The World Wildlife fund (possesive!)

Expert replies

cephaslr: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 11; Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 6:21 am; Location: Orlando, Fl

by cephaslr » Wed Apr 08, 2009 6:48 am

OG v12

The World Wildlife Fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon most scientists agree to be caused by human beings in burning fossil fuels, will create havoc among migratory birds by altering the environment in ways harmful to their habitats.

(a) a phenomenon most scientists agree to be caused by human beings in burning fossil fuels,
(b) a phenomenon most scientists agree that is caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings,
(c) a phenomenon that most scientists agree is caused by human beings' burning of fossil fuels,
(d) which most scientists agree on as a phenomenon caused by human beings who burn fossil fuels,
(e) which most scientists agree to be a phenomenon caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings,

OA C

I am looking for a better explanation that the OG, which basically says "cause it... uh... sounds better.."

Like this post

Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Wed Apr 08, 2009 6:48 am

marcusking: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 106; Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:09 am; Location: Louisville, KY; Thanked: 8 times

Re: The World Wildlife fund (possesive!)

by marcusking » Wed Apr 08, 2009 7:15 am

cephaslr wrote:OG v12

The World Wildlife Fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon most scientists agree to be caused by human beings in burning fossil fuels, will create havoc among migratory birds by altering the environment in ways harmful to their habitats.

(a) a phenomenon most scientists agree to be caused by human beings in burning fossil fuels,
(b) a phenomenon most scientists agree that is caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings,
(c) a phenomenon that most scientists agree is caused by human beings' burning of fossil fuels,
(d) which most scientists agree on as a phenomenon caused by human beings who burn fossil fuels,
(e) which most scientists agree to be a phenomenon caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings,

OA C

I am looking for a better explanation that the OG, which basically says "cause it... uh... sounds better.."

A). In general "to be" is usually incorrect in GMAT sentence correction as it is wording and can generally be replaced with an active verb.
B.) It is hard to determine what "That" is representing, is it WWF, scientists, or the phenomenon.
C.)
D & E.) Can't really come up with a good explanation as to why these are wrong except for they don't sound correct which is usually an indicator of an unidiomatic expression.

Sorry I can't be of more definitive help but hopefully this aids you a bit.

Like this post

karmayogi: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 467; Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2008 10:19 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 27 times

by karmayogi » Wed Apr 08, 2009 12:08 pm

I am surprised

As per my understanding, we should not use gerund form as possessive noun.

Experts???

Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divine within.
--By Swami Vivekananda

Like this post

S0laris: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 131; Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2009 7:02 am; Location: Azerbaijan/Baku; Thanked: 2 times

by S0laris » Wed Apr 08, 2009 1:21 pm

karmayogi wrote:I am surprised

As per my understanding, we should not use gerund form as possessive noun.

imo noun + gerund = subject

besides, i think human being sounds so inseparable that even gerund is hard one to spot in it.

a - ...agree to be......in burning... - noisy
b,e - ...by fossils... - rather by human
d - verb&noun-kamasutra

we are the champions !

Like this post

scoobydooby: Legendary Member; Posts: 1035; Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2008 10:56 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 104 times

by scoobydooby » Wed Apr 08, 2009 1:36 pm

S0laris wrote:
besides, i think human being sounds so inseparable that even gerund is hard one to spot in it.

thats a good one, s0laris.

Like this post

karmayogi: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 467; Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2008 10:19 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 27 times

by karmayogi » Thu Apr 09, 2009 7:43 am

Looks like I have short term memory loss problem

. In a recent post(https://www.beatthegmat.com/gerund-being ... tml#135910), scoobydooby said that “a gerund should be preceded by a possessive noun.” Although there is small correction to this rule, as per the rule “human beings’ burning of fossil fuels” is correct.

My bad when I said “we should not use gerund form as possessive noun.” What I meant was “human beings’ burning” is wrong, in which burning is a gerund and human beings’ a possessive noun. Phew! I was totally wrong. I made this wrong rule for OG11 SC#19. Following is the explanation given in OG:
The gerund (-ing form of a verb) can be used as noun (e.g. Running is her favorite sport), but it is often awkward, particularly when used with a possessive.
In the options
A.The organism’s trying to metabolize… (wrong)
B.The organism’s attempt to metabolize… (correct)

Substituting the noun attempt for the gerund trying eliminates the problem.

Now I got how I made this rule. Without understanding the rule properly, I mugged it up. Half baked understanding is a very dangerous thing.

The correct rule is gerund can be preceded by a possessive noun. In fact, typically, a gerund should be precede by a possessive noun, but it’s not mandatory. Check the following link: https://www.getitwriteonline.com/archive ... erunds.htm

Scoobydooby do you agree with me?

Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divine within.
--By Swami Vivekananda

Like this post

ohwell: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 28; Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2008 7:10 pm; Thanked: 1 times

by ohwell » Thu Apr 09, 2009 10:11 am

Good discussion.

I will add the following:

"a noun preceding a gerund must be in the possessive case if the noun is the doer of the action described by the gerund"

btw - this did not come from me - but I am following it

Here, "burning" is a gerund and "human beings" are the doers. They are responsible for the burning.

Like this post

karmayogi: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 467; Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2008 10:19 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 27 times

by karmayogi » Thu Apr 09, 2009 10:31 am

ohwell wrote:Good discussion.

I will add the following:

"a noun preceding a gerund must be in the possessive case if the noun is the doer of the action described by the gerund"

btw - this did not come from me - but I am following it

Here, "burning" is a gerund and "human beings" are the doers. They are responsible for the burning.

Thanks for sharing the rule. Do you have the source of this rule?

Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divine within.
--By Swami Vivekananda

Like this post

scoobydooby: Legendary Member; Posts: 1035; Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2008 10:56 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 104 times

by scoobydooby » Sun Apr 12, 2009 9:27 am

yes karmayogi and ohwell, totally agree.

however, if there is a readily available noun form which can substitute the gerund, then that noun form is preferred to the gerund form

A.The organism’s trying to metabolize… (wrong)
B.The organism’s attempt to metabolize… (correct)

therefore "attempt" is better than "trying" in the example KY quoted. read this somewhere, not sure where

if there are no synonymous/ready noun forms available then possessive noun+gerund form works fine like in the following

"Her singing/swimming was much apprediated."

Like this post

Post new topic Locked

• Page 1 of 1

GMAT Course Reviews

560 reviews

1168 reviews

431 reviews

359 reviews

147 reviews

5/5

5 Star (560 Reviews)

"Target Test Prep is the closest to the official version of the GMAT exam, about 99% accuracy in terms of the quality and quantity of information. The course has excellently created singular sets of focused lessons and tests for every possible topic that one could come across in the official GMAT exam."

"The TTP course maximizes the efficiency of the time you spend studying. It will take time and effort but I could almost guarantee that if you complete the course exactly as it is laid out you will get an amazing score. They also have a very responsive team willing to help with any questions you might have."

"TTP has two things that I think no other test prep company offers: A teaching approach that reinforces understanding and an attitude that will give you the mental preparedness needed to succeed on the test. TTP gives you a deep understanding of the concept you need to know while teaching you how to think."

Write a Review