GMAT Sentence Correction Discussions

deepakraam · October 10, 2009, 12:59pm

Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required to survive in the electronics industry, an industry marked by
rapid innovation and volatile demand, such firms tend to be very large.

(A) to survive
(B) of firms to survive
(C) for surviving
(D) for survival
(E) for firms' survival

I will go with option D for the above SC

mvikred · October 10, 2009, 1:54pm

deepakraam Says
I will go with option D for the above SC

Please explain !!!

after a few more replies I will mention the OA provided and then let's have a discussion about it.

varun.bullseye · October 10, 2009, 7:20pm

hi guys,

I wanted to ask a set of questions pertaining to SC :-

1) The parties wanted its members to deliver so that they could relish the quarter results.

In the above sentence, which noun does the pronoun THEY refer to ? Ditto for the pronoun THEM. Would request you all to help the use of THEY with examples.

2) The party was attended by the mayor of the city, which is known for the hospitality.

In the above sentence, does WHICH refer to the mayor or to the city ? As a thumb rule I always assume that the thing just before the comma , like in this case - City , is modified by which.Would request you all to help the use of WHICH with examples.

vpitc · October 11, 2009, 11:39am

Sartre believed each individual is responsible to choose one course of action
over another one, that it is the choice that gives value to the act, and that
nothing that is not acted upon has value.
(A) each individual is responsible to choose one course of action over
another one
(B) that each individual is responsible for choosing one course of action over
another
(C) that each individual is responsible, choosing one course of action over
another
(D) that each individual is responsible to choose one course of action over
the other
(E) each individual is responsible for choosing one course of action over
other ones

Guys,
can someone give the answer plus the explanation for the above Q

vpitc · October 11, 2009, 1:41pm

Chocolate tastes as good as ice cream.

More and more in recent years, cities are stressing the arts as a
means to greater economic development and investing millions of dollars in
cultural activities, despite strained municipal budgets and fading federal support
In the first sentence should it not be chocolate tastes as good as an ice cream
In the second sentence why should we add the between stressing and arts
can someone pl. explain

ikruz · October 11, 2009, 1:51pm

Sartre believed each individual is responsible to choose one course of action
over another one, that it is the choice that gives value to the act, and that
nothing that is not acted upon has value.
(A) each individual is responsible to choose one course of action over
another one
(B) that each individual is responsible for choosing one course of action over
another
(C) that each individual is responsible, choosing one course of action over
another
(D) that each individual is responsible to choose one course of action over
the other
(E) each individual is responsible for choosing one course of action over
other ones

Guys,
can someone give the answer plus the explanation for the above Q

MY take is option b).

'that' is required here.

If that were not there - Satre believed each individual.......At this poin this seems to have changed the meaning.

responsible for is the correct idiomatic usage.
for chosing -> chosing is gerund.

deepakraam · October 11, 2009, 3:25pm

Sartre believed each individual is responsible to choose one course of action
over another one, that it is the choice that gives value to the act, and that
nothing that is not acted upon has value.
(A) each individual is responsible to choose one course of action over
another one
(B) that each individual is responsible for choosing one course of action over
another
(C) that each individual is responsible, choosing one course of action over
another
(D) that each individual is responsible to choose one course of action over
the other
(E) each individual is responsible for choosing one course of action over
other ones

Guys,
can someone give the answer plus the explanation for the above Q

I will go with option B

rohit_gem2611 · October 11, 2009, 5:49pm

Sartre believed each individual is responsible to choose one course of action
over another one, that it is the choice that gives value to the act, and that
nothing that is not acted upon has value.
(A) each individual is responsible to choose one course of action over
another one
(B) that each individual is responsible for choosing one course of action over
another
(C) that each individual is responsible, choosing one course of action over
another
(D) that each individual is responsible to choose one course of action over
the other
(E) each individual is responsible for choosing one course of action over
other ones

Guys,
can someone give the answer plus the explanation for the above Q

My take is option B...wts the OA

marijuana_user · October 12, 2009, 4:26am

It should be option B for the Sartre SC!

Here is another one::

Identify the error(s) -

Joanne has the ability of walking on her hands, also her twin sister Kimberly has the ability to balance on a tightrope; I, however, try to hide my ability for juggling, lest others force me to demonstrate.

mvikred · October 12, 2009, 4:57am

A little help por favor !!

