Hi All,
In the Manhattan SC flash cards available at:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/pdf/FlashC ... e_2009.pdf
page#94....
the sentence given is
"Joe, who hasn't showered in days, smells bad-however, John, who is suffering from nasal congestion, smells so badly that Joe's odor doesn't bother him at all."
Flash cards say the above sentence is correct.
Reason as explained in flash cards is:
"This question is about adjectives and adverbs, and it's a little bit of a trick - however strange it may sound, this sentence is perfectly correct. Joe, who hasn't showered, smells bad. We are modifying a noun (Joe), so we want an adjective. John, who is stuffed up, smells badly. We are modifying a verb (smells), so we want an adverb. Both uses are correct, although they have very different meanings!"
Can someone please help me
a) understand what exactly Manhattan meant to say here ?
b) tell why "him" is not ambiguous here.....why can't him refer to either "John" or "Joe" ?
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SC - Joe Showering(Manhattan Flash Card Doubt)
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goelmohit2002
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lunarpower
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* if you want to use "bad" to modify the actual verb "smell" - i.e., you want to say that someone's ability to smell is not good - then you have to use an adverb. (this is the case because adverbs modify verbs.)
* if you want to use "bad" to describe someone's actual odor, you use the adjective, because you're describing the person (not their smelling ability).
so:
joe smells badly --> joe's nose doesn't work well;
joe smells bad --> joe stinks.
although "smells ADJ" is somewhat informal, there are plenty of formally acceptable verbs (seems ADJ, appears ADJ, etc.) that are used in the same way.
--
* if you want to use "bad" to describe someone's actual odor, you use the adjective, because you're describing the person (not their smelling ability).
so:
joe smells badly --> joe's nose doesn't work well;
joe smells bad --> joe stinks.
although "smells ADJ" is somewhat informal, there are plenty of formally acceptable verbs (seems ADJ, appears ADJ, etc.) that are used in the same way.
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lunarpower
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re: pronouns
remember that pronoun ambiguity is not an absolute rule; there are plenty of examples of pronouns that get the OK on the official gmat but are, technically, "ambiguous".
in this case, since joe is so far away from the pronoun and john is so much closer, the pronoun ambiguity isn't a terribly big deal. (note that joe's, a possessive, cannot be the antecedent - this is the obnoxious "possessive poison rule").
remember that pronoun ambiguity is not an absolute rule; there are plenty of examples of pronouns that get the OK on the official gmat but are, technically, "ambiguous".
in this case, since joe is so far away from the pronoun and john is so much closer, the pronoun ambiguity isn't a terribly big deal. (note that joe's, a possessive, cannot be the antecedent - this is the obnoxious "possessive poison rule").
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.
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Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
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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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Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
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On peut poser des questions à Ron en français
Voit esittää kysymyksiä Ron:lle myös suomeksi
--
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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lunarpower
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nope. not true.euwe wrote:him is absolutely is not ambiguous here. It refers to john. If it referred to joe it would be himself not him
good luck
this would only be a true statement if joe (NOT "joe's odor") were the subject of the same clause. that is not the case.
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 à Ron en français
Voit esittää kysymyksiä Ron:lle myös suomeksi
--
Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.
Yves Saint-Laurent
--
Learn more about ron
--
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
--
Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.
Yves Saint-Laurent
--
Learn more about ron
