Sentence Correction

Hi Atul,

I agree to you but don't you feel current Op C is wrong because comma signifies start of an IC but over here do u feel that ",and fatigue among shift workers while raising xxxx " is an IC???????? even if i take into consideration ur comma +fanboy rule which says if subject of two verbs is common then there is no need of an comma in between then for this case the redundant structure of have reduced have raised would have come because the sentence would have been like this

Recently implemented "shift-work equations" based on studies of the human sleep cycle have reduced sickness, sleeping on the job, fatigue among shift workers and have raised production efficiency in various industries.

please correct me if i am wrong............

Hey Aspirant,

I agree with Atul that your proposed answer choice would be correct (assuming that C wasn't also an option as well since those are too close together).

One little note on this one - and I can't see it being the difference between right and wrong but I think it's worth pointing out - is that, stylistically, they use "while" in C to show that there's some element of...not necessarily "surprise" but uniqueness in the idea that the same equations are reducing one set of measurables while also raising another. "And have" takes away that little bit of juxtaposition in there and makes for a blander sentence with a slightly altered meaning.

Here it's not a huge deal - we're reducing things that impair productivity and raising rates of productivity. But in another sentence you might want to pay closer attention to that. Say they were saying that they, for example, reduced quality control costs and also raised their level of quality. That's surprising enough that it probably calls for a transition like "while" or "but":

The measures reduced quality control costs while simultaneously raising the overall level of quality.



So...I guess my point is that if your proposed A and the same C here DID appear on a GMAT question, you'd then want to check the intended meaning of the sentence to make sure you're picking the logical meaning. Here, that wouldn't have been a problem, though.

Hey Atul,

Great question - and, actually, if you don't mind me asking one of my own: what is FANBOYS? I've really only heard that word used to make fun of people who looooove Apple products.


But in reference to the comma splice, the logic behind that is that you're separating the subject from the verb:

He attended Harvard and became an entrepreneur ---> correct because "He" is the logical subject of both "attended" and "became"

He attended Harvard, and became an entrepreneur ----> incorrect, because you're splitting "he" from "became"


So in that question you linked:

The people of the ancient Assyrian Empire were renowned warriors, although they also crafted some of the best-preserved ancient art.

A) were renowned warriors, although they also crafted
B) had been renowned warriors, although they also crafted
C) were renowned warriors, and also crafted
D) was renowned warriors, although they also crafted
E) were renowned warriors, but also crafting

C is wrong because it splits its subject from the verb.


Now... One thing I'm always leery of (wait for the irony) is using the word "always". English is a language rife with exceptions-to-the-rule and I'm sure you've seen me write on here that you need to focus on those main error categories first because you'll never be able to know all of the tiny idioms and unique rules that exist. In a simple nature, you can get pretty good at comma splices like the one above. But commas also perform some pretty crucial duties, and those might take precedence. Say you had a modifier or a list:

Modifier

Barry Sanders took the handoff and, having eluded the lone free tackler with a stutter-step, walked untouched into the end zone.

Here there are commas separating subject from verb, but those commas perform a crucial role in setting up the modifier.

List

In his 2008 campaign, Barack Obama trumpeted the virtues of hope, change, and unity, and in doing so he captured the hearts and minds of America's young voters.

This one may be a little closer to what you're asking, and I'm almost positive that you need the comma after "unity" to separate the terms from the list (much like you'd do with the modifier above) so that the "and in doing so" clearly does not apply to any items in the list but rather directly applies to the subject. If I were to see this on the test, the comma splice would be my last decision point...I'd try to exhaust everything else first because I know I'm not a pure expert on all essential functions of a comma or which take precedence over others, but I do think there's a pretty logical explanation for why you'd use a comma here.



So...in summary I'd be careful with absolute rules like "always" unless you know that there's a truly logical reason for them. With pronouns and subject-verb agreement, for example, it's either singular or it's plural...there's no real room for doubt. But if it's more a mechanical rule - like the use of commas - in which there are plenty of permutations and it may not be clear which rule takes precedence, I'd hold off on applying it until you've exhausted the more cut-and-dry rules. The GMAT is really good at rewarding the idea of "core competencies" - do what you do well and scale that up - so the big-picture-first strategy works wonders.


One other note on that linked thread - that use of "although" in the correct answer is pretty similar to what I was saying in my just-above post about how this question uses "while" to show a little element of surprise. I should have waited...this Assyrian question provides a perfect example!

Hi Brian,

Thanks a lot for your explanation but I still have one doubt with option C i.e

Recently implemented "shift-work equations" based on studies of the human sleep cycle have reduced sickness, sleeping on the job, and fatigue among shift workers while raising production efficiency in various industries.

In this if we take the rule of "comma + sentence" then after the comma i.e " and fatigue among shift workers while raising production efficiency in various industries" should have been an IC but I don't think so that the same is an IC and as atul said that if the subject in two parts of the sentence before and after the comma is same then the comma shouldn't be in between. Therefore, in our present sentence the subject remains the same but a comma is coming in between...........can we mark this C option wrong ???????please correct me if I am wrong.........

Hey Aspirant,

Good question - and, honestly, here's a situation in which I'm actually really glad that I'm not a grammar expert, but rather just a GMAT SC expert.

Therefore, in our present sentence the subject remains the same but a comma is coming in between...........can we mark this C option wrong ???????

Maybe...but then you have 5 wrong answers and no correct answer. So if you're an editor at the New York Times you may have done your job well, but if you're a GMAT test-taker you're in trouble.

