GMAT Sentence Correction Discussions

srijack · June 19, 2009, 10:46am

I thot there was some catch and it was something similar to phrase 'bread and butter', so i chose B.

Can someone tell me .. how to identify singular phrases, or in GMAT it is always plural.

k4kunal · June 19, 2009, 2:12pm

The endurance and consistency of baseball star Lou Gehrig, known as The Iron Horse, are legendary

itsn't it a Ques of MM (Misplaced Modifiers )
Do shed some light on this .. as the options seemed a misfit to me too

hemanth_28 · June 20, 2009, 3:29pm

I thot there was some catch and it was something similar to phrase 'bread and butter', so i chose B.

Can someone tell me .. how to identify singular phrases, or in GMAT it is always plural.

Bread and butter is not always singular. If "the bread and butter" is considered as one thing then it is singular. Look at the statements below.

bread and butter are in my shopping list. Both of them are considered as separate entities here.
My bread and butter is teaching --- here the phrase is singular.

Similarly in the sentence endurance and consistency are two separate attributes of the player.

hemanth_28 · June 20, 2009, 3:32pm

The endurance and consistency of baseball star Lou Gehrig, known as The Iron Horse, are legendary

itsn't it a Ques of MM (Misplaced Modifiers )
Do shed some light on this .. as the options seemed a misfit to me too

The question doesn't suffer from any error of MM. 'know as "iron horse" ' rightly modifies the Lou Gehrig.

catfighter · June 20, 2009, 8:14pm

Main confusion was between A & B ( C & E have misplaced modifiers and D has superfluous "reason" and "because of")

In choice B, "a baseball star" isnt correct - we are referring to a proper noun here, for example it is not like "the lion, a carnivore known as the king of the jungle".

Hence A is the best choice - however I was also a bit confused by the is/are usage, maybe if the 2 things aresimilar, then "is" would be correct? eg: The skill and temparament of Sachin Tendulkar is exemplary? or should it be "are exemplary"?

guy with guts Says
A is definately the right answer

The endurance and consistency of baseball star Lou Gehrig, known as The Iron Horse, are legendary.

(A) The endurance and consistency of baseball star Lou Gehrig, known as The Iron Horse, are legendary.
(B) The endurance and consistency of Lou Gehrig, a baseball star known as The Iron Horse, is legendary.
(C) Known as The Iron Horse, the endurance and consistency of Lou Gehrig, the baseball star, is legendary.
(D) The reason baseball star Lou Gehrig is known as The Iron Horse is because of his legendary endurance and consistency.
(E) Known as The Iron Horse, baseball star Lou Gehrigs endurance and consistency are legendary.

hemanth_28 · June 21, 2009, 7:40am

Main confusion was between A & B ( C & E have misplaced modifiers and D has superfluous "reason" and "because of")

In choice B, "a baseball star" isnt correct - we are referring to a proper noun here, for example it is not like "the lion, a carnivore known as the king of the jungle".

Hence A is the best choice - however I was also a bit confused by the is/are usage, maybe if the 2 things aresimilar, then "is" would be correct? eg: The skill and temparament of Sachin Tendulkar is exemplary? or should it be "are exemplary"?

skill and temperament of Sachin are exemplary would be the right usage I guess.

guy_with_guts · June 21, 2009, 6:15pm

Bread and butter is not always singular. If "the bread and butter" is considered as one thing then it is singular. Look at the statements below.

bread and butter are in my shopping list. Both of them are considered as separate entities here.
My bread and butter is teaching --- here the phrase is singular.

Similarly in the sentence endurance and consistency are two separate attributes of the player.

Right explanation dude.

amar_sinha_25505345 · June 22, 2009, 10:15am

The endurance and consistency of baseball star Lou Gehrig, known as The Iron Horse, are legendary.
(A) The endurance and consistency of baseball star Lou Gehrig, known as The Iron Horse, are legendary.

