sc, comma+doing , not easy

[thanghnvn]

from gmatprep.

Since digital recording offers essentially perfect reproduction - on compact discs, digital audiotapes, or videodiscs - audiophiles can accumulate vast collections of //music, transferring them from one format to another, copying it, and digitally altering it with little effort and not damaging //the sound quality.

A. Same
B. music, transferring it from one format to another, copying it, and digitally altering it with little effort and no damage to
C. music, transferring them from one format to another, copy them, and digitally alter them with little effort and no damage to
D. music and transfer it from one format to another, copy it, and then digitally altering it with little effort and not damaging
E. music and transfer it from one format to another, copying it, and digitally alter it with little effort and no damage to


oa is b,
pls explain the meaning relation between "acumulate" and " the transfering,copying and altering"
normally, comma+doing show the effect of the previous clause. Is it true in this sentence, pls explain.

thank you

[RonPurewal]

Pls help
In B
what is the meaning relation between
"accumulate"
and
"transfering, copying and altering"

the latter actions are subordinate actions (i.e., lower priority level) that the subject does during the main action.

same thing as this:
Ron ran down the street, screaming and waving his arms.
or
Ron ran down the street, screaming, waving his arms, and gesturing frantically at the sky.

[ray.liu030]

Hi Ron,

Thanks for the explanation.
Another question for this problem:

How do you decide the antecedence of the pronoun (them vs. it) from the prepositional phrase "vast collections of music". I thought we do not normally refer to the noun modified by the prepositional phrase, unless:

1. Idiom e.g. the number of XXX
2. The pronoun is also in a prepositional phrase that is parallel to the prepositional phrase with the noun

In this problem, however, "it" seems to refer to the music. From a meaning perspective, I think both collections and single piece of music make sense in this context. Or I missed something quite important here.

P.S. I understand that we can eliminite C by using parallelism.

Thank you for your input.

Cheers,
Ray

[RonPurewal]

It's unwise to complicate the concept of pronouns. All you need is the following:
1/ Make sure the meaning of the pronoun is obvious from context.
2/ Make sure there's a noun for that meaning.
3/ Make sure the pronoun and noun match (singular/plural).

That should take care of everything, except for a very specific, very narrow set of exceptions (link: post49622.html#p49622).

[lindaliu9273]

Hi Ron,

I still don't get the it/them question.

As usual, I see the noun phrase "vast collections of music", and eliminate "of music" according to Manhattan book page 41. So I eliminate options with it.

In my memory, I'm usually right. But here, I'm very confused.

Pls help and many thanks!

[ShobhitK282]

Hi Ron,

As you have mentioned in your earlier posts, I ignored the pronoun ambiguity and looked for parallelism to get the right answer. But still it looks a little ambiguous. Can you explain?

[RonPurewal]

Hi Ron,

I still don't get the it/them question.

As usual, I see the noun phrase "vast collections of music", and eliminate "of music" according to Manhattan book page 41. So I eliminate options with it.

In my memory, I'm usually right. But here, I'm very confused.

Pls help and many thanks!

Pronouns are always a function of intended meaning. You can't memorize mechanical rules for this sort of thing.

E.g.,
My grandfather bought literally thousands of bottles of aspirin, just to ensure that his family would never run out of it even in the event of a nuclear disaster.
"It" = aspirin. (Grandad didn't want to run out of aspirin. "Running out of bottles" wasn't the issue.)

[tim60288]

Hi instructor,

For option B. music, transferring it from one format to another, copying it, and digitally altering it with little effort and no damage to

damage doesn't need to be "damaging" to be paralleled with the front ?

[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.

[RonPurewal]

in any case, just use the context (plus everyday common sense) to determine which things SHOULD be parallel.

the point is that there are two advantages to the process:
1/ low effort
2/ lack of damage

so those should be parallel.

[AnupamJ167]

Why is the subject "music" and not "collections"? I thought that I can simply ignore "of music" as it is a prepositional phrase.

[aflaamM589]

from gmatprep.

Since digital recording offers essentially perfect reproduction - on compact discs, digital audiotapes, or videodiscs - audiophiles can accumulate vast collections of //music, transferring them from one format to another, copying it, and digitally altering it with little effort and not damaging //the sound quality.

A. Same
B. music, transferring it from one format to another, copying it, and digitally altering it with little effort and no damage to

B'. music, transferring it from one format to another, copying it, and digitally altering it with little effort and without damage to
Ron just want to confirm is this also correct?
with parallell to without?
Many thanks for your time and consideration.

[tim]

Why is the subject "music" and not "collections"? I thought that I can simply ignore "of music" as it is a prepositional phrase.

Who said "music" is the subject? You can ignore prepositional phrases if you are only looking for the core of the sentence (main subject/verb/object), but in this case the underlined part relates directly to the prepositional phrase, so it is imperative not to ignore it.

[tim]

B'. music, transferring it from one format to another, copying it, and digitally altering it with little effort and without damage to
Ron just want to confirm is this also correct?
with parallell to without?
Many thanks for your time and consideration.

I would caution you against ever asking "what if" questions about changing parts of verbal questions, because there are often several interconnected parts that cannot be fully accounted for by a single change. Just focus on why the right answer is right and why all the wrong answers are wrong.

[aflaamM589]

Ok.
Thanks.
Have a nice day