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Confused about idioms

by Mo2men » Wed Jan 11, 2017 6:47 am
Daniel Bernoulli (1700 - 1782) derived the famous fluid equation named after him, to explain an airplane's wing's generation of lift, and made a discovery that led to an early method of measuring blood pressure.

(A) equation named after him, to explain an airplane's wing's generation of lift
(B) equation named after him, and this principle explains the lift of an airplane's wing
(C) equation, named it after himself, explained how an airplane's wing is generating lift
(D) equation named for him, giving an explanation of the generation of the lift of an airplane's wing
(E) equation named for him, which explains how an airplane's wing generates lift

Source: Magoosh

OA: E

What is the difference between name after and name for??
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by GMATGuruNY » Wed Jan 11, 2017 8:44 am
Mo2men wrote:What is the difference between name after and name for??
There is no meaningful difference between named after him and named for him.
Consider the two phrases interchangeable.
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by rsarashi » Wed Jan 11, 2017 9:14 am
Hi GMATGuruNY,

Can you please give me a reason to eliminate option D?

Also please explain that in D the usage of COMMA + GIVING is correct? If no then why not

Thanks
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by MartyMurray » Thu Jan 12, 2017 11:38 pm
rsarashi wrote:Hi GMATGuruNY,

Can you please give me a reason to eliminate option D?

Also please explain that in D the usage of COMMA + GIVING is correct? If no then why no
Thanks
In D, the use of a comma + the participial modifier starting with "giving" is fine. It modifies the entire preceding clause, takes Bernoulli as the agent of "giving", and describes the result of the action described in the clause.

There is no particular logical or grammatical flaw in D. Rather it is just generally awkwardly worded, and therefore not the best of the available choices.
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by MartyMurray » Thu Jan 12, 2017 11:53 pm
Mo2men wrote:What is the difference between name after and name for??
The use of those two different wordings is an example of a false split. In official questions, false splits can be used to distract test takers from seeing the meaningful differences between answer choices.

On another note, there is no need to get too crazy about arcane idioms. You are way better off using time and energy to learn to more clearly see logical flaws in construction. Idioms barely matter on the GMAT, and if you learn around a few dozen key idioms, you will be covered for almost all, if not all, idioms that might matter. Any other idioms just won't matter. The test makers make a point of not making the test about idioms that not everyone knows about.
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by GMATGuruNY » Fri Jan 13, 2017 12:39 am
rsarashi wrote:Hi GMATGuruNY,

Can you please give me a reason to eliminate option D?

Also please explain that in D the usage of COMMA + GIVING is correct? If no then why not

Thanks
The agent of a COMMA + VERBing action must be the SUBJECT OF THE PRECEDING CLAUSE.
D: Daniel Bernoulli (1700 - 1782) derived the famous fluid equation named for him, giving an explanation of the generation of the lift of an airplane's wing.
Here, COMMA + giving seems to refer to Daniel Bernoulli -- the preceding subject -- implying that DANIEL BERNOULLI was GIVING an explanation of an airplane's wing.
Not the intended meaning.
The airplane was invented in the 1900s, long after Mr. Bernoulli died.
Eliminate D.
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by Ali Tariq » Sun Jan 15, 2017 4:00 pm
only eligible referent of which clause is fluid equation.

which cannot refer to him ( which clause's referent cannot be a person)
which cannot refer to subject, Daniel Bernoulli ( which clause's referent cannot be a person, and which cannot jump a verb, derived in this case)
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by gocoder » Sat May 13, 2017 10:26 pm
GMATGuruNY wrote:
The agent of a COMMA + VERBing action must be the SUBJECT OF THE PRECEDING CLAUSE.
D: Daniel Bernoulli (1700 - 1782) derived the famous fluid equation named for him, giving an explanation of the generation of the lift of an airplane's wing.
Here, COMMA + giving seems to refer to Daniel Bernoulli -- the preceding subject -- implying that DANIEL BERNOULLI was GIVING an explanation of an airplane's wing.
Not the intended meaning.
The airplane was invented in the 1900s, long after Mr. Bernoulli died.
Eliminate D.
In choice E, shouldn't 'which explains' refer to nearest singular object[him/Bernoulli], rather than equation'?
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by Ali Tariq » Sat May 13, 2017 11:33 pm
gocoder wrote:
In choice E, shouldn't 'which explains' refer to nearest singular object[him/Bernoulli], rather than equation'?
which explains is not really problematic here( dynamics are permissible): Case can be made in favour of it correctly refering to equation (with regards to dynamics) ,and even a stronger case can be made against it (with regard to meaning).

Have a look at which clause's referent in the OA of following OG 13's SC:
Originally developed for detecting air pollutants, a technique called proton-induced x-ray emission, which can quickly analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it, is finding uses in medicine, archaeology, and criminology.

