thanks for posting that screen shot.

now that we know this is from gmatprep, you should probably post a new thread, in the GMATPREP Verbal folder.



wow! i would expect an "and" there, too. this is ... interesting.
i guess we should just remember this, as one of those one-off idiomatic constructions. there are other constructions (such as "the more X happens, the more Y happens") that don't seem to conform to normal grammar rules, either.


you're right - that WOULD be the construction, if the second part (blocked off by the commas) weren't there.
the added part ("so persistent...") is blocked off by commas on each side. you're inappropriately assigning one of those commas to the larger structure of the sentence, when in fact both of them belong to the modifier.

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I got this question.. Answer is soo tricky..
I hope somebody answer this..

Sorry, you're going to have to do some work yourself on this one before we can help you. What didn't you understand about this one? What did you try? Where did you get stuck?

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Tim Sanders
Manhattan GMAT Instructor

This is Indeed a GMAT Prep Question.

I followed the below approach for arriving at the answer E).

1) That is essential as per the "so..that" idiom. So A) and D are out.
2) I feel that the choice C) very awkward.
3) There is lack of Parallelism in B)

In the end only Choice E) is left which is least screwed.

But , i am still not fully convinced about Choice C)....Can anyone put more light on Choice C). Why it is incorrect Vis-a-Vis Choice E) ?

Ask yourself what role is being played by the part that is set off by commas in each of these answer choices. In answer choice C, there's no reasonable way to connect that piece back to the rest of the sentence in a way that makes sense. With answer choice E, however, the part set off by commas serves to reiterate and clarify the information in the first part of the sentence in a way that maintains parallelism as well..

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Tim Sanders
Manhattan GMAT Instructor

Hi Tim ,

Thanks for your explanation!

I am clear abt Choices A, B and C)

But i want to know that

Can Choices A) and D) be eliminated on the basis of so .......That idiom ( something present between so and that )

Since as per the usage there is nothing present in between so and that.

I am more concerned abt choice D

yes, in D we need a "that". the "so" shows up twice in A and is therefore redundant..

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Tim Sanders
Manhattan GMAT Instructor

this PREP problem is so weird.

i am not doubting the correct answer, because i know correct answers are always correct and it is just a waste of time in doubting the correct answers.

however, i think that if the underlined part of the sentence is written in "so persistent was her lobbying for blah blah blah",it will be much better...

and actually, i am quite confused about what are the construction and function of the underlined part in the correct answer, Ron and experts, please help.

not sure what your question is exactly; can you elaborate? as for what you would rather see in a correct answer, remember that such speculation is a complete waste of time. look for errors, not what you would rather the correct answer say..

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Tim Sanders
Manhattan GMAT Instructor

Quick parallelism question, I'm sorry if this has been answered already, but I've just read twice through the thread and though I find the question, I don't find the answer.

To be completely parallel, shouldn't E read--"and so persistent WAS her lobbying for wage and labor reform, that"--?

Sorry if that question is basic. I got this one right on GMATPrep, but that point bugged me.

no, it's okay to leave out the verb in this case. that's not to say your version is wrong; there are often multiple correct ways to express parallelism in a sentence. just because you don't see your preferred version doesn't mean what's on the screen is wrong..

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Tim Sanders
Manhattan GMAT Instructor

HI, this is my first post and i apologize if its a dumb one.

however, i have an issue understanding that how does the pronoun "her" refer back to the possessive Frances Perkin's investigations.

Doesn't a pronoun need an antecedent which is a Noun?

Nice question friend.

The shortest answer would be -- possessive pronouns can refer back to possessive nouns.

so, here, HER correctly (as in option E) refers to Frances Perkin's lobbying.

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thanks for the reply. im still not completely comfortable with the solution. as in how does her refer to the FP's lobbying?

Oh.. I should have made it clear. Sorry for making you bit confused!

Actually it is not HER but as written in the sentence is "HER Lobbying" so "HER Lobbying" clearly refers to "FP's Lobbying"

Hope, I am making bit more clear?

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I Can. I Will.