(B) The endurance and consistency of Lou Gehrig, a baseball star known as The Iron Horse, is legendary.
(C) Known as The Iron Horse, the endurance and consistency of Lou Gehrig, the baseball star, is legendary.
(D) The reason baseball star Lou Gehrig is known as The Iron Horse is because of his legendary endurance and consistency.
(E) Known as The Iron Horse, baseball star Lou Gehrigs endurance and consistency are legendary.

1. The endurance and consistency ..are..It should be is as the subject endurance and consistency should be treated as singular.
2. Seems to be correct
3. After the reference clause, the first word should be subject.
4. Lengthy, wordy.
5. Subject verb not in tune. Endurance and Consistency should be treated as one unit and hence singular.

So I think B is the answer.

pearlcrystal · June 22, 2009, 11:47am

The endurance and consistency ..are..It should be is as the subject endurance and consistency should be treated as singular.
Seems to be correct
After the reference clause, the first word should be subject.
Lengthy, wordy.
Subject verb not in tune. Endurance and Consistency should be treated as one unit and hence singular.

So I think B is the answer.

Ok, tell me why should "endurance and consistency" be treated as singular? Aren't they 2 different traits of a person.
It may be confusing a bit since the words being used might seem related.

Had it been:
Endurance and loyalty, or Appetite and Stamina, or Hunger and Honesty, or whatever1 and whatever2 (whatever1 and whatever 2 are mutually exclusive

)
Do you think we can take them as a singular word?

Think in these terms and things might clear up a bit.

rohit_gem2611 · June 22, 2009, 1:49pm

The strength of a carbon-chlorine bond is stronger than that of a carbon-bromine bond, which is in turn greater than a carbon-iodine bond.

which is in turn greater than
which is in turn stronger than
that is in turn greater than
that is in turn stronger than
in turn stronger than

rohit_gem2611 · June 22, 2009, 2:23pm

Just as listening to Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous fireside chats helps students of history understand the 1930s, an era marked by incredible domestic economic distress and unparalleled foreign conflict, so Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp the immense strife and challenge America faced in the post-Civil War era.
A) so Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp the immense strife and challenge America faced in the post-Civil War era.
B) Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp the post-Civil War era, a time of immense domestic challenge and strife.
C) reading Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp the post-Civil War era, a time of immense domestic challenge and strife
D) so reading Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp the post-Civil War era, a time of immense domestic challenge and strife
E) so reading Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp a time of immense domestic challenge and strife--the post-Civil War era

siddharthaduggirala · June 22, 2009, 2:29pm

The strength of a carbon-chlorine bond is stronger than that of a carbon-bromine bond, which is in turn greater than a carbon-iodine bond.
which is in turn greater than
which is in turn stronger than
that is in turn greater than
that is in turn stronger than
in turn stronger than

IMO--2.

which refers to noun preceeding it.
3,4 have that after comma. This is un-idiomatic.
5. does not modify preceeding term

1. "greater than" is unconvincing :grin:

any way what is the OA

siddharthaduggirala · June 22, 2009, 2:37pm

The endurance and consistency of baseball star Lou Gehrig, known as The Iron Horse, are legendary

itsn't it a Ques of MM (Misplaced Modifiers )
Do shed some light on this .. as the options seemed a misfit to me too

IMO A
What is the OA?

siddharthaduggirala · June 22, 2009, 2:43pm

Just as listening to Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous fireside chats helps students of history understand the 1930s, an era marked by incredible domestic economic distress and unparalleled foreign conflict, so Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp the immense strife and challenge America faced in the post-Civil War era.
A) so Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp the immense strife and challenge America faced in the post-Civil War era.
B) Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp the post-Civil War era, a time of immense domestic challenge and strife.
C) reading Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp the post-Civil War era, a time of immense domestic challenge and strife
D) so reading Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp the post-Civil War era, a time of immense domestic challenge and strife
E) so reading Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp a time of immense domestic challenge and strife--the post-Civil War era

This is Just as ... so idiom.

so this rules out B,C. Now parallelism eliminates A.

