BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

Semicolon(;) vs comma+for

This topic has expert replies
Post new topic Locked
Previous Topic Next Topic
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 172
Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2011 9:10 pm
Thanked: 7 times
Followed by:2 members

Semicolon(;) vs comma+for

by satishchandra » Fri Nov 25, 2011 10:59 pm
Jane and William will represent our school at the modern arts convention, for their creations have been outstanding this semester.
convention, for their creations have been outstanding this semester
convention, their creations in this having been outstanding this semester
convention; their creations this semester have been outstanding
convention; they having been outstanding in their creations this semester
convention, for they have this semester done outstanding creations

OA:A

I could not quite understand the difference between A and C?
Why should [spoiler]'A' [/spoiler]be eliminated?
Top
Source: — Sentence Correction |
User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 1101
Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2011 7:26 am
Thanked: 47 times
Followed by:13 members
GMAT Score:640

by HSPA » Sat Nov 26, 2011 4:06 am
A pause between sentences is done using : full stop > colon > semi colon > comma
Full stop represents a greatest seperation between sentences.

If I use a semicolon, I strongly guess that 'their' will not have a reference. Because I 'paused' the sentence a bit 'strongly'..
Here , 'For' can be used as 'because'

"Because their creations are outstanding, Jane and smith shall represent our school"

A small test:
1)Can you tell me how did I used the colon above.
2)The pauses used in english are: fullstop, comma, semi-colon. Is this sentence correct
3)He will succeed; you never. (A stong sentence which can help you remember semi-colon usage)
First take: 640 (50M, 27V) - RC needs 300% improvement
Second take: coming soon..
Regards,
HSPA.
Top

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 3380
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 am
Thanked: 2256 times
Followed by:1535 members
GMAT Score:800

by lunarpower » Sat Dec 10, 2011 4:15 am
i received a private message regarding this thread.
satishchandra, i'm a little confused by the original post -- first, you say that (a) is the official answer, but then you ask how to eliminate (a).

i like choice (c) the best here. i will explain the differences between (a) and (c):

* MEANING
(a) contains "for", which carries the meaning of because. therefore, the meaning of sentence (a) is that jane and william are being invited to represent the school because of the work they have done this semester -- a reasonable meaning.
(c) contains a semicolon, which shows that the two clauses are related in meaning but doesn't exactly specify how. so, in this sentence, it's possible that jane and william are going to the convention for other reasons (such as a longer history of good work), but that the narrator still wants to emphasize the continuing quality of their most recent work. this is also a reasonable meaning.

* MODIFIER PLACEMENT
i don't like the placement of "this semester" in choice (a) -- it appears to modify the action/clause their creations have been outstanding. in other words, taken literally, choice (a) suggests that the creations are very good this semester -- but that, during other semesters, the same creations might not be so great. that's not very reasonable.
by contrast, (c) places "this semester" right next to their creations, specifying unambiguously that the creations were made this semester. that's better.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

--

Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
Potete chiedere domande a Ron in italiano
On peut poser des questions à Ron en français
Voit esittää kysymyksiä Ron:lle myös suomeksi

--

Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.

Yves Saint-Laurent

--

Learn more about ron
Top

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 3380
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 am
Thanked: 2256 times
Followed by:1535 members
GMAT Score:800

by lunarpower » Sat Dec 10, 2011 4:15 am
by the way, what is the source of the problem?
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

--

Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
Potete chiedere domande a Ron in italiano
On peut poser des questions à Ron en français
Voit esittää kysymyksiä Ron:lle myös suomeksi

--

Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.

Yves Saint-Laurent

--

Learn more about ron
Top
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 172
Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2011 9:10 pm
Thanked: 7 times
Followed by:2 members

by satishchandra » Sat Dec 10, 2011 8:01 pm
lunarpower wrote:i received a private message regarding this thread.
satishchandra, i'm a little confused by the original post -- first, you say that (a) is the official answer, but then you ask how to eliminate (a).
Ron, You are right. It was typo :)
OA is indeed C
lunarpower wrote: i like choice (c) the best here. i will explain the differences between (a) and (c):
Again, a great explanation. Thank you very much.
I think there is suble difference between 'A' and 'C' overall. Can we say 'A' is grammatically wrong on the basis of Modifier placement error?

