shaileshmishra wrote:
KyleWiddison wrote:
Per my post above, I would look at the verb tense issue first. Using the past tense "were" doesn't make sense in the sentence and unnecessarily changes tense from the main verb. Be careful about changing tenses without reason.
KW
hi KW,
I know i have doubt regarding option D
(D)cannot help but to admit that they are uncertain==>Dont you think that there is parallelism error in option D ....as there is a parallelism marker BUT...and i dont think that CANNOT HELP and TO ADMIT is parallel.
moreover as you said in your previous post that option B is incorrect because it is changing the intending meaning....but i want know if all the other options are wrong gramatically then cant we select the option gramatically correct although with a changed meaning.(i am sure this will not happen with actual GMAT question.)
please suggest
SKM
The phrase in D isn't really trying to setup a parallel structure (it's just testing an idiom) but you could make an argument about it not being parallel. As you can see from the OA and outside research from dave785, the idiom "cannot help but to admit" is the non-standard form and "cannot help admitting" is correct from an idiom standpoint.
You raise a good question about meaning. On the GMAT you will at times change the meaning of the sentence. Sometimes the meaning changes because the only grammatically correct option has an altered meaning. In other cases, you have to choose between multiple answer choices that are grammatically correct but the meaning has changed. For these cases, you want to maintain the intent of the original sentence unless that sentence has illogical or flawed meaning.
KW