GMAT Verbal | Sentence Correction #6

This GMAT practice question is a verbal sentence correction question testing your understanding of Comparison Contrast Error and Parallelism.

Question 6: Unlike Ancient Greek art which saw the veneration of the animal form and the development of equivalent skills to show musculature, poise, beauty and anatomically correct proportions, Ancient Roman art depicted gods as idealized humans, shown with characteristic distinguishing features.

1. Unlike Ancient Greek art which saw the veneration of the animal form and the development of equivalent skills to show musculature
2. Ancient Greek art saw the veneration of the animal form and the development of equivalent skills to show musculature
3. While Ancient Greek art saw the veneration of the animal form and developed equivalent skills to show musculature
4. While Ancient Greek art venerated the animal form and developed equivalent skills to show musculature
5. Unlike Ancient Greek art which venerated the animal form and the development of equivalent skills to show musculature

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Video Explanation

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Explanatory Answer

Step 1 of solving this GMAT Sentence Correction Question: Identifying What Is Tested

A quick look at the answer options helps us identify the differences across the options. Some of the options use the word “unlike” while others use the word “while” (and one option uses neither). Also, different options use different constructions for “venerated” and “developed”. Some of the options construct these two words as nouns and some as verbs.

Step 2 of solving this Sentence Correction Question: Understanding the Sentence

The difference between Greek and Roman art is not a complete contrast. The two are not necessarily polar opposites. The usage of “unlike” would therefore be incorrect in this sentence. The correct usage of “Unlike” would be in a sentence such as “Unlike Greek art that displayed rudimentary skills, Roman art involved a deeper and more technical understanding of scale and colours”. In this alternative sentence, one is basic and the other is advanced – directly contrary to each other.

Greek Art had two elements - “the veneration of the animal form” and the “development of skills”. These two parts of the sentence should be constructed in a parallel fashion – BOTH as nouns or both as verbs.

Step 3: Process of Elimination

Choices (A) and (E) can be eliminated for the usage of “unlike”. Moreover, in option (E), “venerated” as a verb and “development” as a noun are not in parallel construction.

Choice (B) uses neither “Unlike” nor “while”. This leads to two complete sentences – one about Greek art and one about Roman art – joined by nothing other than a comma. Two complete sentences should be joined by a semi-colon or with conjunctions. Choice (B) is therefore, incorrect.

Choice (C) uses “veneration” as a noun and “developed” as a verb. This lack of parallel construction also leads to an ambiguity in meaning. “saw” and “developed” are now parallel and the sentence seems to imply that the art did two things – noticed the veneration and developed skills. This meaning is clearly incorrect because it is not the art that can develop skills but the artists.

Choice D is the correct answer.