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GMAT Prep Question Pack 1

by sui generis » Wed May 30, 2012 11:22 am
Roughly twice each century the planet Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun, an occasion known as a transit of Venus, during which it makes the outline of the planet visible in stark relief.

a. same
B. during which the outline of the planet becomes
C. so that it makes the outline of the planet
D. such that during which the outline of the planet becomes
E. such that the outline of the planet becomes

OA: B

Can any one explain what's wrong with E and why is the usage of constructions such as 'so that' and 'such that' wrong here.

Thanks.
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by dmk112 » Wed May 30, 2012 3:29 pm
I think it comes down to meaning, if you say 'so that' it will mean that the planet is doing this for that purpose. B is best choice because it eliminates the ambiguous pronouns and retains meaning.
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by ice_rush » Wed May 30, 2012 10:20 pm
The correct answer is (B).

the construction 'such that' is (almost) always wrong on the GMAT. on the contrary such + noun + that is a perfectly acceptable construction.


hope this helps.
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by Birottam Dutta » Wed May 30, 2012 10:32 pm
In addition to what ice_rush just mentioned,

An occasion known as transit of Venus basically refers to a passing phenomenon and the time frame is properly quantified by using "during which". The meaning that the sentence aims to bring out is best captured by using "during which".

Hope this helps as well!
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by sui generis » Thu May 31, 2012 12:20 am
the construction 'such that' is (almost) always wrong on the GMAT. on the contrary such + noun + that is a perfectly acceptable construction.
You wrote exactly the opposite here. 'such that' is permitted in GMAT but 'such + X + that' isn't.

And as far as meaning issues are concerned I know there is an obvious difference between B and E but what I want to understand is the grammatical aspect of E. OG explanation explicitly says E is grammatically incorrect.

Any ideas why E is grammatically wrong or ambiguous ?

Thanks
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by ice_rush » Thu May 31, 2012 2:51 pm
It is always a good idea to do your research before challenging another person's explanation (in this case it's not even my own explanation. it's a rule)

I wouldn't have made that claim if it were not accurate.
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by sui generis » Thu May 31, 2012 4:04 pm
Thanks for correcting ice_rush. I misunderstood exact opposite of what you wrote and posted my reply hastily.

Also I just have dug up the official explanation for E. It quotes the reference of 'such that' is ambiguous when it immediately follows the appositive phrase. That makes sense as the subject won't be clear for the phrase. Plus of course meaning change too with E as already pointed out.
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by dhonu121 » Thu May 31, 2012 9:24 pm
What's wrong with A here.
Supporters of B would say that Venus does not make the outline of the planet visible but its passing does that.
But, what's wrong in saying that Venus makes the outline of planet visible ?
We do not know what makes the outline of planet visible..May be its the passing or may be Venus while its passing ?

Anybody ?
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by jimmyjimmy » Fri Jun 01, 2012 9:15 am
dhonu121 wrote:What's wrong with A here.
Supporters of B would say that Venus does not make the outline of the planet visible but its passing does that.
But, what's wrong in saying that Venus makes the outline of planet visible ?
We do not know what makes the outline of planet visible..May be its the passing or may be Venus while its passing ?

Anybody ?
during which it makes the outline of the planet

we are talking about venus and earth.....
in option A we are given with it and planet which creates ambiguity ..whether it is for venus or earth..
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by sui generis » Fri Jun 01, 2012 9:29 am
What's wrong with A here.
Supporters of B would say that Venus does not make the outline of the planet visible but its passing does that.
But, what's wrong in saying that Venus makes the outline of planet visible ?
We do not know what makes the outline of planet visible..May be its the passing or may be Venus while its passing ?

Anybody ?
Roughly twice each century the planet Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun, an occasion known as a transit of Venus, during which it makes the outline of the planet visible in stark relief.

It would be illogical to say that venus makes the outline of the venus (referred to as planet) visible. Additionally, the sentence intends to highlight the whole occasion of Venus passing between E and S and this phenomenon is clearly captured by using the word 'transit' which the 'which' after during also refers to.
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by GMATGuruNY » Sat Jun 02, 2012 4:30 am
sui generis wrote:Roughly twice each century the planet Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun, an occasion known as a transit of Venus, during which it makes the outline of the planet visible in stark relief.

a. same
B. during which the outline of the planet becomes
C. so that it makes the outline of the planet
D. such that during which the outline of the planet becomes
E. such that the outline of the planet becomes

OA: B

Can any one explain what's wrong with E and why is the usage of constructions such as 'so that' and 'such that' wrong here.

Thanks.
John made the man smile.
The implication here is that JOHN and THE MAN are different people.

IT makes the outline of THE PLANET visible.
The implication here is that IT (Venus) and THE PLANET are different celestial bodies.
Not the intended meaning.
Regardless, Venus does not MAKE its outline visible; the outline BECOMES visible ON ITS OWN.
Eliminate A and C.

Such that is to be avoided in SCs.
Eliminate D and E.

The correct answer is B.

In the math section of the GMAT, such that will sometimes appear as an ADJECTIVE to describe the QUALITY of a set of numbers:
x and y are integers SUCH THAT x>y.
What KIND of integers?
Integers SUCH THAT x>y.
I have never seen the OA to an SC employ this sort of construction.
Regardless, in D and E, such that seems to be serving as a CONJUNCTION connecting two clauses.
Such that cannot serve this purpose.
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by bubbliiiiiiii » Sun Jun 03, 2012 10:21 pm
Hi Mitch,

How does which in B refers to occasion? As per the statement, which should refer to Venus (closest noun)?

Could you please help me understand?
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by nafiul9090 » Sat Jul 21, 2012 5:41 pm
GMATGuruNY wrote:
sui generis wrote:Roughly twice each century the planet Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun, an occasion known as a transit of Venus, during which it makes the outline of the planet visible in stark relief.

a. same
B. during which the outline of the planet becomes
C. so that it makes the outline of the planet
D. such that during which the outline of the planet becomes
E. such that the outline of the planet becomes

OA: B

Can any one explain what's wrong with E and why is the usage of constructions such as 'so that' and 'such that' wrong here.

Thanks.
John made the man smile.
The implication here is that JOHN and THE MAN are different people.

IT makes the outline of THE PLANET visible.
The implication here is that IT (Venus) and THE PLANET are different celestial bodies.
Not the intended meaning.
Regardless, Venus does not MAKE its outline visible; the outline BECOMES visible ON ITS OWN.
Eliminate A and C.

Such that is to be avoided in SCs.
Eliminate D and E.

The correct answer is B.

In the math section of the GMAT, such that will sometimes appear as an ADJECTIVE to describe the QUALITY of a set of numbers:
x and y are integers SUCH THAT x>y.
What KIND of integers?
Integers SUCH THAT x>y.
I have never seen the OA to an SC employ this sort of construction.
Regardless, in D and E, such that seems to be serving as a CONJUNCTION connecting two clauses.
Such that cannot serve this purpose.
hello Mitch, is avoiding such that in SC a hard and fast rule??? i have encountered a SC, which has such that in correct option, even though other options have major error.
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