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Because Miranda, the Smallest Moon of Uranus, has a Large Number GMAT Sentence Correction

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Question: Because Miranda, the smallest moon of Uranus, has a large number of different surface features, including craters, mountains, valleys, and fractures, some astronomers suggest that at one time repeated impacts broke the surface apart, and after which the fragments were subsequently rejoined because of mutual gravitational attraction.

(A) repeated impacts broke the surface apart, and after which the fragments were subsequently rejoined because of
(B) repeated impacts on the surface broke it apart, after which the fragments having rejoined with
(C) through repeated impacts that the surface broke apart, after which the fragments subsequently rejoined by
(D) the surface broke apart with repeated impacts, after which the fragments having rejoined through
(E) the surface broke apart as a result of repeated impacts, after which the fragments rejoined through

Correct Answer: E
Explanation: “Because Miranda, …. surface broke apart as a result of repeated impacts, after which the fragments rejoined through mutual gravitational…” - Correct. The expression “the surface broke apart” is structurally parallel to the expression “the fragments rejoined”. Therefore, the answer choice does not hold any parallelism issue. Moreover, “preposition + which” acts as modifying role. It modifies the noun that precedes the comma. The answer choice E uses “after which” which modifies the immediately preceding noun “repeated impacts” in a correct way. Furthermore, the idiom “as a result of” is correctly used in this answer choice. The answer choice further uses the right subject “the surface broke”. Therefore, the answer choice satisfies the meaning of the sentence. It makes the meaning of the sentence logical and relevant. Hence, this answer choice is correct. Let’s examine the other options.

Option A

“Because Miranda, ….repeated impacts broke the surface apart, and after which the fragments were subsequently rejoined because of mutual…” - Incorrect. This answer choice uses two connecting words consequently. The use of “and” and “after which” used in this option violates the parallelism of the sentence. One connecting word should be used to make the sentence correct. Moreover, answer choice A uses “subsequently” and “after” which drives the redundancy of the sentence. This is because both words mean the same thing. Furthermore, the “because of” used in this answer choice is inadequate. It indicates indirect causation. It distorts the intended meaning of the sentence. The intent of the sentence is that gravitational attraction was responsible directly. Again, the first part of the sentence is in active voice while the second part is in passive voice. Therefore, there lies a bad parallelism in this answer choice. Hence, this answer choice is incorrect as it does not satisfy the rules of grammar.

Option B

“Because Miranda, ….repeated impacts on the surface broke it apart, after which the fragments having rejoined with mutual gravitational…” - Incorrect. The subordinate clause “after which” used in this answer choice lacks a verb. Moreover, it is not clear what “which” is indicating to Surface or Repeated Impacts. Logically the sentence refers to the Repeated Impacts. Therefore, the statement in this answer choice is ambiguous. Furthermore, “having rejoined with” is not a verb. A verb needs to be used to maintain the parallelism of the sentence. Therefore, the answer choice does not satisfy the meaning of the sentence. Hence, option B is incorrect and thereby gets eliminated.

Option C

“Because Miranda, ….some astronomers suggest that at one time through repeated impacts that the…, after which the fragments subsequently …” - Incorrect. The use of “subsequently” and “after” in this answer choice causes the redundancy of the sentence. This is because both words indicate the same thing. The use of which in this answer choice is incoherent. It makes the meaning of the sentence illogical and irrelevant. Moreover, the expression “some astronomers suggest that at one time through repeated impacts” follows “that the...” introduces a new clause. This makes the statement of this answer choice fragment. Hence, option C is incorrect since it does not satisfy the rules of grammar. Thus option C gets eliminated.

Option D

“Because Miranda, ….the surface broke apart with repeated impacts, after which the fragments having rejoined through mutual gravitational …” - Incorrect. The subordinate clause “after which” used in this answer choice does not possess any finite verb. Therefore, it makes the structure of the sentence illogical and inappropriate. The expression “having joined” is incorrectly used in this sentence. It indicates the fragment was already merged through gravitational attraction. The use of “with” is also wrongly employed after “apart” which makes the sentence irrelevant. Hence, option D is the incorrect answer since it does not satisfy the rules of grammar. Thus option D gets eliminated.

“Because Miranda, the smallest moon of Uranus, has a large number of”- is a GMAT sentence correction question of the GMAT exam. These sorts of questions consist of grammatical errors in the underlined part of the sentence. The candidates need to verify the conjunctions, subordinate clauses, and verbs in the sentence. The candidates must check whether the structure of the sentence is parallel or not. The candidates must verify the awkwardness and redundancy in the sentence to determine the correct answer by applying logical concepts or ideas. The candidates need to choose the correct statement given in the options. The GMAT sentence correction section requires better grammar skills since the candidate has to identify common grammatical errors. GMAT sentence correction is a part of GMAT verbal.

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