I found this SC in the link given below.
https://gmatclub.com/forum/jane-and-will ... 86537.html
I am not aware of the actual parent source
Top

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 3380
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 am
Thanked: 2256 times
Followed by:1535 members
GMAT Score:800

by lunarpower » Sat Dec 10, 2011 10:44 pm
i've given about all the explanation i can muster, above.
I am not aware of the actual parent source
why would you do this to yourself?

DO NOT USE PROBLEMS FROM UNKNOWN SOURCES!

most third-party GMAT verbal problems are of extremely poor quality; if you go around solving problems from unknown sources, you will almost certainly (a) learn some things that are actually wrong, and (b) waste your time on a large number of things that are not actually tested on the GMAT.

you should stick with official problems; if you absolutely need more problems, then you should stay with problems provided by major, reputable companies.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

--

Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
Potete chiedere domande a Ron in italiano
On peut poser des questions à Ron en français
Voit esittää kysymyksiä Ron:lle myös suomeksi

--

Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.

Yves Saint-Laurent

--

Learn more about ron
Top
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 127
Joined: Mon May 11, 2009 10:04 am
Thanked: 5 times

by apex231 » Sun Dec 11, 2011 7:44 am
Jane and William will represent our school at the modern arts convention, for their creations have been outstanding this semester.
A) convention, for their creations have been outstanding this semester
C) convention; their creations this semester have been outstanding

Ron,

In option A isn't it more obvious that Jane and William will represent school at convention because their creations were outstanding this season. Doesn't option A communicates this fact more clearly than option C? In option C both the statements separated by semi-colon can be interpreted as independent facts i.e. one not leading to another.

Thanks!
lunarpower wrote: * MEANING
(a) contains "for", which carries the meaning of because. therefore, the meaning of sentence (a) is that jane and william are being invited to represent the school because of the work they have done this semester -- a reasonable meaning.
(c) contains a semicolon, which shows that the two clauses are related in meaning but doesn't exactly specify how. so, in this sentence, it's possible that jane and william are going to the convention for other reasons (such as a longer history of good work), but that the narrator still wants to emphasize the continuing quality of their most recent work. this is also a reasonable meaning.
Top

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 3380
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 am
Thanked: 2256 times
Followed by:1535 members
GMAT Score:800

by lunarpower » Sun Dec 11, 2011 9:20 pm
[quote="apex231"In option A isn't it more obvious that Jane and William will represent school at convention because their creations were outstanding this season. [/quote]

in my post -- in fact, in exactly the part that you quoted -- i pointed out that either of those two interpretations would be reasonable. there's no point in debating between them; it's a badly written question (not surprisingly, given that it comes from no source in particular).
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

--

Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
Potete chiedere domande a Ron in italiano
On peut poser des questions à Ron en français
Voit esittää kysymyksiä Ron:lle myös suomeksi

--

Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.

Yves Saint-Laurent

--

Learn more about ron
Top
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 268
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 12:10 am
Thanked: 13 times

by shekhar.kataria » Sun Dec 11, 2011 10:56 pm
i like choice (c) the best here. i will explain the differences between (a) and (c):
Dear Ron

Cant we eliminate A on the basis of using comma before for. As You said above for can be use to mean because. so for is correct here,so my Question is

Is it correct to have the comma + for structure in the sentences such as above.
Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress.--Thomas A. Edison

If you find this post helpful, let me know by clicking thanks above :-)
Top

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 3380
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 am
Thanked: 2256 times
Followed by:1535 members
GMAT Score:800

by lunarpower » Mon Dec 12, 2011 12:42 am
shekhar.kataria wrote:Is it correct to have the comma + for structure in the sentences such as above.
yes, that is fine.
"for" is a conjunction (not unlike "and" or "or"), so the construction is ok for the same reason that CLAUSE1 + , + and + CLAUSE2 is ok.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

--

Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
Potete chiedere domande a Ron in italiano
On peut poser des questions à Ron en français
Voit esittää kysymyksiä Ron:lle myös suomeksi

--

Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.

Yves Saint-Laurent

--

Learn more about ron
Top
Post new topic Locked
• Page 1 of 1