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Please, make full the ellipsis

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Please, make full the ellipsis

by vietmoi999 » Sat Mar 01, 2014 2:43 am
in the following, choice B is oa. please DO NOT explain why other choices are wrong. if you want to know why they are wrong, pls read the explanation in the forum manhantan.com

please, make full the choice B, which is an ellipsis. I do not understand the full version of choice B

Soaring television costs accounted for more than half the spending in the presidential campaign of 1992,// a greater proportion than it was// in any previous election.
A. a greater proportion than it was
B. a greater proportion than
C. a greater proportion than they have been
D. which is greater than was so
E. which is greater than it has been
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by [email protected] » Sat Mar 01, 2014 7:51 pm
Hi vietmoi999,

If I understand your question correctly, you're asking about the grammar rule involved in this SC.

This prompt is built around a "comparison"; this rule requires that you compare LIKE things (and do so in Parallel format).

The first half of the sentence mentions that television costs accounted for "more than half" of the spending in the 1992 election. This "ratio" (of television costs to total costs) is compared to....*something* "....in any previous election."

So, the first part of the comparison is [the "ratio" in the 1992 election]; the second part of the comparison has to be [the "ratio" in any previous election]. For the second part, we need a phrase that references the ratio. Answer B gives us the phrase that we need.

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by vietmoi999 » Sat Mar 01, 2014 8:54 pm
Please, explain more

in the pattern: main clause+noun+noun modifier

the phrase "noun+noun modifier" can modifies a noun in the sentence or can modifies the whole preceding clause.

I take a bigger portion, the portion most delicous (modifying a noun in the main clause)
I like the british girl, a story most persons in Halong bay know (modifying the whole preceding clause)

in our problem, "greater porportion" modify what? pls explain
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by GMATGuruNY » Sun Mar 02, 2014 4:45 am
Soaring television costs accounted for more than half the spending in the presidential campaign of 1992, a greater proportion than in any previous election.

The structure of the portion in red is COMMA + ABSTRACT NOUN + MODIFIER.
This structure is known as a SUMMATIVE MODIFIER.
A summative modifier serves to SUM UP the preceding clause.
The implied meaning is as follows:
More than half the spending is a greater proportion than [the proportion of the spending] in any previous election.
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by vietmoi999 » Mon Mar 03, 2014 10:26 pm
Thank you Hunt.
the following is from OG.

Today's techonology allows manufacturers to make //small cars more fuel efficient now than at any time in their// production history.

a. small cars more fuel efficient now than at any time in their
b. small cars that are more fuel-efficient than they were at any time in their
c. small cars that are more fuel-efficient than those at any other time in
d. more fuel-efficient small cars than those at any other time in their
e. more fuel-efficient small cars now than at any time in

choice A is wrong because the ellipsis tell us that the same ""small cars"" appear in the first half and the latter half of comparision.
if we think that way, the same "proportion" appear in the first half and second half of comparision in the following OA. This makes the following OA wrong.


Soaring television costs accounted for more than half the spending in the presidential campaign of 1992, a greater proportion than in any previous election

pls, explain. I am confused
If anyone in this gmat forum is in England, pls email to me([email protected]) . I have some problems and need your advise. Thank a lot
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by vietmoi999 » Mon Mar 03, 2014 10:37 pm
GMATGuruNY wrote:Soaring television costs accounted for more than half the spending in the presidential campaign of 1992, a greater proportion than in any previous election.

Nouns phrases are IN APPOSITION when they appear side-by-side, with the second noun phrase serving to explain or define the first.
Here, a greater proportion is in apposition to more than half.
The implied meaning is as follows:
More than half is a greater proportion than [the proportion] in any previous election.
The words in brackets are omitted, but their presence is understood.
now, we make full version.
the first half of comparison, we have "in the campain", the second half "in previous election". So, the rule is that the elliptical part must appear in the firt half. and the full version is.

Soaring television costs accounted for more than half the spending in the presidential campaign of 1992, a greater proportion than MORE THAN HALF THE SPENDING in any previous election

This is wrong

look at the following example

the more than half of the spending in the presidential campain of 1992 is greater than in any previous election.

the above is correct. its full version is

the more than half of the spending in the presidential campain of 1992 is greater than the more than half of the spending in any previous election.

in short, the Official Answer in our SC problem is wrong or we do not know what we should learn from this problem.

pls, explain
If anyone in this gmat forum is in England, pls email to me([email protected]) . I have some problems and need your advise. Thank a lot
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