One automobile manufacturer has announced plans to increase the average fuel efficiency of its sport utility vehicles by 25 percent over the next five years, amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, and representing the first significant change in the fuel efficiency of any class of passenger vehicle in almost two decades.
A: amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, and representing
B: amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, and it would represent
C: an increase that would amount to roughly five miles per gallon and it would represent
D: an increase that would amount to roughly five miles per gallon and would represent
E: which is an increase amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, representing
OA - C
I will let you guys solve this one and then will post my doubt after some discussion.
GMATPrep - Interesting Modifier Question
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I could not get to the correct answer. I marked choice E as the correct one, even though I was little doubtful about it. But I felt that all A through D were modifying the preceding clause and hence are incorrect. We need something to modify the 25% increase and so thought that choice E with "which" is the only one doing that...But I knew that there is that 5 years and which will not be appropriate...
Certainly a good one...Definitely need some help here.
Certainly a good one...Definitely need some help here.
priya2gupta5 wrote:One automobile manufacturer has announced plans to increase the average fuel efficiency of its sport utility vehicles by 25 percent over the next five years, amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, and representing the first significant change in the fuel efficiency of any class of passenger vehicle in almost two decades.
A: amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, and representing
B: amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, and it would represent
C: an increase that would amount to roughly five miles per gallon and it would represent
D: an increase that would amount to roughly five miles per gallon and would represent
E: which is an increase amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, representing
OA - C
I will let you guys solve this one and then will post my doubt after some discussion.
Hey.. Please re-check OA.
C is a run-on sentence. To correct it, a comma before 'it' is required in C.
IMO D should be OA
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Went with Dpriya2gupta5 wrote:One automobile manufacturer has announced plans to increase the average fuel efficiency of its sport utility vehicles by 25 percent over the next five years, amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, and representing the first significant change in the fuel efficiency of any class of passenger vehicle in almost two decades.
A: amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, and representing
B: amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, and it would represent
C: an increase that would amount to roughly five miles per gallon and it would represent
D: an increase that would amount to roughly five miles per gallon and would represent
E: which is an increase amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, representing
OA - C
I will let you guys solve this one and then will post my doubt after some discussion.
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Looking at the choices , it seems Choice D is the correct answer as per my opinion
A - Ambiguous modifier
B - Parallelism error
C - "and it would" Redundant Info
D - Seems right
E - Seems incorrect, since doesnt look right while reading . Automobile manufacture plans to increase something,adjective clause ,representing something.... not too sure
Whats the OA
A - Ambiguous modifier
B - Parallelism error
C - "and it would" Redundant Info
D - Seems right
E - Seems incorrect, since doesnt look right while reading . Automobile manufacture plans to increase something,adjective clause ,representing something.... not too sure
Whats the OA
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Sorry guys...the OA is D. Its not C.
Now here comes my doubt...
I could get to the correct answer - D. But I have some confusion about the modifiers.
I thought that choice E is incorrect because which - noun modifier modifies years. But why is choice D correct. Isn't "an increase, ......" also a noun modifier. So should it not modify 'years'. So do we not have placement issues with the modifier in this choice too.
I am just trying to understand the correct structure of the sentence...I am not questioning the OA at all...
Now here comes my doubt...
I could get to the correct answer - D. But I have some confusion about the modifiers.
I thought that choice E is incorrect because which - noun modifier modifies years. But why is choice D correct. Isn't "an increase, ......" also a noun modifier. So should it not modify 'years'. So do we not have placement issues with the modifier in this choice too.
I am just trying to understand the correct structure of the sentence...I am not questioning the OA at all...
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If you like what I write, do not hesitate to "thank"...
BTW origin of the word "thank"
- from Old English thancian;
- akin to Old English thanc gratitude
If you like what I write, do not hesitate to "thank"...
BTW origin of the word "thank"
- from Old English thancian;
- akin to Old English thanc gratitude
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The modifier in choices C and D is not a noun modifier. This "noun + noun modifier" in this sentence modifies the idea of increase presented in the preceding clause. Note that it is not a noun modifier in this sentence. It modifies the preceding clause - an idea presented in the preceding clause.
You may read more about such modifiers at this blog post.
Payal
You may read more about such modifiers at this blog post.
