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A confusing grammar point about modifier (not a SC question)

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A confusing grammar point about modifier (not a SC question)

by limestone » Thu Dec 22, 2011 5:28 pm
My sister asked me a TOEIC question that has a grammar point that makes me confusing. Would appreciate if any one helps clarify it.

One of the biggest difficulties facing our economy is high unemployment rate.

And this sentence is offical answer of a grammar question there. My question is what is the full sentence before shortened:

1. One of the biggest difficulties that are faced by our economy is high unemployment rate.
Shorten Form: One of the biggest difficulties faced by our economy is high unemployment rate.

This sounds most naturally.

2. One of the biggest difficulties that face our economy is high unemployment rate.
Shorten Form: One of the biggest difficulties facing our economy is high umemployment rate.

This may be what the official answer in that TOEIC test wants to convey. But this sounds awkward in meaning. Our economy faces difficultiesis okay; but how can Difficulties face our economy?

Please help, any expert or grammar professional.
"There is nothing either good or bad - but thinking makes it so" - Shakespeare.
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by avik.ch » Thu Dec 22, 2011 9:01 pm
Hii,

I am neither an expert nor a grammar professional but would like to throw some light on the subject at hand.

1. One of the biggest difficulties that are faced by our economy is high unemployment rate.
Shorten Form: One of the biggest difficulties faced by our economy is high unemployment rate.

This is the best both from modifier and meaning point of view.

2. One of the biggest difficulties that face our economy is high unemployment rate.
Shorten Form: One of the biggest difficulties facing our economy is high unemployment rate.

This sentence do no have any problem from modifier placement - from strict grammar rules. But the meaning of this construction is somewhat suspicious --- difficulties is facing the economy by its own. It is illogical.
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by limestone » Thu Dec 22, 2011 10:24 pm
I know that the setence:

One of the biggest difficulties facing our economy is high unemployment rate.

is grammatically correct.

But like you, I concern about its illogical meaning. However, if you search Google for terms such as:

problems facing our Earth

problems facing our society

the challenges facing the United State economy

You will see they are used quite often and even by some pretigious media such as BBC or WSJ. Thus, those terms must be logical in meaning. So, what do those terms really mean?
"There is nothing either good or bad - but thinking makes it so" - Shakespeare.
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by GmatVerbal » Thu Dec 22, 2011 10:37 pm
Just a thought.

A faces B ==> B faces A;
( https://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1386040 )

One of the meaning of face(verb) - encounter;
https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/face[verb]

One of the biggest difficulties facing/encountering our economy is high unemployment rate.

The meaning looks fine to me.
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by avik.ch » Thu Dec 22, 2011 10:57 pm
GmatVerbal wrote:Just a thought.

A faces B ==> B faces A;
( https://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1386040 )

One of the meaning of face(verb) - encounter;
https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/face[verb]

One of the biggest difficulties facing/encountering our economy is high unemployment rate.

The meaning looks fine to me.
hi GmatVerbal,

A faces B - B faces A : this sequence correct when both A and B can perform the action.

I look at the mountain --- but can we say --- The mountain looked at me

One of the biggest difficulties faced by our economy is high unemployment rate.

One of the biggest difficulties facing our economy is high unemployment rate. - Dont you think here "difficulties" is doing the action by its own !!

Economy can face with difficulties - but logically -- how can
Difficulties can face with our economy.

Please correct me if I am wrong !!
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by limestone » Thu Dec 22, 2011 11:41 pm
The word "encounter" seems not work for me.

If we say:

One of the biggest difficulties encountering our economy is high unemployment rate.

In the above sentence, the phrase difficulties encountering our economy implies difficulties is the subject that act upon our economy. But how come? It sounds illogical.

IMO, our economy should be the subject and difficulties should be the object.

Our economy encounters difficulties.

Thus the sentence should be:

One of the biggest difficulties encountered by our economy is high unemployment rate.

Ironically, as I posted above, those terms: problems facing our Earth , problems facing our society , the challenges facing the United State economy are widely used and accepted.
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by GmatVerbal » Fri Dec 23, 2011 8:42 am
I think the logical meaning of the challenges/difficulties that face our economy is same as the challenges faced by our economy. I believe this is one those constructs that shouldn't be taken literally.

I have seen one of the OG problems that said "the construction began..." - How can a construction begin by itself?

I am pretty sure in every language has these kind of common usages.

Avik,

I see your point, but I think face and look are different verbs; Particularly 'look' is a sensory verb.

I think 'look' can be used in a poetic sense they way you described. Say,

The am live in a lonely house surrounded by the mountains. When I go out those mountains look at my beauty like those hungry males.

I am facing the building. I am standing at the corner with the building is facing me. Both sentences are fine to me. May be I am used to it.
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by lunarpower » Wed Dec 28, 2011 8:09 pm
i received a private message about this thread.
limestone wrote:One of the biggest difficulties encountering our economy is high unemployment rate.
this sentence is wrong.
limestone wrote:One of the biggest difficulties facing our economy is high unemployment rate.
this sentence is acceptable.

this is really just idiomatic usage of these verbs -- sometimes you can turn them around, sometimes you can't. luckily, this is totally the kind of thing that will not be tested on the GMAT, so it's best just to accept these idioms as you see them and not worry about them too much beyond that.
i mean, there are lots and lots of verbs that work "both ways" like this. another one that comes to mind is graduate:
State University graduated 39,000 students last year.
Joe graduated from State University last year.
--> this works both ways, because, well, it just does. again, the gmat will not test things like this, so that's one less thing for you to worry about.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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