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Manhattan GMAT 5th Ed SC Chapter 6- Problem 13

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Manhattan GMAT 5th Ed SC Chapter 6- Problem 13

by radbuz » Sun Jan 11, 2015 2:12 am
Hi all,

The solution to the problem listed below looks incomplete.

We need to identify the modifier error and then correct the sentence.

Q: Regina returned to the dress to the store,which was torn at one of the seams.
A: Regina returned the dress,which was torn at one of the seams,to the store

In the question, the modifier is modifying the "store" but the author intends to modify the "dress" instead.This ambiguity is fairly clear.However, the solution too has a modifier error. The author is talking about the dress and we don't know which dress he/she is talking about and to describe the dress an essential modifier is required. Hence, according to me the correct answer should be:
Regina returned the dress that was torn at one of the seams to the store

I'll be really grateful if some expert can comment on my explanation.

Thanks,
Nikhil
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by MartyMurray » Sun Jan 11, 2015 4:18 am
The sentence is correct either way.

If the sentence simply said "Regina returned the dress to the store." would it be wrong? Would there be some kind of modifier error because there is no modifier defining which dress is being discussed?

How about this? "Regina walked the dog." Is this sentence even more wrong than the last because we don't know which dog she walked or where they went?

So the original OA, "Regina returned the dress, which was torn at one of the seams, to the store." is fine. It does not restrict the dress by defining it as the the dress that was torn, but that's fine. That's just not the meaning of the sentence.

We are talking about one sentence and whether or not that sentence conveys its meaning clearly. In this case, the sentence is meant to convey that Regina returned the dress, the dress was torn, and she returned it to the store, and it does convey that clearly.
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by radbuz » Sun Jan 11, 2015 6:38 am
Marty Murray wrote:The sentence is correct either way.

If the sentence simply said "Regina returned the dress to the store." would it be wrong? Would there be some kind of modifier error because there is no modifier defining which dress is being discussed?

How about this? "Regina walked the dog." Is this sentence even more wrong than the last because we don't know which dog she walked or where they went?

So the original OA, "Regina returned the dress, which was torn at one of the seams, to the store." is fine. It does not restrict the dress by defining it as the the dress that was torn, but that's fine. That's just not the meaning of the sentence.

We are talking about one sentence and whether or not that sentence conveys its meaning clearly. In this case, the sentence is meant to convey that Regina returned the dress, the dress was torn, and she returned it to the store, and it does convey that clearly.
Thanks Marty.

I know that the answer makes sense but I'm confused as the two questions before this one test the student on the concept of essential/non-essential modifiers and in those questions "which" was replaced with "that".

To be more elaborate , my question is that if the above sentence appears as a SC question with one choice being the answer given in the textbook and the other choice being the alternative I gave. In this case which one would be the best option to choose. I've observed GMAT having questions with 2 grammatically correct choices but one choice being better than the other in terms of meaning or style.
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by MartyMurray » Sun Jan 11, 2015 7:21 am
On questions with the choice of a restrictive modifier versus a non restrictive modifier, as far as I am aware, choices will not be based simply on this difference. In other words, there won't be a choice such as the one which you created between,

Regina returned the dress,which was torn at one of the seams,to the store.

and

Regina returned the dress that which was torn at one of the seams to the store.

in which either form of the torn at one of the seams modifier is fine, though possibly the optimal placement in the second of to the store could be debated.

I am 99.99% sure that for it to define a correct choice on the GMAT the use of a restrictive rather than a non restrictive modifier will need to have on clarity or meaning some impact that makes one version clearly better than the other.

You can confirm this and better understand what is going on by reviewing your examples, in which I am all but certain you will find that the use of a restrictive modifier is somehow key in creating the optimal choice, possibly because without that modifier the sentence does not even make sense.

One way to see this is to remove the modifier and see what happens to the sentence.

If you still question the rationale, post one of the others here and let's discuss it. One thing that could be going on is the test prep company's verbal questions' being flawed somehow. While I am not asserting that that is the case here, it would not be the first time.
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by MartyMurray » Sun Jan 11, 2015 7:37 am
Here's an example of a clear distinction.

People prefer to travel to places that have interesting sights.

versus

People prefer to travel to places, which have interesting sights.

The first makes much more sense than the second, which is unclear and seems to convey that people would prefer to travel to places rather than to non places, and that places happen to have interesting sights.
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by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Sun Jan 25, 2015 5:27 pm
As far as the GMAT is concerned, it's enough to know that 'which,' because it is non-restrictive, will follow a comma, while 'that' will not.

You can see this in action in #117 in the Official Guide: https://www.beatthegmat.com/og-12-galla- ... 57057.html

[You'll note that two of the answer choices can be eliminated because they contain a 'which' that does not follow a comma.]

To put it another way, you might have to choose between:

"The Subaru that hit me was going way too fast." vs "The Subaru which hit me was going way too fast." The first is preferable, because 'which' doesn't follow a comma. [And the fact that the Subaru hit me is pretty important.]


But I've never seen an official question that would ask you to choose between:

"The homework that was due today was unusually difficult." vs "The homework, which was due today, was unusually difficult." Here, both are correct, it's just a question of how much emphasis one wishes to put on the fact that the homework happened to be due today.
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