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SC|ants, by themselves

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SC|ants, by themselves

by gocoder » Wed May 10, 2017 7:19 am
Ants, by themselves, are weak creatures, but when ants are considered along with others of their species, they are known for their highly organized and powerful colonies and nests, which sometimes consist of millions of individuals.

A. when ants are considered along with others of their species,
B. when considering them with others of their species, then
C. ants, when considered with others of their species,
D. considering them with others of their species,
E. considered with others of their species, then

There are a few issues with wrong choices here.
-'When' and 'then' used in the same sentences.
-Considering( choices B, D) and considered(choices C,E) seem to modify Ants.

My doubt is, following the comma, the usage of'but' and 'when'each mandate a full clause ?

Eg1: Jack is a good boy, but he cries a lot when angry. (...,but+full clause..when+ adjective)
Eg2:Jack is a good boy but cries a lot, when he is angry
(but+clause ->understood as a full clause:but [he] cries a lot, when+full clause)

Please let me know if there are other issues in the wrong choices of the original question.
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by Ali Tariq » Wed May 10, 2017 7:34 am
Analyze the official one instead!
According to entomologists, single locusts are quiet creatures, but when locusts are placed with others of their species, they become excited, change color, vibrate, and even hum.

A. when locusts are placed with others of their species,
B. when placing them with others of their species, then
C. locusts, when placed with others of their species,
D. placing them with others of their species,
E. placed with others of their species, then
OA A
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by Ali Tariq » Wed May 10, 2017 7:53 am
There are a few issues with wrong choices here.
-'When' and 'then' used in the same sentences.
when connotes contemporaneous actions.
then connotes time shift.
In GMAT SC, we call it contradiction/ contradictory set of words.

C has double subject seperated by non essential modifier to confuse us.
D means they are considering them: both they and them refer to same antecedent.
E considered with others of their species--> subject should be the next word immediately after comma: not the case here
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by Ali Tariq » Wed May 10, 2017 8:03 am
My doubt is, following the comma, the usage of'but' and 'when'each mandate a full clause ?
when is a subordinator.
Subordinators can be followed by Ving, Ved, prep phrases, or clauses ( conditions applied).

In GMAT SC, there is, however, no precedence of when followed by something other than a clause. ( to the best of my knowledge).

but can be the part of not only but also construction, in which case it need not be.
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by gocoder » Sat May 13, 2017 12:29 am
As you said, the following example from OG illustrates the usage of 'but' when it is not followed by a clause.connectors such as 'when', 'though', and 'although' are followed with complete clauses. Are there other connectors that mandate full clauses ?


At the end of the 1930s, Duke Ellington was looking for a composer to assist him-someone who could not only arrange music for his successful big band, but also mirror his eccentric writing style in order to finish the many pieces he had started but never completed.
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by Ali Tariq » Sat May 13, 2017 7:56 am
gocoder wrote:As you said, the following example from OG illustrates the usage of 'but' when it is not followed by a clause.

At the end of the 1930s, Duke Ellington was looking for a composer to assist him-someone who could not only arrange music for his successful big band, but also mirror his eccentric writing style in order to finish the many pieces he had started but never completed.
Ya!
Following usages of but (w/o comma)are same as the one in above OG's SC.
My cat Buster has beautiful blue eyes but a destructive personality.
Rocky, my orange tomcat, loves having his head scratched but hates getting his claws trimmed.
connectors such as 'when', 'though', and 'although' are followed with complete clauses.

Please note that when can be followed by Ving,Ved, prep phrase or complete clause( subject + verb)
i.e
when ved (past participle)
when ving (present participle)
when prep phrase
when subject verb
all above constructions are possible.
However, in official material's correct answer choices, as i said before, we don't have any instance where when is followed by anything other than clause.
All answer choices in which when is not followed by a complete sentence( sub+verb) are incorrect for other very discernible reasons/errors.
connectors such as 'when', 'though', and 'although' are followed with complete clauses.
although need not be followed by a complete sentence.
only in following configuration it needs to be:
complete sentence, although complete sentence.

thus, all following constructions arepossible:
although ved, complete sentence
although ving, complete sentence
although prep phrase, complete sentence

All that is true for although is true for though.
i.e
All following constructions are possible:

complete sentence, though complete sentence

though ved, complete sentence
though ving, complete sentence
though prep phrase, complete sentence

Moreover, following is also possible:
complete sentence, though adj or participle
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by Ali Tariq » Sat May 13, 2017 8:52 am
Are there other connectors that mandate full clauses ?
because needs to be followed by a complete sentence( sub+ verb )

because of ,however, needs to be followed by a noun, because 'of' is a preposition and object of prep is a noun or noun equivalent( such as noun clause).

While can be followed by Ving or a clause only--no prep phrase.
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