OG 2017 SC 241

This topic has expert replies
User avatar
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2016 3:02 am
Followed by:1 members

OG 2017 SC 241

by solitaryreaper » Tue Nov 01, 2016 5:26 am
Of all the record companies involved in early jazz, the three most prominent were Columbia, Victor, and OKeh.

A.Of all the record companies involved in early jazz, the three most prominent were Columbia, Victor, and OKeh.
B.Three most prominent record companies of all the ones that were involved in early jazz were Columbia, Victor, and OKeh.
C.Columbia, Victor, and OKeh were, of all the record companies involved in early jazz, the three of them that were most prominent.
D.Columbia, Victor, and OKeh were three most prominent of all the record companies involved in early jazz.
E.Out of all the record companies that were involved in early jazz, three of them that were the most prominent were Columbia, Victor, and OKeh.

OA A

Hi Mitch and other experts !

I'm having a hard time digesting why A (which is the OA) is a better option than D(which looks grammatically sound)?
Need some help here.

Regards
SR

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 15539
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pm
Location: New York, NY
Thanked: 13060 times
Followed by:1906 members
GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Wed Nov 02, 2016 2:31 am
solitaryreaper wrote:Hi Mitch and other experts !

I'm having a hard time digesting why A (which is the OA) is a better option than D(which looks grammatically sound)?
Need some help here.

Regards
SR
Ellipsis is the omission of words whose presence is implied.
Generally, only words that appear EARLIER IN THE SENTENCE may be omitted.

A: Of all the record companies involved in early jazz, the three most prominent [?] were Columbia, Victor, and OKeh.
Here, it's crystal clear that the bracketed portion refers to the phrase in blue, which appears EARLIER IN THE SENTENCE:
Of all the record companies involved in early jazz, the three most prominent [record companies] were Columbia, Victor, and OKeh.
This usage of ellipsis is correct, since the implied phrase in brackets appears earlier in the sentence.

D: Columbia, Victor, and OKeh were three most prominent [?] of all the record companies.
Here, it is NOT crystal clear what words are implied within the brackets, since no eligible phrase appears earlier in the sentence.
Thus, this usage of ellipsis is not viable.
Eliminate D.

An idiomatic reason to eliminate D:

SUPERLATIVES are modifiers that express the greatest degree of a quality:
best, strongest, most popular, etc.
Generally, a phrase that refers to superlative members of a group must be preceded by the.
Mary is THE BEST PLAYER on the team.
John is one of THE STRONGEST BOYS in school.
THE TWO MOST POPULAR FLAVORS are vanilla and chocolate.


D: Columbia, Victor, and OKeh were three most prominent.
Here, the superlative in red is NOT preceded by the.
Eliminate D.
Private tutor exclusively for the GMAT and GRE, with over 20 years of experience.
Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.

As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.

For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at [email protected].
Student Review #1
Student Review #2
Student Review #3

User avatar
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2016 3:02 am
Followed by:1 members

by solitaryreaper » Wed Nov 02, 2016 2:48 am
Ellipsis is the omission of words whose presence is implied.
Generally, only words that appear EARLIER IN THE SENTENCE may be omitted.

A: Of all the record companies involved in early jazz, the three most prominent [?] were Columbia, Victor, and OKeh.
Here, it's crystal clear that the bracketed portion refers to the phrase in blue, which appears EARLIER IN THE SENTENCE:
Of all the record companies involved in early jazz, the three most prominent [record companies] were Columbia, Victor, and OKeh.
This usage of ellipsis is correct, since the implied phrase in brackets appears earlier in the sentence.

D: Columbia, Victor, and OKeh were three most prominent [?] of all the record companies.
Here, it is NOT crystal clear what words are implied within the brackets, since no eligible phrase appears earlier in the sentence.
Thus, this usage of ellipsis is not viable.
Eliminate D.

Hi Mitch
thanks for the prompt reply.

Just want to cement my understanding - can ellipsis be also legitimate if the phrase appears later in a sentence and it's presence is implied earlier in the sentence?

Regards
SR

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 15539
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pm
Location: New York, NY
Thanked: 13060 times
Followed by:1906 members
GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Wed Nov 02, 2016 2:51 am
solitaryreaper wrote:Hi Mitch
thanks for the prompt reply.

Just want to cement my understanding - can ellipsis be also legitimate if the phrase appears later in a sentence and it's presence is implied earlier in the sentence?

Regards
SR
No.
Words that are omitted but implied must appear in the sentence BEFORE the point of omission.
Private tutor exclusively for the GMAT and GRE, with over 20 years of experience.
Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.

As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.

For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at [email protected].
Student Review #1
Student Review #2
Student Review #3

User avatar
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2016 3:02 am
Followed by:1 members

by solitaryreaper » Wed Nov 02, 2016 4:46 am
[/quote]
No.
Words that are omitted but implied must appear in the sentence BEFORE the point of omission.

Thanks for the confirmation Mitch.

User avatar
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2016 3:02 am
Followed by:1 members

by solitaryreaper » Wed Nov 02, 2016 4:47 am
No.
Words that are omitted but implied must appear in the sentence BEFORE the point of omission.
Thanks for the confirmation Mitch.