were it not for the fusion-powered heat and radiation that rush from its core, instead its own weight would cause a star to collapse
1.
2. Instead star would have collapsed under its own weight
3. a star would have to be collapsing under its own weight
4. a star would collapse under its own weight
5. its own weight would have caused a star's collapse
Why is 5 wrong, here its is working as a placeholder for Star's.
OA is 4
GMAT Prep Star Power
This topic has expert replies
- vineetbatra
- Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
- Posts: 355
- Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2009 12:42 pm
- Thanked: 2 times
- Followed by:1 members
-
- Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
- Posts: 268
- Joined: Sat Aug 15, 2009 9:22 am
- Thanked: 19 times
- Followed by:1 members
- GMAT Score:700
5 is not precise. "its own weight would have caused a star's collapse", the indefinite article makes it ambiguous WHICH star would collapse.
In 4, it's clear, concise, and the modification makes logical sense.
In 4, it's clear, concise, and the modification makes logical sense.
-
- Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
- Posts: 85
- Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 2:21 am
- Thanked: 1 times
Here's what I see as wrong with 5. What is "its" referring to? Seems to me like a misplaced modifer. I agree with 4 as there's a rule that suggests that the modifier should be as close to the word that is modified. 3 and 4 would match but 3 is awkard so 4 it is.
vineetbatra wrote:were it not for the fusion-powered heat and radiation that rush from its core, instead its own weight would cause a star to collapse
1.
2. Instead star would have collapsed under its own weight
3. a star would have to be collapsing under its own weight
4. a star would collapse under its own weight
5. its own weight would have caused a star's collapse
Why is 5 wrong, here its is working as a placeholder for Star's.
OA is 4
GMAT/MBA Expert
- lunarpower
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 3380
- Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 am
- Thanked: 2256 times
- Followed by:1535 members
- GMAT Score:800
nope. not valid.vineetbatra wrote:Why is 5 wrong, here its is working as a placeholder for Star's.
OA is 4
in general, if you're going to use a possessive pronoun to refer to ANOTHER possessive, then the pronoun must come after the referent.
(note that this rule makes it really easy to fix sentences like #5; just switch the pronoun and the noun, and you're in business.)
in fact, now that i think about it...
if a possessive pronoun PRECEDES a possessive noun, then the assumption is that it DOESN'T stand for that noun.
simple example:
his mother talked with joe's father.
in this sentence, the implication is that someone else's mother - i.e., NOT joe's mother - talked to joe's father. if it were joe's mother, then the sentence would be written, much more naturally, as joe's mother talked with his father.
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
--
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
GMAT/MBA Expert
- lunarpower
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 3380
- Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 am
- Thanked: 2256 times
- Followed by:1535 members
- GMAT Score:800
also, the tense of #5 ("would have caused") is incorrect.
this sentence is discussing the purely hypothetical result of a purely hypothetical situation, in the present. so you use the subjunctive with the hypothesis (the "what if" part) of the sentence, and "would" in the consequent.
"would have" is reserved for sentences that describe the hypothetical alternate outcome of some past event. you use the past perfect in the hypothesis, and "would have" in the consequent.
if she had told me about the traffic delays, i would have left home earlier.
(note: this is a form that most native speakers will SAY incorrectly; most native speakers will incorrectly use "would have" in BOTH parts of this sentence.)
this sentence is discussing the purely hypothetical result of a purely hypothetical situation, in the present. so you use the subjunctive with the hypothesis (the "what if" part) of the sentence, and "would" in the consequent.
"would have" is reserved for sentences that describe the hypothetical alternate outcome of some past event. you use the past perfect in the hypothesis, and "would have" in the consequent.
if she had told me about the traffic delays, i would have left home earlier.
(note: this is a form that most native speakers will SAY incorrectly; most native speakers will incorrectly use "would have" in BOTH parts of this sentence.)
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
--
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
- vineetbatra
- Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
- Posts: 355
- Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2009 12:42 pm
- Thanked: 2 times
- Followed by:1 members
-
- Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
- Posts: 41
- Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2009 5:09 am
- Thanked: 2 times
Hi Ron,
Could you please shed more light on the first part of the sentence? It's not at all related to the correct option. I just wanted to know what the first part is playing the role in this sentence. I am not able to figure out whether it is modifier or conditional sentence. I am non-native speaker so wanted to know the essence of these kind of sentences.
Thanks.
Could you please shed more light on the first part of the sentence? It's not at all related to the correct option. I just wanted to know what the first part is playing the role in this sentence. I am not able to figure out whether it is modifier or conditional sentence. I am non-native speaker so wanted to know the essence of these kind of sentences.
Thanks.
GMAT/MBA Expert
- lunarpower
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 3380
- Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 am
- Thanked: 2256 times
- Followed by:1535 members
- GMAT Score:800
hi -
"were it..." is another way of introducing an "if"-type clause.
in particular, "were it not for X, ..." is essentially equivalent to "if X did not happen/exist, ..."
therefore, the first part of the sentence sets up a hypothetical.
"were it..." is another way of introducing an "if"-type clause.
in particular, "were it not for X, ..." is essentially equivalent to "if X did not happen/exist, ..."
therefore, the first part of the sentence sets up a hypothetical.
kamalsinghy wrote:Hi Ron,
Could you please shed more light on the first part of the sentence? It's not at all related to the correct option. I just wanted to know what the first part is playing the role in this sentence. I am not able to figure out whether it is modifier or conditional sentence. I am non-native speaker so wanted to know the essence of these kind of sentences.
Thanks.
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
--
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
[/quote]lunarpower wrote:hi -
"were it..." is another way of introducing an "if"-type clause.
in particular, "were it not for X, ..." is essentially equivalent to "if X did not happen/exist, ..."
therefore, the first part of the sentence sets up a hypothetical.
Thanks.
Ron, i think that were it not = it were not . Could you explain more about this type!
GMAT/MBA Expert
- lunarpower
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 3380
- Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 am
- Thanked: 2256 times
- Followed by:1535 members
- GMAT Score:800
there's really not a whole lot else that i can explain, other than what i wrote above:bvn wrote:Ron, i think that were it not = it were not . Could you explain more about this type!lunarpower wrote:hi -
"were it..." is another way of introducing an "if"-type clause.
in particular, "were it not for X, ..." is essentially equivalent to "if X did not happen/exist, ..."
therefore, the first part of the sentence sets up a hypothetical.
Thanks.
were it not for X, ...
is equivalent to
if X did not happen/exist, ... or if X had not happened/existed, ...
for instance:
were it not for the penalty received by Smith in the fourth quarter, we would have won the game
is the same as
if Smith had not received the penalty in the fourth quarter, we would have won the game
--
you actually can't start a sentence with just "it were", since "it" is singular and "were" is a plural verb.
the only instance in which you could see that sequence of words is the hypothetical subjunctive, in which you have the construction if it were...
there's a good explanation of the hypothetical subjunctive in topic #1 on the following web page:
https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/grammar_subjunctive.html
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
--
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