Quantity expressions - Plural or singualar - Page 2 - The Beat The GMAT Forum

Quantity expressions - Plural or singualar

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mundasingh123: Legendary Member; Posts: 2330; Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2010 5:14 amFollowed by: 26 members; Thanked: 56 times

by mundasingh123 » Mon Aug 08, 2011 12:49 pm

Another Example
Having the right hand and arm being crippled by a sniper's bullet during the First World War. Horace Pippin,
a Black American painter, worked by holding the brush in his right hand and guiding its movements with his
left
(A) Having the right hand and arm being crippled by a sniper's bullet during the First World War
(B) In spite of his right hand and arm being crippled by a sniper's bullet during the First World War
(C) Because there had been a sniper's bullet during the First World War that crippled his right hand and arm
(D) The right hand and arm being crippled by a sniper's bullet during the First World War
(E) His right hand and arm crippled by a sniper's bullet during the First World War

Og Explanation says
Choice C is wordy and awkwardly places the clause beginning that
crippled... so that it appears to modify the First World War rather than bullet.
but according to Your post , the modifier that crippled correctly modifies bullet

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lunarpower: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 3380; Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 amFollowed by: 1535 members; Thanked: 2256 times; GMAT Score:800

by lunarpower » Wed Aug 10, 2011 12:07 am

mundasingh123 wrote: why is E wrong here

no matter where you assign the modifier, choice (e) appears to say that the 1973 mortgage payments were part of something that did something in 1984. this is nonsense.
this is what the og is trying to say with the "separate clause" thing -- it's impossible to construct this sentence with any sort of modifier of this kind, because you can't have a statement about 1984 modifying a statement about 1973.

Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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lunarpower: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 3380; Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 amFollowed by: 1535 members; Thanked: 2256 times; GMAT Score:800

by lunarpower » Wed Aug 10, 2011 12:12 am

mundasingh123 wrote:Another Example
Having the right hand and arm being crippled by a sniper's bullet during the First World War. Horace Pippin,
a Black American painter, worked by holding the brush in his right hand and guiding its movements with his
left
(A) Having the right hand and arm being crippled by a sniper's bullet during the First World War
(B) In spite of his right hand and arm being crippled by a sniper's bullet during the First World War
(C) Because there had been a sniper's bullet during the First World War that crippled his right hand and arm
(D) The right hand and arm being crippled by a sniper's bullet during the First World War
(E) His right hand and arm crippled by a sniper's bullet during the First World War

Og Explanation says
Choice C is wordy and awkwardly places the clause beginning that
crippled... so that it appears to modify the First World War rather than bullet.
but according to Your post , the modifier that crippled correctly modifies bullet

ya, i don't think that is explained correctly. (this is an OG10 problem; a lot of the explanations in OG10 are notorious for being ... not so good.)

two big problems with that:
1) "there had been a bullet during the war" doesn't make sense; "during the war" must modify an actual *event* that happened during the war, i.e., his right hand was crippled during the war.
2) "there had been a bullet..." makes it sound as though the very existence of the bullet itself was the reason why pippin had to paint with the wrong hand. that's not accurate; he had to paint this way not because *there was* a bullet (hey, there are lots of bullets in the world), but, rather, because his hand was crippled.

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mundasingh123: Legendary Member; Posts: 2330; Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2010 5:14 amFollowed by: 26 members; Thanked: 56 times

by mundasingh123 » Wed Aug 17, 2011 2:22 am

lunarpower wrote:
mundasingh123 wrote: why is E wrong here
no matter where you assign the modifier, choice (e) appears to say that the 1973 mortgage payments were part of something that did something in 1984. this is nonsense.
this is what the og is trying to say with the "separate clause" thing -- it's impossible to construct this sentence with any sort of modifier of this kind, because you can't have a statement about 1984 modifying a statement about 1973.

In 1973 mortgage payments represented twenty-one percent of an average thirty-year-old male's income;
and forty-four percent in 1984.
(A) income; and forty-four percent in 1984
(B) income; in 1984 the figure was forty-four percent
(C) income, and in 1984 forty-four percent
(D) income, forty-four percent in 1984 was the figure
(E) income that rose to forty-four percent in 1984

But Ron , you had once stated that the that clause is flexible and could modify the subject of the prepositional phrase which precedes the that clause.
So here the "that" clause modifies " 21 Per cent " . Why is it incorrect to say 21 % in 1973 rose to 44% in 1984 ? I am still pondering over the same issue

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lunarpower: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 3380; Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 amFollowed by: 1535 members; Thanked: 2256 times; GMAT Score:800

by lunarpower » Thu Aug 25, 2011 2:51 am

mundasingh123 wrote:But Ron , you had once stated that the that clause is flexible and could modify the subject of the prepositional phrase which precedes the that clause.
So here the "that" clause modifies " 21 Per cent " . Why is it incorrect to say 21 % in 1973 rose to 44% in 1984 ? I am still pondering over the same issue

these are two completely separate statistical statements; therefore, the use of a modifier is inappropriate. no matter what you think it modifies, the use of a "that" modifier actually suggests that a man's income (or some percent of that income -- note that 21% is still a percent of that income) rose to 44% of something in 1984. that's incorrect.

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aaditya005: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 12; Joined: Sun Jul 26, 2020 1:43 am; Location: Hyderabad, India

Re:

by aaditya005 » Fri Aug 14, 2020 3:06 am

lunarpower wrote: ↑
Mon Nov 16, 2009 1:45 am
in any case, in most sentences, it will be easier to use context than to memorize tons and tons of different singular/plural conventions.
for instance, in the sentence you've quoted - "the majority of students ______ hard workers" - the context, as well as the plural quality of "hard workers", shows that you're talking about students (plural).

in general, here are some hints.

* if you're talking about a literal fraction or proportion, then you should use the singular.
ex: the proportion of residents who are of filipino descent has increased steadily over the last ten years. --> the proportion itself has increased (the residents haven't "increased"), so, singular.

* if you're talking about a group of people or things, acting separately, then you should use the plural.
ex: the majority of students turn in their papers in the last hour before the deadline.

* if you're talking about a portion of some mass noun and/or singular thing, then you should use the singular.
ex: the majority of the student body votes in the election each year. (since "student body" is singular)

these won't cover every case - but, in most cases, you can cover yourself by thinking about context.

This is excellent Ron. Clears up a lot of doubts.

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