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The federal immigration station on Ellis Island

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The federal immigration station on Ellis Island

by yyz5028 » Thu Aug 12, 2010 5:03 am
The federal immigration station on Ellis Island, which was first opened in 1892, then rebuilt in 1900, processing nearly three quarters of all immigrants entering the United States in the first quarter of the twentieth century.

(A) The federal immigration station on Ellis Island, which was first opened in 1892, then rebuilt in 1900, processing nearly three quarters of all immigrants entering the United States in the first quarter of the twentieth century.
(B) Having processed nearly three quarters of all immigrants who enter the United States in the first quarter of the twentieth century, the federal immigration station on Ellis Island first opened in 1892 and then was rebuilt in 1900.
(C) Processing nearly three quarters of all immigrants to enter the United States in the first quarter of the twentieth century, the federal immigration station on Ellis Island first opened in 1892, being rebuilt in 1900.
(D) First opened in 1892, then rebuilt in 1900, the federal immigration station on Ellis Island processed nearly three quarters of all immigrants entering the United States in the first quarter of the twentieth century.
(E) Of all immigrants to enter the United States in the first quarter of the twentieth century, the federal immigration station on Ellis Island processed nearly three quarters of them, having first opened in 1892 and rebuilt in 1900.

Can someone explain the usage of two V-ed modifiers in D)? Doesn't "rebuilt"modify "1892", the noun immediately precedes it? I have always thought that such a usage was incorrect.

Thanks in advance.

OA-D
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Last edited by yyz5028 on Sat Aug 14, 2010 5:30 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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by e-GMAT » Thu Aug 12, 2010 8:05 am
(D) First opened in 1892, then rebuilt in 1900, the federal immigration station on Ellis Island processed nearly three quarters of all immigrants entering the United States in the first quarter of the twentieth century.

Can someone explain the usage of two V-ed modifiers in D)? Doesn't "rebuilt"modify "1892", the noun immediately precedes it? I have always thought that such a usage was incorrect.

Good question yyz5028.

You are absolutely correct in stating that verb-ed modifier modifies the noun that immediately precedes it. However, the above sentence displays an exception. Here is the exception:

Such modifiers modify a slightly far away noun if the structure of the sentence meets the following conditions:
1: The information inserted between the modifier and the modified noun is required information about the modified noun such that this information cannot be placed anywhere else in the sentence.
In choice D, "in 1892" cannot be placed anywhere else. It has to be placed right after 'opened' to describe when the action of 'opened' occurred.
2: It does not make any sense for the modifier to modify the the noun that now immediately precedes the modifier.. This is necessary since the meaning of the sentence CANNOT be ambiguous.
In this sentence, it does not make sense for the 'rebuilt' to modify 1892.

This rule is applicable for relative pronoun modifiers as well for example modifiers that begin with which and that.

Furthermore, the two verb-ed modifiers are parallel modifiers that modify the noun - 'federal immigration station'.

I hope this makes sense.

For e-GMAT users, modifiers modifying slightly far away noun is explained in the concept Modifiers - Relative Pronouns
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by paes » Thu Aug 12, 2010 9:26 am
e-GMAT

can you please explain why B and C are incorrect ?
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by yyz5028 » Thu Aug 12, 2010 6:46 pm
e-GMAT wrote:(D) First opened in 1892, then rebuilt in 1900, the federal immigration station on Ellis Island processed nearly three quarters of all immigrants entering the United States in the first quarter of the twentieth century.

Can someone explain the usage of two V-ed modifiers in D)? Doesn't "rebuilt"modify "1892", the noun immediately precedes it? I have always thought that such a usage was incorrect.

Good question yyz5028.

You are absolutely correct in stating that verb-ed modifier modifies the noun that immediately precedes it. However, the above sentence displays an exception. Here is the exception:

Such modifiers modify a slightly far away noun if the structure of the sentence meets the following conditions:
1: The information inserted between the modifier and the modified noun is required information about the modified noun such that this information cannot be placed anywhere else in the sentence.
In choice D, "in 1892" cannot be placed anywhere else. It has to be placed right after 'opened' to describe when the action of 'opened' occurred.
2: It does not make any sense for the modifier to modify the the noun that now immediately precedes the modifier.. This is necessary since the meaning of the sentence CANNOT be ambiguous.
In this sentence, it does not make sense for the 'rebuilt' to modify 1892.

This rule is applicable for relative pronoun modifiers as well for example modifiers that begin with which and that.

Furthermore, the two verb-ed modifiers are parallel modifiers that modify the noun - 'federal immigration station'.

I hope this makes sense.

For e-GMAT users, modifiers modifying slightly far away noun is explained in the concept Modifiers - Relative Pronouns
Hi e-GMAT, first of all, thanks for your reply.

