Found on several Indonesian islands, Komodo dragons dominate their habitat, and grow to lengths of up to 10 feet, running swiftly enough that deer and wild boar serve as its primary live prey. 1)the Komodo dragon dominates its habitat, growing to lengths of up to 10 feet and running so swiftly 2)the Komodo dragon dominates its habitat, grows to lengths of up to 10 feet, and it runs swiftly enough 3)Komodo dragons dominate their habitat and grow to lengths of up to 10 feet, they run swiftly enough 4)Komodo dragons dominate their habitat and grow to lengths of up to 10 feet, and with such swift running 5)Komodo dragons dominate their habitat, and they grow to lengths of up to 10 feet, running swiftly enough
My weak areas is ING modifier. Pls help me overcome this. can somebody give some theory abt ING modifier. Source : Grockit
Correct answer - A
c/d/e --- not correct because of "Komodo dragons ...." so s-v mismatch with "its" and between A and B ...... A is correct as B is having a modifier error .
"ING - Modifier" can modify the noun , which may not be its immediate neighbor .
Found on several Indonesian islands, Komodo dragons dominate their habitat, and grow to lengths of up to 10 feet, running swiftly enough that deer and wild boar serve as its primary live prey. 1)the Komodo dragon dominates its habitat, growing to lengths of up to 10 feet and running so swiftly 2)the Komodo dragon dominates its habitat, grows to lengths of up to 10 feet, and it runs swiftly enough 3)Komodo dragons dominate their habitat and grow to lengths of up to 10 feet, they run swiftly enough 4)Komodo dragons dominate their habitat and grow to lengths of up to 10 feet, and with such swift running 5)Komodo dragons dominate their habitat, and they grow to lengths of up to 10 feet, running swiftly enough
My weak areas is ING modifier. Pls help me overcome this. can somebody give some theory abt ING modifier. Source : Grockit
Archaeologists in Ireland believe that a recently discovered chalice, which dates from the eighth century, was probably buried to keep from being stolen by invaders. (A) to keep from (B) to keep it from (C) to avoid (D) in order that it would avoid (E) in order to keep from
Found on several Indonesian islands, Komodo dragons dominate their habitat, and grow to lengths of up to 10 feet, running swiftly enough that deer and wild boar serve as its primary live prey. 1) the Komodo dragon dominates its habitat, growing to lengths of up to 10 feet and running so swiftly 2) the Komodo dragon dominates its habitat, grows to lengths of up to 10 feet, and it runs swiftly enough 3) Komodo dragons dominate their habitat and grow to lengths of up to 10 feet, they run swiftly enough 4) Komodo dragons dominate their habitat and grow to lengths of up to 10 feet, and with such swift running 5) Komodo dragons dominate their habitat, and they grow to lengths of up to 10 feet, running swiftly enough
My weak areas is ING modifier. Pls help me overcome this. can somebody give some theory abt ING modifier. Source : Grockit
option A. 3,4,5 -- incorrect because of 'their'. it should be its because the later part of the sentence uses 'its'. 1 and 2 avoid this error, but B is awkward. Hence, A..
1)Giuseppe Alessi, a world-class chef whose life has been a search for the genuine and the delicious in Florentine cooking, is an accomplished scholar not only unearthing many of his recipes from medieval and Renaissance manuscripts but also a poet and philosopher who draws his inspiration from the idyllic frescoes of Etruscan tombs. A. not only unearthing many of his recipes from medieval and Renaissance manuscripts but also a poet and philosopher who draws B. unearthing many of his recipes both from medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, as well as a poet and a philosopher who draws C. who unearths many of his recipes from medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, as well as a poet and a philosopher who draws D. who unearths many of his recipes from medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, but also a poet and a philosopher drawing E. who unearths many of his recipes from medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, a poet and philosopher drawing
2)The normative model of strategic decision-making suggests that executives examine a firm's external environment and internal conditions, and in using the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, can decide on a strategy.
A. conditions, and in using the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, can decide B. conditions, and they use the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses in deciding C. conditions and, in using the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses, deciding D. conditions and, using the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses, decide E. conditions and, in their use of the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, they decide
3. Unlike mainstream American businesses, more than half of which fail, the failure rate for businesses in the Amish community hovers around 5 percent. A. Unlike mainstream American businesses, more than half of which fail B. Unlike mainstream American businesses, in which the failure rate is more than half C. Unlike mainstream American businesses, where more than half of them fail D. While the rate of mainstream American businesses failing is more than half E. While more than half of mainstream American businesses fail
Now my doubts in questions : q1-How to get B as wrong option q2-How to reach ans. How the other options are eliminated q3-Why D is wrong
2)Climatic shifts are so gradual as to be indistinguishable at first from ordinary fluctuations in the weather. (A) so gradual as to be indistinguishable (B) so gradual they can be indistinguishable (C) so gradual that they are unable to be distinguished (D) gradual enough not to be distinguishable (E) gradual enough so that one cannot distinguish them
1) has been already answered 2) A .. so X as Y is the correct usage whenever the stress is on X
I don't think so. What is the source of these questions?
For 2, the answer should be B (so gradual that they can be indistinguishable).
"so..as to" is not a correct idiom on GMAT. Please refer to OG-12 Question 51:
Option E says: "so brisk as to hamper the ability..."
The explanation says: The phrase is awkward, wordy and unclear.
Further, I have seen the usage of So X as to Y in couple of MGMAT CAT q.s also..
It will be helpful if you can give your inputs.. and clear the doubts ..
Hi!! As for MGMAT, would suggest you get in touch with them (you might want to cite the OG question that I referenced in my mail) to get their response. Would be curious to know their response.
As GMAT instructors, we consider OG as the gospel truth. By the way, it is possible that at some point of time in the past, Gmat was more "permissive" to the phrase "so..as to", but in the most recent OG (OG-12), it seems clearly to not be inclined towards it. There is another question in OG (#39), where OG says: "so as to marry" is not idiomatically correct, though the reason I did not mention this in my previous mail was because it is not of the type "so X as to Y".
Posted this Query on the MGMAT forum now, lets see what reply the famed Ron and his associates provide !!
Another effort on google just now gave this: Error from ETS on diction? What I gathered from this post was, that Around 2003, GMATPrep gave the answer to this question as (C).
I guess we should take what the current OG provides.......
anandc Says
i saw it in 1000SC
Hello Ashish,
Hope you remember the discussion we had pertaining to the usage of 'SO X AS Y' in this question and in GMAT
I encountered this question while administrating GMAT PREP 1 today. The official answer to this question is indeed A
Often major economic shifts are so gradual as to be indistinguishable at first from ordinary fluctuations in the financial markets. a. same b. so gradual so that they can be indistinguishable c. so gradual that they are unable to be distinguished d. gradual enough not to be distinguishable e. gradual enough so that one cannot distinguish them
I really need your inputs on the usage of SO X as Y ...
Further, fellow puy (sausi007) posted this query on MGMAT forums (also quoted OG q.51 in that post) and Tim has replied with the following explanation:
Read the explanation in the OG more closely. They are saying the "for..." phrase is awkward and wordy, not the idiom..
1)Giuseppe Alessi, a world-class chef whose life has been a search for the genuine and the delicious in Florentine cooking, is an accomplished scholar not only unearthing many of his recipes from medieval and Renaissance manuscripts but also a poet and philosopher who draws his inspiration from the idyllic frescoes of Etruscan tombs. A. not only unearthing many of his recipes from medieval and Renaissance manuscripts but also a poet and philosopher who draws B. unearthing many of his recipes both from medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, as well as a poet and a philosopher who draws C. who unearths many of his recipes from medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, as well as a poet and a philosopher who draws D. who unearths many of his recipes from medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, but also a poet and a philosopher drawing E. who unearths many of his recipes from medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, a poet and philosopher drawing
2)The normative model of strategic decision-making suggests that executives examine a firm's external environment and internal conditions, and in using the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, can decide on a strategy.
A. conditions, and in using the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, can decide B. conditions, and they use the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses in deciding C. conditions and, in using the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses, deciding D. conditions and, using the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses, decide E. conditions and, in their use of the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, they decide
3. Unlike mainstream American businesses, more than half of which fail, the failure rate for businesses in the Amish community hovers around 5 percent. A. Unlike mainstream American businesses, more than half of which fail B. Unlike mainstream American businesses, in which the failure rate is more than half C. Unlike mainstream American businesses, where more than half of them fail D. While the rate of mainstream American businesses failing is more than half E. While more than half of mainstream American businesses fail
Now my doubts in questions : q1-How to get B as wrong option q2-How to reach ans. How the other options are eliminated q3-Why D is wrong
ANS1. C...For the sentence to be parallel , there should be a "who" after scholar. B violates parallelism.
ANS2.D...the sentence after comma is an adverbial modifier that aptly modifies the decide after the comma.
ANS3.E...it seems more concise...while D has an awkward construction.. incorrect construction "of + NOUN + ing form of verb".
For some birds the sense of smell appears to play a role in navigation, since pigeons with surgically removed olfactory nerves were found to have increased difficulties in homing. (A) were found to have increased difficulties (B) have been found to have increased difficulty (C) were found to have increasing difficulty (D) had been found to have increased difficulties (E) have been found to have increasing difficulties
I am a bit confused as to which tense will make sense here simple past or present perfect . Please help puys .
Hi Emin3m, thanks for taking the trouble to dig up multiple old posts.
Actually if you got this question on GMATPrep, it clearly means that this is an acceptable construction and we should stop at that.
However, few questions in OG that give us food for thought:
OG 12 Question 6 option D: While OE does not specifically point to "so high as to make the salt from the stone crystallize", it does say: "the entire construction is awkward, wordy,and ambiguous"
Perhaps, the most clear preference is provided in OG 12 Questoin 37, OE for option C: The construction "so x as to y" is not a correct idiom.
By the way, in regards to OE for Questoin 51, I am sure there are "two different" errors that OG points to:
1. The phrase is awkward, wordy, and unclear; 2. "for" is the incorrect preposition to follow ability.
Looks like Tim is interpretting it as just one error.
For some birds the sense of smell appears to play a role in navigation, since pigeons with surgically removed olfactory nerves were found to have increased difficulties in homing. (A) were found to have increased difficulties (B) have been found to have increased difficulty (C) were found to have increasing difficulty (D) had been found to have increased difficulties (E) have been found to have increasing difficulties
I am a bit confused as to which tense will make sense here simple past or present perfect . Please help puys .
Tense issue clearly. The sentence is in present tense (bold part - appears) .. so we cant use past tense... further usage of since shows that birds were found and are still found ... so we need to use HAVE BEEN
B is the correct answer between B & E .. E is awkward in that it says have been found is actually contributing to increasing difficulties ..
1)Giuseppe Alessi, a world-class chef whose life has been a search for the genuine and the delicious in Florentine cooking, is an accomplished scholar not only unearthing many of his recipes from medieval and Renaissance manuscripts but also a poet and philosopher who draws his inspiration from the idyllic frescoes of Etruscan tombs. A. not only unearthing many of his recipes from medieval and Renaissance manuscripts but also a poet and philosopher who draws B. unearthing many of his recipes both from medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, as well as a poet and a philosopher who draws C. who unearths many of his recipes from medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, as well as a poet and a philosopher who draws D. who unearths many of his recipes from medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, but also a poet and a philosopher drawing E. who unearths many of his recipes from medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, a poet and philosopher drawing
2)The normative model of strategic decision-making suggests that executives examine a firm's external environment and internal conditions, and in using the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, can decide on a strategy.
A. conditions, and in using the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, can decide B. conditions, and they use the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses in deciding C. conditions and, in using the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses, deciding D. conditions and, using the set of objective criteria derived from these analyses, decide E. conditions and, in their use of the set of objective criteria they derive from these analyses, they decide
3. Unlike mainstream American businesses, more than half of which fail, the failure rate for businesses in the Amish community hovers around 5 percent. A. Unlike mainstream American businesses, more than half of which fail B. Unlike mainstream American businesses, in which the failure rate is more than half C. Unlike mainstream American businesses, where more than half of them fail D. While the rate of mainstream American businesses failing is more than half E. While more than half of mainstream American businesses fail
Now my doubts in questions : q1-How to get B as wrong option q2-How to reach ans. How the other options are eliminated q3-Why D is wrong
For some birds the sense of smell appears to play a role in navigation, since pigeons with surgically removed olfactory nerves were found to have increased difficulties in homing. (A) were found to have increased difficulties (B) have been found to have increased difficulty (C) were found to have increasing difficulty (D) had been found to have increased difficulties (E) have been found to have increasing difficulties
I am a bit confused as to which tense will make sense here simple past or present perfect . Please help puys .
