SC---Whereas the honeybee’s stinger is heavily barbed...

[lamesis2106]

Whereas the honeybee’s stinger is heavily barbed and cannot be retracted from the skin, because the yellow jacket has a comparatively smooth stinger, it is therefore able to be pulled out and used again.
A. because the yellow jacket has a comparatively smooth stinger, it is therefore able to be pulled out and used
B. the comparative smoothness of the yellow jacket’s stinger allows them to pull it out and then can therefore use it
C. the yellow jacket’s stinger is comparatively smooth, and can therefore be pulled out and used
D. in comparison, the yellow jacket’s stinger is smooth, and thus able to be pulled out and used
E. in comparison, the yellow jacket has a smooth stinger, thus allowing it to be pulled out and used


I want to ask why D is wrong ?
Thanks :)

[sm.proclivity]

Whereas the honeybee’s stinger is heavily barbed and cannot be retracted from the skin, because the yellow jacket has a comparatively smooth stinger, it is therefore able to be pulled out and used again.
A. because the yellow jacket has a comparatively smooth stinger, it is therefore able to be pulled out and used
B. the comparative smoothness of the yellow jacket’s stinger allows them to pull it out and then can therefore use it
C. the yellow jacket’s stinger is comparatively smooth, and can therefore be pulled out and used
D. in comparison, the yellow jacket’s stinger is smooth, and thus able to be pulled out and used
E. in comparison, the yellow jacket has a smooth stinger, thus allowing it to be pulled out and used


I want to ask why D is wrong ?
Thanks :)

Whereas is an adverb clause which is used to compare two clauses in direct opposition to each other.
For instance,
Whereas i have got plenty of time, he has hardly got any time to submit the assignment.

Whereas orange tastes sweet, lemon tastes bitter.

Going by this theory my answer to yr asked question is option C.
Option C is simple and has got 2 simple clauses in direct opposition to each other, complying the rules of comparison or parallelism.

When it comes to option D, the use of term "comparison" at the end of first clause makes the first clause sound awkward. Hence option D can be eliminated.

Hope i am correct. Insights from experts please.

[RonPurewal]

nice long explanation here:
post26678.html#p26678

[lamesis2106]

Thanks Ron. You are the best :)

[RonPurewal]

Thanks Ron. You are the best :)

glad it helped

[chenche8827]

dear instructor
does the OA break the rule in page 190 of Manhattan SC 4th book. the rule said that you cannot use a comma before and to separate two verbs that have the same subject.


it seems that gmac approve this usage of ",+and"?

waiting for some explanations.
thx advance.

[RonPurewal]

dear instructor
does the OA break the rule in page 190 of Manhattan SC 4th book. the rule said that you cannot use a comma before and to separate two verbs that have the same subject.


it seems that gmac approve this usage of ",+and"?

waiting for some explanations.
thx advance.

ya, this isn't *normally* the way such things are punctuated, but there are lots and lots and lots and lots of exceptions to punctuation rules.
fortunately, punctuation is NOT tested on the gmat.

note the warning on the same page of the strat guide -- the warning that says "gmat doesn't test punctuation errors".
basically, you should use punctuation as a guideline for understanding sentences, but you should NOT try to eliminate choices by using "punctuation errors". that is not something that is tested on this exam.
one less thing for you to worry about!

[RUOYUNL702]

Hi,Ron,does "whereas" and "in comparison" convey the same meaning?redundant?

i wonder the error in D……

Thx!

[RonPurewal]

"Whereas" already implies that you're drawing a contrast between two different situations. So, "whereas" + "in comparison" = redundant.

[SiqiG54]

I'm not sure that's the same question from the link provided.


I got the correct answer for C, however I would like to learn:
1. does "whereas" has the same solid rule such as "as" for parallel comparison structure?

2. Possible for "can" to be parallel to " be able to"? or prefer not based on this to eliminate choices?

3. Is there anything wrong with D, besides the redundancy (in comparison and Whereas)

Thanks

[RonPurewal]

sorry, i don't understand question 1.
specifics?
examples?
context?

2. Possible for "can" to be parallel to " be able to"? or prefer not based on this to eliminate choices?

remember, there's no need to attempt judgments on individual choices.
you'll have other answer choices, and so you'll be able to make comparative ("beauty contest") decisions.

if you see this kind of thing in some choices, but you see "can" || "can" (or "cannot" || "can", as in this problem) in others, then you've got a clear winner and a clear loser.
don't make things harder than they have to be.

[RonPurewal]

incidentally—
regardless of parallelism, "is able to" is nonsense in this sentence. i.e., it makes no sense write that the stinger (= an inanimate object) has "abilities".

rather, we're talking about an "ability" of the yellow jacket. so, "the yellow jacket is able to..." is workable, given a suitable context.

[RonPurewal]

3. Is there anything wrong with D, besides the redundancy (in comparison and Whereas)

you're correctly identified redundancy.

"able" is again nonsense, for the reasons described above.

[aflaamM589]

Whereas the honeybee’s stinger is heavily barbed and cannot be retracted from the skin, because the yellow jacket has a comparatively smooth stinger, it is therefore able to be pulled out and used again.

E. in comparison, the yellow jacket has a smooth stinger, thus allowing it to be pulled out and used

Hello Ron,
I hope you are doing good.
Along with other errors, is E also redundant?
, Ving inherently has the meaning of effect (along with other interpretations), therefore thus is redundant.
Is this line of reasoning valid?
Thanks in advance.

[RonPurewal]

if there would otherwise be "other interpretations", then ... it's not redundant. (: