Let's first agree that "x is not y, but rather z" supposes that x, y and z are of the same logical category (as in: cats are not oviparous, but rather viviparous)
Perhaps then we can agree that "x is not y, but rather (of)/ a kind of z" is wrong? (as in: cats are nor oviparous, but rather (of)/ a kind of viviparous animals, something that describes a viviparous category).
Can something be a A KIND OF something else (as opposed to just - what appears logical - something else? how could these also be parallel - logically and grammatically?
I see this on VR2nd edition (the correct answer is given: x is not a reactor but rather a kind of battery).
Thank you!
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- piccolino
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Re: x is not y, but rather (of)/ a kind of z?!
Can something be a A KIND OF something else (as opposed to just - what appears logical - something else?...I see this on VR2nd edition
You've answered your own question. You saw it in the OG so it must be correct for the GMAT.
Let's first agree that "x is not y, but rather z" supposes that x, y and z are of the same logical category (as in: cats are not oviparous, but rather viviparous)
Careful there. "Cats" is a noun while "oviparous" and "viviparous" are adjectives, so the x in your correct example is not of the same category as are the y and z.
The biggest problem with saying cats are nor oviparous, but rather of a kind of viviparous animal, is that cats are...of a kind is wrong independently of concerns about parallelism.
The biggest problem with saying cats are nor oviparous, but rather a kind of viviparous animal, is that oviparous is an adjective while a kind of viviparous animal is a noun phrase. This is an problem with parallelism.
These are fine:
X is not Y, but rather Z, where Y and Z are adjectives. See your own example.
X is not Y, but rather Z, where Y and Z are nouns. See the VR2 example.
The key thing in the VR2 example is that a kind of battery is a noun phrase.
You've answered your own question. You saw it in the OG so it must be correct for the GMAT.
Let's first agree that "x is not y, but rather z" supposes that x, y and z are of the same logical category (as in: cats are not oviparous, but rather viviparous)
Careful there. "Cats" is a noun while "oviparous" and "viviparous" are adjectives, so the x in your correct example is not of the same category as are the y and z.
The biggest problem with saying cats are nor oviparous, but rather of a kind of viviparous animal, is that cats are...of a kind is wrong independently of concerns about parallelism.
The biggest problem with saying cats are nor oviparous, but rather a kind of viviparous animal, is that oviparous is an adjective while a kind of viviparous animal is a noun phrase. This is an problem with parallelism.
These are fine:
X is not Y, but rather Z, where Y and Z are adjectives. See your own example.
X is not Y, but rather Z, where Y and Z are nouns. See the VR2 example.
The key thing in the VR2 example is that a kind of battery is a noun phrase.
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