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Modifier ( Conditional vs Without)

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Modifier ( Conditional vs Without)

by agautam » Sat Feb 16, 2013 6:04 pm
An aspiring MBA student will not distinguish herself in the admissions process if there is a lack of a dynamic theme unifying all the parts of her application
if there is a lack of a dynamic theme
unless there will be a dynamic theme
without a dynamic theme
should a dynamic theme be lacking in
lacking a dynamic theme

I would appreciate -

Could you please explain the question that how can C be correct - I am very confused about the prepositional modifier - without a dynamic theme. The reason that I eliminated C is because I thought that without a dynamic theme is modifier which is placed next to the admissions process and hence is modifying the admission process ...where as the conditional made sense here as well because - she will not be able to disntiguish herself IF ....
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by sana.noor » Sun Feb 17, 2013 4:41 am
Start with the process of elimination. Before explaning let me tell you that its not a conditioanl sentence. the sentence says that aspiring student is the one that shows dynamic theme unifying all the parts of her application. the dynamic theme could be one thing but its not the only option for an aspiring student.
the sentence is:
An aspiring MBA (adjective) student (noun) will not distinguish (verb).
1) An aspiring MBA student will not distinguish if there is a lack of a dynamic theme (too long and awkward, its a IF THEN clause.."a conditional sentence" if their is a lack of dynamic theme then one cannot get admission, however we dont find any THEN clause here and its not the condition)
2) An aspiring MBA (adjective) student (noun) will not distinguish unless there will be a dynamic theme (unless is used for conditional sentences means except on the condition) again we dont need any conditional word)
3) An aspiring MBA student will not distinguish without a dynamic theme (thats the perfect sentence, without is a preposition)
4)An aspiring MBA student will not distinguish should a dynamic theme be lacking in (awkward and wordy)
5) An aspiring MBA student will not distinguish lacking it seems that MBA student herself lack something but actually its her application part that lacks dynamic theme. [/u]
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by Tommy Wallach » Sun Feb 17, 2013 1:21 pm
Hey Agautam,

Just to add to Sana's notes here. Prepositional modifiers can modify both nouns and verbs. When they modify nouns, they should touch them. But when they modify verbs, they do not have to touch them (and whatever noun they are touching is irrelevant). In this case, we're modifying the verb "cannot," describing one aspect of that action, just like:

I came here with my dog.
I can't go without my dog.

Hope that helps!

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by agautam » Sun Feb 17, 2013 9:13 pm
Thanks for the response......though I dont agree .. the statement is very clear .. if we reverse the statement

if there is a lack of a dynamic theme unifying all the parts of her application , An aspiring MBA student will not distinguish herself in the admissions process

if there is a lack of something ... than some thing else will not happen - ( how is this not a conditional - if it is not - I would be thankful if you can tell me what is the best way to determine if some thing is conditional .. I thought if x happens than y will not happen is conditional.. and x does not have to be the only factor for Y not to happen
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by Tommy Wallach » Sun Feb 17, 2013 10:18 pm
Hey Agautam,

Yes, I believe Sana is wrong and this is a conditional sentence. However, I will add that it doesn't matter. Issues of condition aren't tested on this question. It's other grammatical issues that come into play.

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by sana.noor » Mon Feb 18, 2013 7:29 am
Is "dynamic theme" the condition for aspiring student? if its conditional then a conditional preposition such as "unless" is more appropriate. i am not sure though because i am still learning but somehow i felt its not really conditional. My appologies!!!
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by Tommy Wallach » Mon Feb 18, 2013 1:03 pm
Hey Sana,

As I've said, it really doesn't matter here. If the sentence doesn't use if/unless, it isn't technically conditional, but there's no functional difference between:

A student won't succeed without good grades.
A student won't succeed unless she has good grades.

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