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Doubt on the use of comma !

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Doubt on the use of comma !

by 786 » Sun Sep 18, 2011 7:31 am
The engineer identified the problem using the latest technology.
The engineer identified the problem , using the latest technology.

What is the difference?
Does the first mean that the problem itself is using the latest technology ?

Can some expert confirm ?
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by aspirant2011 » Sun Sep 18, 2011 8:31 am
786 wrote:The engineer identified the problem using the latest technology.
The engineer identified the problem , using the latest technology.

What is the difference?
Does the first mean that the problem itself is using the latest technology ?

Can some expert confirm ?
I don't find any problem with the first sentence..........

In second, using the latest technology is acting as a modifier
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by Abhishek009 » Sun Sep 18, 2011 8:51 am
786 wrote:The engineer identified the problem using the latest technology.
The engineer identified the problem , using the latest technology.

What is the difference?
Does the first mean that the problem itself is using the latest technology ?

Can some expert confirm ?
I feel the same....

The first sentence seems like the problem is with the latest technology , whereas the second sentence means the problem was identified using the latest technology...
Abhishek
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by gunjan1208 » Sun Sep 18, 2011 10:46 pm
I will say that A is perfect.

For B. It is right. Aslo being the modifier, we can place this modifier in the begining.
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by dhonu121 » Mon Sep 19, 2011 12:54 am
Both are correct here.
Basically a comma is used when two indepedent clauses are joined by a conjunction and a comma is used before the use of the conjunction.The use of comma there is optional.
In cases where a dependent and an independent clause are joined by a conjunction, use of comma is mandatory.
In cases where the second clause uses the subject of the first clause use of comma before the conjunction is wrong.
For eg:He went to school and he had lunch there. is same as He went to the school, and he had lunch there.

But
He went to the school and had lunch there is not the same as He went to the school, and had lunch there.
The second sentence in this case is wrong.
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by GmatKiss » Mon Sep 19, 2011 12:57 am
aspirant2011 wrote:
786 wrote:The engineer identified the problem using the latest technology.
The engineer identified the problem , using the latest technology.

What is the difference?
Does the first mean that the problem itself is using the latest technology ?

Can some expert confirm ?
I don't find any problem with the first sentence..........

In second, using the latest technology is acting as a modifier
+1, both are correct.
In the second, emphasis is more on "the latest technology"
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by saketk » Mon Sep 19, 2011 9:24 am
I also feel so. the intended meaning is same in both the cases.

Grammatically also both are correct.
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by Jim@Grockit » Mon Sep 19, 2011 11:43 am
The problem is that you can run into sentences like:

On my way to work I saw a chimpanzee riding my bicycle.

Was I riding my bicycle, or was a chimpanzee?

Grammatically, "riding" tends to default to the noun chimpanzee if it can, since it is closer. This is a problem with modifiers in general -- they should be as close as possible to the thing they modify, for clarity. The old joke goes "I met a man with a wooden leg named Paul." "Oh, really? What was the name of the other leg?"

In other words, it's grammatically correct but potentially confusing.
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by 786 » Tue Sep 20, 2011 3:04 am
@ Jim ,

So do you want to say that , in the two examples i quoted , the first sentence is incorrect ?
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by Jim@Grockit » Tue Sep 20, 2011 10:08 am
786 wrote:@ Jim ,

So do you want to say that , in the two examples i quoted , the first sentence is incorrect ?
I think it would likely be incorrect on the GMAT because it is unclear. I would expect the correct GMAT sentence to be Using the latest technology, the engineer identified the problem or, even better, The engineer identified the problem by using the latest technology.
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