Granted that rule 1 applies to this question, I'm wondering why we do not use "and" between "First opened in 1892" and "then rebuilt in 1900"? It seems that GMAT always use a conj. to connect two paralleled construction. Does Gmat changes its mind on this issue?

As for rule 2, I don't mean to challenge the explanation, but a lot of times, don't we eliminate wrong choices just because "it does not make sense for modifier to modify the noun that immediately precedes the modifier".

Thank you.
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by e-GMAT » Thu Aug 12, 2010 10:31 pm
Explanation for why choice B is incorrect.

(A)The federal immigration station on Ellis Island, which was first opened in 1892, then rebuilt in 1900, processing nearly three quarters of all immigrants entering the United States in the first quarter of the twentieth century.

What does the sentence mean: This sentence states a few facts about the federal immigration station.
1) It was opened in 1982
2) It was rebuilt in 1900
3) It processed ¾ of all immigrants entering US during certain time period

What are the errors in this sentence: This sentence has fragment error since the subject "federal immigration station" has no verb.

Now we will analyze Choice B
(B) Having processed nearly three quarters of all immigrants who enter the United States in the first quarter of the twentieth century, the federal immigration station on Ellis Island first opened in 1892 and then was rebuilt in 1900.
This choice has two errors:
1: Meaning: The structure of sentence particularly the modifier "having processed..." distorts the sequencing of event. It non-sensically implies that the station first processed a certain number of immigrants in 20th century and then it opened in 1892 (a much prior date) and was rebuilt in 1900 (another prior date). Furthermore, the focus in the original sentence is on the fact that this station has processed a certain number of immigrants (since this is the main verb). However, in this choice, the focus has shifted to the additional information of when the station was built and rebuilt (these are the main verbs in Choice B).
2: Parallelism: The two verbs for the subject "station" form a list and are not parallel. Both these verbs must be in same voice. In this choice, 'opened' is in active voice and 'was rebuilt' is in passive voice.
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by e-GMAT » Thu Aug 12, 2010 10:35 pm
paes wrote:e-GMAT

can you please explain why B and C are incorrect ?
I missed adding explanation for Choice C in my previous post.

Here is why C is incorrect.

(C) Processing nearly three quarters of all immigrants to enter the United States in the first quarter of the twentieth century, the federal immigration station on Ellis Island first opened in 1892, being rebuilt in 1900.

This choice is also incorrect because of meaning error. The manner in which the verb-ing modifier "processing..." is used in this sentence implies that by processing the certain number of immigrants in 20th century, the station opened in 1892. This is completely non-sensical. Furthermore, the verb-ing modifier "being rebuilt..." is also incorrect. It somehow implies that the station opened by being rebuilt in 1900.
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by paes » Thu Aug 12, 2010 10:45 pm
Thanks e-GMAT.

nice explanation.
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by e-GMAT » Thu Aug 12, 2010 11:11 pm
Question1: Granted that rule 1 applies to this question, I'm wondering why we do not use "and" between "First opened in 1892" and "then rebuilt in 1900"? It seems that GMAT always use a conj. to connect two paralleled construction. Does Gmat changes its mind on this issue?

You are correct yyz5028. The elements in a list must be connected appropriately using conjunctions such as and, or, but, etc. However, this sentence is not incorrect. Notice the use of "then". In this sentence, it acts as a conjunction and hence we do not need "and" to connect these two elements. For those you are interested in grammar behind this, 'then' is called as a conjunctive adverb. You can find some information about this topic in the following links.

https://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/conjunctions.htm
https://www.chompchomp.com/terms/conjunctiveadverb.htm

However, before you get lost in these technicalities, I would like to state that this is not a very common usage on GMAT. I have not found any question in OG12 that tests this knowledge. That is you will not be asked to select the correct choice between the following:
"First opened in 1892 and then rebuilt in 1900"
"First opened in 1892, then rebuilt in 1900"

Moreover, as you can see, you had solid grammatical and meaning based reasons to eliminate all other choices.

Question 2: As for rule 2, I don't mean to challenge the explanation, but a lot of times, don't we eliminate wrong choices just because "it does not make sense for modifier to modify the noun that immediately precedes the modifier".

Very good question indeed. What you are saying is correct and that is why for this exception to be valid, both specified conditions must be satisfied. If you would like to see some examples of this in Official Guide, please see following questions in OG12: Please note that all these examples are for "which modifiers". The exception rule is same for both these modifiers.

Question 26- Correct choice E - Emily's letters to Susan, which were written...
Condition 1 - "to Susan" cannot be placed anywhere else. It has to be placed right next to "letters".
Condition 2 - It does not make sense for "which were written..." to modify "Susan"

Question 33 - Wrong Choice B - Because of plunging prices for computer chips, which is due to an oversupply...
I understand that this is incorrect choice, but it is not incorrect because of modifier error. In fact per OG, the modifier modifies prices and not closest noun - chips.
Condition 1 - "for computer chips" cannot be placed anywhere else. If it is placed anywhere else, we will not be able to say that the prices are for computer chips.
Condition 2 - It is non-sensical to state computer chips are due to oversupply.