Here we have to use present perfect tense...albeit the experiment has occurred in the past ,its effect is still there in the present... So between B and E...B is correct because "increasing difficulty" in option E implies that the difficulty is still increasing.
For some birds the sense of smell appears to play a role in navigation, since pigeons with surgically removed olfactory nerves were found to have increased difficulties in homing. (A) were found to have increased difficulties (B) have been found to have increased difficulty (C) were found to have increasing difficulty (D) had been found to have increased difficulties (E) have been found to have increasing difficulties
I am a bit confused as to which tense will make sense here simple past or present perfect . Please help puys .
-At an orientation meeting, the travelers were told that a visa, a landing card, and evidence of inoculation against typhoid fever would be needed by each of them. A. a visa, a landing card, and evidence of inoculation against typhoid fever would be needed by each of them B. they would need a visa, a landing card, and evidence of their being inoculated against typhoid fever C. they would need evidence of being inoculated against typhoid fever and a visa and landing card D. they would each need a visa, a landing card, and evidence of inoculation against typhoid fever E. they would need visas, landing cards, and evidence of inoculation against typhoid fever for each of them
2- Researchers in Germany have unearthed 400,000-year-old wooden spears from what it appears was an ancient lakeshore hunting ground as stunning evidence of human ancestors who systematically hunted big game much earlier than believed. A. it appears was an ancient lakeshore hunting ground as stunning evidence of human ancestors who B. it appears had been an ancient lakeshore hunting ground and stunning evidence that human ancestors C. appears was an ancient lakeshore hunting ground and is stunning evidence that human ancestors D. appears to be an ancient lakeshore hunting ground, stunning evidence that human ancestors E. appears that it is an ancient lakeshore hunting ground, stunning evidence of human ancestors who
My doubts q1-How to deicde bw A & D. Why is A wrong. q2-Explain why other choices are wrong
-At an orientation meeting, the travelers were told that a visa, a landing card, and evidence of inoculation against typhoid fever would be needed by each of them. A. a visa, a landing card, and evidence of inoculation against typhoid fever would be needed by each of them B. they would need a visa, a landing card, and evidence of their being inoculated against typhoid fever C. they would need evidence of being inoculated against typhoid fever and a visa and landing card D. they would each need a visa, a landing card, and evidence of inoculation against typhoid fever E. they would need visas, landing cards, and evidence of inoculation against typhoid fever for each of them
2- Researchers in Germany have unearthed 400,000-year-old wooden spears from what it appears was an ancient lakeshore hunting ground as stunning evidence of human ancestors who systematically hunted big game much earlier than believed. A. it appears was an ancient lakeshore hunting ground as stunning evidence of human ancestors who B. it appears had been an ancient lakeshore hunting ground and stunning evidence that human ancestors C. appears was an ancient lakeshore hunting ground and is stunning evidence that human ancestors D. appears to be an ancient lakeshore hunting ground, stunning evidence that human ancestors E. appears that it is an ancient lakeshore hunting ground, stunning evidence of human ancestors who
My doubts q1-How to deicde bw A & D. Why is A wrong. q2-Explain why other choices are wrong
Hey,
In 1st Q. A is in passive voice, while D is in active voice.. A is an awkward construction.. "need" is used as a synonym of "require" in this Q. so imagine a situation that you reach a country in Africa and on landing you hear the visa officer, who while addressing a group of visitors says - "they would each need x,y, and z to enter the country"
In 2nd Q. option D is right .. the part after the comma (stunning evidence) is an abstract noun modifying the preceding clause : unearthing of wooden spears ...
when you have a COMMA + -ING modifier, two things apply: * the modifier itself MODIFIES THE PRECEDING CLAUSE (not just the noun that precedes the comma); and * the SUBJECT of the preceding clause is the IMPLIED SUBJECT of the -ING word.
I am really not good at explaning choices because of lack of knowledge of grammar terms ... pls google nd u ll get very gud xplanations for such q.s ..
