As rare as

vikram4689 wrote:

GMATGuruNY wrote: In the SC above, whether it is a baseball card...or a postage stamp is an adverbial clause modifying the rest of the sentence. The clause is set off by commas because it could be removed without altering the basic meaning of the sentence:

The rarer something becomes, the more avidly it is sought.

Mitch, how did you find that it is working as an ADVERBIAL clause(clause modifying a verb). Isnt it working as ADJECTIVAL clause(clause modifying a noun) and modifying ."something" ..

Here's the OA:

The rarer something becomes, whether it is a baseball card or a musical recording or a postage stamp, the more avidly it is sought by collectors.

The modifying clause serves as an adverb in that it indicates under what conditions the ACTIONS take place: something BECOMES RARER and IS SOUGHT whether it is a baseball card or a musical recording or a postage stamp.

Sorry i am not able to get this one. Isn't 'it' modifying 'something' and hence whole clause defining 'it'.

Also i would like to tell my understanding - Clause The rarer something becomes the more avidly it is sought by collectors. is a GENERAL rule and is not restricted to baseball card, musical recording, postage stamp

IS the modifier acting as adverb in below sentence
The rarer something, whether it is a baseball card or a musical recording or a postage stamp, becomes the more avidly it is sought by collectors.

vikram4689 wrote:Sorry i am not able to get this one. Isn't 'it' modifying 'something' and hence whole clause defining 'it'.

For a clause (subject + verb) to serve as an ADJECTIVE, a RELATIVE PRONOUN is needed to connect the clause to the noun being modified. Relative pronouns include which, that, who, whom and whose.

WHETHER is not a relative pronoun. It cannot be used to connect an adjectival clause to a noun.
Hence, the modifying clause in the SC above must be serving as an ADVERB modifying the rest of the sentence.

Also i would like to tell my understanding - Clause The rarer something becomes the more avidly it is sought by collectors. is a GENERAL rule and is not restricted to baseball card, musical recording, postage stamp

Yes. The point of the sentence is that it DOESN'T MATTER whether the something is a card or a recording or a stamp. The rule expressed in the sentence applies to EVERYTHING.

Thanks Mitch, Just a quick query whether following sentence is wrong. as NO VERB is present before ADVERBIAL MODIFIER (see movement of verb 'becomes')
The rarer something, whether it is a baseball card or a musical recording or a postage stamp, becomes the more avidly it is sought by collectors

vikram4689 wrote:Thanks Mitch, Just a quick query whether following sentence is wrong. as NO VERB is present before ADVERBIAL MODIFIER (see movement of verb 'becomes')
The rarer something, whether it is a baseball card or a musical recording or a postage stamp, becomes the more avidly it is sought by collectors

The sentence above doesn't convey the intended meaning. Since the intention here is to compare the ACTIONS, the verb (becomes) must be included in the first clause:

The rarer something BECOMES, the more avidly it IS SOUGHT.

Is it a stylistic or grammatical issue.. both sentences (original and the one i made up) can be reduced to The rarer something BECOMES the more avidly it IS SOUGHT.(without comma after BECOMES) after removing non-essential modifier.