BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem
TTP OnDemand GMAT Video Course
Featured Course

Target Test Prep GMAT OnDemand

Scott Woodbury-Stewart’s private virtual classroom — 400 hours of master-class video lessons for the GMAT Focus Edition.

  • 715+ score guarantee — highest in the industry (99th percentile)
  • 52 chapters · 1,500+ lessons · 4,000+ practice questions
  • 400 hours of video · 1,500+ instructor-led HD smartboard lessons
  • 300,000+ students accepted to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Booth & Sloan & more
  • 24/7 live support + weekly Zoom office hours with GMAT instructors
  • TTP AI Assist — 24/7 AI-powered virtual tutor for instant help
  • 1,200+ flashcards + AI-powered study assistant & daily calendar
  • OnDemand, LiveTeach & GMAT Bootcamp formats available
  • Also: GRE, SAT Math & Executive Assessment courses
  • MBA Admissions Consulting now available
  • 🏆 2025 EdTech Breakthrough Award: Test Prep Solution Provider of the Year
  • 200,000+ students served
  • 5-day free trial — $0 to start, no auto-billing, cancel anytime
★★★★★ 5.0 (559 reviews)
130-pt guarantee
$0 to start then $127/mo
Start Free 5-Day Trial Read 559 Reviews →

Kaplan practice

Expert replies
Post new topic Locked
Previous Topic Next Topic
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 26
Joined: Thu Jul 01, 2010 7:45 am
Thanked: 1 times
by trangle » Sun Jan 16, 2011 11:38 am
During and immediately after the California gold rush, the way for a merchant to generate the most profit was to move a limited amount of scarce goods to San Francisco as quickly as possible, rather than to carry larger loads more slowly, determining the design of the clipper ship.

a. to carry larger loads more slowly, determining
b. to carry larger loads more slowly, a situation that determined
c. carry larger loads more slowly, which determined
d. slowly carry larger loads which determined
e. carrying larger loads more slowly, and this was a situation in determining
[spoiler]
OA after discussion[/spoiler]
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Source: — Sentence Correction |
User avatar
Community Manager
Posts: 1048
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:26 amFollowed by: 27 members
Location: India
Thanked: 51 times
GMAT Score:670

by arora007 » Sun Jan 16, 2011 2:00 pm
I am not able to decide between C and B.
https://www.skiponemeal.org/
https://twitter.com/skiponemeal
Few things are impossible to diligence & skill.Great works are performed not by strength,but by perseverance

pm me if you find junk/spam/abusive language, Lets keep our community clean!!
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 574
Joined: Sat Oct 31, 2009 1:47 pmFollowed by: 5 members
Location: USA
Thanked: 29 times

by Target2009 » Sun Jan 16, 2011 6:58 pm
trangle wrote:During and immediately after the California gold rush, the way for a merchant to generate the most profit was to move a limited amount of scarce goods to San Francisco as quickly as possible, rather than to carry larger loads more slowly, determining the design of the clipper ship.

a. to carry larger loads more slowly, determining
b. to carry larger loads more slowly, a situation that determined
c. carry larger loads more slowly, which determined
d. slowly carry larger loads which determined
e. carrying larger loads more slowly, and this was a situation in determining
[spoiler]
OA after discussion[/spoiler]
To move ... rather than to carry.. So C,D,E out
A - is wrong case cause it say "the way for a merchant to generate the most profit... determining the design of the clipper ship.
B- is correct cause it says "the way for a merchant to generate the most profit... a situation that determined the design of the clipper "
Regards
Abhishek
------------------------------
MasterGmat Student
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 752
Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2010 2:47 amFollowed by: 10 members
Thanked: 20 times
GMAT Score:700

by prachich1987 » Sun Jan 16, 2011 11:49 pm
IMO : B
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Legendary Member
Posts: 857
Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 1:36 amFollowed by: 15 members
Thanked: 56 times

by AIM GMAT » Mon Jan 17, 2011 1:48 am
Agree with Target2009 , two issues in the SC

1] to ---- X rather than to ---- Y [parallel structure]
2] " a situation that determined " is correct usage.


Thanks & Regards,
AIM GMAT
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Legendary Member
Posts: 2330
Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2010 5:14 amFollowed by: 26 members
Thanked: 56 times

by mundasingh123 » Mon Jan 17, 2011 4:17 am
SC Experts, In B
a situation that determined is an appositive .An appositive requires a noun but the appositive in B seems to modify the entire phrase preceding it whereas in A "determining is an -ing modifier and i can recall that an -ing modifier cam modify the entire phrase before it
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2009 5:59 pm

by highflier_2000 » Mon Jan 17, 2011 7:38 am
Right answer is B

Just looking at the sentence to establish the parallel construction we need 'to' eliminates (C), (D) and (E)

was to move a limited amount of scarce goods to San Francisco as quickly as possible, rather than to

Also, the author is talking about an event that has occurred in the past .. hence the correct tense should be past - "determined" .. rather than determining..

Leaves only one answer [spoiler](B)[/spoiler]
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 26
Joined: Thu Jul 01, 2010 7:45 am
Thanked: 1 times

by trangle » Mon Jan 17, 2011 11:43 am
OA is B.
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Legendary Member
Posts: 2330
Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2010 5:14 amFollowed by: 26 members
Thanked: 56 times

by mundasingh123 » Mon Jan 17, 2011 11:45 am
highflier_2000 wrote:Right answer is B

Just looking at the sentence to establish the parallel construction we need 'to' eliminates (C), (D) and (E)

was to move a limited amount of scarce goods to San Francisco as quickly as possible, rather than to

Also, the author is talking about an event that has occurred in the past .. hence the correct tense should be past - "determined" .. rather than determining..

