Question
The cathedrals of the Middle Ages were community centers just as much as they were purely religious edifices; and they were structures that represented a city’s commitment to a public realm, the opposite of being a private one.
Option A
Option B
Option C
Option D
Option E
(This question is from Official Guide. Therefore, because of copyrights, the complete question cannot be copied here. The question can be accessed at GMAT Club)
Solution
- The cathedrals (First IC: Subject)
- of the Middle Ages (Prepositional Phrase – modifies “cathedrals”)
- were community centers (First IC: Verb: “were”)
- just as much as they were purely religious edifices (Comparison – modifies “were”)
- ; and they were structures (Second IC)
- that represented a city’s commitment (Relative clause – modifies “structures”)
- to a public realm, (Prepositional Phrase – modifies “commitment”)
- the opposite of being a private one. (Noun Phrase – modifies “public realm”)
- to a public realm, (Prepositional Phrase – modifies “commitment”)
- that represented a city’s commitment (Relative clause – modifies “structures”)
The cathedrals were two things in equal proportion: community centers and purely religious edifices. The cathedrals represented a city’s commitment to a public realm rather than to a private realm.
There are four problems in the original sentence:
- The use of “being” is incorrect in “the opposite of being a private one”. We are talking about realms in general, not in a temporary state depicted by “being”.
- Without “being”, the construction would be “…public realm, the opposite of a private one”. “The opposite of a private one” modifies “public realm” i.e. the sentence is trying to convey that a public realm is the opposite of a private realm. Isn’t that obvious given the literal meanings of “public” and “private”? Logically, the sentence shouldn’t say this and should rather say that cathedrals represented a city’s commitment to a public realm as opposed to a private realm.
- The construction “they were structures” is redundant. Of course, cathedrals were structures. We should directly say that “they represented…”.
- The use of ‘semicolon+and’ does not seem correct in this context; ‘comma+and’ should have been used. Please note that ‘semicolon+and’ can be correct in certain sentences. Refer this link and this link to know more.
Option Analysis
(A) Incorrect. For the problems highlighted above.
(B) Incorrect. For the following reasons:
- The third problem of the original sentence
- The construction “…a public realm, as opposed to private” is incorrect. Two ways to correct it could be:
a. “…a public, as opposed to a private, realm”
b. “…a public realm, as opposed to a private one”
(C) Incorrect. For the following reasons:
- The word “ones” in “not private ones” is incorrect since it refers to a singular “realm”.
- The third problem of the original sentence
We’d also like to highlight a slight change in meaning in this option. While the original sentence highlighted that cathedrals were as much X as Y, this option just says that cathedrals were X and (“as well as”) Y. The meaning is different, though not illogical or wrong. For example, the below two sentences convey different meanings:
- I care about GMAT and bananas.
- I care as much about GMAT as about bananas.
(D) Correct. The construction “structures that …” is a Noun+Noun modifier modifying the subject “cathedrals”. You may wonder why “structures” is fine even though we pointed it out as a problem in the original sentence. We can take an analogy to understand this point:
- Ram is a school teacher, a man known for his humble nature.
- Let’s consider the below two versions:
a. Ram is a school teacher; and he is a man known for his humble nature.
b. Ram is a school teacher and is known for his humble nature.
The first sentence above is perfectly fine. Between the two options presented in the second point, the second option is the better one.
(E) Incorrect. Has the second error of the original sentence.
If you have any doubts regarding any part of this solution, please feel free to ask in the comments section.
This solution was created by Chiranjeev Singh and Anish Passi.
Hi CJ,
Many thanks for sharing your valuable insights. I would much appreciate, if you could help with a small doubt I have. You wrote that in the correct choice, the appositive “structures that…” refers to “the cathedrals”. However, I don’t remember seeing any official problem wherein an appositive modifies such a distant noun. Usually it modifies either the preceding noun phrase or the main noun of that noun phrase, doesn’t it?
I wrongly eliminated D, thinking that “structures that…” must be modifying only “religious edifices” and thereby resulting in nonsense. Later I read Mitch’s explanation that says [ “structures that…” modifies a noun phrase “as much community centers as purely religious edifices” ]. I was satisfied with this explanation until I read yours.
Sure, in the end the appositive talks about cathedrals because “as much community centers as purely religious edifices” talks about cathedrals. However, can an appositive jump over other eligible nouns and directly refer to the subject? I would much appreciate, if you could provide with such official examples.
Many thanks beforehand.
Hi Jon,
You have a valid point. However, I don’t have such an official example.
I feel that option B indicates comparison ambiguity.
Here is the analysis:
The cathedrals of the Middle Ages were community centers as much as purely religious edifices
It can be interpreted two ways
a.The cathedrals of the Middle Ages were community centers as much as purely religious edifices were community centers
b.The cathedrals of the Middle Ages were community centers as much as The cathedrals of the Middle Ages were purely religious edifices
Good catch. I did not point that out since this ambiguity is also there in the correct option.
HI CJ,
Just for the sake of discussion, isn’t the comparison structure different in Option B and D.
B: Cath were Comm. Centers as much as Relg. Edifices–Cath were CC as close to or as similar to RE
D: Cath were as Much CC as RE– Cath were CC and RE in the same proportion.
I think the comparison in Option D is diff from B and hence the person who pointed this out has a valid point.
Let’s look at this sentence:
A is as much X as B. (An apple is as much fruit as an orange)
Can’t the above sentence be used to compare A and B?
If yes, D has the same structure, and thus Cath and RE can also be compared.
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