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confuse mind: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 462; Joined: Wed Jan 19, 2011 1:08 pm; Thanked: 10 times; Followed by:4 members

having

by confuse mind » Thu Jun 16, 2011 2:26 am

what are the correct GMAT cases for usage of having?

PS: I have always read that having is to be avoided in GMAT

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Thu Jun 16, 2011 2:26 am

Ilana@EconomistGMAT: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 70; Joined: Thu Dec 16, 2010 3:22 pm; Thanked: 37 times; Followed by:18 members

by Ilana@EconomistGMAT » Thu Jun 16, 2011 5:52 am

Avoidance of "having" should not be seen as a hard and fast rule. The use of "having" can sometimes create a stylistically awkward, heavy-handed sentence, but this does not mean that you will never, under any circumstances, see a correct GMAT sentence with "having". In fact, you might sometimes find a legit GMAT sentence that happily keeps a 'having".

The key when it comes to judging stylistic flaws (as opposed to grammatical mistakes - which are outright incorrect) is that superior vs inferior style is a RELATIVE matter. You must compare the five answer choices - rule out anything that is an outright grammatical error or makes the sentence plainly illogical. After that, if you see a sentence with "having" and another one which is perfectly acceptable and also has the added advantage of not having "having" - you can go ahead and chuck out the sentence with "having".

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GMATMadeEasy: Legendary Member; Posts: 768; Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2009 3:46 am; Thanked: 21 times; Followed by:7 members

by GMATMadeEasy » Thu Jun 16, 2011 6:38 am

@Ilana@MasterGMAT - > to suport your assertion with a GMATPrep question.

Some patients who do not respond to therapies for depression may simply have received inadequate treatment, having, for example, been prescribed a drug at a dosage too low to be effective or having been taken off a drug too soon.

(A) having, for example, been prescribed a drug at a dosage too low to be effective or having been
(B) having, for example, a drug prescription that was ineffective because the dosage was too low, or being
(C) as, for example, having too low of a dosage of a prescribed drug for it to be effective, or being
(D) when they have, for example, been prescribed too low a drug dosage to be effective, or were
(E) for example, when they have a drug prescription with a dosage too low to be effective, or been

Oa is A

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Ilana@EconomistGMAT: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 70; Joined: Thu Dec 16, 2010 3:22 pm; Thanked: 37 times; Followed by:18 members

by Ilana@EconomistGMAT » Thu Jun 16, 2011 7:05 am

In this Sentence Correction question we should proceed by first eliminating grammatically unacceptable or illogical constructions:

Answer choice B is illogical as it shifts the meaning from the action of being prescribed a low dosage ("having been prescribed" as an example of inadequate treatment) to possession of a prescription "having a drug prescription"). Note that "having" in answer B is not a helping verb, as it is in answer choice A - the similarity of the first and second "having" is simply a mirage.

C is also awkward for the same reason - "having" goes from being a helping verb "having been prescribed" becomes simple possession "having a low dosage". This is not the original intention of the sentence. In addition, the pronoun "it" is ambiguous in this answer choice/

D should be eliminated because the use of the conjunction "when" is inappropriate. The sentence describes a generalization, and "when" implies particular occurrences. The modifiers are illogically placed "too low a drug dosage to be effective" is less clear than "a drug dosage to low to be effective". "too low" and "to be effective" should be placed together.

E similarly corrupts the logic by replacing the helping verb "having" with "have" - mere possession of a prescription rather than the action of being given an inappropriate prescription by doctors.

This leaves A as the default - the only logically constructed and stylistically clear sentence, despite the so-called 'ugliness' of 'having'. The rule to remember is that a correct GMAT sentence, might be ugly, but if it is grammatically correct, logical and clearer than the alternatives, we can embrace its ugliness.