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Project SETI

by elevinty » Sun May 23, 2010 4:48 am
Initiated five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World on Columbus Day 1992, Project SETI pledged a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

(A) Initiated five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World on Columbus Day 1992, project SETI pledged a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

(B) Initiated on Columbus Day 1992, five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World，a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence was pledged by Project SETI．

(C) Initiated on Columbus Day 1992，five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World，Project SETI pledged a$100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence．

(D) Pledging a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, the initiation of Project SETI five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World on Columbus Day 1992．

(E) Pledging a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World，on Columbus Day 1992，the initiation of Project SETI took place

here is my question:
what I dont understand is the structure:
In C and B: Initiated on Columbus Day 1992，five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World, what is the function of the noun phrase in here(five centuries....), at first glance it seemed as an misplaced modifier, because you need a noun subject after the introductory phrase instead we have another modifier, to me the place of this modifier seems illogic.

Anyway, correct me if am wrong:
The sentence starts with an adverb(initiated...) hence it can come any where in the sentence and still modify the main clause, the second bit is a noun modifier(five centuries...) that is functioning as appositive, therefore it can come before or after the noun that it's meant to modify, as a result the sentence is grammatically right.
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by narisipalli » Fri May 28, 2010 5:47 am
IMO, answer is A.

Initiated on Columbus Day 1992 or Pledging a $100 million investment should modify Project SETI but not investment or initiation. Hence, B, D,E are wrong. Between A and C, I would reject C for awkward construction.
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by hardik.jadeja » Fri May 28, 2010 7:36 am
IMO C.

A) It means Europeans arrived on the Columbus Day. That's not the intended meaning.
B) 'Initiated on Columbus Day 1992' wrongly modifies 'a $100 million investment'
C) Correct: ''Initiated on Columbus Day 1992'' Correctly modifies 'Project SETI' and "five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World" correctly acts as adverbial modifier for the verb 'initiated'.
D) This option suffers from the same mistake as A does and in addition it also has a modifier error. 'pledging' is modifying 'initiation'.
E) Awkward construction. It also has a modifier error present in D. 'pledging' is modifying 'the initiation of Project SETI'. Option E has two modifiers in the beginning of the sentence used one after the other and both are trying to modify 'the initiation of Project SETI'. This type of construction makes the sentence awkward.

HTH...
Last edited by hardik.jadeja on Fri May 28, 2010 8:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by Patrick_GMATFix » Fri May 28, 2010 7:55 am
elevinty wrote: here is my question:
what I dont understand is the structure:
In C and B: Initiated on Columbus Day 1992，five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World, what is the function of the noun phrase in here(five centuries....), at first glance it seemed as an misplaced modifier, because you need a noun subject after the introductory phrase instead we have another modifier, to me the place of this modifier seems illogic.

Anyway, correct me if am wrong:
The sentence starts with an adverb(initiated...) hence it can come any where in the sentence and still modify the main clause, the second bit is a noun modifier(five centuries...) that is functioning as appositive, therefore it can come before or after the noun that it's meant to modify, as a result the sentence is grammatically right.
Hello elevinty. Hope I can help

A is incorrect because it's not clear that "on Columbus Day 1992" is describing when the project was initiated. The phrasing of A blurs the meaning because "on Columbus Day 1992" is attached to "Europeans arrived in the New World". We need a sentence that clearly shows the Europeans did not arrive on Columbus day 1992.

You asked what the purpose of "five centuries after they arrived" was. In fact this is not a a noun modifier (which noun did you think it modifies?). "five centuries after they arrived" describes when the project was initiated. It's an adverbial modifier of "Initiated", similar to the example below:

Discovered in Egypt a thousand years after its construction, The Pharaoh's tomb... In this sentence, "1000 yrs after construction" modifies "Discovered".

In our sentence, A is incorrect. C is the answer.

