Difference Between Modals

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itudor13: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 11; Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 2:35 pm

by itudor13 » Thu Nov 21, 2013 5:23 pm

Just before the test began, Alexander asked his classmate if he might be borrowing an extra sheet of paper.

a) ...
b) if he would be borrowing an extra sheet of paper
c) if he might be able to borrow an extra sheet of paper
d) if an extra sheet of paper might be borrowed
e) perhaps if he could borrow an additional piece of paper

Answer - C

I was between C and E, and I chose the latter of the two. Is the only difference between these two answer choices conciseness? I want to make sure I fully understand modals before I move on.

Best,

Ian

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Thu Nov 21, 2013 5:23 pm

theCodeToGMAT: Legendary Member; Posts: 1556; Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2012 11:18 pmFollowed by: 34 members; Thanked: 448 times; GMAT Score:650

by theCodeToGMAT » Thu Nov 21, 2013 10:27 pm

Between [spoiler]{C}[/spoiler] & [spoiler]{E}[/spoiler], [spoiler]{E}[/spoiler] is incorrect because "an additional piece of paper" mean any paper whether complete sheet or a small portion of paper .. where as {C} clearly says "an extra sheet of paper" - thus meaning issue.

Also, what is the source? On GMAT, "if" is used for conditional cases.. i.e. "if..then.." construct..

R A H U L

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guptas: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 22; Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2012 8:13 am

by guptas » Sat Nov 23, 2013 4:04 pm

In E, perhaps and if has the same meaning so redundancy.

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[email protected]: Elite Legendary Member; Posts: 10392; Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pmFollowed by: 511 members; Location: Palo Alto, CA; Thanked: 2867 times; GMAT Score:800

by [email protected] » Sat Nov 23, 2013 8:22 pm

Hi itudor13,

One of the "style" rules that you have to be on the look out for is "redundancy" - you don't want to use redundant language.

For example, the phrase "combined together" is redundant because the two words mean the same thing.

Another example would be "new initiative"; the word "initiative" means "new", so you wouldn't need both words.

In this SC, answer E uses the words "perhaps" and "if" which mean the same thing. Thus, it's a redundant (and incorrect) answer.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Contact Rich at [email protected]

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