Connectors

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vinay1983: Legendary Member; Posts: 643; Joined: Wed Aug 14, 2013 4:27 amFollowed by: 7 members; Thanked: 48 times

by vinay1983 » Fri Sep 13, 2013 8:33 pm

I need to relax, I have so many things to do

I need to relax, but I have so many things to do......Can the "but" in this sentence be replaced by and?like this-

I need to relax, and I have so many things to do?

You can, for example never foretell what any one man will do, but you can say with precision what an average number will be up to!

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Fri Sep 13, 2013 8:33 pm

adthedaddy: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 167; Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2012 8:35 pmFollowed by: 3 members; Thanked: 39 times

by adthedaddy » Sat Sep 14, 2013 3:24 am

Hi Vinay,

The sentence "I need to relax, but I have so many things to do" is an example of "comma + coordinating conjunction" used to connect two independent clauses.

Understanding the meaning of a sentence is of prime importance whenever two or more sentences are joined together.

The above two sentences are contrasting independent clauses.

Whenever we need to show contrast, we use the coordinating conjunction "BUT", "YET", etc.
"AND" is used to join two supporting sentences.

Thus, in the case given by you, "AND" is not a suitable conjunction, instead "BUT" generates a more meaningful sentence.

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary" - Steve Jobs

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Mike@Magoosh: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 768; Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2011 4:18 pmFollowed by: 140 members; Location: Berkeley, CA; Thanked: 387 times

by Mike@Magoosh » Mon Sep 16, 2013 1:40 pm

vinay1983 wrote:I need to relax, I have so many things to do

I need to relax, but I have so many things to do......Can the "but" in this sentence be replaced by and?like this-

I need to relax, and I have so many things to do?

Dear vinay1983,
I'm happy to share my two cents on this.

The first sentence ...
I need to relax, I have so many things to do
is technically a run-on sentence, involving a mistake known as a comma splice. See:
https://gmat.magoosh.com/lessons/916-run-on-sentences

I agree with adthedaddy that we need a coordinating conjunction. I don't agree with his analysis though. I think it depends on inflection and meaning. A contrast conjunction (but or yet) would highlight the inherent contradiction, but the word "and" could also be used to highlight the juxtaposition. There are some very subtle issues of meaning here.

The GMAT absolutely will not expect you to make decisions such as this on the SC.

Does this make sense?
Mike

Magoosh GMAT Instructor
https://gmat.magoosh.com/

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vinay1983: Legendary Member; Posts: 643; Joined: Wed Aug 14, 2013 4:27 amFollowed by: 7 members; Thanked: 48 times

by vinay1983 » Tue Sep 17, 2013 6:26 am

Mike@Magoosh wrote:
vinay1983 wrote:I need to relax, I have so many things to do

I need to relax, but I have so many things to do......Can the "but" in this sentence be replaced by and?like this-

I need to relax, and I have so many things to do?
Dear vinay1983,
I'm happy to share my two cents on this.

The first sentence ...
I need to relax, I have so many things to do
is technically a run-on sentence, involving a mistake known as a comma splice. See:
https://gmat.magoosh.com/lessons/916-run-on-sentences

I agree with adthedaddy that we need a coordinating conjunction. I don't agree with his analysis though. I think it depends on inflection and meaning. A contrast conjunction (but or yet) would highlight the inherent contradiction, but the word "and" could also be used to highlight the juxtaposition. There are some very subtle issues of meaning here.

The GMAT absolutely will not expect you to make decisions such as this on the SC.

Does this make sense?
Mike

Thanks Mike!

Actually I read somewhere that and can be used to express to independent relations here. Just wanted to know how the ACTUAL GMAT uses this.

Thus relieved.

You can, for example never foretell what any one man will do, but you can say with precision what an average number will be up to!

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