You can solve similar questions with the Drill Generator by setting topic='modifiers' and difficulty='700+'

Good luck,
-Patrick
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by elevinty » Fri May 28, 2010 11:08 am
Hey Patrick_GMATFix,
You are the only guy who actually made this sentence clear to me, but to answer your question:(which noun do I think it's modifying?)

well to me the phrase (five centuries after...) looks as an appositive to me, there's no way I could think of it as an adverb because always adverbs do not start with a noun, they would start with a preposition or a participle, so my question is how did you know that it is an adverb?
Also I thought it's an appositive because it's modifying Project SETI, because I know appositives can come before or after the noun it's modifying.

sorry if I sound like a noob what do you mean"drill generator"
thank you
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by Patrick_GMATFix » Fri May 28, 2010 12:18 pm
Call me Patrick :-)

"5 centuries after they arrived" cannot be a modifier for SETI. It's not describing project SETI, but rather describing when the project was initiated. Since it's not describing a noun but rather an action/clause, this phrase is acting as an adverb.

The phrase is not an adverb per se, but an adverbial modifier, meaning that it plays the role of an adverb. Adverbs tell you how, when, where, under which circumstances or to what extent something happened. Examples:
  • I run fast.
  • The project was initiated three years ago.
  • The man took his exam under a lot of pressure.
When a phrase or clause is describing an action, it is in fact acting as an adverb. Examples:
  • John lost all his money, spending it on trivial things.
In the sentence you posted, "Initiated in 1992, project SETI..." Initiated is not an adverb, but an adjective describing project SETI. In the right answer (C), "Initiated...1992" is a noun modifier for Project SETI This would be similar to the example:
  • Sick of all his problems, the accused decided to kill himself.
"Sick...problems" is a noun modifier and "Sick" is an adjective describing "the accused"

You may wonder how C can be right given that the noun modifier "Initiated...1992" is not next to Project SETI. That's simply because what separates "Initiated" from "Project SETI' are modifiers for Initiated: "on Columbus Day" and "5 centuries after....New World". So these cannot be placed anywhere else. Consider once again the example above:
  • Sick of all his problems, the accused decided to kill himself.
In general, because adjectives are noun modifiers they should be placed next to their target. However in this case we need to modify Sick with "of all his problems", so its' ok to have "of all his problems" between Sick and the accused. In fact, "Sick of all his problems" works as a unit to modify "the accused". Likewise, "Initiated on Columbus day, 5 centuries after the Europeans" works as a unit to modify Project SETI

As for the Drill Generator, this is a portion of a software that allows you to plan and track your GMAT prep with functions such as: Ability to take/save/review drills of any topic/difficulty setting Ability to view detailed solutions with take-aways and video solutions Ability to get a report of your strengths/weaknesses that gets updated with each question that you practice/review. I can't say more without sounding like an ad. Look at my signature for more info.

Hope that helped,
-Patrick
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by elevinty » Sat May 29, 2010 2:24 am
thanks a lot Patrick, you made my day
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by Patrick_GMATFix » Sat May 29, 2010 6:57 am
you're welcome elevinty.
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by SmarpanGamt » Sat May 29, 2010 10:26 am
elevinty wrote:Initiated five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World on Columbus Day 1992, Project SETI pledged a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

(A) Initiated five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World on Columbus Day 1992, project SETI pledged a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. ( Sth ambigous with verb initiated five centuri.....)

(B) Initiated on Columbus Day 1992, five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World，a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence was pledged by Project SETI． dangling modifer - inititated .....a 100$ investment

(C) Initiated on Columbus Day 1992，five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World，Project SETI pledged a$100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence．---(Correct answer )..Initiated a project SETI

(D) Pledging a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, the initiation of Project SETI five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World on Columbus Day 1992．

(E) Pledging a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World，on Columbus Day 1992，the initiation of Project SETI took place

here is my question:
what I dont understand is the structure:
In C and B: Initiated on Columbus Day 1992，five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World, what is the function of the noun phrase in here(five centuries....), at first glance it seemed as an misplaced modifier, because you need a noun subject after the introductory phrase instead we have another modifier, to me the place of this modifier seems illogic.

Anyway, correct me if am wrong:
The sentence starts with an adverb(initiated...) hence it can come any where in the sentence and still modify the main clause, the second bit is a noun modifier(five centuries...) that is functioning as appositive, therefore it can come before or after the noun that it's meant to modify, as a result the sentence is grammatically right.
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by elevinty » Tue Jun 01, 2010 10:42 pm
Hey Patrick,

Can you please tell me if the following construction is the same as the above(meaning is the modifier acting as an adverb)

years ago, according to some scientists, an asteroid bigger than Mount Everest slammed into North America, an event that caused the plant and animal extinctions that mark the end of the geologic era known as the Cretaceous Period.

note: the modifier is in green.

