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Idioms : 'Consider x y'

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by Anahatha » Sun May 08, 2011 9:54 am
The correct idiom is 'consider x y' . But in a Kaplan test the correct answer to a question had this "x is considered by y to be..." Is this a mistake on the part of Kaplan? Please advice..

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Source: — Sentence Correction |

by aspirant2011 » Sun May 08, 2011 9:56 am
nopes there is no mistake sometimes consider x to be y is also the correct idiom apart from consider x y but consider x as y is not the correct idiom
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by Jim@Grockit » Sun May 08, 2011 10:03 am
It's the difference between the correct idiom for the passive and active forms of the verb.

Some consider idioms difficult.
Idioms are considered to be difficult by some
.

The "to be" is sometimes left out of the passive form.

"Consider as" gets used in real English, but as far as I can tell would always be wrong on the GMAT.
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by GMATGuruNY » Mon May 09, 2011 7:21 am
Written in the early eleventh century by Lady Murasaki Shikibu as a fictionalized account of political and romantic intrigue in the Japanese imperial court, literary historians consider The Tale of Genji to be the world's first novel.

A. Shikibu as a fictionalized account of political and romantic intrigue in the Japanese imperial court, literary historians consider The Tale of Genji to be

B. Shikibu in the manner of a fictionalized account of political and romantic intrigue in the Japanese imperial court, literary historians consider The Tale of Genji as

C. Shikibu, a fictionalized accounting for political and romantic intrigue in the Japanese imperial court, literary historians consider The Tale of Genji

D. Shikibu as a fictionalized account of political and romantic intrigue in the Japanese imperial court, The Tale of Genji is considered by literary historians to be

E. Shikibu, The Tale of Genji is a fictionalized account of political and romantic intrigue in the Japanese imperial court which literary historians consider to be
I received a PM asking me to comment.

In A, B and C, written incorrectly modifies literary historians. Eliminate A, B and C.

In E, which has no clear antecedent. Eliminate E.

The correct answer is D.

Look for errors that cannot be debated. In the SC posted above, A,B,C and E each have a clear error. Thus, D is the best answer choice.

The idiom considered by X can create confusion when to be is omitted:

Mary is considered by many critics better than John.

In the sentence above, it is unclear whether better than John is modifying critics or Mary. Adding to be clears the confusion:

Mary is considered by many critics to be better than John.

I would be skeptical of an answer choice that includes considered to be X, but I wouldn't immediately eliminate it. Look for errors that cannot be debated.
Last edited by GMATGuruNY on Mon May 09, 2011 7:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by aspirant2011 » Mon May 09, 2011 7:29 am
GMATGuruNY wrote:
Written in the early eleventh century by Lady Murasaki Shikibu as a fictionalized account of political and romantic intrigue in the Japanese imperial court, literary historians consider The Tale of Genji to be the world's first novel.

A. Shikibu as a fictionalized account of political and romantic intrigue in the Japanese imperial court, literary historians consider The Tale of Genji to be

B. Shikibu in the manner of a fictionalized account of political and romantic intrigue in the Japanese imperial court, literary historians consider The Tale of Genji as

C. Shikibu, a fictionalized accounting for political and romantic intrigue in the Japanese imperial court, literary historians consider The Tale of Genji

D. Shikibu as a fictionalized account of political and romantic intrigue in the Japanese imperial court, The Tale of Genji is considered by literary historians to be

E. Shikibu, The Tale of Genji is a fictionalized account of political and romantic intrigue in the Japanese imperial court which literary historians consider to be
I received a PM asking me to comment.

In A, B and C, written incorrectly modifies Lady Murasaki Shibiku. Eliminate A, B and C.

In E, which has no clear antecedent. Eliminate E.

The correct answer is D.

Look for errors that cannot be debated. In the SC posted above, A,B,C and E each have a clear error. Thus, D is the best answer choice.

The idiom considered by X can create confusion when to be is omitted:

Mary is considered by many critics better than John.

In the sentence above, it is unclear whether better than John is modifying critics or Mary. Adding to be clears the confusion:

Mary is considered by many critics to be better than John.

I would be skeptical of an answer choice that includes considered to be X, but I wouldn't immediately eliminate it. Look for errors that cannot be debated.
Hi GMAT Guru NY

In your above post you have mentioned that written incorrectly modifies lady xxx but hw is the same valid for option D??????[/b]
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by GMATGuruNY » Mon May 09, 2011 7:40 am
aspirant2011 wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote:
Written in the early eleventh century by Lady Murasaki Shikibu as a fictionalized account of political and romantic intrigue in the Japanese imperial court, literary historians consider The Tale of Genji to be the world's first novel.

A. Shikibu as a fictionalized account of political and romantic intrigue in the Japanese imperial court, literary historians consider The Tale of Genji to be

B. Shikibu in the manner of a fictionalized account of political and romantic intrigue in the Japanese imperial court, literary historians consider The Tale of Genji as

C. Shikibu, a fictionalized accounting for political and romantic intrigue in the Japanese imperial court, literary historians consider The Tale of Genji

D. Shikibu as a fictionalized account of political and romantic intrigue in the Japanese imperial court, The Tale of Genji is considered by literary historians to be

E. Shikibu, The Tale of Genji is a fictionalized account of political and romantic intrigue in the Japanese imperial court which literary historians consider to be
I received a PM asking me to comment.

In A, B and C, written incorrectly modifies Lady Murasaki Shibiku. Eliminate A, B and C.

In E, which has no clear antecedent. Eliminate E.

The correct answer is D.

Look for errors that cannot be debated. In the SC posted above, A,B,C and E each have a clear error. Thus, D is the best answer choice.

The idiom considered by X can create confusion when to be is omitted:

Mary is considered by many critics better than John.

In the sentence above, it is unclear whether better than John is modifying critics or Mary. Adding to be clears the confusion:

Mary is considered by many critics to be better than John.

I would be skeptical of an answer choice that includes considered to be X, but I wouldn't immediately eliminate it. Look for errors that cannot be debated.
Hi GMAT Guru NY

In your above post you have mentioned that written incorrectly modifies lady xxx but hw is the same valid for option D??????[/b]
You submitted your post as I was editing mine: in A, B and C, written incorrectly modifies not Lady Shibiku but historians. In D, written correctly modifies The Tale of Genji.
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Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.

As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.

For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at [email protected].
Student Review #1
Student Review #2
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by cyrwr1 » Mon May 09, 2011 7:41 am
D has to be the answer.

Written in the...., (this has to be the book,journal,article,etc.)....

Thus D and E remain.

E doesn't make sense so D stands
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