Some patients who do not respond therapies of depression may simply have received inadequate treatment, having, for example been prescribed a drug as a dosage too low to be effective or having been taken off a drug too soon.

A -- having, for example been prescribed a drug as a dosage too low to be effective or having been
B -- having, for example, a drug prescription that was ineffective because the dosage was too low, or being
C -- as, for example, having too low of a dosage of prescribed drug for it to be effective, or being
D -- when they have, for example, been prescribed too low a drug dosage for it to be effective, or were
E -- for example, when they have a drug prescription with a dosage too low to be effective, or been

mvikred · October 12, 2009, 4:59am

It should be option B for the Sartre SC!

Here is another one::

Identify the error(s) -

Joanne has the ability of walking on her hands, also her twin sister Kimberly has the ability to balance on a tightrope; I, however, try to hide my ability for juggling, lest others force me to demonstrate.

ability for construction is wordy and weird.

the second clause makes sense with ability but i'd change it to juggle .. for juggling sounds bad

so given the options i wud look for the right answer by correcting those mistakes

nipunbans · October 12, 2009, 5:27am

I think both questions are in OG 10..

1st one shd be A.. So X that Y is an idiom..

2nd one shd be B.. because in the last line firms are mentioned and underline part has to support that....

So poorly educated and trained are many young recruits to the United States work force that many business executives fear this country will lose its economic preeminence.

(A) So poorly educated and trained are many young recruits to the United States work force that
(B) As poorly educated and trained as many young recruits to the United States work force are
(C) Because of many young recruits to the * United States work force who are so poorly educated and trained.
(D) That many young recruits to the United *States work force are so poorly educated *and trained is why
(E) Many young recruits to the United States *work force who are so poorly educated and trained explains why

Because of the enormous research and development expenditures required to survive in the electronics industry, an industry marked by
rapid innovation and volatile demand, such firms tend to be very large.

(A) to survive
(B) of firms to survive
(C) for surviving
(D) for survival
(E) for firms' survival

Can you folks help me with these 2 questions ?

Also , I have to mention that I do not have the OA for the first one :shocked:, but I do have the OA for the second SC .. I need an explanation which justifies the OA.

Source : 1000 SC

Thanks !!

tikna_atpug · October 12, 2009, 5:29am

Identify the error(s) -

Joanne has the ability of walking on her hands, also her twin sister Kimberly has the ability to balance on a tightrope; I, however, try to hide my ability for juggling, lest others force me to demonstrate.

My version:
Joanne has the ability of walking on her hands; Also, her twin sister Kimberly has the ability to balance on a tightrope; I, however, try to hide my ability of juggling, lest others force me to demonstrate.

Correction 1: semi colon (or may be a period, either should work) instead of a comma.
Correction 2: 'Also' to be followed by a comma.
Correction 3: in second sentence, instead of 'for', 'of' sounds better.

I would like to stay with 'juggling' since juggling is an act. If I say I like to juggle, it might mean that i like to juggle between between my tasks/activities.

I believe that the combination "; Also, " can also be replaced by an 'and'.

Cheers.
Ankit.

nipunbans · October 12, 2009, 5:46am

"That" is needed... also, idiom one .. another is favourable.. for choosing in B is better than choosing in C..

IMO - B

Sartre believed each individual is responsible to choose one course of action
over another one, that it is the choice that gives value to the act, and that
nothing that is not acted upon has value.
(A) each individual is responsible to choose one course of action over
another one
(B) that each individual is responsible for choosing one course of action over
another
(C) that each individual is responsible, choosing one course of action over
another
(D) that each individual is responsible to choose one course of action over
the other
(E) each individual is responsible for choosing one course of action over
other ones

Guys,
can someone give the answer plus the explanation for the above Q

tikna_atpug · October 12, 2009, 5:50am

A little help por favor !!

Some patients who do not respond therapies of depression may simply have received inadequate treatment, having, for example been prescribed a drug as a dosage too low to be effective or having been taken off a drug too soon.

