Elliptical clauses

[hemanth28]

One thing I couldn't find on web is the precise explanation of what is the right usage of Elliptical clauses from GMAT perspective.

I have seen lot of examples , however I couldn't find "a set of rules" that needs to be followed or a "set of pitfalls" that one need to be careful about.

I always manage to get elliptical questions wrong.

Stacy and other experts - please help me with this ?

[hemanth28]

Sent and PM to Stacey and she replied with the response below(edited). She requested me to post this on forum for further discussion

An elliptical clause is one in which a subordinate clause is grammatically incomplete but nonetheless acceptable. Most often the elements omitted are the relative pronouns that, which, and whom, or the predicate from the second part of a comparison.

For example:
He liked the song [that] she played.

The meaning must still be clear and logical. When a noun or verb is omitted, you should be able to "pick up" a noun or verb that is present earlier in the sentence and put it in the omitted place - it should still be clear and logical.

For example:
A jaguar can run faster than an armadillo [can run].





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[hemanth28]

I am posting few example questions for discussion.

In 1973 mortgage payments represented twenty-one percent of an average thirty-year-old male's income; and forty-four percent in 1984.

(A) income; and forty-four percent in 1984

(B) income; in 1984 the figure was forty-four percent

(C) income, and in 1984 forty-four percent

(D) income, forty-four percent in 1984 was the figure

(E) income that rose to forty-four percent in 1984

C is elliptical. what is wrong with option C?


It is as difficult to prevent crimes against property as those that are against a person.
(A) those that are against a
(B) those against a
(C) it is against a
(D) preventing those against a
(E) it is to prevent those against a

[mittalashwani13]

In 1973 mortgage payments represented twenty-one percent of an average thirty-year-old male's income; and forty-four percent in 1984.

(A) income; and forty-four percent in 1984
-------- "and" is a conjunction and is used to connect two clauses ...here the second part "forty-four percent in 1984 is NOT a clause ...so A is wrong

(B) income; in 1984 the figure was forty-four percent
-------- CORRECT

(C) income, and in 1984 forty-four percent
-------- "and" is a conjunction and is used to connect two clauses ...here the second part " In 1984 forty-four percent is NOT a clause ...so C is wrong

(D) income, forty-four percent in 1984 was the figure
--------- creates a Run-on

(E) income that rose to forty-four percent in 1984
--------- 'that' is incorrectly modifying "income" which is supposed to modify the mortgage payments

It is as difficult to prevent crimes against property as those that are against a person.
(A) those that are against a
(B) those against a
(C) it is against a
(D) preventing those against a
(E) it is to prevent those against a

In this C is elliptical and correctly used ...

[Stacey Koprince]

The previous poster has done a good job already! The first one isn't an instance of an elliptical clause. Rather, the correct answer introduces a new noun that refers to a concept discussed in the first part of the sentence: "the figure" = "mortgage payments as a percentage of an average 30-year-old male's income."

I'm curious about the source of the second one. We're making a comparison ("as difficult as") so we both have to compare apples to apples and we have to do so in parallel form. Stuff in [brackets] indicates stuff we're elliding / omitting.

It is as difficult (to do X) as it is [difficult] (to do Y).

We could use an ellipsis here:
It is as difficult to sing as it is [difficult] to fly.

Note that what you're picking up is one phrase or clause from start to finish; we're not supposed to jump over words. eg, we would NOT say "it is as difficult (to do X) as [it is difficult] to fly" because we're skipping over the "as" - in the first part, is says "it is AS difficult" not simply "it is difficult." We should literally be able to pick up a word or several contiguous words and drop them into the omitted place.

We also have to make sure that the two things make sense to compare and also that they are parallel. In the given problem, there are multiple ways this could happen. For example:

It is as difficult to prevent crimes against X as it is [difficult to prevent crimes] against Y.
It is as difficult to prevent crimes against X as it is [difficult] to prevent crimes against Y.

