Gmat Sentence Correction 41, 42

41). Starting at age four, Mozart's father began taking him on tours of the capitals of Europe, in order to demonstrate his musical talents.

(A). Mozart's father began taking him on tours of the capitals of Europe, in order to demonstrate his musical talents

(B). Mozart's father began taking the boy on tours of the capitals of Europe, to demonstrate his musical talents

(C). Mozart began accompanying his father on tours of the capitals of Europe, to demonstrate his own musical talents

(D). Mozart was accompanying his father on tours of Europe's capitals, to demonstrate his musical talents

(E). Mozart's father began taking him on tours of the capitals of Europe, to demonstrate the boy's musical talents


42). According to the professor's philosophy, the antidote to envy is one's own work, always one's own work: not thinking about it, not assessing it, but simply doing it.

(A) one's own work, always one's own work: not thinking about it, not assessing it, but simply doing it

(B) always work; because you don't think about it or assess it, you just do it

(C) always one's own work: not thinking about or assessing it, but simply to do it

(D) not to think or assess, but doing one's own work

(E) neither to think about one's own work nor to assess it, it is always simply doing it


Answers -

41). C is the best choice -- "Mozart" is correctly placed as the subject of the opening modifier "starting at age four." Additionally, the phrase "his own" clarifies that the musical talents in question are those of the subject, Mozart.

A - incorrect -- The original sentence begins with a modifier ("starting at age four") that describes Mozart. Yet, the subject of the main clause is Mozart's father. We need to find a choice that make Mozart himself the subject. Moreover, the pronoun "him" has no grammatical antecedent, since it is meant to refer to Mozart despite the fact that Mozart is not actually present in the sentence (we have "Mozart's father" instead). Finally, the pronoun "his" is somewhat ambiguous: does it refer to Mozart (who, again, is not in the sentence) or to his father?

B -- incorrect -- "Mozart's father" serves illogically as the subject of the opening modifier "starting at age four." Additionally, the pronoun "his" is ambiguous in that it could refer to the boy or the father.

D -- incorrect -- This choice incorrectly uses the verb "was," which does not match the ongoing nature of the modifier "starting at age four." Additionally, the pronoun "his" is ambiguous in that it could refer to Mozart or his father.

E -- incorrect -- "Mozart's father" serves illogically as the subject of the opening modifier "starting at age four." Additionally, the pronoun "him" has no grammatical antecedent, since it is meant to refer to Mozart despite the fact that Mozart is not actually present in the sentence (we have "Mozart's father" instead).


42). The correct answer is A - maintains parallelism - thinking, assessing, doing

D, E - incorrect - violates parallelism -- think, assess, doing are not parallel

C - incorrect - violates parallelism -- thinking, assessing and to do it are not parallel.

B - incorrect -- the antidote to envy is to work always -- changes the meaning of the original sentence.