Scientists have recently discovered what could be ...

[supratim7]

From GMAT Prep

Scientists have recently discovered what could be the largest and oldest living organism on Earth, a giant fungus that is an interwoven filigree of mushrooms and rootlike tentacles spawned by a single fertilized spore some 10,000 years ago and extending for more than 30 acres in the soil of a Michigan forest.

A. extending
B. extends

OA: A

I think, we can interpret (A) as - Scientists have recently discovered what could be X, a giant fungus (that is Y) and (extending for more than ...). "that is Y" and "extending for more than ..." both modify "fungus". So, it makes sense.

But cant we interpret (B) as - Scientists have recently discovered what could be X, a giant fungus that is (Y) and extends (for more than ...) i.e. as two parallel predicates both modifying "fungus"?

If yes, why is Choice B incorrect? If not, how following OA (from GMAT Prep) is correct?

"The bones of Majungatholus atopus, a meat-eating dinosaur that is a distant relative of Tyrannosaurus rex and closely resembles South American predatory dinosaurs, have been discovered in Madagascar."

Sure GMAT is correct; just trying figure out what exactly am I missing here?

Also pls help me understand what does "extending for more than .." modify? "a giant fungus", "an interwoven filigree", or "mushrooms and rootlike tentacles"? and why?

Many thanks | Supratim

[tim]

the meaning of the sentence requires "extending" to be parallel to "spawned", and both modify "an interwoven filigree of mushrooms and rootlike tentacles"..

[supratim7]

Appreciate the reply, but it didn't help.
The post contains 4 questions ...

(1)

But cant we interpret (B) as - Scientists have recently discovered what could be X, a giant fungus that is (Y) and extends (for more than ...) i.e. as two parallel predicates both modifying "fungus"?

(2)

If yes, why is Choice B incorrect?

(3)

If not, how following OA (from GMAT Prep) is correct?

"The bones of Majungatholus atopus, a meat-eating dinosaur that is a distant relative of Tyrannosaurus rex and closely resembles South American predatory dinosaurs, have been discovered in Madagascar."

(4)

Also pls help me understand what does "extending for more than .." modify? "a giant fungus", "an interwoven filigree", or "mushrooms and rootlike tentacles"? and why?

Perhaps you have overlooked "and Why?" at the very end.

Many thanks | Supratim

[tim]

yes, i overlooked the "and why?"; i maintain that my response answered all of your other questions..

as for the "why", "spawned" and "extending" both describe aspects of the filigree and are appropriately parallel. if you want to allow for an additional interpretation that would leave both A and B as grammatically correct answers, then you would pick A because in that case the thing that is parallel to "extend[]" is closer than it is in B..

[supratim7]

yes, i overlooked the "and why?"; i maintain that my response answered all of your other questions..

Well, I don't follow how your reply (the meaning of the sentence requires "extending" to be parallel to "spawned") addresses all 4 questions.

as for the "why", "spawned" and "extending" both describe aspects of the filigree and are appropriately parallel.

Sure they are parallel, but the may well describe aspects of "a giant fungus" or "mushrooms and rootlike tentacles". So, the question stays.

if you want to allow for an additional interpretation that would leave both A and B as grammatically correct answers, then you would pick A because in that case the thing that is parallel to "extend[]" is closer than it is in B..

I don't follow this either. (A) is the OA, so what do you mean by "then you would pick A"?

Many thanks | Supratim

[tim]

okay, let me try this again: if you buy my assertion that there is only one way to draw the parallelism, then A is clearly the answer. if you instead choose to allow for two interpretations of the parallelism, you choose the one where the other parallel element is closer to "extend[]", and you still pick A. either way, A is the answer..

[ManikS687]

My questions are as follows:
1. In parallelism, we try to make parallelism by adding -ed with all verbs or -ing with all verbs. How to decide that verb-ed participle is parallel to verb-ing participle?
2. Does this depends up on the meaning of the sentence or does it have a thumb rule?
3. Are you looking at the tense while choosing the correct modifier?

[RonPurewal]

EVERYTHING ALWAYS depends on the intended meaning.

[ManikS687]

EVERYTHING ALWAYS depends on the intended meaning.

Hi Ron,
Your reply with some examples will be of help. Can you please explain your answer with some examples?
Regards,

[RonPurewal]

literally, any situation in which you're trying to choose between different verb forms -- either verb tenses or verb-derived forms (such as these modifiers) -- is an example.

this is an OG problem, not a GMAT Prep problem, so this thread is now locked. (this problem hasn't appeared in any OG more recent than the 12th edition, so it can be safely ignored.)