Ex 1 - Advertisement design

[e-GMAT]

This question is the first practice problem in the 4th series of Meaning based problems.

Before the managers started using word processors and graphic representation tools, advertisements designed by in house calligraphers.

• A. the managers started using word processors and graphic representation tools, advertisements designed by in house calligraphers.
  B. using word processors and graphic representation tools, managers had to get in house calligraphers to design advertisements.
  C. the managers started using word processors and graphic representation tools, advertisements were designed by in house calligraphers.
  D. the managers had started to use word processors and graphic representation tools, they had to get in house calligraphers to design advertisements.
  E. the use of word processors and graphic representation tools started, advertisements had to be designed by in house calligraphers.

We will provide the official answer soon.
Following are the links where you can read about the four strategies GMAC uses to change meaning:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/07 ... ing-part-1
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/07 ... ing-part-2
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/07 ... ing-part-3
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/08 ... ing-part-4

[vk_vinayak]

Before the managers started using word processors and graphic representation tools, advertisements designed by in house calligraphers.


A. the managers started using word processors and graphic representation tools, advertisements designed by in house calligraphers. >> The part after the comma is missing the verb. It should be 'advertisements were designed by in house calligraphers'

B. using word processors and graphic representation tools, managers had to get in house calligraphers to design advertisements. >> Distorts the meaning by saying that, Every time in the past, managers, before using word processors, had to get in house calligraphers to design advertisements

C. the managers started using word processors and graphic representation tools, advertisements were designed by in house calligraphers. >> Correct.

D. the managers had started to use word processors and graphic representation tools, they had to get in house calligraphers to design advertisements. >> Incorrect. Not sure if 'they' refers to managers. Even if it did, still it is not correct.

E. the use of word processors and graphic representation tools started, advertisements had to be designed by in house calligraphers. >> Who are/were using the word processors? This options incorrectly forgets to mention 'managers'.

[crisro]

IMO C is better then B.

[niketdoshi123]

This question is the first practice problem in the 4th series of Meaning based problems.

Before the managers started using word processors and graphic representation tools, advertisements designed by in house calligraphers.

• A. the managers started using word processors and graphic representation tools, advertisements designed by in house calligraphers. This is a fragment.. Helping verb is mising
  B. using word processors and graphic representation tools, managers had to get in house calligraphers to design advertisements. managers didn't get the in house calligraphers
  C. the managers started using word processors and graphic representation tools, advertisements were designed by in house calligraphers. Contains proper helping verb were and preserves the intended meaning of the original sentence.
  D. the managers had started to use word processors and graphic representation tools, they had to get in house calligraphers to design advertisements.Before the managers had started ... Before what?? -- it is not known and the original sentence doesn't mention -- who got the calligraphers
  
  E. the use of word processors and graphic representation tools started, advertisements had to be designed by in house calligraphers. Who started the use of ... .This sentence, unlike the main sentence, doesn't provide that information

[e-GMAT]

Hi Folks,

Here is the official explanation for this question:

Before the managers started using word processors and graphic representation tools, advertisements designed by in house calligraphers.

A. the managers started using word processors and graphic representation tools, advertisements designed by in house calligraphers.

B. using word processors and graphic representation tools, managers had to get in house calligraphers to design advertisements.

C. the managers started using word processors and graphic representation tools, advertisements were designed by in house calligraphers.

D. the managers had started to use word processors and graphic representation tools, they had to get in house calligraphers to design advertisements.

E. the use of word processors and graphic representation tools started, advertisements had to be designed by in house calligraphers.[/list]



This sentence does not communicate complete meaning. Presence of word "before" indicates that sequencing of two events has been presented. The latter event is - managers started using word processors and graphic representation tools. The earlier event is not clearly specified. The noun - advertisements does not have any verb. This part simply indicates that advertisements were designed by in house calligraphers, but the lack of verb for the noun - advertisements - leaves the reader with only partial meaning.



Error Analysis:

Cl. 1: Before the managers started using word processors and graphic representation tools, advertisements designed by in house calligraphers.

This sentence does not contain an independent clause. The presence of word "before" makes this a dependent clause. Also, the role of "advertisements designed..." is not clear. The way this part is positioned, it appears as though this "noun + noun modifier" modifies certain aspect of the preceding clause. But logically this modification does not make sense. Both these errors can be corrected if "designed by in..." is converted into a verb by saying "were designed".

POE:

Choice B - Grammatically correct but incorrect. This choice adds information about who got calligraphers to design ads. The original sentence only indicates that the advertisements were designed by in-house calligraphers.

Choice C - Correct. This choice converts the modifier - advertisements designed...- in a clause. Now the sentence has an independent clause. Also, the intended meaning is preserved.

Choice D - This choice distorts the intended sequencing of actions. The later action - "started using" has now been written in past perfect tense - the tense that is used to denote earlier of two actions in the past tense. This choice also repeats the error in Choice B by adding the information about who got the in-house calligraphers to design advertisements.

Choice E - Grammatically Correct but incorrect- This choice omits information that is present in the original sentence. There is no mention of who has started using the word processors and the graphic representation tools.



1. Always understand the intended meaning of the original sentence.
2. It is very important to note ALL the information present in the sentence.
3. The correct choice should communicate ALL that information - no more and no less - in a grammatically correct manner.

Thanks.