BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem
TTP OnDemand GMAT Video Course
Featured Course

Target Test Prep GMAT OnDemand

Scott Woodbury-Stewart’s private virtual classroom — 400 hours of master-class video lessons for the GMAT Focus Edition.

  • 715+ score guarantee — highest in the industry (99th percentile)
  • 52 chapters · 1,500+ lessons · 4,000+ practice questions
  • 400 hours of video · 1,500+ instructor-led HD smartboard lessons
  • 300,000+ students accepted to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Booth & Sloan & more
  • 24/7 live support + weekly Zoom office hours with GMAT instructors
  • TTP AI Assist — 24/7 AI-powered virtual tutor for instant help
  • 1,200+ flashcards + AI-powered study assistant & daily calendar
  • OnDemand, LiveTeach & GMAT Bootcamp formats available
  • Also: GRE, SAT Math & Executive Assessment courses
  • MBA Admissions Consulting now available
  • 🏆 2025 EdTech Breakthrough Award: Test Prep Solution Provider of the Year
  • 200,000+ students served
  • 5-day free trial — $0 to start, no auto-billing, cancel anytime
★★★★★ 5.0 (559 reviews)
130-pt guarantee
$0 to start then $127/mo
Start Free 5-Day Trial Read 559 Reviews →

Confusing SC question in Princeton's free CAT

Expert replies
Post new topic Locked
Previous Topic Next Topic
User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 144
Joined: Sun Aug 29, 2010 9:17 amFollowed by: 4 members
Thanked: 40 times
GMAT Score:760
by jaymw » Wed Oct 20, 2010 2:24 am
Hi!

I just gave the Princeton free CAT, checked where I went wrong and came across a seemingly odd explanation for one of the SC questions. Maybe some of you can help me understand the following. SO here goes:



Contestants entering the competition for the third or fourth time are likely to be at a significant advantage and are frequently able to outperform their less-seasoned rivals.



a)likely to be at a significant advantage and are frequently able to



b)likely significantly advantaged and frequently able to



c)liable to be significantly advantaged and can frequently



d)liable that they are at a significant advantage and can frequently



e)at a significant advantage, frequently likely to be able that they can

While c through e) are obviously nonsensical, I was torn between a) and b) and my gut feeling wanted the latter.

I admit that this version sounds a bit clumsy, however, I cannot figure out what's wrong with it. Princeton says the following to answer choice b): No. Parallel construction. "Advantaged" is a noun, and "able" is a verb.

I am not a native English speaker, but I am pretty sure that "advantaged" is an adjective and so is "able", so be advantaged and be able to... sounds parallel to me!

Any thoughts on this? I would appreciate it.

Thanks
Jan
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Source: — Sentence Correction |
User avatar
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 42
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2010 11:39 pm

by novel » Wed Oct 20, 2010 4:08 am
IMO C

able to in A and B sounds odd
D-That is unnecessary
E---to be able that they can----wordy and illogical
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 144
Joined: Sun Aug 29, 2010 9:17 amFollowed by: 4 members
Thanked: 40 times
GMAT Score:760

by jaymw » Wed Oct 20, 2010 5:18 am
I forgot to include in my message that according to Princeton answer choice a is right.

And yes, I agree that the sentences all sound odd.
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 126
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 9:36 am
Thanked: 6 times

by kapur.arnav » Wed Oct 20, 2010 10:14 am
jaymw wrote:Hi!

I just gave the Princeton free CAT, checked where I went wrong and came across a seemingly odd explanation for one of the SC questions. Maybe some of you can help me understand the following. SO here goes:



Contestants entering the competition for the third or fourth time are likely to be at a significant advantage and are frequently able to outperform their less-seasoned rivals.



a)likely to be at a significant advantage and are frequently able to



b)likely significantly advantaged and frequently able to



c)liable to be significantly advantaged and can frequently



d)liable that they are at a significant advantage and can frequently



e)at a significant advantage, frequently likely to be able that they can

While c through e) are obviously nonsensical, I was torn between a) and b) and my gut feeling wanted the latter.

I admit that this version sounds a bit clumsy, however, I cannot figure out what's wrong with it. Princeton says the following to answer choice b): No. Parallel construction. "Advantaged" is a noun, and "able" is a verb.

I am not a native English speaker, but I am pretty sure that "advantaged" is an adjective and so is "able", so be advantaged and be able to... sounds parallel to me!

Any thoughts on this? I would appreciate it.

Thanks
Jan
my 2 cents on this are as follows:

I agree that C, D & E can be eliminated for various reasons... Between A & B... I would go with choice A.... My reasons for the same are as follows:

In B... likely significantly advantaged and frequently able to is not correct... likely significantly are two adverbs used together... this is not correct usage... do u say...

1. She is likely beautifully the best actress to win the miss universe crown...
2. He is adversly affectedly by the breakdown...
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 144
Joined: Sun Aug 29, 2010 9:17 amFollowed by: 4 members
Thanked: 40 times
GMAT Score:760

by jaymw » Wed Oct 20, 2010 8:31 pm
Thanks for your thougths.

I'm still not sure tho. If you take out the "significantly", the sentence reads "He is likely advantaged..." which is a sentence. "She is likely beautifully" is not a correct sentence.

But anyway, I ll just keep my fingers crossed that such a question won't show up on the actual gmat;)
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 358
Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2010 9:47 amFollowed by: 4 members
Location: Mumbai
Thanked: 34 times
GMAT Score:740

by karanrulz4ever » Wed Oct 20, 2010 10:11 pm
E changes the meaning.
C and D use 'liable'. There is a slight difference between likely and liable.
B "likely significantly advantaged" is awkward to say the least.
Though A might be wordy, its the best of all the options.
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 1083
Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:38 pmFollowed by: 14 members
Thanked: 127 times

by gmat_perfect » Wed Oct 20, 2010 11:48 pm
jaymw wrote:Hi!

I just gave the Princeton free CAT, checked where I went wrong and came across a seemingly odd explanation for one of the SC questions. Maybe some of you can help me understand the following. SO here goes:



Contestants entering the competition for the third or fourth time are likely to be at a significant advantage and are frequently able to outperform their less-seasoned rivals.



a)likely to be at a significant advantage and are frequently able to



b)likely significantly advantaged and frequently able to



c)liable to be significantly advantaged and can frequently



d)liable that they are at a significant advantage and can frequently



e)at a significant advantage, frequently likely to be able that they can

While c through e) are obviously nonsensical, I was torn between a) and b) and my gut feeling wanted the latter.

I admit that this version sounds a bit clumsy, however, I cannot figure out what's wrong with it. Princeton says the following to answer choice b): No. Parallel construction. "Advantaged" is a noun, and "able" is a verb.

I am not a native English speaker, but I am pretty sure that "advantaged" is an adjective and so is "able", so be advantaged and be able to... sounds parallel to me!

Any thoughts on this? I would appreciate it.

Thanks
Jan

Just two things:

1. Likely to + Verb---is correct expression though there may have "likely that".
2. Likely to + Blah blah blah......+ Verb is not correct because it creates the split infinitive.

A is correct.

Thanks.
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
User avatar
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 82
Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2010 8:18 am
Location: India
Thanked: 5 times

by sumit.sinha » Thu Oct 21, 2010 1:38 am
IMO A.
Parallelism.

Contestants ARE likely to be at a significant advantage and ARE frequently able to...
Cheers,
Sumit
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Post new topic Locked
• Page 1 of 1