I look at GMAT Sentence Correction this way - in order to succeed on the GMAT I have to be willing to accept answer choices that, were I writing an essay or an article, I would probably try to rewrite to know for sure that they were perfect. But in a multiple choice test I don't have that luxury. This article from my colleague David says about the same thing: https://www.beatthegmat.com/sentence-cor ... 69595.html

Here's what I mean by that - I may think that I should generally avoid splitting a subject from its verb. But since commas play all kinds of roles in addition to separating independent clauses - they indicate nonessential modifiers, they separate items in a list, etc. - I don't know that I can absolutely say that in every single case a comma between subject and verb is wrong. Actually, I'm pretty sure that there will be exceptions to the rule, and in that post I have a little higher up on this page I show a couple of examples in which it seems like you really need those commas - lists and modifiers should probably use commas, which, if they're part of a list or modifier, would be exempt from this comma "rule" we're talking about.

What I know are absolute - and what I know the GMAT tests over and over again - are rules like:

Logical validity (Modifiers, Verb Tenses, Comparisons, etc. - does the sentence make logical sense?)
Numerical agreement (Subject-verb, Pronoun - are we using plural with plural and singular with singular)

So as a GMAT SC expert but not necessarily an all-things-grammar expert, I'm going after the tried-and-true rules whenever possible. It's that business idea of Core Competencies - you should focus on doing what you know you can do well and finding opportunities to do as much of that as possible. In many ways, what the GMAT tests with Sentence Correction is your ability to prioritize your Core Competencies over everything else.

In this particular question, I know that the GMAT tests lists - in particular for comparisons - and that without the word "and" the list is incomplete. So that only leaves C and E, and E isn't parallel (equations have reduced...sickness, sleeping, and fatigue was lowered - it should just be the noun "fatigue"), so only C is left. And, yeah, if I were writing C for an English teacher and I was worried about a comma splice I might try to rewrite the whole thing just to be careful. But on the GMAT one answer has to be correct, and if four are obviously wrong for a major reason I'm going with the remaining choice.

Now, reluctantly, I've become a little better at grammar than I really care to be so I can explain the comma splice item here specifically. Specific to this question, the comma splice rule doesn't apply. The commas to organize the list take precedence. The main application of the comma splice rule is to eliminate situations in which the second half should be an independent clause but doesn't have a subject. For example, you couldn't say:

On Saturday I ran, and biked. --> INCORRECT

But lists need commas for organization, so if you add a third item you need commas:

In the triathlon, I swam, ran, and biked. --> CORRECT

There's a famous grammar book called "Eats Shoots and Leaves" that makes this point in its title. If you say:

The panda bear eats shoots and leaves.

That means that the two items that the panda eats are: 1) Shoots; and 2) Leaves

But if you put in commas to a list, the gunslinging panda may well have killed a waiter and gotten out of there:

The panda bear eats, shoots, and leaves.

So the rule that "you can't separate a subject from its verb" isn't absolute - it's just a way of explaining the comma splice that makes what appears to be a subject-less independent clause just a sentence fragment. Commas are required for lists and modifiers, and those take precedence.

But in a GMAT context...you probably don't NEED to know that to do well. And if you do know that, keep in mind that prioritizing the bigger-picture stuff (Modifiers, Pronouns, Parallel lists & comparisons) is still going to be much more efficient and much more binary.

[quote = aspirant2011]In this if we take the rule of "comma + sentence" then after the comma i.e " and fatigue among shift workers while raising production efficiency in various industries" should have been an IC but I don't think so that the same is an IC[/quote]

The COMMA + AND rule applies to two cases,

CASE 1: As you already know, to join two ICs.

CASE 2: In case of a list separator which what is given in this question.

Hope it helps.

Hey Brian,

Thanks a lot Sir, your post helped a lot. Seriously, i was missing some basic things and now from the examples you mentioned in your post, its all clear. I'm replying so late because i was doing some research work on this concept and i decided that i'vll post only after getting complete clarity. I hope u don't mind if use your examples and sum up my understanding.

Here we go, guys please check:

(1) AND ---> Co-ordinating conjunction

As we all know, AND connect a list of items and surprisingly this is what confused us all.

Ex: The panda bear eats shoots, and leaves. ---> Incorrect

You are connecting only two items so no need of COMMA

Ex: The panda bear eats shoots, fruits, and leaves. ---> Correct

You are connecting 3 items COMMA + AND is okay before joining final item of the list.

Now, see these examples:

On Saturday I ran, and biked. --> INCORRECT

In the triathlon, I swam, ran, and biked. --> CORRECT

Note: I swam, I ran, I biked ----> all these are complete sentence or IC's..right

Now this is actually the situation which confused us.

Verbs sharing common subject

Treat this case as u treat lists....means

Two verbs sharing common subject, NO COMMA before AND

On Saturday I ran, and biked. --> INCORRECT

Three or more verbs sharing common subject, COMMA + AND before the final verb.

In the triathlon, I swam, ran, and biked. --> CORRECT

Hope this works

Thanks again Brian

@Brian

One last question:

Recently implemented shift-work equations based on studies of the human sleep cycle have reduced sickness, sleeping on the job, and fatigue among shift workers, and have raised production efficiency in various industries.

In this sentence, The parts in green can be treated as List items so i understand the validity of COMMA + AND in BLUE COLOR

The final COMMA + AND in RED COLOR i didn't get. Is this correct??? I mean we can relate this to this example:

On Saturday I ran, and biked.

RAN = have reduced sickness, sleeping on the job, and fatigue among shift workers

BIKED = have raised production efficiency

So COMMA + AND in RED looks suspicious.

Thanks
Atul

IMO C