how to use prepositional phrase "with phrase" in t

[tanviet]

the following is from VR2, pls explain why D is wrong. any meaning problem in D?

"with phrase" can modify a noun or a clause. why in D "with phrase" is wrong? pls help

Nearly two tons of nuclear-reactor fuel have already been put into orbit around the Earth, and the chances of a collision involving such material increase greatly as the amount of both space debris and satellites continue to rise.

(A) as the amount of both space debris and satellites continue to rise

(B) as the rise continues in both the amount of satellites and space debris

(C) as the amount of space debris and the number of satellites continue to rise

(D) with the continually increasing amount of space debris and the number of satellites

(E) with the amount of space debris continuing to increase along with the number of satellites

[aman88]

IMO C

A,B,E should instantly be eliminated. This leaves your with choices C and D.
In the GMAT, you want to make as precise, concise and grammatically correct sentence as you can.

There are 2 flaws in D which are corrected in C.

Flaw 1: '...chances of a collision increases with the the increasing amount of space debris and the number of satellites.
The sentence isn't saying that there are chances of collision with the amount of increasing space debris. Choice D changes the entire meaning of the sentence. The sentence is, the chances of collision increases as the amount of space debris and number of satellite increases.

Flaw 2: The use of continually increasing versus continue to rise.
The GMAT prefers concise answers. Anyday, 'continue to rise' is more concise than the other. Moreover, 'continually increasing' is unidiomatic. The idiomatic form is 'As X & Y continue to rise'.

Two flaws in a single choice are more than enough to eliminate it and move on.

P.S: Underline the flawed part of SC questions when posting next time.

Thanks.

[tanviet]

"with phrase" provide context for main clause

"as" shows the simultaneousness

D is correct if D stands alone

but C is closer to the meaning of the original sentence and is correct and D is considered distorted meaning.

[e-GMAT]

Aman88, there is definitely meaning issue in Choice D; however, it is not exactly what you have stated below.

Flaw 1: '...chances of a collision increases with the the increasing amount of space debris and the number of satellites.
The sentence isn't saying that there are chances of collision with the amount of increasing space debris. Choice D changes the entire meaning of the sentence. The sentence is, the chances of collision increases as the amount of space debris and number of satellite increases.

We will focus on the construction of the choice D and will understand what exactly is "with the..." describing.
..., and the chances of a collision involving such material increase greatly with the continually increasing amount of space debris and the number of satellite.
The highlighted portion modifies the verb phrase - increase greatly. It does not modify the noun - collision. This is why your interpretation of meaning distortion is not correct. Now if the sentence were worded as follows, then your interpretation would have been correct -

..., and the chances of a collision involving such material with the continually increasing amount of space debris and the number of satellite increase greatly

Now in this re-arranged sentence, the modifier "with the..." is placed next to the noun phrase "collision..." and hence it modifies collision.

Hope this helps. For a video solution for this question, you may click here.

@duongthang - I think you were able to address your doubt correctly. However, I did not see much details in how choice D distorts the meaning of the original sentence. You may also refer to the link above for detailed explanation.

In addition for more information on how "with modifiers" are used, you may view a detailed post here.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Payal

[tanviet]

still want to discuss more. hopw every one continue with me.

"with phrase" provides context for the main verb when it modify that verb.

with persons learning French, I learn english (we do not discuss whether "with" here can be eliminated)

"as" shows the simultaneousness.

as person learn Freanch, I learn English

This is 2 different meanings. The first sentence provide context. The first sentence dose not mean my learning and persons's learning is at the same time.

apply above thinking to the question. D and E are wrong because they are distorted meaning.

in sc, we face at leat 2 choices which are grammatical but one of them is wrong because of meaning problem. 3 cases for meaning problem happen:
- the meaning is not logic: like table,I like you
- the meaning can be logic if this choices/meaning stand alone but is considered distorted. case D and E above.
- the meaning is expressed in wordy pattern.

the hardest case is distorted meaning. in this case the incorrect choice/meaning are both grammatical and logic but if this choice stand with other choice/the correct one, we see that it is distorted. Consider:

A. I like his learning English

vs

B. I like him learning English

A is original sentence in 5 choices. if we face 2 cases above, it is clear B are both grammatical and logic but B is considered distorted meaning and wrong.

A means "I like the leaning"
B means " I like the man"

pls comment. is my thinking correct? Thank you