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Extracting an Idiom

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Extracting an Idiom

by RadiumBall » Fri Jan 14, 2011 4:26 am
Hello All,
I have seen several idioms parts bieng placed as far as possible to confuse the reader but how far should we really go to identify an idiom. For example it is very easy to identify idioms like Not only X but also Y but what about the lesser known ones, for example I know that "convey to" is the correct idiom but in this case OG-SC #136 choice B

Whereas the tiny tubes for the conveying of nutrients to bone cells are arrayed in mammals in parallel lines, birds have tubes that

if we need to look at the idiom then can I throw out this option because it has incorrect idiom "conveying of" or am I incorrect because we also have a "to" later on.

Thanks
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by Brian@VeritasPrep » Fri Jan 14, 2011 9:41 am
Hey RadiumBall,

Great question - and honestly I'd say that the very fact that you have to ask means you probably can't eliminate this choice based on the idiom. I'll offer this as a rule:

Only eliminate based on idioms that you know for 100% certain are incorrect; otherwise, look for a better reason, and then if all else fails compare the remaining choices against each other.

We're just not that great at idioms - they're often too case-specific or exception-to-the-rule based for us to process them. But think about it - why does Harvard Business School care whether you've studied more idiomatic grammar than I have? These questions are set up to test your decision-making and problem-solving abilities, so it they're well-written (and they are) there's going to be a way for the test to reward you for thinking systematically and analytically.


On this particular question, notice that choices C, D, and E all have pretty flagrant modifier errors in which the first half of the sentence does not logically modify the subject of the sentence. To me, that's a clue - I'm testing whether the modifier (which is kind of a comparison: whearas in one x is true and in the other, y is true...) is logical.

Here, choice B isn't perfectly logical or parallel - we're comparing "whereas the tubes..." to "birds have tubes". When compared directly with choice A, B is fairly unclear and awkward in its comparative structure, while A is crystal clear. That's why I'd eliminate B.



Ultimately, the takeaway is to get comfortable with the handful of idioms (as many as ---> correct; as many than ---> incorrect) that tend to come up frequently, but after those few idioms there are just too many for you to really become good at them, so focus your time and energy on the major error categories...that's a much surer path to success.
Brian Galvin
GMAT Instructor
Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep

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