Search found 38 matches
thinking more generally— the above is a good example of why functional thinking is superior to "classification" into rigid categories. namely, thinking about "actions" is better than worrying about whether said actions are technically verbs. in fact, in the "blue sentence...
- by magic monkey
Sat Oct 25, 2014 10:45 pm- Forum: Sentence Correction
- Topic: modifier issue expert
- Replies: 53
- Views: 25480
In GMAC materials, you'll routinely encounter sentences like the blue one. Although the orange sentence is technically ok, I very highly doubt that you would ever see anything like it in an official sentence, since it's stylistically poor writing. So, if you need a guessing method , you're probably...
- by magic monkey
Fri Oct 17, 2014 10:55 pm- Forum: Sentence Correction
- Topic: modifier issue expert
- Replies: 53
- Views: 25480
So is it correct to say that GMAT would most likely to avoid structures like "SVO, which clause, doing"? Too abstract for me. Can you write an actual example that looks like this? Thanks. is it ok to write like this: (from your examples, sorry i am not capable of writing a better example)...
- by magic monkey
Fri Sep 12, 2014 2:18 am- Forum: Sentence Correction
- Topic: modifier issue expert
- Replies: 53
- Views: 25480
In the problem you've cited, the whole issue is a non-issue, because NO modifier makes sense. In that context, "applying... is something that happens later . It's not something that happens in the same timeframe as "moving in", and it is most certainly not a description of the move-i...
- by magic monkey
Thu Sep 04, 2014 8:10 pm- Forum: Sentence Correction
- Topic: modifier issue expert
- Replies: 53
- Views: 25480
if we change the relative that clause into an comma which clause, would "breaking" still modifies "I dropped a bag", or only the "comma which clause", just grammatically. Like in the following sentence, "i dropped a bag containing six incubators, which enclosed ba...
- by magic monkey
Tue Sep 02, 2014 1:52 pm- Forum: Sentence Correction
- Topic: modifier issue expert
- Replies: 53
- Views: 25480
keep in mind that you're looking at *wrong* answers here. in the two choices (d) and (e), "applying..." shouldn't be a modifier at all, because it doesn't actually *modify* anything in the preceding clause -- it gives another, separate aspect of the programs. (number one, the families can...
- by magic monkey
Fri Aug 29, 2014 4:25 am- Forum: Sentence Correction
- Topic: modifier issue expert
- Replies: 53
- Views: 25480
Hi Stacey, I notice that we could use if like I don't know if Jack will come to attend the meeting tonight . According to your analysis, do you mean that in the formal written English we could only use if in conditional clause, and whether in optional clause? A whether -clause can serve as noun. An...
- by magic monkey
Sun Jul 13, 2014 12:14 am- Forum: Sentence Correction
- Topic: A proposal has been made to trim the horns from rhinoceroses
- Replies: 27
- Views: 20134
Received a PM asking me to respond. This is an OG question, so I can't discuss directly. I'm going to discuss some other random stuff that may or may not bear a close resemblance to this problem. :) "whether" vs. "if" Most people use "if" these days when they should be...
- by magic monkey
Sat Jul 12, 2014 4:06 am- Forum: Sentence Correction
- Topic: A proposal has been made to trim the horns from rhinoceroses
- Replies: 27
- Views: 20134
It can describe turns. They took turns. — Turns doing what? / What kind of turns? Turns drawing xxxxx stuff Hello Ron, I came across another sentence: In the mid-1920’s the Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Company was the scene of an intensive series of experiments investigating the effe...
- by magic monkey
Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:03 pm- Forum: Sentence Correction
- Topic: COMMA+-ING Vs noun modifier
- Replies: 30
- Views: 11610
Thanks Ron, I have got the point. Please don't feel annoyed if I want to make a double check on another construction - the "comma + _ed". So when we are using the comma Ved, it doesn't have to follow the 2nd rule above, which is, to have a relationship to the whole idea of the sentence. T...
- by magic monkey
Sun Jul 06, 2014 8:32 pm- Forum: Sentence Correction
- Topic: COMMA+-ING Vs noun modifier
- Replies: 30
- Views: 11610
E.g., Roberta, having just finished her first marathon, collapsed onto the floor. Here, "having..." just describes Roberta. However, it still needs to have a fundamental relationship to the following part (i.e., she collapsed because she had just run 26.2 miles). • Describes Roberta â€...
- by magic monkey
Mon Jun 30, 2014 4:27 am- Forum: Sentence Correction
- Topic: COMMA+-ING Vs noun modifier
- Replies: 30
- Views: 11610
Got it, and including is actually a preposition. I know I say this way too often, but, this sort of understanding (involving classifications/categories) shouldn't be your end goal, because it's awkward and clumsy. I.e., your goal is to distinguish correct usage from incorrect usage immediately . If...
- by magic monkey
Mon Jun 30, 2014 1:13 am- Forum: Sentence Correction
- Topic: COMMA+-ING Vs noun modifier
- Replies: 30
- Views: 11610
There IS one exception of which you should be aware, though. Namely, if comma + __ing follows only a noun , rather than a full sentence/clause, then it modifies only that noun. (It can't do anything else!) E.g., Roberta, having just finished her first marathon, collapsed onto the floor. Here, "...
- by magic monkey
Sun Jun 29, 2014 1:17 am- Forum: Sentence Correction
- Topic: COMMA+-ING Vs noun modifier
- Replies: 30
- Views: 11610
This is very interesting discussion. Hello magic monkey, can you let me know why you say that the -ing forms in OG12 SC 30 and OG13 SC 62 can be interpreted as as adverbial modifiers? It seems to me that -ing forms here are directly modifying the nouns "animal-hide shields" and "the ...
- by magic monkey
Sat Jun 28, 2014 6:34 pm- Forum: Sentence Correction
- Topic: COMMA+-ING Vs noun modifier
- Replies: 30
- Views: 11610
You're right. Recently, I found OE contradictory to itself from place to place. • Yes, there is a "comma + __ing" that can attach to a noun. E.g., Valéry, engrossed in his book, did not notice that his plane was leaving. "Engrossed in his book" clearly describes Valéry. Still...
- by magic monkey
Sat Jun 28, 2014 4:53 pm- Forum: Sentence Correction
- Topic: COMMA+-ING Vs noun modifier
- Replies: 30
- Views: 11610