Subordinating Conjunctions....

Expert replies

imskpwr: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 377; Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2011 10:45 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 10 times

by imskpwr » Mon Jan 23, 2012 7:23 am

I read in one of the OG explanation that "since" is a weaker causal subordinator than "because".

Common subordinators that show a causal relationship are: because, since, so that, in order that, as if

If possible, can anyone explain which among these are commonly used in GMAT and what is their order/hierarchy with respect to the causal relationship ?

Like this post

Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Mon Jan 23, 2012 7:23 am

Jim@StratusPrep: MBA Admissions Consultant; Posts: 2279; Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 7:51 amFollowed by: 266 members; Location: New York; Thanked: 660 times; GMAT Score:770

by Jim@StratusPrep » Mon Jan 23, 2012 9:16 am

Just going to be honest here... There are likely much bigger issues with the sentence that you should be focusing on. Happy to look more closely at the problem if you give some info. Just as a reference though, here is a list of conjunctions that may be used:

Cause
as
because
in order that
since
so that

Concession and Comparison
although
as
as though
even though
just as
though
whereas
while

Condition
even if
if
in case
provided that
unless

Place
where
wherever

Time
after
as soon as
as long as
before

GMAT Answers provides a world class adaptive learning platform.
-- Push button course navigation to simplify planning
-- Daily assignments to fit your exam timeline
-- Organized review that is tailored based on your abiility
-- 1,000s of unique GMAT questions
-- 100s of handwritten 'digital flip books' for OG questions
-- 100% Free Trial and less than $20 per month after.
-- Free GMAT Quantitative Review

Like this post

imskpwr: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 377; Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2011 10:45 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 10 times

by imskpwr » Mon Jan 23, 2012 10:22 am

Thanks JIM for the prompt reply.

In OG12 Problem No.1: As per the explanation given against option D, "Since" loses the important causal logic of the sentence.

Thus,
It can be inferred here that "because" is more strong "causal connector" than "Since"

Like this post

Jim@StratusPrep: MBA Admissions Consultant; Posts: 2279; Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 7:51 amFollowed by: 266 members; Location: New York; Thanked: 660 times; GMAT Score:770

by Jim@StratusPrep » Mon Jan 23, 2012 10:43 am

The reason A,B, and C are wrong is because you need a pronoun that refers to James Cook (he is the one who named the mountains).

Then looking at D and E you only need to focus on the it vs. them. Since, mountains are plural, D (them) is correct.

Like this post

imskpwr: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 377; Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2011 10:45 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 10 times

by imskpwr » Mon Jan 23, 2012 11:39 am

Jim,

You are not getting me. In OG explanation of Q-1, It is mentioned that "Since" loses the important causal logic of the sentence" in Option D.

I will be happy, If you can check with respect to this particular point only.

Like this post

Jim@StratusPrep: MBA Admissions Consultant; Posts: 2279; Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 7:51 amFollowed by: 266 members; Location: New York; Thanked: 660 times; GMAT Score:770

by Jim@StratusPrep » Mon Jan 23, 2012 12:32 pm

My point is more to look at what is most important in the question and in getting the SC questions correct. I have taught this stuff for several years and taken the exam myself and would never focus on that as a point of interest. Focus on the big picture with these questions and not the nuanced detail - this is how you will get more questions correct. Hope this helps some.

Like this post

imskpwr: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 377; Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2011 10:45 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 10 times

by imskpwr » Tue Jan 24, 2012 8:53 am

Even if this difference is very subtle, I still want to know as it was given in an official explanation.

Like this post

GMAT/MBA Expert

lunarpower: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 3380; Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 amFollowed by: 1535 members; Thanked: 2256 times; GMAT Score:800

by lunarpower » Thu Jan 26, 2012 4:12 am

imskpwr wrote:Even if this difference is very subtle, I still want to know as it was given in an official explanation.

unfortunately, a small percentage of the og explanations are actually wrong. for instance, the og explanation of #77 identifies a certain structure as parallel when, in fact, it's not a parallel structure at all (the fact that both parts are infinitives is just a coincidence).
looking at the official guide, you can definitely tell that GMAC employs its less able writers to create the answer explanations, while its best people are clearly writing the questions (which almost never have any issues). this situation is clearly preferable to the reverse -- it would be horrible if the questions themselves have these problems -- but it's still unfortunate.

here's a GMAT PREP problem in which the correct answer uses "since" to mean "because":
https://www.beatthegmat.com/gold-t10765.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 Ã Ron en franÃ§ais
Voit esittÃ¤Ã¤ kysymyksiÃ¤ Ron:lle myÃ¶s suomeksi

--

Quand on se sent bien dans un vÃªtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vÃªtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.

Yves Saint-Laurent

--

Learn more about ron

Like this post

GMAT/MBA Expert

lunarpower: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 3380; Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 amFollowed by: 1535 members; Thanked: 2256 times; GMAT Score:800

by lunarpower » Thu Jan 26, 2012 4:14 am

also, i want to give a strong endorsement to what jim is saying above -- do not try to learn everything in SC. as the old saying goes, if you try for everything, you'll get nothing.

in fact, if you can master just the following five subjects --
meaning of the sentence
parallelism
pronouns
subject-verb agreement
modifiers
-- then you will already be able to solve something like 80-90 percent of all the problems in SC. that's a high enough percentage to earn you whatever score you might want; the other 10-20 percent really doesn't matter very much.

Like this post

Post new topic Locked

• Page 1 of 1

GMAT Course Reviews

559 reviews

1168 reviews

431 reviews

359 reviews

147 reviews

5/5

5 Star (560 Reviews)

"Target Test Prep is the closest to the official version of the GMAT exam, about 99% accuracy in terms of the quality and quantity of information. The course has excellently created singular sets of focused lessons and tests for every possible topic that one could come across in the official GMAT exam."

"The TTP course maximizes the efficiency of the time you spend studying. It will take time and effort but I could almost guarantee that if you complete the course exactly as it is laid out you will get an amazing score. They also have a very responsive team willing to help with any questions you might have."

"TTP has two things that I think no other test prep company offers: A teaching approach that reinforces understanding and an attitude that will give you the mental preparedness needed to succeed on the test. TTP gives you a deep understanding of the concept you need to know while teaching you how to think."

Write a Review