On account of a law

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On account of a law

by atulmangal » Fri Apr 08, 2011 1:03 pm
On account of a law passed in 1993, making it a crime punishable by imprisonment that a United States citizen hold gold in the form of bullion or coins, immigrants found that on arrival in the United States they had to surrender all of the gold they had brought with them.

A. On account of a law passed in 1993, making it a crime punishable by imprisonment that a United
States citizen hold
B. With a law passed in 1933 that makes it a crime punishable by imprisonment that a United States citizen hold
C. A law passed in 1933 that made it a crime punishable by imprisonment for a United States citizen holding
D. Because of a law passed in 1933 making it a crime punishable by imprisonment for a United States citizen to hold
E. Due to a law being passed in 1933 that makes it a crime punishable by imprisonment for a United States citizen to hold

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by redmark » Fri Apr 08, 2011 2:01 pm
A. is wrong unidiomatic. It also sounds like the immigrants made the crime punishable themselves.
B. "With a law passed" -unidiomatic. it sort of also sounds that the immigrants actually owned the law.
C. unidomatic.- awkward
D. Correct. Because X,Y is also idiomatic.
E. "Due to a law being" passed is wrong. "Being" is used incorrectly here.

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by GMATGuruNY » Fri Apr 08, 2011 2:31 pm
atulmangal wrote:On account of a law passed in 1993, making it a crime punishable by imprisonment that a United States citizen hold gold in the form of bullion or coins, immigrants found that on arrival in the United States they had to surrender all of the gold they had brought with them.

A. On account of a law passed in 1993, making it a crime punishable by imprisonment that a United
States citizen hold
B. With a law passed in 1933 that makes it a crime punishable by imprisonment that a United States citizen hold
C. A law passed in 1933 that made it a crime punishable by imprisonment for a United States citizen holding
D. Because of a law passed in 1933 making it a crime punishable by imprisonment for a United States citizen to hold
E. Due to a law being passed in 1933 that makes it a crime punishable by imprisonment for a United States citizen to hold
In A and B, a crime...that X is not the correct idiom. A crime that X is used only when the crime is metaphorical, as in the following:

It is a crime that he won the election.

When we refer to an actual crime -- an act that is truly illegal -- the correct idiom is a crime to X. Eliminate A and B.

In C, it has no clear referent. It was a crime...for a US citizen holding gold in the form of...coins to do what exactly? Eliminate C.

In E, being should be removed: a law passed in 1933 is sufficient. Eliminate E.

The correct answer is D.
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by aspirant2011 » Sat Apr 09, 2011 10:19 am
Hi Mitch,

Apart from the wrong thing which u mentioned for C, the usage of "that" is also not wrong??????? because I feel "that" is refering to the year "1933"...........am i correct???????please correct me if i am wrong

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by info2 » Fri Jul 22, 2016 4:53 am
Because of wireless service costs plummeting in the last year, and as mobile phones are increasingly common, many people now using their mobile phones to make calls across a wide region at night and on weekends, when numerous wireless companies provide unlimited airtime for a relatively small monthly fee.

A. Because of wireless service costs plummeting in the last year, and as mobile phones are increasingly common, many people

B. As the cost of wireless service plummeted in the last year and as mobile phones became increasingly common, many people

C. In the last year, with the cost of wireless service plummeting, and mobile phones have become increasingly common, there are many people

D. With the cost of wireless service plummeting in the last year and mobile phones becoming increasingly common, many people are

E. While the cost of wireless service has plummeted in the last year and mobile phones are increasingly common, many people are




In my view, 'with' in choice d seems to imply that many people physically own something.

Here attached another example from prep test,

On account of a law passed in 1993, making it a crime punishable by imprisonment that a United States citizen hold gold in the form of bullion or coins, immigrants found that on arrival in the United States they had to surrender all of the gold they had brought with them.

A. On account of a law passed in 1993, making it a crime punishable by imprisonment that a United States citizen hold
B. With a law passed in 1933 that makes it a crime punishable by imprisonment that a United States citizen hold
C. A law passed in 1933 that made it a crime punishable by imprisonment for a United States citizen holding
D. Because of a law passed in 1933 making it a crime punishable by imprisonment for a United States citizen to hold
E. Due to a law being passed in 1933 that makes it a crime punishable by imprisonment for a United States citizen to hold

The key is D.
'with' in choice b is also bad: it seems to imply that immigrants arrived with the law in their hands.

Mitch

Can you please comment on the use of with in these sentence why is one use ok but the other is not?

Thanks

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by GMATGuruNY » Mon Jul 25, 2016 4:49 am
info2 wrote:Mitch

Can you please comment on the use of with in these sentence why is one use ok but the other is not?