-At an orientation meeting, the travelers were told that a visa, a landing card, and evidence of inoculation against typhoid fever would be needed by each of them. A. a visa, a landing card, and evidence of inoculation against typhoid fever would be needed by each of them B. they would need a visa, a landing card, and evidence of their being inoculated against typhoid fever C. they would need evidence of being inoculated against typhoid fever and a visa and landing card D. they would each need a visa, a landing card, and evidence of inoculation against typhoid fever E. they would need visas, landing cards, and evidence of inoculation against typhoid fever for each of them
2- Researchers in Germany have unearthed 400,000-year-old wooden spears from what it appears was an ancient lakeshore hunting ground as stunning evidence of human ancestors who systematically hunted big game much earlier than believed. A. it appears was an ancient lakeshore hunting ground as stunning evidence of human ancestors who B. it appears had been an ancient lakeshore hunting ground and stunning evidence that human ancestors C. appears was an ancient lakeshore hunting ground and is stunning evidence that human ancestors D. appears to be an ancient lakeshore hunting ground, stunning evidence that human ancestors E. appears that it is an ancient lakeshore hunting ground, stunning evidence of human ancestors who
My doubts q1-How to deicde bw A & D. Why is A wrong. q2-Explain why other choices are wrong
For Q2.
Here the verb is 'have unearthed' - present perfect. So we maintain this tense unless a change is required. In Gmat one follows the verb tense as given in the non underlined part of the sentence unless a change is required.
A. it appears was an ancient lakeshore hunting ground as stunning evidence of human ancestors who [ too many mistakes here. 'It' has no proper antecedent. 'was' is a past indicator. we need to maintain the present tense format]
B. it appears had been an ancient lakeshore hunting ground and stunning evidence that human ancestors [ had been- past perfect, present tense format is required]
C. appears was an ancient lakeshore hunting ground and is stunning evidence that human ancestors[again comedy of tenses]
D. appears to be an ancient lakeshore hunting ground, stunning evidence that human ancestors
E. appears that it is an ancient lakeshore hunting ground, stunning evidence of human ancestors who [ 'it' again does not have a proper antecedent. 'evidence of' is wrongly used. it changes the meaning of the sentence]
163.Because Halleys comet changes orbit slightly during the seventy-six-year interval between passing close to Earth, it may veer onto a collision course with a planet sometime in the distant future. (A) between passing (B) of passing (C) between its passes (D) of its passes (E) as it passes
1-After several years of rapid growth, the health care company became one of the largest health care providers in the metropolitan area, while it then proved unable to handle the increase in business, falling months behind in its payment to doctors and hospitals. A. while it then proved unable to handle the increase in business, falling months behind in its payment to B. while it then proved unable to handle the increase in business and fell months behind in its payment to C. but then it proved unable to handle the increase in business, falling months behind in its paying D. but then proving unable to handle the increase in business, falling months behind in paying E. but then proved unable to handle the increase in business, falling months behind in paying
2-Tom Bradley was mayor of Los Angeles from 1973 to 1993, an era when the city had transformed from a collection of suburban neighborhoods to the second-largest city in the United States. A. an era when the city had transformed B. an era during which the city was transformed C. an era that transformed it D. during which era the city transformed E. during which the city was transformed
1- how to decide bw E & C. how is C wrong? 2- how to decide bw B & E. how E is wrong?
1-After several years of rapid growth, the health care company became one of the largest health care providers in the metropolitan area, while it then proved unable to handle the increase in business, falling months behind in its payment to doctors and hospitals. A. while it then proved unable to handle the increase in business, falling months behind in its payment to B. while it then proved unable to handle the increase in business and fell months behind in its payment to C. but then it proved unable to handle the increase in business, falling months behind in its paying D. but then proving unable to handle the increase in business, falling months behind in paying E. but then proved unable to handle the increase in business, falling months behind in paying
2-Tom Bradley was mayor of Los Angeles from 1973 to 1993, an era when the city had transformed from a collection of suburban neighborhoods to the second-largest city in the United States. A. an era when the city had transformed B. an era during which the city was transformed C. an era that transformed it D. during which era the city transformed E. during which the city was transformed
1- how to decide bw E & C. how is C wrong? 2- how to decide bw B & E. how E is wrong?