A gives us: It is as difficult to prevent crimes against X as [difficult to prevent] crimes that are against Y. Not parallel. (Can't stick in the "it is" before the 2nd "difficult" because we'd need to use the whole "it is as...")
B: It is as difficult to prevent crimes against X as [difficult to prevent] crimes against Y. Not parallel.
C: It is as difficult to prevent crimes against X as it is [difficult to prevent crimes] against Y. Hmm. Sounds a bit awkward because we are carrying 4 words - that's quite a lot - but best answer so far.
D: It is as difficult to prevent crimes aginst X as preventing crimes against Y. Not parallel.
E: It is as difficult to prevent crimes against X as it is [difficult] to prevent crimes against Y. Parallel. Clear. Only one word carried.

If I had to choose between C and E, I'd choose E. But I'm not super happy with the quality of this particular question in general. Do you know the source?

[hemanth28]

The previous poster has done a good job already! The first one isn't an instance of an elliptical clause. Rather, the correct answer introduces a new noun that refers to a concept discussed in the first part of the sentence: "the figure" = "mortgage payments as a percentage of an average 30-year-old male's income."

I'm curious about the source of the second one. We're making a comparison ("as difficult as") so we both have to compare apples to apples and we have to do so in parallel form. Stuff in [brackets] indicates stuff we're elliding / omitting.

It is as difficult (to do X) as it is [difficult] (to do Y).

We could use an ellipsis here:
It is as difficult to sing as it is [difficult] to fly.

Note that what you're picking up is one phrase or clause from start to finish; we're not supposed to jump over words. eg, we would NOT say "it is as difficult (to do X) as [it is difficult] to fly" because we're skipping over the "as" - in the first part, is says "it is AS difficult" not simply "it is difficult." We should literally be able to pick up a word or several contiguous words and drop them into the omitted place.

We also have to make sure that the two things make sense to compare and also that they are parallel. In the given problem, there are multiple ways this could happen. For example:

It is as difficult to prevent crimes against X as it is [difficult to prevent crimes] against Y.
It is as difficult to prevent crimes against X as it is [difficult] to prevent crimes against Y.

A gives us: It is as difficult to prevent crimes against X as [difficult to prevent] crimes that are against Y. Not parallel. (Can't stick in the "it is" before the 2nd "difficult" because we'd need to use the whole "it is as...")
B: It is as difficult to prevent crimes against X as [difficult to prevent] crimes against Y. Not parallel.
C: It is as difficult to prevent crimes against X as it is [difficult to prevent crimes] against Y. Hmm. Sounds a bit awkward because we are carrying 4 words - that's quite a lot - but best answer so far.
D: It is as difficult to prevent crimes aginst X as preventing crimes against Y. Not parallel.
E: It is as difficult to prevent crimes against X as it is [difficult] to prevent crimes against Y. Parallel. Clear. Only one word carried.

If I had to choose between C and E, I'd choose E. But I'm not super happy with the quality of this particular question in general. Do you know the source?

Hi Stacey,

Thanks very much for the detailed explanation.The source of the question if 1000SC. The answer is E.

Based on the explanation , I understand that when we typically choose the answer with ellipsis we do that based on elimination and mostly the other answers would suffer from some other kind of error.

For the second question "you would choose less elliptical statement over brevity. Since you are not happy with the quality let me just ignore that question. Well its actually these kind of questions that cause lot of confusion.

Are there any rules for elliptical clauses? Can you help us with some common observations on elliptical clauses you would have seen over years of your experience ?

[Stacey Koprince]

On the GMAT, when ellipses are used correctly, we can typically pick up an exact word or an exact short string of words and place it where the omitted words should be. It is possible for the conjugation of a verb to change (or, in rare cases, the tense) but not the actual verb itself.

For instance, the GMAT might say:

She runs as fast as her brother [runs]. We pick up the word "runs" from earlier in the sentence and place it after "brother."

She runs as fast as her classmates [run]. Here, I had to change the conjugation of the verb but the verb is still a form of "to run."

It should be very clear / unambiguous which words you are picking up and re-using; if it's not extremely clear, then an ellipsis isn't appropriate for that situation and should not be used. I'd say it's more common to see this (an ambiguous / not totally clear use of ellipsis) in wrong answer choices than it is to see an ellipsis used correctly on this test.