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pst participle -

by mundasingh123 » Tue Apr 19, 2011 8:11 am
Source : Copied 1000 SC
A thesis by Mark Spencer, written in the same year as The Adventures of Tarzan were published, reveals that Spencer provided moral support to one of the first Aboriginal students at Melbourne School.

(A) A thesis by Mark Spencer, written in the same year as The Adventures of Tarzan were published,

(B) A thesis by Mark Spencer, written in the same year of publication as The Adventures of Tarzan,

(C) A thesis by Mark Spencer, written in the same year that The Adventures of Tarzan was published,

(D) Mark Spencer wrote a thesis in the same year as he published The Adventures of Tarzan that

(E) Mark Spencer wrote a thesis in the same year of publication as The Adventures of Tarzan that

Ron , Can you explain why
written in the same year
inspite of being seperated from Spencer by just a comma doesnt modify Spencer but modifies Thesis
https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/sc1 ... t1645.html
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by therealtomrose » Tue Apr 19, 2011 6:09 pm
written in the same year as The Adventures of Tarzan were published
This phrase is a noun modifier. The rule is the following: Noun modifiers must be immediately adjacent to the noun they are modifying. In this case, the author intends for the modifier to tell us information about "a thesis". Since it is not immediately adjacent to "a thesis" in answer choices A, B, and C, those choices are incorrect.

I don't like D or E, personally. They both have an ambiguous S/V relationship that would likely shut them down as a meaning error. Where did you ge this question?

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by atulmangal » Tue Apr 19, 2011 7:21 pm
IMO A
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by lunarpower » Wed Apr 20, 2011 1:30 am
mundasingh123 wrote:Ron , Can you explain why
written in the same year
inspite of being seperated from Spencer by just a comma doesnt modify Spencer but modifies Thesis
https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/sc1 ... t1645.html
when it comes to modifiers that modify nouns, you should assume, in general, that such modifiers can also modify NOUN + PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE constructions.
this is true even for the modifiers whose use is most restricted, such as "which" (see OG12 #26 for a problem whose correct answer has "which" modifying a noun + prep phrase).

the only way in which this could be risky is if it creates potential ambiguity -- i.e., if the sentence makes sense both ways. in that case, you may want to shoot for an alternate wording that has one clear meaning. (note that no such ambiguity exists in OG12 #26; it's absurd meaning-wise as well as grammatically impossible for "which" to modify susan dickinson in that example.)

--

in this case, "thesis by M.S." is a noun + prep phrase, so it's a legitimate referent for the modifier. moreover, there's no ambiguity, as "written" clearly cannot refer to a person. so you're good.
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by force5 » Wed Apr 20, 2011 3:52 am
A D, E are incorrect.

between B and C

in both the choices we are comparing "the year" hence i feel that the modifier should touch the noun its modifying.

In B - the presence of "publication" between the noun and comparer "as" changes and modifies the meaning or the sentence.

In C - that clearly points at "same year"......same year that.....

Hence choose C.
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by aspirant2011 » Wed Apr 20, 2011 10:34 am
i agree with Force 5.........i would also go with C......
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by mundasingh123 » Sat Apr 23, 2011 6:05 am
therealtomrose wrote:
written in the same year as The Adventures of Tarzan were published
This phrase is a noun modifier. The rule is the following: Noun modifiers must be immediately adjacent to the noun they are modifying. In this case, the author intends for the modifier to tell us information about "a thesis". Since it is not immediately adjacent to "a thesis" in answer choices A, B, and C, those choices are incorrect.

I don't like D or E, personally. They both have an ambiguous S/V relationship that would likely shut them down as a meaning error. Where did you ge this question?

T
The OA for the Original SC is C
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by mundasingh123 » Sat Apr 23, 2011 6:09 am
lunarpower wrote:
mundasingh123 wrote:Ron , Can you explain why
written in the same year
inspite of being seperated from Spencer by just a comma doesnt modify Spencer but modifies Thesis
https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/sc1 ... t1645.html
when it comes to modifiers that modify nouns, you should assume, in general, that such modifiers can also modify NOUN + PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE constructions.
this is true even for the modifiers whose use is most restricted, such as "which" (see OG12 #26 for a problem whose correct answer has "which" modifying a noun + prep phrase).

the only way in which this could be risky is if it creates potential ambiguity -- i.e., if the sentence makes sense both ways. in that case, you may want to shoot for an alternate wording that has one clear meaning. (note that no such ambiguity exists in OG12 #26; it's absurd meaning-wise as well as grammatically impossible for "which" to modify susan dickinson in that example.)

--

in this case, "thesis by M.S." is a noun + prep phrase, so it's a legitimate referent for the modifier. moreover, there's no ambiguity, as "written" clearly cannot refer to a person. so you're good.
Hi ron thanks for the help. I have been travelling from 1 corner of the country to another and been dealing with so many issues as a result of which I wasnt very active on BTG.
I guess Students will have to remember a lot of rules/constructions for beating the SC section on GMAT
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by Ryandmitri » Wed Apr 27, 2011 4:11 am
I chose 'C' as well....but I am not clear about the use of "that" after "same year".
Isn't "same year as" the correct idiom. The other options were blatantly wrongly so I had no option but to choose 'C'. Need to clear my concepts though.


Thanks.
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by lunarpower » Wed Apr 27, 2011 4:18 am
Ryandmitri wrote:I chose 'C' as well....but I am not clear about the use of "that" after "same year".
Isn't "same year as" the correct idiom. The other options were blatantly wrongly so I had no option but to choose 'C'. Need to clear my concepts though.
Thanks.
yeah, "that" doesn't work there. you would probably see "same year when" or "same year in which".

this is the danger of using crappy sources like "1000SC", the source of this problem -- a lot of the stuff in them is just wrong!
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