Galileo did not invent the telescope, but on hearing

[YanX767]

Dear instructors:
I s there someting wrong with the part of B which is "an optical instrument having been made"? Thanks.

[RonPurewal]

Dear instructors:
I s there someting wrong with the part of B which is "an optical instrument having been made"? Thanks.

^^ that's incorrect for the reason explained here:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/foru ... tml#p26678

[JbhB682]

I didn't articulate this as well as I could have.

Part of it is the word change and part of it is the placement change in the sentence.

I did not invent the GMAT, but on hearing that such a test had been made, I quickly developed my own practice GMAT software.

Even though I did not invent the GMAT, on hearing that such a test had been made, I quickly developed my own practice GMAT software.

The first one means: I didn't invent X, but I did invent something based on X. The implication here is that I'm just letting you know I didn't invent it, almost as an aside (extra piece of info).

The second one means: Even though I didn't invent X, I was still able to invent something based on X. The implication here is that there's some expectation that I should not have been able to invent something based on X because I didn't invent X myself - something like that. But despite the handicap that I didn't invent X, I was still able to invent something based on it. I overcame the difficulty!

Hi Stacey - Not sure i understand exactly the difference between Even Though and But

Between the 2 choices (completely made up) ...can i say, the 1st is better ?

a) Even though I don't like heights, I went skydiving
b) I don't like heights but I went skydiving

Also, can i infer

-- But : gives additional information about the previous clause ?

In this case, But is preferred because it gives additional information about fish

I dont like but fish do give a lot of protein to the body
even though i dont like fish, fish does give a lot of protein to the body

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

Well done for making up some examples. Experimenting with different examples is a good way to develop a deeper understanding of words and phrases. After all, that's what Stacey and I are doing: we haven't got a secret book of rules, but we have simply heard, used, and reflected on many examples.

I dont like but fish do give a lot of protein to the body

Good example. The word 'but' simply shows a contrast here: one reason you might not eat fish, and one reason you might.

even though i dont like fish, fish does give a lot of protein to the body

This doesn't work. The words 'even though' set up an expectation contrary to what comes next. The fact you don't like fish has got nothing to do with the fact that fish gives protein to the body. Here's a better example: 'Even though it was raining, we went to the park.' If it was raining, you'd expect us to stay inside, but the 'even though' shows that I'm going to confound that expectation.

[JbhB682]

Hi Sage - can this be a way to eliminate E ?

I see a COMMA + BUT in E (BUT is one of the FANBOY's)

Thus the clause prior to this has to be an independent clause

Thus, can i eliminate E because the following in red is not a proper sentence (red is not a full sentence as it doesnt have a verb)




Galileo did not invent the telescope, but on hearing, in 1609, that such an optical instrument had been made, he quickly built his own device from an organ pipe and spectacle lenses.
A. Galileo did not invent the telescope, but on hearing, in 1609, that such an optical instrument had been made, he
B. Galileo had not invented the telescope, but when he heard, in 1609, of such an optical instrument having been made,
C. Galileo, even though he had not invented the telescope, on hearing, in 1609, that such an optical instrument had been made, he
D. Even though Galileo did not invent the telescope, on hearing, in 1609, that such an optical instrument had been made,
E. Even though Galileo did not invent the telescope, but when he heard, in 1609, of such an optical instrument being made, he

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

That logic seems to work in this case, but it could get you into trouble elsewhere. Although 'but' is used as a conjunction for joining independent sentences together, it has other uses as well. For example I can use it as a simple parallel marker. Here's a correct sentence: 'Not liking his job but needing the money, Tim continued to work as a salesperson.'

I'd encourage you to eliminate answer E simply by seeing that the sentence has used both 'even though' and 'but' when we only need one of them.

[ZhengJ600]

Hi GMAT Experts,

One quick question on the usage of "on" here. Does "on" function the same way as "upon" as in "upon(on) graduating from Harvard, I will work as an investment banker"?

Thanks in advance.

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

Yes. As I understand it, 'upon' is simply a more formal word that means the same as 'on'.