A -- having, for example been prescribed a drug as a dosage too low to be effective or having been
B -- having, for example, a drug prescription that was ineffective because the dosage was too low, or being
C -- as, for example, having too low of a dosage of prescribed drug for it to be effective, or being
D -- when they have, for example, been prescribed too low a drug dosage for it to be effective, or were
E -- for example, when they have a drug prescription with a dosage too low to be effective, or been

IMO Closest Option is C - 'as' is used in place of 'such as', so I guess that should be fine (though I find it redundant with 'for example'). Parallelism also holds good in this option.

A - 'for example been prescribed' sounds wierd.
B - mis-placed 'for example' because of which parallelism is being lost.
D and E - 'when they have' - they is referred to whom patients or therapies (treatment being singular can not confuse us)...not clear.

Whats the OA?

Cheers.
Ankit.

deepakraam · October 12, 2009, 5:54am

It should be option B for the Sartre SC!

Here is another one::

Identify the error(s) -

Joanne has the ability of walking on her hands, also her twin sister Kimberly has the ability to balance on a tightrope; I, however, try to hide my ability for juggling, lest others force me to demonstrate.

My version :

Joanne has the ability to walk on her hands, her twin sister Kimberly also has the ability to balance on a tightrope; I, however, try to hide my ability for juggling, lest others force me to demonstrate.

marijuana_user · October 12, 2009, 1:46pm

It should be option B for the Sartre SC!

Here is another one::

Identify the error(s) -

Joanne has the ability of walking on her hands, also her twin sister Kimberly has the ability to balance on a tightrope; I, however, try to hide my ability for juggling, lest others force me to demonstrate.

ability for construction is wordy and weird.

the second clause makes sense with ability but i'd change it to juggle .. for juggling sounds bad

so given the options i wud look for the right answer by correcting those mistakes

My version:
Joanne has the ability of walking on her hands; Also, her twin sister Kimberly has the ability to balance on a tightrope; I, however, try to hide my ability of juggling, lest others force me to demonstrate.

Correction 1: semi colon (or may be a period, either should work) instead of a comma.
Correction 2: 'Also' to be followed by a comma.
Correction 3: in second sentence, instead of 'for', 'of' sounds better.

I would like to stay with 'juggling' since juggling is an act. If I say I like to juggle, it might mean that i like to juggle between between my tasks/activities.

I believe that the combination "; Also, " can also be replaced by an 'and'.

Cheers.
Ankit.

My version :

Joanne has the ability to walk on her hands, her twin sister Kimberly also has the ability to balance on a tightrope; I, however, try to hide my ability for juggling, lest others force me to demonstrate.

The sentence has 4 errors ::

1. Idiom - Ability of and ability for are incorrect ; the right usage is Ability to

2. 'CAN' can be used to reflect the word ABILITY

3. Two independent clauses (Joanne has the ability of walking on her hands, also her twin sister Kimberly has the ability to balance on a tightrope) are connected by also rather the usage here should be AND

4. Ability for juggling - Ability to Juggle

Thus the correct version is :-

Joanne can walk on her hands, and her twin
sister Kimberly can balance on a tightrope; I, however, try to
hide my ability to juggle, lest others force me to demonstrate.

Thanks for your responses!
Cheers!

simcard · October 13, 2009, 7:28am

hey guys please help me solve this:

The Achaemenid empire of persia reached the indus valley in the fifth century B.C., bringing the Aramaic script with it, from which was derived both northern and southern Indian alphabets.

the Aramaic script with it, from which was derived both northern and
the Aramaic script with it, and from which deriving both the northern and the
with it the Aramaic script, from which derive both the northern and the
with it the Aramaic script, from which derives both northern and
with it the Aramaic script, and deriving from it both the northern and

tikna_atpug · October 13, 2009, 7:55am

hey guys please help me solve this:

The Achaemenid empire of persia reached the indus valley in the fifth century B.C., bringing the Aramaic script with it, from which was derived both northern and southern Indian alphabets.

the Aramaic script with it, from which was derived both northern and
the Aramaic script with it, and from which deriving both the northern and the
with it the Aramaic script, from which derive both the northern and the
with it the Aramaic script, from which derives both northern and
with it the Aramaic script, and deriving from it both the northern and

IMO: C

Cheers.
Ankit.

simcard · October 13, 2009, 9:25am

yes C is the right answer. Please explain this.
Because the statement
'from which derive both the northern and the' in C, sounds a bit awkward....
Please justify..