The Misnomer That Sibling Rivalry Is A Thing Of The 'Past' History GMAT Sentence Correction

Question: The misnomer that sibling rivalry is a thing of the 'past' history- where brothers slit each other's throats in a gory race to kinghood - can and does not seem appalling; but still does.

1. can and does not seem appalling; but still does.
2. can and does seem appalling; but still does not.
3. should and does seem appalling; and still does.
4. can and do not seem appalling; but still do.
5. may and does seem appalling; but still doesn't do so.

“The misnomer that sibling rivalry is a thing of the 'past' history” - is a GMAT sentence correction question. Grammar mistakes are present in these questions, and we must select the appropriate response from the list of possibilities. The GMAT sentence correction topic has four options, and candidates must select the one that is appropriate. GMAT verbal includes the sentence correction section. It determines whether a candidate can identify the sentence's error. It also determines whether they can extract a context-specific idea or meaning.

Answer: (C)
Explanation: We notice that a section of the sentence is dashed as we read the question stem. "Em dashes" or "dashes" are used in place of commas, semicolons, colons, and parentheses to denote added emphasis, a break in the action, or a sudden shift in the subject of a sentence. Additional information about sibling rivalry is provided in the information in between the dashes. You can disregard the same out of convenience.

The passage means that it is a myth that sibling rivalry is a thing of the past, when brothers would murder one another in a bloody contest for kingship. This should be horrifying, and it is; and still does.

Let us analyze each option to find the right answer that when placed in the underlined part of the question conveys the right context without any errors.

Option – A : Incorrect
The text in this choice reads, "can and does not seem horrifying; but still does."
This implies that it can seem horrifying or not seem horrifying. There is no logic in this. Therefore this option is ruled out.

Option – B : Incorrect
This option says "can and does seem horrifying, but still does not." This means that even though it can seem horrifying and actually does, it still does not. Once more, this is absurd. Therefore this option is ruled out.

Option – C : Correct
The line given here is "should and does seem abhorrent; and still does."

This indicates that it should seem abhorrent, that it does seem abhorrent, and that it still does. This is adequate and conveys the right meaning without any grammar errors in the sentence. Therefore this option is the right choice.

Option – D : Incorrect
This option says “can and do not seem appalling; but still do”. This implies that something can appear horrifying or not. Once more, this is absurd. Therefore this option is ruled out.

Option – E : Incorrect
This option says “may and does seem appalling; but still doesn't do so”
This means that even though it may seem horrifying and actually does, it still doesn't. After the semicolon, this is wordy and illogical. Therefore this option is ruled out.
From the explanations above, it is clear that the third option is the right answer.

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