Leaves only one answer [spoiler](B)[/spoiler]
Why can determing:an ing modifier not be used for past
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 574
Joined: Sat Oct 31, 2009 1:47 pmFollowed by: 5 members
Location: USA
Thanked: 29 times

by Target2009 » Mon Jan 17, 2011 11:56 am
mundasingh123 wrote:
highflier_2000 wrote:Right answer is B

Just looking at the sentence to establish the parallel construction we need 'to' eliminates (C), (D) and (E)

was to move a limited amount of scarce goods to San Francisco as quickly as possible, rather than to

Also, the author is talking about an event that has occurred in the past .. hence the correct tense should be past - "determined" .. rather than determining..

Leaves only one answer [spoiler](B)[/spoiler]
Why can determing:an ing modifier not be used for past
@Mundasingh: We can use ing modifer to modify past but in this sentence we don't require to do so. Look at the meaning of sentence.
The way to generate profit is not determining the design of the clipper ship. .
The way to generate profit was the situation that determined the design of the clipper ship.

hope this helps.
Regards
Abhishek
------------------------------
MasterGmat Student
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Legendary Member
Posts: 2330
Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2010 5:14 amFollowed by: 26 members
Thanked: 56 times

by mundasingh123 » Mon Jan 17, 2011 12:00 pm
Target2009 wrote:
mundasingh123 wrote:
highflier_2000 wrote:Right answer is B

Leaves only one answer [spoiler](B)[/spoiler]
Why can determing:an ing modifier not be used for past
@Mundasingh: We can use ing modifer to modify past but in this sentence we don't require to do so. Look at the meaning of sentence.
The way to generate profit is not determining the design of the clipper ship. .
The way to generate profit was the situation that determined the design of the clipper ship.

hope this helps.
Thanks for replying.In B ,a situation that determined is an appositive that that modifies a noun.Isnt it modifying the whole sentence
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 574
Joined: Sat Oct 31, 2009 1:47 pmFollowed by: 5 members
Location: USA
Thanked: 29 times

by Target2009 » Mon Jan 17, 2011 2:19 pm
mundasingh123 wrote:
Target2009 wrote:
mundasingh123 wrote:
highflier_2000 wrote:Right answer is B

Leaves only one answer [spoiler](B)[/spoiler]
Why can determing:an ing modifier not be used for past
@Mundasingh: We can use ing modifer to modify past but in this sentence we don't require to do so. Look at the meaning of sentence.
The way to generate profit is not determining the design of the clipper ship. .
The way to generate profit was the situation that determined the design of the clipper ship.

hope this helps.
Thanks for replying.In B ,a situation that determined is an appositive that that modifies a noun.Isnt it modifying the whole sentence
If the appositive is CONCRETE, it MUST modify preceding noun.
example : I went to bar with Mr. Smith, a consultant from Fresno.

If the appositive is ABSTRACT, it CAN modify whole idea of the preceding clause. BUT if the preceding noun is also abstraction then these can also modify the preceding noun.
example: I went to bar with Mr. Smith, an outing that was far more fun than staying at work.
example: On Sunday our company will hold it annual field day, an outing at which employees drink beer, softball, and relax.

Concrete : is a description use to describe items/people/things that you can actually detect with your sences. Example : things you can touch, hear, hold on you hand, feel it , smell it etc.
Abstract: is a description use to describe items / ideas that you can not actually detect with your sences. Example : relationship, situation etc.

Hope this will clear your doubt.

Reference:
1. Thursdays With Ron - September 23 2010 : - https://vimeo.com/15391844
2. Stacey Koprince : https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/06/ ... -modifiers
Regards
Abhishek
------------------------------
MasterGmat Student
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 208
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2010 3:10 pmFollowed by: 2 members
Thanked: 20 times

by hja379 » Mon Jan 17, 2011 3:57 pm
C is the right one.

Example:
I decided to play golf rather than drive 100 miles.

A is out. When a main clause has an infinitive (to), rather than cannot have gerund (-ing form) or infinitive.

B is wrong because of the same reason as above. 'a situation that..' is redundant.
E is out. '... and this was a situation' is wordy at best.
D is out as the missing comma implies that loads seem to have determined something.
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 574
Joined: Sat Oct 31, 2009 1:47 pmFollowed by: 5 members
Location: USA
Thanked: 29 times

by Target2009 » Mon Jan 17, 2011 5:30 pm
hja379 wrote:C is the right one.

Example:
I decided to play golf rather than drive 100 miles.

A is out. When a main clause has an infinitive (to), rather than cannot have gerund (-ing form) or infinitive.

B is wrong because of the same reason as above. 'a situation that..' is redundant.
E is out. '... and this was a situation' is wordy at best.
D is out as the missing comma implies that loads seem to have determined something.
Yes .. it maintain idiomatic expression.. but Which is modifying slowly and thats changes the meaning.
Regards
Abhishek
------------------------------
MasterGmat Student
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 155
Joined: Mon Dec 13, 2010 11:02 am
Thanked: 3 times

by towerSpider » Mon Jan 17, 2011 8:44 pm
Lets make it into simple analogy for understanding.

(1)I would prefer to love Juli, rather than Sonia. (i think this one is wrong because rather than is used for preferences but here, we have two nouns : Juli, and sonia. Though ". . . .juli, not sonia. . ." will be correct. Other reason is that in this situation you are loving both. What if you have preference for loving juli over killing juli. in such cases you just can not skip verb because verbs are different.)

(2)I would prefer to love Juli, rather than love Sonia.

(3)I would prefer to love Juli, rather that to love Sonia.

Now my question is why choose (3) over (2) even though (2) is more concise?
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Post new topic Locked