B) and (E).
1. its is stranded with no clear antecedent, or worse, an apparent antecedent of telephone system, the subject of the clause.

...and an error unique to (D):
2. The meaning has changed from the intended human-nervous-system-is-like-a-telephone-system to the reverse. ("...a telephone system resembles the human nervous system...")

One might also argue that the beginning of the sentence is an odd place to put superficially. I think it is grammatically OK, as it is an adverbial modifier that would still correctly refer to resembles. It is marginally better to place the words together, as the other choices do with superficially resemble or superficial resemblance.

Hi Emily,

IMO Another problem in D is that there is no referent for they.....

Please correct me if I am wrong....

[RonPurewal]

Hi Emily,

IMO Another problem in D is that there is no referent for they.....

Please correct me if I am wrong....

i would agree with you here: it's technically incorrect to use "they" because there is no place in which both systems are mentioned at once (e.g., with "and").

[goelmohit2002]

Thanks Ron !!!

[RonPurewal]

Thanks Ron !!!

oh yeah

[NicoleT643]

Hi Emily,

IMO Another problem in D is that there is no referent for they.....

Please correct me if I am wrong....

i would agree with you here: it's technically incorrect to use "they" because there is no place in which both systems are mentioned at once (e.g., with "and").

Hi Ron, sorry to reopen this thread. Just one quick question, can "they" in choice BDE refers to "The human nervous system and a telephone system" ? For example: Jane and Joe are neighbors and they go to school together everyday. Please correct me if I make a mistake, thank you.

[RonPurewal]

in choices B and E, yes.

in choice D—the only choice about which that poster was asking—no, because those two nouns are separate singular nouns (they do not appear as "X and Y" in that choice).

[NicoleT643]

in choices B and E, yes.

in choice D—the only choice about which that poster was asking—no, because those two nouns are separate singular nouns (they do not appear as "X and Y" in that choice).

Thank you for your excellent explanation.

[RonPurewal]

you're welcome.