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Usage of ' ,to +verb'

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by abcgmat » Thu May 03, 2012 11:21 am
The recent surge in the number of airplane flights has clogged the nation's air-traffic control system, to lead to 55 percent more delays at airports, and prompts fears among some officials that safety is being compromised.
(A) to lead to 55 percent more delays at airports, and prompts
(B) leading to 55 percent more delay at airports and prompting
(C) to lead to a 55 percent increase in delay at airports and prompt
(D) to lead to an increase of 55 percent in delays at airports, and prompted
(E) leading to a 55 percent increase in delays at airports and prompting

[spoiler]OA: E[/spoiler]
I have a doubt on usage of to infinitives
Can we use ',to + verb' - other than in lists

I like to read, to sleep , and to swim - I feel this is correct

a. Students go to school to study -- I think correct
I want to know if the below sentence is correct
b. Students go to school, to study

Can we eliminate an answer choice if we have ',to+verb' unless it is used in a list of items
or there is modifier before it [like: Students go to school,an education center, to study ]
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by hey_thr67 » Thu May 03, 2012 12:06 pm
"to + verb" construction is mainly used to state a purpose. If we don't get the purpose out of the instruction then choice is doubtful. Hence you can not omit this construction right away. In this problem, "-ing" form is used to show the cause-effect situation, hence we don't need "to+verb" construction.
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by Bill@VeritasPrep » Thu May 03, 2012 6:43 pm
abcgmat wrote:The recent surge in the number of airplane flights has clogged the nation's air-traffic control system, to lead to 55 percent more delays at airports, and prompts fears among some officials that safety is being compromised.
(A) to lead to 55 percent more delays at airports, and prompts
(B) leading to 55 percent more delay at airports and prompting
(C) to lead to a 55 percent increase in delay at airports and prompt
(D) to lead to an increase of 55 percent in delays at airports, and prompted
(E) leading to a 55 percent increase in delays at airports and prompting

[spoiler]OA: E[/spoiler]
I have a doubt on usage of to infinitives
Can we use ',to + verb' - other than in lists

I like to read, to sleep , and to swim - I feel this is correct

a. Students go to school to study -- I think correct
I want to know if the below sentence is correct
b. Students go to school, to study

Can we eliminate an answer choice if we have ',to+verb' unless it is used in a list of items
or there is modifier before it [like: Students go to school,an education center, to study ]
In your read/sleep/swim example, you can actually drop the "to" for the second and third verbs; the first one applies to all three:

I like to read, (to) sleep, and (to) swim

For your going to school example, you have it correct the first time:

Students go to school to study.

"To school" is a prepositional phrase:

Students go (to school) to study.

Which means that "go" links the infinitive to the subject.
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by GMATGuruNY » Fri May 04, 2012 6:50 am
abcgmat wrote:The recent surge in the number of airplane flights has clogged the nation's air-traffic control system, to lead to 55 percent more delays at airports, and prompts fears among some officials that safety is being compromised.
(A) to lead to 55 percent more delays at airports, and prompts
(B) leading to 55 percent more delay at airports and prompting
(C) to lead to a 55 percent increase in delay at airports and prompt
(D) to lead to an increase of 55 percent in delays at airports, and prompted
(E) leading to a 55 percent increase in delays at airports and prompting

[spoiler]OA: E[/spoiler]
I have a doubt on usage of to infinitives
Can we use ',to + verb' - other than in lists

I like to read, to sleep , and to swim - I feel this is correct

a. Students go to school to study -- I think correct
I want to know if the below sentence is correct
b. Students go to school, to study

Can we eliminate an answer choice if we have ',to+verb' unless it is used in a list of items

or there is modifier before it [like: Students go to school,an education center, to study ]
TO + VERB (the infinitive) can serve different purposes.

John wants to sleep.
Here, to sleep functions as a NOUN.
WHAT does John want?
He wants TO SLEEP.

John is ready to dance.
Here, to dance serves as an ADVERB.
IN WHAT WAY is John ready?
He is ready TO DANCE.

The candidate to beat is John.
Here, to beat serves as an ADJECTIVE.
John is what KIND of candidate?
The candidate TO BEAT.

There is no requirement that the infinitive be part of a list.

However, I would be skeptical of an answer choice that includes COMMA + TO + VERB unless the infinitive is part of a list.
In most cases, the infinitive does not need to be preceded by a comma.
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by karthikchandru » Fri May 04, 2012 7:53 am
Hi,

Can someone explain why (E) is better than (B)?

Thanks.
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by Bill@VeritasPrep » Fri May 04, 2012 9:26 am
karthikchandru wrote:Hi,

Can someone explain why (E) is better than (B)?

Thanks.
"55% more delay" is awkward and incorrect.
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