Payal
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The modification in (C) and (D) is called a "summative modifier." The first noun, in this case "an increase," summarizes the entire sentence before it, and then can be further modified by the adjective clause "that would..." following it. The concept is very similar to an Appositive, only an appositive, set off by commas, refers only to the noun right before it, whereas a summative modifier, also set off by commas, refers to the entire sentence before it. The only way to tell the difference is through context. It is weird but it s VERY acceptable and often the only way to fix a dangling or ambiguous modifier error.
Generally speaking, the summative modifier is used when the thing you want to modify isn't even in the sentence as a noun, but as an implicit idea or even a verb. Here, the "increase" is only mentioned as an infinitive, which can't be modified by any kind of adjective clause. Thus the noun "increase" summarizes the clause before it and gives us something to modify.
Another example:
"BeatTheGMAT provides us with a forum to share our concerns and receive advice from GMAT experts, a service that is highly valued by all of us trying to get into business school."
Here "a service" is a summative modifier, placed after a comma and describing the entire clause before it; that way, there is a noun for us to "highly value" instead of just the verb-idea of what BTG provides us!
Generally speaking, the summative modifier is used when the thing you want to modify isn't even in the sentence as a noun, but as an implicit idea or even a verb. Here, the "increase" is only mentioned as an infinitive, which can't be modified by any kind of adjective clause. Thus the noun "increase" summarizes the clause before it and gives us something to modify.
Another example:
"BeatTheGMAT provides us with a forum to share our concerns and receive advice from GMAT experts, a service that is highly valued by all of us trying to get into business school."
Here "a service" is a summative modifier, placed after a comma and describing the entire clause before it; that way, there is a noun for us to "highly value" instead of just the verb-idea of what BTG provides us!
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A present participle (such as amounting in A and B) preceded by a comma refers to the subject of the previous clause. In A and B, the subject of the preceding clause is one automobile manufacturer. Since the manufacturer is not amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, eliminate A and B.priya2gupta5 wrote:One automobile manufacturer has announced plans to increase the average fuel efficiency of its sport utility vehicles by 25 percent over the next five years, amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, and representing the first significant change in the fuel efficiency of any class of passenger vehicle in almost two decades.
A: amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, and representing
B: amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, and it would represent
C: an increase that would amount to roughly five miles per gallon and it would represent
D: an increase that would amount to roughly five miles per gallon and would represent
E: which is an increase amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, representing
In E, is should not be in the present tense.
The increase is to happen over the next five years (in the future).
Thus, the sentence cannot say which IS an increase amounting to roughly five miles per gallon (in the present).
Eliminate E.
The only difference between C and D is the use of it in C. Since the use of it is unnecessary, eliminate C.
The correct answer is D.
I don't quite agree that an increase (in C and D) is a summative modifier. I would argue that an increase is an appositive for 25 percent.
Two nouns (or noun phrases) are in apposition when they appear side by side, with one noun serving to explain or define the other. Since 25 percent is an increase that would amount to roughly five miles per gallon -- and the two noun structures appear side by side -- an increase is an appositive for 25 percent.
Last edited by GMATGuruNY on Thu Aug 04, 2011 8:00 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Wow, three experts responded to my question!!! Yeah...Today is my lucky day...
I was comforted after reading opinions of e-GMAT & SticklorForDetail - the modifier in question is modifying the preceding clause - some portion of it. But after I read GMATNYGuru's response, I am confused again. If these are indeed noun modifiers, then how come "which" modifier is incorrect - which is also a noun modifier. Why can which not modify the preceding noun - 25% increase over next 5 years.
In fact I found another instance of same question on MGMAT forums and found that Ron's response is also in line with the first two experts'. Please resolve this apparent discrepancy...
https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/one ... 62-15.html
Thanks,
Priya
I was comforted after reading opinions of e-GMAT & SticklorForDetail - the modifier in question is modifying the preceding clause - some portion of it. But after I read GMATNYGuru's response, I am confused again. If these are indeed noun modifiers, then how come "which" modifier is incorrect - which is also a noun modifier. Why can which not modify the preceding noun - 25% increase over next 5 years.
In fact I found another instance of same question on MGMAT forums and found that Ron's response is also in line with the first two experts'. Please resolve this apparent discrepancy...
https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/one ... 62-15.html
Thanks,
Priya
____________________________________
If you like what I write, do not hesitate to "thank"...