Thanks
Generally, an introductory with-modifier should serve to express something that facilitates the following action.

B: With a law, immigrants found they had to surrender.
Here, the introductory with-modifier incorrectly implies that A LAW facilitated the act of finding.
Not the intended meaning.
Eliminate B.

OA: With the cost of wireless service plummeting, many people are now using their mobile phones.
Here, the introductory with-modifier correctly implies that the PLUMMETING COST of wireless service is facilitating the use of mobile phones.
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by Needgmat » Mon Jul 25, 2016 10:19 am
In A and B, a crime...that X is not the correct idiom. A crime that X is used only when the crime is metaphorical, as in the following:

It is a crime that he won the election.

When we refer to an actual crime -- an act that is truly illegal -- the correct idiom is a crime to X. Eliminate A and B.

In C, it has no clear referent. It was a crime...for a US citizen holding gold in the form of...coins to do what exactly? Eliminate C.

In E, being should be removed: a law passed in 1933 is sufficient. Eliminate E.

The correct answer is D.
[/quote]

Hi GMATGuruNY ,

In OA what does MAKING modifies?

Here, MAKING is a gerund?

Normally we use ing form to indicate that the action happens at the same moment right?

Please explain the use of MAKING in OA.

Many thanks in advance.

Kavin

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by GMATGuruNY » Mon Jul 25, 2016 11:29 am
Needgmat wrote:In OA what does MAKING modifies?
OA: Because of a law making it a crime to hold gold, immigrants found they had to surrender all of the gold.
Here, making is an adjective serving to describe a law.
Question: What KIND of a law?
Answer: A law MAKING IT A CRIME TO HOLD GOLD.
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by Mo2men » Tue Jul 26, 2016 5:08 am
GMATGuruNY wrote:
Needgmat wrote:In OA what does MAKING modifies?
OA: Because of a law making it a crime to hold gold, immigrants found they had to surrender all of the gold.
Here, making is an adjective serving to describe a law.
Question: What KIND of a law?
Answer: A law MAKING IT A CRIME TO HOLD GOLD.
Hi GMATGuru,

I read once that the form: [preposition] + [noun] + [participle]is considered wrong in GMAT??? is it correct?? it maybe acceptable outside GMAT.

Thanks

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by GMATGuruNY » Tue Jul 26, 2016 5:29 am
Mo2men wrote:I read once that the form: [preposition] + [noun] + [participle] is considered wrong in GMAT???
This structure is incorrect only if it conveys an illogical meaning.
I discuss this issue here:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/prescription ... tml#778559
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by Mo2men » Tue Jul 26, 2016 6:28 am
GMATGuruNY wrote:
Mo2men wrote:I read once that the form: [preposition] + [noun] + [participle] is considered wrong in GMAT???
This structure is incorrect only if it conveys an illogical meaning.
I discuss this issue here:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/prescription ... tml#778559
What about "possessive + VERBing" such as: John's walking.

can I say: we laughed a lot because of john's walking into the meeting room.

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by GMATGuruNY » Wed Jul 27, 2016 3:45 am
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by Mo2men » Mon Apr 22, 2019 4:38 am
GMATGuruNY wrote: Generally, an introductory with-modifier should serve to express something that facilitates the following action.

OA: With the cost of wireless service plummeting, many people are now using their mobile phones.
Here, the introductory with-modifier correctly implies that the PLUMMETING COST of wireless service is facilitating the use of mobile phones.
Dear GMATGuru,

In some cases structure of [ With/Because of + Noun + VERB-ing] is deemed incorrect because it is not the noun that cause or affect the main verb, yet it is NOUN' action. So why is the OA above correct? It is not the cost but the plummeting of the cost . So it should read either as:

Option 1: Because the cost of wireless service plummeted..............................., many people are using

Option 2: With the plummeting of the cost of wireless service......................., many people are using

Why is there contradiction between structure I mentioned earlier and the OA of this question?

Thanks in advance

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by GMATGuruNY » Wed Apr 24, 2019 12:49 pm
Mo2men wrote:Dear GMATGuru,

In some cases structure of [ With/Because of + Noun + VERB-ing] is deemed incorrect because it is not the noun that cause or affect the main verb, yet it is NOUN' action. So why is the OA above correct?
The OA is correct because it contains no grammatical errors and conveys a logical meaning.
OA: With the cost of wireless service plummeting, many people are now using their mobile phones.
Here, the action in blue is accompanied by the plummeting cost of wireless service.
This meaning is perfectly logical.
So it should read either as:
Our job is not to decide how the OA "should read."
Our job is to eliminate any answer choice that contains a grammatical error or fails to convey the intended meaning.
Since the OA is error-free and conveys a logical meaning, it is correct as written.
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