Thanks
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by martin.jonson007 » Wed Jun 02, 2010 5:51 am
Problem wch exist in B also exist in C

means five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World can't modify Initiated on Columbus Day 1992

IMO A

experts ..plz comment
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by Patrick_GMATFix » Wed Jun 02, 2010 6:57 am
martin.jonson007 wrote:Problem wch exist in B also exist in C

means five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World can't modify Initiated on Columbus Day 1992

IMO A

experts ..plz comment
Martin,
"5 centuries..." is modifying "Initiated". Tells you when "Initiated" happened.

This is an official question, but I don't remember its source. Elevinty would you please provide the source and the OA?
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by Patrick_GMATFix » Wed Jun 02, 2010 7:11 am
elevinty wrote:Hey Patrick,

Can you please tell me if the following construction is the same as the above(meaning is the modifier acting as an adverb)

years ago, according to some scientists, an asteroid bigger than Mount Everest slammed into North America, an event that caused the plant and animal extinctions that mark the end of the geologic era known as the Cretaceous Period.

note: the modifier is in green.

Thanks

There are 2 types of modifiers: noun modifiers (which describe nouns) and adverbial modifiers (which describe everything else, most importantly actions and clauses). In this case, the modifier in green as an adverbial modifier because it doesn't describe a noun, but the entire clause. It tells you the result of the entire clause. In correct GMAT sentences, these modifiers often begin with a noun (such as "an event" above) or with an -ing, such as in OG12 SC # 47: "Five eagles left their nests in Scotland, bringing to 34 the number of birds successfully raised since 1975."


I wouldn't say that your modifier acts exactly as an adverb because it doesn't modify just a single word (adjective, adverb or verb) but it modifies an entire clause. Still, it's called an adverbial modifier. You can practice these by setting the Drill Generator to topic='modifiers' and difficulty='600-700 AND 700+'

-Patrick
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by badpoem » Wed Apr 13, 2011 9:31 am
IMO C.

(A) Initiated five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World on Columbus Day 1992, project SETI pledged a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
--> On Hold. Eliminated because of C.

(B) Initiated on Columbus Day 1992, five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World，a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence was pledged by Project SET --> dangling modifier.

(C) Initiated on Columbus Day 1992，five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World，Project SETI pledged a$100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence ---> all modifiers in the right place.

(D) Pledging a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, the initiation of Project SETI five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World on Columbus Day 1992．--->same as B.

(E) Pledging a $100 million investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence five centuries after Europeans arrived in the New World，on Columbus Day 1992，the initiation of Project SETI took place ---> jumbled garble.
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by tgou008 » Wed May 11, 2011 8:30 am
Patrick_GMATFix wrote:
elevinty wrote:Hey Patrick,

Can you please tell me if the following construction is the same as the above(meaning is the modifier acting as an adverb)

years ago, according to some scientists, an asteroid bigger than Mount Everest slammed into North America, an event that caused the plant and animal extinctions that mark the end of the geologic era known as the Cretaceous Period.

note: the modifier is in green.

Thanks

There are 2 types of modifiers: noun modifiers (which describe nouns) and adverbial modifiers (which describe everything else, most importantly actions and clauses). In this case, the modifier in green as an adverbial modifier because it doesn't describe a noun, but the entire clause. It tells you the result of the entire clause. In correct GMAT sentences, these modifiers often begin with a noun (such as "an event" above) or with an -ing, such as in OG12 SC # 47: "Five eagles left their nests in Scotland, bringing to 34 the number of birds successfully raised since 1975."


I wouldn't say that your modifier acts exactly as an adverb because it doesn't modify just a single word (adjective, adverb or verb) but it modifies an entire clause. Still, it's called an adverbial modifier. You can practice these by setting the Drill Generator to topic='modifiers' and difficulty='600-700 AND 700+'

-Patrick
So to confirm - the modifier in green above correctly modifies the entire clause?
Thanks
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