GMAT Sentence Correction Discussions

MBA
8746

Ok..will do so.. but do you have any idea as to how to identify parallelism.

Say option A) based on cultivating crops such as corn and
beans, the harvesting of fish and shellfish, and
exploiting
(B) based on the cultivation of such crops as corn
and beans, the harvesting of fish and shellfish,
and the exploitation of

Then how do I know which is the correct option ??

8747
Ok..will do so.. but do you have any idea as to how to identify parallelism.

Say option A) based on cultivating crops such as corn and
beans, the harvesting of fish and shellfish, and
exploiting
(B) based on the cultivation of such crops as corn
and beans, the harvesting of fish and shellfish,
and the exploitation of

Then how do I know which is the correct option ??


Hey Prakhar
If all the clauses in a sentence are similar in structure, verb, tense etc , then you say that they are parallel.

Example of Parallel Tense:

You can write:
I came, I saw and I conquered ( Came, saw and conquered all in past tense, thats what you call parallel)

You can't write:
I came, I saw and I conquer( Conquer is present tense while came and saw are past tense).


Hope that clarifies your doubt

BTW, Which book are you referring. Please read Manhattan SC Strategic guide, its an awesome book.
8748

right now i am only practising using OG, although i have the SC from manhattans as well....

8749
prakhar247 Says
right now i am only practising using OG, although i have the SC from manhattans as well....



If you go through the Manhattan SC guide, you will get the number of OG questions at the end of every chapter. In this way, you can learn and practice at the same time. And you will also know, which chapter is the one where you need to focus if you check your results from the questions at the end, so You can go back and read that chapter again. At the end of the guide, you will be done with the fundamentals, advanced SC and practice questions from OG.
8750
apurv Yadav Says
Kindly explain why not it"s D

explanations given as below :
for D :Use as collateral to borrow against is redundant ; the wording is awkward
for E: Correct, In this sentence, the plural subject 'values' agrees with the plural verb 'are'

Hope its clear now

cheers
Dipak Haridas
8751
AbhishekISB Says
Is "majority" a singular/plural? I know its both, depending on the context. Can someone please explain the context.


Words such as majority and minority can be either singular or plural dependent on how they are used. If we need to emphasize on individual items of the group, then they are considered plural. If we need to emphasize on the total nature of the group, then they are considered singular.

The majority of people have cast their votes. - PLURAL
In the jury, majority has voted against the defendant. - SINGULAR

That being said, I do not believe this is a frequently tested topic. In OG12, only question 82 uses the word majority and that too in the non-underlined portion of the sentence and that too not as a subject. If we consider CR sentences as any indication of what GMAT considers correct and incorrect (this is not a very good assumption), then there are two questions in which majority is used and in both occurrences it is used as plural - Q 109 and 117.

In summary, majority can be either be singular or plural, depending on the context. And these terms are not tested frequently.

Payal
8752

Hi Puys

I am having real big issues learning the idioms. Can someone suggest a better way with the idioms. I am referring SC Strategic Guide from Manhattan for idioms. Please let me know if there is a better approach that I should take rather than just trying to mug them up.

Desperately looking for an answer, as I am stuck on this chapter and I never get confident enough to move to the next one.

Thanks

8753

I chose B option in the first sentence.
c according to me the sentence speaks of the present tense,ok. here why 'compares' is used n not compared is because the 2 ratios r in the picture which r compared NOW.At present. so no ambigutiy should be there regarding the tense of the work 'compare'.

I hope I make some sense on this for you. 😃

8754
Wonder why you had "mixed feelings" Abhishek. I thought you were correct. GMAT seems to be pretty consistent in its approach towards this. According to GMAT, the addition of "the" before "-ing" form of the verb creates a "Gerund", which is a "Noun" form and so, can be "parallel" to other nouns in the sentence. In this case, "the harvesting" is a Gerund form, that is parallel to other nouns "cultivation" and "exploitation"

You might also want to look at Q#119 in OG 12, where the correct answer is:

New theories propose that catastrophic impacts of asteroids and comets may have caused reversals in the Earth's magnetic field, the onset of ice ages, the splitting apart of continents 80 million years ago, and great volcanic eruptions.

Again, in this sentence, "the splitting" is a Gerund form, which is parallel to other Nouns "reversals" and "onset".

