The hognose snake puts on an impressive bluff, hissing

[aflaamM589]

Source GMAT Prep 1:

The hognose snake puts on an impressive bluff, hissing and rearing back, broadening the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does and feigning repeated strikes, but it has no dangerous fangs and no venom, and eventually, if its pursuer is not cowered by the performance, will fall over and play dead.

Hello Ron,
I hope you are doing good.
Shouldn't there be comma before and feigning ( i.e , and feigning)
as it is list of three items
hissing,broadening and feigning
vs
hissing,broadening, and feigning
Thanks in anticipation.

[RonPurewal]

DO NOT question the correct answers!

here's a handy FAQ:

Q: Is the correct answer correct?
A: Yes.

Q: Is the correct answer wrong?
A: No.

Q: I disagree with the correct answer. Who's wrong, me or GMAC?
A: You.

Q: I wrote this other version. Is it better than the correct answer?
A: No.


__



here, "broadening ... and feigning ..." can be interpreted as a modifier of the previous action.

[RichaChampion]

It should be C. This choice has better parallelism than does choice E, and is phrased in a way that makes MUCH more sense. Choice E, while not strictly ungrammatical, is a 'garden path sentence' - one that reads incorrectly the first couple of times your eyes run over it, and that only makes sense if you go back and read it several more times. The specifics:

C:
The hognose snake puts on an impressive bluff,
hissing and rearing back, broadening the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does and feigning repeated strikes, --> note the parallelism between these two parts: both are in the form '(verb)ING and (verb)ING'

but it has no dangerous fangs and no venom, and eventually, if its pursuer is not cowered by the performance, will fall over and play dead. --> contains a key transition ('but'), and the start of a new clause (new subject & new verb), in just the right place - to mark the sudden transition/contrast between the stuff in the first half (all this intimidating behavior) and the stuff in the second half (it's all a big fake - snake oil, if you don't mind the pun).

E:
The hognose snake puts on an impressive bluff,
hissing and rearing back, broadening the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does, feigning repeated strikes, but with no dangerous fangs and no venom,
These two items are falsely made to look like two more items in a series begun with 'hissing...' and 'broadening...'. In addition, there is NO emphasis on the transition 'but', because no new clause is begun at this point. That's bad, because there's a sudden huge shift in what the sentence is talking about at this point.
and eventually, if its pursuer is not cowered by the performance, will fall over and play dead..

Ron Sir, One can arrive at the correct answer in just one stroke.

IC, FANBOYS IC
IC, but IC

Do you know this structure?

Only Option C maintains this structure
IC1, but IC2

IC1 = The hognose snake puts on an impressive bluff, hissing and rearing back broadening the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does and feigning repeated strikes
IC2 = It has no dangerous fangs and no venom,....

IC: Independent Clause.

P.S. Please do not say this time that you didn't understand my question.

[RonPurewal]

sorry...

• i don't know what "fanboys" means.

• i don't know what "independent clause" means.
(does this just mean "complete sentence"? if so, then please just write "complete sentence", thanks -- let's not use unnecessary terminology)

please clarify, thanks.

[harika.apu]

Basically, yes, you're right.

In A, which doesn't contain a parallel signal ("but"), that's the primary issue.

For B/D/E the concern is primarily the lack of parallelism ("...but with xxxx" isn't parallel to anything that precedes it), but your point is still valid.

Ron ,
In A , why is "but having no x and no y " part wrong ?
Example: Sneha won the medal but , having no friends to share joy , went alone for a vacation .
Does "having ..." need to be followed by a subject always ?

Thanks

[RonPurewal]

in both A and B, you have three verbs (puts..., broadens..., will fall...).

there are exactly two ways to put 3 things into a list in the english language:
• X, Y, and Z
• X, Y, or Z

...and that's it.
there's no such construction as "X, Y, but Z", so, both of the first two choices are gone.