Now E is unidiomatic. Since "the post-Civil War era" appears as a modifier at the end.

So in my opinion the Ans is D.

Please post the OA.

hemanth_28 · June 22, 2009, 4:05pm

IMO--2.

which refers to noun preceeding it.
3,4 have that after comma. This is un-idiomatic.
5. does not modify preceeding term

1. "greater than" is unconvincing :grin:

any way what is the OA

The strength of a carbon-chlorine bond is stronger than that of a carbon-bromine bond, which is in turn greater than a carbon-iodine bond.
which is in turn greater than
which is in turn stronger than
that is in turn greater than
that is in turn stronger than
in turn stronger than

Absolutely.

I go with B for the same explanation. What is OA.

hemanth_28 · June 22, 2009, 4:26pm

Just as listening to Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous fireside chats helps students of history understand the 1930s, an era marked by incredible domestic economic distress and unparalleled foreign conflict, so Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp the immense strife and challenge America faced in the post-Civil War era.
A) so Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp the immense strife and challenge America faced in the post-Civil War era.
B) Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp the post-Civil War era, a time of immense domestic challenge and strife.
C) reading Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp the post-Civil War era, a time of immense domestic challenge and strife
D) so reading Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp the post-Civil War era, a time of immense domestic challenge and strife
E) so reading Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp a time of immense domestic challenge and strife--the post-Civil War era

I would choose C. Though D is following the pattern (just as X ,so Y) , option D somehow doesn't sound right to me !!

arijit_sen_25711485 · June 22, 2009, 7:31pm

Hi puys, need ur help for the following:
1. Even as they never forgave the Crusaders who overran their homeland, the Syrians have never absolved the French for taking territory from them.
(A) Even as they never forgave
(B) While they never forgave
(C) Just like they never forgave
(D) Similarly to not forgiving
(E) In spite of their never forgiving

The Ans is A, pls explain how..
Thanks

nuttyvarun · June 22, 2009, 8:51pm

2 things to remember for this one I guess;
Idiom
&
Parallelism

Notice the option D fitted into the OS..

Just as listening to Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous fireside chats helps students of history understand the 1930s, an era marked by incredible domestic economic distress and unparalleled foreign conflict so reading Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp the post-Civil War era, a time of immense domestic challenge and strife

match the underlined section and compare with "just as X, so Y"

compare blue section and red section separately to cite the parallelism in the final sentence.

I would have marked option D, though option C is very close to the solution but nevertheless it is unidiomatic..

what is the OA plz..??.. ;)

Just as listening to Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous fireside chats helps students of history understand the 1930s, an era marked by incredible domestic economic distress and unparalleled foreign conflict, so Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp the immense strife and challenge America faced in the post-Civil War era.
A) so Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp the immense strife and challenge America faced in the post-Civil War era.
B) Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp the post-Civil War era, a time of immense domestic challenge and strife.
C) reading Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp the post-Civil War era, a time of immense domestic challenge and strife
D) so reading Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp the post-Civil War era, a time of immense domestic challenge and strife
E) so reading Abraham Lincoln's famous Second Inaugural Address helps students grasp a time of immense domestic challenge and strife--the post-Civil War era

siddharthaduggirala · June 22, 2009, 9:05pm

Hi puys, need ur help for the following:
1. Even as they never forgave the Crusaders who overran their homeland, the Syrians have never absolved the French for taking territory from them.
(A) Even as they never forgave
(B) While they never forgave
(C) Just like they never forgave
(D) Similarly to not forgiving
(E) In spite of their never forgiving
The Ans is A, pls explain how..
Thanks

This is a verb tense problem.

OK We can eliminate C) Just like not idiomatic.D and E use "forgiving" this is present continuous so incorrect.

For B) while is used to indicate a period of time. so incorrect, hence A.

Puys any alternative explanation

crackingit · June 22, 2009, 9:45pm

I would go with C. Sounds and looks perfect.