I hope this helps you.

For your information, this concept is discussed in significant detail in the concept titled Modifiers - Relative Pronouns in e-GMAT SC course.
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by yyz5028 » Fri Aug 13, 2010 2:03 am
Thanks e-Gmat, I tried to apply the conjunctive adverb concept, but I encountered a question that has two modifiers following each other separated ONLY by a comma.


The hognose snake puts on an impressive bluff, hissing and rearing back, broadens the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does, feigning repeated strikes, but, having no dangerous fangs and no venom, eventually, if its pursuer is not cowed by the performance, will fall over and play dead.

(A) broadens the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does, feigning repeated strikes, but, having no dangerous fangs and no venom,
(B) broadens the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does and feigns repeated strikes, but with no dangerous fangs and no venom,
(C) broadening the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does and feigning repeated strikes, but it has no dangerous fangs and no venom, and
(D) broadening the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does and feigns repeated strikes, but with no dangerous fangs and no venom, and
(E) broadening the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does, feigning repeated strikes, but with no dangerous fangs and no venom, and

In C), the correct answer, we again have another two modifiers following each other separated only by a comma "The hognose snake puts on an impressive bluff, hissing and rearing back, broadening the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does and feigning repeated strikes, but..."

We do not have a "conjunctive adverb" such as "then" in this case, now I'm totally confused about how these two elements connect to each other.
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by e-GMAT » Fri Aug 13, 2010 7:22 am
In C), the correct answer, we again have another two modifiers following each other separated only by a comma "The hognose snake puts on an impressive bluff, hissing and rearing back, broadening the flesh behind its head the way a cobra does and feigning repeated strikes, but..."

Your question is that why don't we have a conjunction between "hissing and rearing back" and "broadening the flesh and feigning repeated strikes"

Lets take a step back and go to the basics of parallelism. For questions involving parallelism, one must first ensure the following:
1: Identify the elements of the list. This is done by making sure that all elements of the list talk about the same topic.
2: Correct the list. This is done by ensuring that the elements are parallel and that they are connected properly.

In this sentence, the two elements that you are trying to connect are not part of one list and hence the question of connecting them properly does not arise.

The two elements in question are:

1: hissing and rearing back - This element describes an actual action of the snake. This element itself has two elements - hissing - rearing back.
2: broadening the flesh behind and feigning repeated strikes - This element describes the result of the actions of the snake. From the sentence it appears that by hissing and rearing back, two things happens
  • flesh behind the head broadens
    Snake is able to feign repeated strikes
So really the structure of sentence is as follows:

Snake puts on an impressive bluff
---by doing actions - hissing and rearing back. These actions result in
-----------causing the flesh to broaden
-----------making it appear as though the snake is doing repeated attacks

I hope this makes it clear that you do not need to connect these since these are not part of a list. One is simply the modifier of another.

For e-GMAT users, the concept of identifying the list correctly is explained above is discussed in detail in Parallelism - Identify & Correct.
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by reply2spg » Sat Aug 14, 2010 11:31 am
Buddy, what is the OA for this? and could you please post one question in one post?
yyz5028 wrote:The federal immigration station on Ellis Island, which was first opened in 1892, then rebuilt in 1900, processing nearly three quarters of all immigrants entering the United States in the first quarter of the twentieth century.

(A) The federal immigration station on Ellis Island, which was first opened in 1892, then rebuilt in 1900, processing nearly three quarters of all immigrants entering the United States in the first quarter of the twentieth century.
(B) Having processed nearly three quarters of all immigrants who enter the United States in the first quarter of the twentieth century, the federal immigration station on Ellis Island first opened in 1892 and then was rebuilt in 1900.
(C) Processing nearly three quarters of all immigrants to enter the United States in the first quarter of the twentieth century, the federal immigration station on Ellis Island first opened in 1892, being rebuilt in 1900.
(D) First opened in 1892, then rebuilt in 1900, the federal immigration station on Ellis Island processed nearly three quarters of all immigrants entering the United States in the first quarter of the twentieth century.
(E) Of all immigrants to enter the United States in the first quarter of the twentieth century, the federal immigration station on Ellis Island processed nearly three quarters of them, having first opened in 1892 and rebuilt in 1900.

Can someone explain the usage of two V-ed modifiers in D)? Doesn't "rebuilt"modify "1892", the noun immediately precedes it? I have always thought that such a usage was incorrect.

Thanks in advance.
Sudhanshu
(have lot of things to learn from all of you)
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by puneetdua » Sat Aug 14, 2010 12:02 pm
IMO answer for "The federal immigration station on Ellis Island..." shd be option D.
yyz5028 , Can you pl post the OA for confirmation, and can you please tell us the source of question.

Thanks
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