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by lunarpower » Thu Jan 21, 2010 5:56 pm
just a comment, i don't want to disrupt the dialogue between mmslf and stuart:

<i>I have heard of "bread and butter" as single units
if that is the case, then here also do we use the same logic ? </i>

if this happens, there will almost certainly be a clue elsewhere in the sentence that indicates the singular nature of "X and Y".

as an example, see #73 in the 11th edition og (i think it's #80 in the 12th edition). in that problem, "owning and living" is a singular construction - but you don't have to figure that out yourself, as it is immediately followed by the singular verb "is". since none of this is underlined, you have positive proof that "owning and living" is singular in that sentence.
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by lunarpower » Tue Jan 26, 2010 5:12 am
Q2) For the purposes of the GMAT, "and" always creates a compound subject; "devastation and enslavement" is a plural subject, so we need the plural verb "have".

A good way to approach subject verb issues is to ignore everything else in the sentence. Let's compare:

Quote:
The X and Y that have...
and

Quote:
The X and Y that has...
Clearly the first one is correct.
careful - it's not that simple.

there are definitely instances in which "X and Y" is singular - see the OG problem referenced in the post directly above this one.

in that problem, "owning and living" is not prefaced by "The", but there could certainly be cases in which "The X and Y" is also singular.

in any case, stuart is correct that the default state of "the X and Y" is absolutely plural. however, you should look for other signals that indicate that it's singular (as in the aforementioned OG problem).
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
Potete chiedere domande a Ron in italiano
On peut poser des questions à Ron en français
Voit esittää kysymyksiä Ron:lle myös suomeksi

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

Yves Saint-Laurent

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by Anial » Sun Apr 25, 2010 7:41 am
In the sentence above THAT cannot refer to PROGRESS as PROGRESS cannot decimate .So it has to refer back to devastation and enslavement (compound noun).So why will the choice E be incorrect if not preceded by "THE"?

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by martin.jonson007 » Mon Jun 07, 2010 5:23 am
Jose Ferreira wrote:As you probably know, if something is set off by commas, then it is removable from the sentence. Like in this sentence:

Terry, the team captain, recorded a triple double.

The phrase "the team captain" is removable from the sentence, but we are still left with a grammatically correct sentence that does not lose the original intention of the sentence's core structure.

Terry recorded a triple double.

In answer D, removing the pieces set off by commas would leave you with:

"The author and the poet are icons"

This clearly misses the point of the sentence. "The author" is not an icon; "the author Herman Melville" is an icon.

gud enough...

but one ques...

if we remove HAD BEEN from E option then it will also be perfectly fine... Right... ?
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by FightWithGMAT » Mon Jun 07, 2010 9:34 am
The post created some curiosity

When we need some and when we do not????

A man who is the author of the book is a great writer.
The man who is the author of the book is a great write.
A man, who is the author of the book, is a great writer.
The man, who is the author of the book, is a great writer.

The author Dan Brown is a great writer.
The author, Dan Brown, is a great writer.

Dan Brown, the author, is a great writer.
Dan Brown the author is a great writer.

Creative and bold, the author Dan Brown is a great writer.

Creative and bold, Dan Brown the author is a great writer.

A book that is on the table is mine
A book, which is on the table is mine

The book, which is on the table, is mine
The book that is on the table is mine.

How we formulate a standard rule for all these????
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by tanviet » Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:53 pm
my idea is that ETS tests difficult logic not difficult grammar on SC.

let this question for persons who wants to get 750 score
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by mankey » Thu Feb 23, 2012 8:34 am
I know a lot of discussion has already gone into this question(s). I would still request, if some expert focus on just the differences between A and B. I am still finding them confusing.

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