-------------------------------------------
Thanks,
Ashish
GMAT Faculty @ EducationAisle
GMAT - 99th Percentile, MBA - ISB


Hi Ashish
Yes, indeed I was correct. Thanks for replying

I got myself clarified on the gerund part a few days back. In the earlier example:
A) based on cultivating such crops like corn and beans, the harvesting of fi sh and shellfi sh, and exploiting (B) based on the cultivation of such crops as corn and beans, the harvesting of fi sh and seafood, and the exploitation of

We have parallel action nouns/complex gerund in option B , whereas in option a, cultivating and exploiting are simple gerund but "the harvesting of" is a complex gerund" of the form "(the/a/an) - (noun+ing) -(of) and the simple and complex gerund do not go in parallel. Only action nouns and Complex gerund will go in parallel.

IN your example:
New theories propose that catastrophic impacts of asteroids and comets may have caused reversals in the Earth's magnetic field, the onset of ice ages, the splitting apart of continents 80 million years ago, and great volcanic eruptions.

We again have all complex gerunds the form i described above and hence the sentence is parallel.

Since,I was confused at that point of time, so I thought of taking the words back, dint want someone/anyone to base their fundamentals on a confused statement.

Thanks
Abhishek
8755
Hi Guyz,

Can anyone please help me in this sentence and the theory behind the right answer.

:cheerio:
According to some economists, the July decrease in unemployment so that it was the lowest in two years suggests that the gradual improvement in the job market is continuing.
(A) so that it was the lowest in two years
(B) so that it was the lowest two-year rate
(C) to what would be the lowest in two years
(D) to a two-year low level
(E) to the lowest level in two years
8756
Hi Guyz,

Can anyone please help me in this sentence and the theory behind the right answer.

:cheerio:
According to some economists, the July decrease in unemployment so that it was the lowest in two years suggests that the gradual improvement in the job market is continuing.
(A) so that it was the lowest in two years
(B) so that it was the lowest two-year rate
(C) to what would be the lowest in two years
(D) to a two-year low level
(E) to the lowest level in two years

E option I think. what is the official answer please.
8757

Yes its E..Can you please help me understand tthe reasoning behind

8758
amitsingh30 Says
Yes its E..Can you please help me understand tthe reasoning behind

According to some economists, the July decrease in unemployment so that it was the lowest in two years suggests that the gradual improvement in the job market is continuing.
(C) to what would be the lowest in two years
(D) to a two-year low level
(E) to the lowest level in two years
I hope u r able to eliminate 1,2 cos they sound just weird. Since its a comparison from something that has happened in the past, it has to start with 'to'. further 'c' tell about the future, so eliminate it. Its not an online measurement kind of a thing, not a share market kinda continuous up-down system so 'D' wont agree with it. ITs one time measurement which gives answer in HIGH or LOW, thz it. I hope things r fine now.
8759

Much better buddy! Thnx!

Can I ask how can i have a tight preparation for SC. Manhattan.. or wat or wat?

8760
Much better buddy! Thnx!

Can I ask how can i have a tight preparation for SC. Manhattan.. or wat or wat?



Manhattan it is...(strategic guide for SC)
8761
Hi Guyz,

Can anyone please help me in this sentence and the theory behind the right answer.

:cheerio:
According to some economists, the July decrease in unemployment so that it was the lowest in two years suggests that the gradual improvement in the job market is continuing.
(A) so that it was the lowest in two years
(B) so that it was the lowest two-year rate
(C) to what would be the lowest in two years
(D) to a two-year low level
(E) to the lowest level in two years

can you provide the source of this.

thanks
Dipak
8762

1000 Sentence correction

8763

1. The football team, tired after four hours of practice and wanted to reach home quickly, took a short cut.
A. tired after four hours of practice and wanted to reach home quickly, took a
short cut.
B. tired after four hours of practice and wanting to reach home quickly, took a
short cut.
C. tired after four hours of practice and because they wanted to reach home
quickly, took a short cut.
D. tired after four hours of practice and wanting to reach home quickly, will take
a short cut.
E. tiring after four hours of practice and wanting to reach home quickly, took a
short cut.



2. The proposed simplification of the tax code would repeal or modify a number of popular tax breaks, including the deductibility of mortgage interest payments, so that income tax rates could be reduced across the board.
A. would repeal or modify a number of popular tax breaks, including the
deductibility of mortgage interest payments, so that income tax rates could
be reduced
B. will repeal or modify a number of popular tax breaks, including the
deductibility of mortgage interest payments, so that income tax rates can be
reduced
C. will repeal or modify a number of popular tax breaks, which includes the
deductibility of mortgage interest payments, so that income tax rates could
be reduced
D. would repeal or modify a number of popular tax breaks, including the
deductibility of mortgage interest payments, so as to reduce income tax rates
E. would repeal and modify a number of popular tax breaks, including the
deductibility of mortgage interest payments, so that income tax rates could
be reduced

8764

1B
2E

is it? Not sure!

8765

My take :

1. B
2. B


-Deepak.