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MGMAT - Subject, Modifier !!

Expert replies
by nittinj » Sat Nov 07, 2009 10:55 am
The author Herman Melville and the poet Walt Whitman are icons of American literature, greatly beloved by generations past and present.
A)The author Herman Melville and the poet Walt Whitman are icons
B)Herman Melville the author and Walt Whitman the poet are icons
C)The author named Herman Melville and the poet named Walt Whitman are great icons
D)The author, Herman Melville, and the poet, Walt Whitman, are icons
E)Herman Melville, the author, and Walt Whitman, the poet, had been icons

The diff between [spoiler]A & B[/spoiler] and can we generalize any rule out of it !!
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Source: — Sentence Correction |

by nittinj » Sun Nov 08, 2009 12:37 pm
OA A, why is B incorrect ??
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by capnx » Mon Nov 09, 2009 11:14 am
In A: The author Herman...
"author" is a noun modifier modifying the person "Herman" and so is a correct modification

In B: Herman the author...
"Herman" cannot be used to modify "the author". Had there been a comma separating the two: "Herman, the author" it could've been correct ("the author" would've been the appositive to "Herman").

The structure in E is acceptable, but the tense "had been" is wrong.
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Re: MGMAT - Subject, Modifier !!

by joyseychow » Wed Nov 11, 2009 6:41 am
nittinj wrote:The author Herman Melville and the poet Walt Whitman are icons of American literature, greatly beloved by generations past and present.
A)The author Herman Melville and the poet Walt Whitman are icons
B)Herman Melville the author and Walt Whitman the poet are icons
C)The author named Herman Melville and the poet named Walt Whitman are great icons
D)The author, Herman Melville, and the poet, Walt Whitman, are icons
E)Herman Melville, the author, and Walt Whitman, the poet, had been icons

The diff between [spoiler]A & B[/spoiler] and can we generalize any rule out of it !!
Just wondering why D is wrong?
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Re: MGMAT - Subject, Modifier !!

by raghavakumar85 » Wed Nov 11, 2009 6:53 am
joyseychow wrote:
nittinj wrote:The author Herman Melville and the poet Walt Whitman are icons of American literature, greatly beloved by generations past and present.
A)The author Herman Melville and the poet Walt Whitman are icons
B)Herman Melville the author and Walt Whitman the poet are icons
C)The author named Herman Melville and the poet named Walt Whitman are great icons
D)The author, Herman Melville, and the poet, Walt Whitman, are icons
E)Herman Melville, the author, and Walt Whitman, the poet, had been icons

The diff between [spoiler]A & B[/spoiler] and can we generalize any rule out of it !!
Just wondering why D is wrong?
D is wrong. Commas should be used only when there is no option to do it in other way. Since A is simple way of writing the sentence, D falls behind due to its complexity. GMAT wants us to KISS. Keep It Short and Simple.
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by tanviet » Wed Nov 11, 2009 7:14 am
I think gmat do not test us on puctuation and we should not study this one
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