The correct usage of comma+with in gmat

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The correct usage of comma+with in gmat

by sungoal » Fri Dec 10, 2010 1:28 am
Hi All,

Could anybody please explain the correct usage of comma+with in gmat sentence correction woth some examples. I am really confused over the use of comma+with.

If anybody could share some example also involving the usage of comma+with, then it would be great. :)

regards,
sungoal
Source: — Sentence Correction |

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by nazar780 » Fri Dec 10, 2010 3:25 am
Examples from official problems--OG, GMATPREP.

Have a look on them. You would be able to have an idea how "COMMA + WITH" is used in official problems.


In addition to having more protein -than wheat does, the protein in rice is higher quality than that in wheat, with more of the amino acids essential to the human diet.
(A) the protein in rice is higher quality than that in
(B) rice has protein of higher quality than that in
(C) the protein in rice is higher in quality than it is in
(D) rice protein is higher in quality than it is in
(E) rice has a protein higher in quality than

Since 1986, when the Department of Labor began to allow investment officers' fees to be based on how the funds they manage perform, several corporations began paying their investment advisers a small basic fee, with a contract promising higher fees if the managers perform well.

(A) investment officers' fees to be based on how the funds they manage perform, several corporations began
(B) investment officers' fees to be based on the performance of the funds they manage, several corporations began
(C) that fees of investment officers be based on how the funds they manage perform, several corporations have begun
(D) fees of investment officers to be based on the performance of the funds they manage, several corporations have begun
(E) that investment officers' fees be based on the performance of the funds they manage, several corporations began

Visitors to the park have often looked up into the leafy canopy and saw monkeys sleeping on the branches. whose arms and legs hang like socks on a clothesline.

(A) saw monkeys sleeping on the branches, whose arms and legs hang
(B) saw monkeys sleeping on the branches, whose arms and legs were hanging
(C) saw monkeys sleeping on the branches, with arms and legs hanging
(D) seen monkeys sleeping on the branches, with arms and legs hanging
(E) seen monkeys sleeping on the branches, whose arms and legs have hung

Choices A, B, and C use have ... saw where have ... seen is required. Choices A, B, and E awkwardly separate the relative clause beginning whose arms and legs ... from monkeys, the noun it modifies. Choices A and E also confusingly use the present tense hang and the present perfect have hung, respectively; neither verb conveys clearly that, at the time the monkeys were spotted sleeping, their arms and legs were hanging in the manner described. Choice D, the best answer, not only forms a correct and clear sentence by supplying the present perfect verb have ... seen, but also solves the problem of the whose ... clause by using the appropriately placed adverbial phrase with arms and legs hanging... to modify sleeping.
From the bark of the paper birch tree the Menomini crafted a canoe about twenty feet long and two feet wide, with small ribs and rails of cedar, which could carry four persons or eight hundred pounds of baggage so light that a person could easily portage it around impeding rapids.
(A) baggage so light
(B) baggage being so light
(C) baggage, yet being so light
(D) baggage, and so light
(E) baggage yet was so light

During the early years of European settlement on a continent that was viewed as "wilderness" by the newcomers, Native Americans, intimately knowing the ecology of the land. were a help in the rescuing of many Pilgrims and pioneers from hardship, or even death.
(A) Native Americans, intimately knowing the ecology of the land, were a help in the rescuing of
(B) Native Americans knew the ecology and the land intimately and this enabled them to help in the rescue of
(C) Native Americans, with their intimate knowledge of the ecology of the land, helped to rescue
(D) having intimate knowledge of the ecology of the land. Native Americans helped the rescue of
(E) knowing intimately the ecology of the land, Native Americans helped to rescue

The peaks of a mountain range, acting like rocks in a streambed, produce ripples in the air flowing over them; the resulting flow pattern, with crests and troughs that remain stationary although the air that forms them is moving rapidly, are known as "standing waves."
(A) crests and troughs that remain stationary although the air that forms them is moving rapidly, are
(B) crests and troughs that remain stationary although they are formed by rapidly moving air, are
(C) crests and troughs that remain stationary although the air that forms them is moving rapidly, is
(D) stationary crests and troughs although the air that forms them is moving rapidly, are
(E) stationary crests and troughs although they are formed by rapidly moving air, is
The main challenge in this sentence is to observe the agree¬ment of subject and verb (the resulting flow pattern... is known...) despite the distraction of a complex intervening structure containing several plural elements (with crests and troughs...). Choices A, B, and D can, therefore, be eliminated because they use an incorrect plural verb form, are. Choice E uses the correct verb form, is, but it incorrectly introduces a dependent adverbial although clause into a prepositional phrase (with crests ...). Choice D also makes this error. Such dependent clauses can only occur in the predicates of full clauses. C, the best choice, uses the correct verb form, is, and correctly puts the although clause inside the predicate of the relative clause (that... rapidly).

1. Bihar is India's poorest state, with an annual per capita income of $111, lower than that of the most impoverished countries of the world.

According to some economists, Japan is in danger of plunging into a depressionthat, with double-digit unemployment, could severely strain a society that regards lifetime employment as a virtual right of citizenship.


Turkey's economy has grown prodigiously over the past ten years, with an average annual increase of about eight percent-one of the highest growth rates in the world.

In the 1920's, the automobile industry dominated the American economy, with one out of every eight workers employed in an automobile-related job.

Sales of wines declined in the late 1980s, but they began to grow again after the 1991 report that linked moderate consumption of alcohol, and particularly of red wine, with a reduced risk of heart disease

Orb-weaving spiders such as the argiope build webs that are essentially wheel-like, with an outer rim and a number of spokes emanating from the hub.

The honeybee's stinger is heavily barbed and stays where it is inserted, with the result that the act of stinging causes the bee to sustain a fatal injury.
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by Salman Ghaffar » Fri Dec 10, 2010 6:05 am
Example: India, with a population of over 1 billion people, wants to have a permanent representation on the UNSC.

The part "with a population of over 1 billion people" inserted between 2 commas, acts as a modifier. It tells us that India has with a population of over 1 billion people. This usage is correct.

There is another question in the GMAT Official guide (10th edition) which goes:
"With only 5 percent of the world's population, United States citizens consume 28 percent of its
nonrenewable resources, drive more than one-third of its automobiles, and use 21 times more water per
capita than Europeans do".

The usage of "With" in the above example suggests that the subject (United States citizens) is "with" only 5 percent of the world's population, making no sense. To fix the above error, using "While representing" in place of "With" would fix the error. Hope this clarifies.

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