GMAT Strategy

Could you provide some concrete examples???

osirus0830 wrote:Osirus's grammar lesson for the day. Today I decided to tackle participles.

There are two main participles that you will see on the GMAT. The past participle and the present participle.

The past participle can be used either as the past tense of a verb or as an adjective.

The present participle can be used to construct one of the perfect tenses. It can also be used as an adjective. When you see the present participle and it is not being used to denote one of the perfect tenses, immediately look to see what noun/pronoun the participle is modifying.

Past Participle used as past tense verb:

Jim broken from his past experiences with civic organizations, decided not to volunteer with the youth group.

Past Participle used as an adjective:

The broken windshield needs to be repaired before Jim receives a ticket.

Present participle used with the continuous tense:

Yesterday, Jim was speaking on the phone with his classmates.

Present participle used as an adjective:

Speaking loudly, Jim gave the admissions comittee the impression that he was belicose.

how can i spot a difference on D day whether its past participle used as an adjective or as a past tense verb ....

I meant to ask was like how important is it to distinguish between past particple used as an adjective and past participle used as a past tense verb....

osirus0830 wrote:Past Participle used as past tense verb:

Jim broken from his past experiences with civic organizations, decided not to volunteer with the youth group.

Past Participle used as an adjective:

The broken windshield needs to be repaired before Jim receives a ticket.

Present participle used with the continuous tense:

Yesterday, Jim was speaking on the phone with his classmates.

Present participle used as an adjective:

Speaking loudly, Jim gave the admissions comittee the impression that he was belicose.

Should we be laying more stress on whether its a present partciple or a past participle than knowing in depth about their sub-classes???

Whats the % weightage approximately asked b/w each class and b/w each sub-class??

bhumika.k.shah wrote:how can i spot a difference on D day whether its past participle used as an adjective or as a past tense verb ....

I meant to ask was like how important is it to distinguish between past particple used as an adjective and past participle used as a past tense verb....

osirus0830 wrote:Past Participle used as past tense verb:

Jim broken from his past experiences with civic organizations, decided not to volunteer with the youth group.

Past Participle used as an adjective:

The broken windshield needs to be repaired before Jim receives a ticket.

Present participle used with the continuous tense:

Yesterday, Jim was speaking on the phone with his classmates.

Present participle used as an adjective:

Speaking loudly, Jim gave the admissions comittee the impression that he was belicose.

Well, identify the subject and the verb. If you can do this, then you will instantly know whether or not the partiple is acting like a verb. If its not the verb, then by default its an adjective. Next, identify who or what it is describing. Ask yourself, "who/what is past participle". For example, in the examples I used, you would ask yourself, "who is broken?"

I don't think its necessarily important to know the differences, I just want to know everything I can about grammar.

bhumika.k.shah wrote:how can i spot a difference on D day whether its past participle used as an adjective or as a past tense verb ....

I meant to ask was like how important is it to distinguish between past particple used as an adjective and past participle used as a past tense verb....

osirus0830 wrote:Past Participle used as past tense verb:

Jim broken from his past experiences with civic organizations, decided not to volunteer with the youth group.

Past Participle used as an adjective:

The broken windshield needs to be repaired before Jim receives a ticket.

Present participle used with the continuous tense:

Yesterday, Jim was speaking on the phone with his classmates.

Present participle used as an adjective:

Speaking loudly, Jim gave the admissions comittee the impression that he was belicose.

Another thing I'm seeing, at least with a lot of GMAT sentences, is that when the past participle is used as an adjective, it is usually an entire clause. Its rarely just one word by itself.

Osirus's grammar lesson for the day

Prepositional Phrases as Modifiers

Prepositional phrases can act as adjectival and adverbial modifiers. To determine what kind of modifier the prepositional phrase is acting as in the sentence, look to see whether the phrase is touching a verb or a noun. If it is touching a verb, then it is more than likely modifying that verb. If it is touching a noun, it is more than likely modifying that noun.

The tricky part comes into play when the prepositional phrase is not touching either a verb or a noun. In these cases, locate both the verb and subject of the sentence. Determine if the prepositional phrase is describing the location or condition of the subject, or if the phrase is amplifying the verb. Once you make this determination, it is now time for the most important part. Ask if the phrase that is between the phrase and the noun/verb cannot logically be placed anywhere else in the sentence. If it can't be moved anywhere else, without causing grammatical errors, then this is an exception to the touch rule.

One tip, if the prepositional phrase is modifying a noun and the phrase that comes between that phrase and the noun it modifies contains a verb, the modifier is misplaced.

Does anyone read this or should I just stop?

I read it . But dint quite understand . It was too technical. Atleast for me. I'd suggest if u keep citing examples. And from those examples people will learn all these concepts than just learning them theoretically .

Regards,
Bhumika

osirus0830 wrote:Does anyone read this or should I just stop?

I read it! Definitely keep writing... because even if one person learns something... that's good enough.. and at the very least! you're reconfirming your knowledge to yourself.... it's a win win - it's not hurting anyone haha

Mate, you are posting terrific information here. I go through it whenever I can.. I may not contribute so much to the discussion for now as I am planning to take a break from any studying..

osirus0830 wrote:Does anyone read this or should I just stop?

sreak1089 wrote:Mate, you are posting terrific information here. I go through it whenever I can.. I may not contribute so much to the discussion for now as I am planning to take a break from any studying..

osirus0830 wrote:Does anyone read this or should I just stop?

Yeah, I will continue. I have another grammar lesson on tap for today....lol

You should take a break, you deserve one. I am really motivated to continue studying. Seeing that official score report depressed me

Osirus's Grammar Lesson for the Day: Subordinators

This is a very important topic on the GMAT. A subordinator begins a dependent clause, and must be preceded or followed by an independent clause. For example, "Although Jim wanted to attend the pep rally, he knew that his time would be better spent preparing for the GMAT."

In that example you can't just say "Although Jim wanted to attend the pep rally". The introduction of "Although", a subordinator, makes that clause dependent, and you need to have an independend clause to complete the thought.

Common Subordinators:

although, even though, [to show slight contrast)

because, since, so that, [to give reasons]

when, while, before, after, whenever [to indicate time relationships]

wherever, anywhere [to indicate place]

if, unless, whether [to indicate condtions]

as, as______as [to give comparisons]

whereas [to show major contrast]

In addition, to identifying that a subordinator is present and/or needed, you must also determine meaning and intent of the author in order to answer the sentence correctly.

Good job Osirus!! Keep doing!! We all benefit from this exercise....

Please try this..This is my own sentence...Please break it up, identify the mistakes if any , and rewrite it correctly. (it refers to the sentence)

I appreciate your responses , if you had had similar situation, please share with me how you overcame with your situation.

good job!

what about inspite , despite /???

osirus0830 wrote:Osirus's Grammar Lesson for the Day: Subordinators

This is a very important topic on the GMAT. A subordinator begins a dependent clause, and must be preceded or followed by an independent clause. For example, "Although Jim wanted to attend the pep rally, he knew that his time would be better spent preparing for the GMAT."

In that example you can't just say "Although Jim wanted to attend the pep rally". The introduction of "Although", a subordinator, makes that clause dependent, and you need to have an independend clause to complete the thought.

Common Subordinators:

although, even though, [to show slight contrast)

because, since, so that, [to give reasons]

when, while, before, after, whenever [to indicate time relationships]

wherever, anywhere [to indicate place]

if, unless, whether [to indicate condtions]

as, as______as [to give comparisons]

whereas [to show major contrast]

In addition, to identifying that a subordinator is present and/or needed, you must also determine meaning and intent of the author in order to answer the sentence correctly.