Belgrade Is Widely Known As the Capital City of Serbia, But it is Also One of the Oldest Cities in Europe

Question: Belgrade is widely known as the capital city of Serbia, but it is also one of the oldest cities in Europe and the largest in the territory formerly known as Yugoslavia.

1. Capital city of Serbia, but it is also one of the oldest
2. Capital city of Serbia, nevertheless also one of the oldest
3. Serbia’s capital city, and it is also one of the older
4. Serbia’s capital, but it is also one of the older
5. Capital city of Serbia, but it is also one of the older

“Belgrade is widely known as the capital city of Serbia, but it is also one of the oldest cities in Europe ”- is a GMAT sentence correction question. This particular GMAT sentence correction topic has been taken from the book ‘The Official Guide of GMAT Verbal Review, 2nd Edition, 2009’. This question checks the meaning, construction, and verb. GMAT Sentence Correction questions comprise 11-16 questions to be completed within 65 minutes. Each Sentence Correction question contains a sentence with an underlined portion that includes 0-2 errors.

Answer: A
Explanation: The following concepts are tested here:

1. Verb
2. Conjunction
3. Awkwardness or Redundancy

Option A: Correct
This option is correct because it correctly uses the phrase “capital city of Serbia” and “one of the oldest” which accurately conveys the intended meaning of the statement. Also, the use of “but” in this option clearly joins the two parts of the sentence correctly and logically. So, Option A is correct.

Option B: Incorrect
This option is incorrect because the adverb “nevertheless” is not well-suited to this sentence. It cannot join the two adjective phrases in a way that is mentioned in the second option. We can use it only as a conjunctive adverb and that is possible only when it must join two independent clauses and follow a semicolon. But since that is not the case here, Option B is incorrect.

Option C: Incorrect
This option is incorrect because it uses the term “older” rather than “oldest”. Older is a comparative adjective that is used when there are only two items and oldest is a superlative adjective that is used when there are more than two items. There are not just two cities in Europe. So, the usage of “older” is wrong. Option C is incorrect.

Option D: Incorrect
This option is incorrect because it also used “older” rather than “oldest”. As already mentioned in option d, older is a comparative adjective that is used when there are only two items and oldest is a superlative adjective that is used when there are more than two items. So, Option D is incorrect.

Option E: Incorrect
This option is incorrect because just like Options C and D, it uses the term “older” rather than “oldest”. Older is a comparative adjective that is used when there are only two items and oldest is a superlative adjective that is used when there are more than two items. Since there are more than two cities in Europe, Option E is incorrect.

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