BTW origin of the word "thank"
- from Old English thancian;
- akin to Old English thanc gratitude
If you like what I write, do not hesitate to "thank"...
BTW origin of the word "thank"
- from Old English thancian;
- akin to Old English thanc gratitude
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In E, the primary issue -- discussed in my amended post above -- is tense.priya2gupta5 wrote:Wow, three experts responded to my question!!! Yeah...Today is my lucky day...
I was comforted after reading opinions of e-GMAT & SticklorForDetail - the modifier in question is modifying the preceding clause - some portion of it. But after I read GMATNYGuru's response, I am confused again. If these are indeed noun modifiers, then how come "which" modifier is incorrect - which is also a noun modifier. Why can which not modify the preceding noun - 25% increase over next 5 years.
In fact I found another instance of same question on MGMAT forums and found that Ron's response is also in line with the first two experts'. Please resolve this apparent discrepancy...
https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/one ... 62-15.html
Thanks,
Priya
The increase is to happen over the next five years (in the future).
Thus, the sentence cannot say which IS an increase amounting to roughly five miles per gallon (in the present).
Eliminate E.
In C and D, whether an increase is an appositive or a summative modifier is splitting hairs. Our only concern: do we know what an increase refers to? Yes: the automobile manufacturer plans to increase the fuel efficiency by 25 percent over the next five years. Since it's clear what an increase refers to, the noun modifier is being used correctly.
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COMMA DOING after main clause and DOING PHRASE COMMA before main clause is better understood to be adverbial which modify total main clause but, though it is an adverbial, which must be placed logically relative to noun as subject of main clause.GMATGuruNY wrote:A present participle (such as amounting in A and B) preceded by a comma refers to the subject of the previous clause. In A and B, the subject of the preceding clause is one automobile manufacturer. Since the manufacturer is not amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, eliminate A and B.priya2gupta5 wrote:One automobile manufacturer has announced plans to increase the average fuel efficiency of its sport utility vehicles by 25 percent over the next five years, amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, and representing the first significant change in the fuel efficiency of any class of passenger vehicle in almost two decades.
A: amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, and representing
B: amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, and it would represent
C: an increase that would amount to roughly five miles per gallon and it would represent
D: an increase that would amount to roughly five miles per gallon and would represent
E: which is an increase amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, representing
In E, the verb is should not be in the present tense. Since the increase will be taking place over the next five years, the sentence cannot say that 25 percent is-- in the present -- an increase amounting to roughly five miles per gallon. Eliminate E.
The only difference between C and D is the use of it in C. Since the use of it is unnecessary, eliminate C.
The correct answer is D.
I don't quite agree that an increase (in C and D) is a summative modifier. I would argue that an increase is an appositive for 25 percent.
Two nouns (or noun phrases) are in apposition when they appear side by side, with one noun serving to explain or define the other. Since 25 percent is an increase that would amount to roughly five miles per gallon -- and the two noun structures appear side by side -- an increase is an appositive for 25 percent.
COMMA DOING appear a lot on gmat and novel and other academic reading. However, in general grammar books, no detail explanation of its role is given. The best way for us now is to understand it the way I said above and dont worry about whether it is adjective or adverb phrase.
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GMATGuruNY wrote: In E, the primary issue -- discussed in my amended post above -- is tense.
The increase is to happen over the next five years (in the future).
Thus, the sentence cannot say which IS an increase amounting to roughly five miles per gallon (in the present).
Eliminate E.
Hi GMATGuruNY, I doubt that "is" is the reason why E is not correct. Let us say:
Current fuel efficiency = 20 miles/gallon
The plan over the next five years is to increase it to 25 miles/gallon
Doing some quick calculation, 25 miles/gallon is 25% more than 20 miles/gallon.
The issue with E is the modifier "which", which is quite "far" from "25 percent", the noun it logically modifies. So, following would have been correct:
One automobile manufacturer has announced plans to increase the average fuel efficiency of its sport utility vehicles over the next five years by 25 percent, which is an increase amounting to roughly five miles per gallon, and represents the first significant change in the fuel efficiency of any class of passenger vehicle in almost two decades. [/u]