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Symphonies

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by komal » Thu Feb 18, 2010 7:47 pm
In contrast to the symphonies of Haydn, a much freer use of dissonance is evident in the symphonies of Mahler.

(A) In contrast to the symphonies of Haydn, a much freer use of dissonance is evident in the symphonies of Mahler.
(B) In contrast with Haydn's symphonies, Mahler uses dissonance much more freely.
(C) In contrast to those of Haydn, the symphonies of Mahler demonstrate a much more free use of dissonance.
(D) In contrast to Haydn's symphonies, Mahler's demonstrate a much freer use of dissonance.
(E) In contrast with Haydn's symphonies, those of Mahler use dissonance much more freely.

OA D
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by money9111 » Thu Feb 18, 2010 7:59 pm
why is C incorrect? that's the one I chose because "the symphonies" followed the comma
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by reply2spg » Thu Feb 18, 2010 8:31 pm
I am also trying to understand why C is wrong?
money9111 wrote:why is C incorrect? that's the one I chose because "the symphonies" followed the comma
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by kstv » Thu Feb 18, 2010 8:38 pm
In contrast to the symphonies of Haydn, a much freer use of dissonance is evident in the symphonies of Mahler.

(A) In contrast to the symphonies of Haydn, a much freer use of dissonance is evident in the symphonies of Mahler.
(B) In contrast with Haydn's symphonies, Mahler uses dissonance much more freely.
(C) In contrast to those of Haydn, the symphonies of Mahler demonstrate a much more free use of dissonance.
(D) In contrast to Haydn's symphonies, Mahler's demonstrate a much freer use of dissonance.
(E) In contrast with Haydn's symphonies, those of Mahler use dissonance much more freely.

B confuse the musician and their symphonies.
E give Mahler symphonies autonomy.
C is wordy.

I thought A had no obvious error. Is D cos' it is concise.
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by ssgmatter » Sat Mar 20, 2010 10:06 pm
I am confused here in options C,D and E.... can anyone please explain this one....

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by rockeyb » Sat Mar 20, 2010 10:21 pm
The sentence is looking for comparison and we need to keep in mind that we have to compare apples with apples .

In contrast to the symphonies of Haydn, a much freer use of dissonance is evident in the symphonies of Mahler.

(A) In contrast to the symphonies of Haydn, a much freer use of dissonance is evident in the symphonies of Mahler.
[The phrase after the comma needs to modify what is being contrasted . The contrast is between symphonies of Haydn and symphonies of Mahle and not "a much freer use of dissonance" , eliminate]
(B) In contrast with Haydn's symphonies, Mahler uses dissonance much more freely.
[Haydn's symphonies - correct is compared with Mahler, should have been Mahler's eliminate ]
(C) In contrast to those of Haydn, the symphonies of Mahler demonstrate a much more free use of dissonance.
[again In contrast to those of Haydn is in correct should be In contrast to those of Haydn's, eliminate]
(D) In contrast to Haydn's symphonies, Mahler's demonstrate a much freer use of dissonance.
[correct , Haydn's symphonies = Mahler's (symphonies)]
(E) In contrast with Haydn's symphonies, those of Mahler use dissonance much more free use of dissonance.
[same error as C , should be those of Mahler's, eliminate]
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by mj41 » Sun Mar 21, 2010 10:39 am
Confused between D and E .. please help
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by rockeyb » Sun Mar 21, 2010 8:17 pm
mj41 wrote:Confused between D and E .. please help
We need to compare Symphonies written by Hayden to Symphonies written by Mahler .

Lets analyze (E):

In contrast with Haydn's symphonies, those of Mahler use dissonance much more free use of dissonance.

In contrast with Haydn's symphonies = in contrast to symphonies of written by Hayden

those of Mahler = those refer to symphony .

when you say THOSE OF MAHLER = that mean symphonies of Mahler . But symphony is not a quality or body part that a human being has , rather symphony is the music produced / written by humans .

so we need compare symphony written by Mahler , and this is done in option D by comparing Hayden's symphonies to Mahler's symphonies .

Hope this helps .
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by mj41 » Mon Mar 22, 2010 1:30 am
Thanks rokeyb makes sense
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by TOPGMAT » Sun Oct 31, 2010 8:35 pm
rockeyb wrote:
mj41 wrote:Confused between D and E .. please help
We need to compare Symphonies written by Hayden to Symphonies written by Mahler .

Lets analyze (E):

In contrast with Haydn's symphonies, those of Mahler use dissonance much more free use of dissonance.

In contrast with Haydn's symphonies = in contrast to symphonies of written by Hayden

those of Mahler = those refer to symphony .

when you say THOSE OF MAHLER = that mean symphonies of Mahler . But symphony is not a quality or body part that a human being has , rather symphony is the music produced / written by humans .

so we need compare symphony written by Mahler , and this is done in option D by comparing Hayden's symphonies to Mahler's symphonies .

Hope this helps .




Hi All,
Acc to manhattan SC guide, "contrast with" is the correct idiom...
I had to decide between D and E and selected E instead... I understand that "symphonies of mahler" is somewhat awkward.... but what I am really concerned with how much attention I should be giving to those Idiom list....

A similar example is,
"dispute over whether" in Kaplan 800 pratice set. Manhattan says "dispute wheter" is the correct idiom.
but common sense in the question (also there was no option as "dispute whether") tells us that "dispute over" is correct.
Eg is; "In the past few months, there has been extensive dispute over if fare hikes should be a first or last recourse in improving the transit system."

Which material is correct ? And how much should we depend on it ??? :-(
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by Jim@Grockit » Mon Nov 01, 2010 7:59 pm
1. "those of Mahler" is not grammatically incorrect; we can and do refer to "the plays of Shakespeare" and in those circumstances "of" means "by." The GMAT prefers concision, so generally the possessive is more likely to be in the correct answer.

2. "more free" is wordier than "freer"

3. This might be a non-issue, but there is slight difference between "using something more freely" and "demonstrating a freer use of something", namely that the latter leaves room for the USE to be by somebody else. That is to say, if we say "the symphonies use dissonance more freely", we are giving the action to the symphonies, while if we say "they demonstrate a freer use of dissonance", we can supply a mental "BY MAHLER".
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by TOPGMAT » Mon Nov 01, 2010 9:07 pm
Thank you Jim.
I only wanted to know whether the phrase "those of Mahler" is not grammatically incorrect.
Knowing this helps a lot and allows us to concentrate and look out for other mistakes!!!.
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by Richa M » Wed Jun 27, 2012 4:58 am
I am still confused; why C is wrong ?Can any one help me out?
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by hermit84 » Sun Oct 28, 2012 12:56 am
Richa M wrote:I am still confused; why C is wrong ?Can any one help me out?
The only reason C is wrong I understand is wordiness.
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