SC - The survival of coral colonies - 'being'

[poonamchiK]

The survival of coral colonies, which are composed of innumerable tiny polyps living in a symbiotic relationship with brilliantly colored algae, are being threatened, experts say, not only by pollutants like agricultural runoff, oil slicks, and trash, but also by dropped anchors, probing divers, and global warming.

(A) are being threatened, experts say, not only by pollutants like
(B) are being threatened, experts say, by not only pollutants such as
(C) is not only being threatened, experts say, by pollutants such as
(D) is not only being threatened, experts say, by pollutants like
(E) is being threatened, experts say, not only by pollutants such as

I think this is a good question which doesnt appear on the forums. I was confused b/w C and E. I chose an C.

OA : E.
But i think now C is making an improper comparison. is tht correct to say?

P

[singh.181]

But i think now C is making an improper comparison. is tht correct to say?
P

(C) is not only being threatened, experts say, by pollutants such as
(E) is being threatened, experts say, not only by pollutants such as

When we "not only X but also Y" construction, we have to make sure that X and Y are logically and grammatically parallel.
If you have noticed in the non-underlined part, "but also" is followed by "by", so "not only" must also be followed by "by".

(C) breaks the parallelism. "not only" is not followed by "by" instead by "being threatened". So Incorrect.

(E) maintains the parallelism.

[RonPurewal]

But i think now C is making an improper comparison. is tht correct to say?
P

(C) is not only being threatened, experts say, by pollutants such as
(E) is being threatened, experts say, not only by pollutants such as

When we "not only X but also Y" construction, we have to make sure that X and Y are logically and grammatically parallel.
If you have noticed in the non-underlined part, "but also" is followed by "by", so "not only" must also be followed by "by".

(C) breaks the parallelism. "not only" is not followed by "by" instead by "being threatened". So Incorrect.

(E) maintains the parallelism.

nicely explained!

[agha79]

I narrowed this down to A & E. I chose "A" because I thought "colonies" which is plural is the subject here and we should use "are." However, this is wrong. What am I missing?

[RonPurewal]

I narrowed this down to A & E. I chose "A" because I thought "colonies" which is plural is the subject here and we should use "are." However, this is wrong. What am I missing?

nope -- subject is "The survival of coral colonies", not just "coral colonies".
note that "of coral colonies" is a prepositional phrase -- a type of modifier -- and so is disqualified from being the subject.