(A) Originally developed for detecting air pollutants, a technique called proton-induced x-ray emission, which can quickly analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it,

(B) Originally developed for detecting air pollutants, having the ability to analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it, a technique called proton induced x-ray emission

(C) A technique originally developed for detecting air pollutants, called proton-induced x-ray emission, which can quickly analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it,

(D) A technique originally developed for detecting air pollutants, called proton-induced x-ray emission, which has the ability to analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance quickly and without destroying it,

(E) A technique that was originally developed for detecting air pollutants and has the ability to analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance quickly and without destroying the substance, called proton-induced x-ray emission,
OA A
Also have a look at the non-underlined portion of the following EXAM PACK2 SC
The state religion of ancient China, which came into existence at least as far back as the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. to A.D. 220) and [spoiler]perhaps as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty (1050 B.C. to 771 B.C.), allowed only emperors performing the ritual worship of heaven, perceiving them as special links between the earthly and celestial realms.

A. only emperors performing the ritual worship of heaven, perceiving them as
B. only emperors to perform the ritual worship of heaven, with the perception of them being
C. the ritual worship of heaven to be performed only by emperors, who were perceived as
D. the ritual worship of heaven, performed by emperors only, with the perception of them as
E. the ritual worship of heaven as performed by emperors only, who were perceived to be
[/spoiler]
OA C
Last edited by Ali Tariq on Sun May 14, 2017 5:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by Ali Tariq » Sat May 13, 2017 11:44 pm
Also please note that a very strong case can be made against that kind of usage of which clause in this non-official SC because it differs from the which clause in both the cited official SCs with regard to meaning.
For this reason, please don't have any take aways from this non-official SC.

Exceptions should never be picked from non official ones.
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by Ali Tariq » Sat May 13, 2017 11:54 pm
(A) Originally developed for detecting air pollutants, a technique called proton-induced x-ray emission, which can quickly analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it,
The state religion of ancient China, which came into existence at least as far back as the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. to A.D. 220)
Remove the middleman and you have problem: referent of which clause is way too general.

(E) Daniel Bernoulli (1700 - 1782) derived the famous fluid equation named for him, which explains how an airplane's wing generates lift
Here, even if you remove the middleman, you have no problem:referent of which clause is not at all general now.
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by Ali Tariq » Sun May 14, 2017 12:16 am
As instances of which clause jumping noun modifiers that are not clauses without having singular/plural conflict between a noun in modifier and noun that has modifier attached to it are very few, we don't know GMAC's stance on the issue unambiguously.

Dynamics in the SC under disussion, as you can see, are OK.
The condition,however, under which these dynamics seem permissable seems not to be in line with that in the official ones.
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by gocoder » Sun May 14, 2017 1:07 am
Ali Tariq wrote:
(A) Originally developed for detecting air pollutants, a technique called proton-induced x-ray emission, which can quickly analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it,
The state religion of ancient China, which came into existence at least as far back as the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. to A.D. 220)
Remove the middleman and you have problem: referent of which clause is way too general.

(E) Daniel Bernoulli (1700 - 1782) derived the famous fluid equation named for him, which explains how an airplane's wing generates lift
Here, even if you remove the middleman, you have no problem:referent of which clause is not at all general now.
I don't understand about referents, after removing middleman, that are general or not and, eventually, how can they be problem at the issue. Could you explain this please.
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by Ali Tariq » Sun May 14, 2017 3:31 am
(A) Originally developed for detecting air pollutants, a technique called proton-induced x-ray emission, which can quickly analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it,

red portion is the middleman.
It is a modifier modifying technique (noun).
Can we say it describes technique?;i,e can we say it gives more information about technique?
Yes.That's the job of modifiers.

If we omit it, we get technique.
(A) Originally developed for detecting air pollutants, a technique, which can quickly analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it,
The problem is technique when used without the red modifier is very general term.
Red modifier makes it specific.
That specificity is important for meaning.
How?
which can quickly analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it,now applies to technique.

The state religion of ancient China, which came into existence at least as far back as the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. to A.D. 220)
Apply the above reasoning here.
The state religion, which came into existence at least as far back as the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. to A.D. 220)
The problem is state religion when used without the red modifier is very general term.
Red modifier makes it specific.
That specificity is important for meaning.
How?
which came into existence at least as far back as the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. to A.D. 220)now applies to state religion.

(E) Daniel Bernoulli (1700 - 1782) derived the famous fluid equation named for him, which explains how an airplane's wing generates lift
red portion is the middleman.
It is a modifier modifying famous fluid equation(adj adj noun).
Can we say it describes famous fluid equation?;i,e can we say it gives more information about famous fluid equation?
Yes.

If we omit it, we get famous fluid equation.
(E) Daniel Bernoulli (1700 - 1782) derived the famous fluid equation, which explains how an airplane's wing generates lift
now famous fluid equation when used even without red modifier is specific, unlike the case in official ones
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by Ali Tariq » Sun May 14, 2017 3:50 am
and, eventually, how can they be problem at the issue.
We are dealing with the situation in which noun in the noun phrase can be taken as the referent of which clause since we don't have Sub-verb disagreement with either the noun in modifier( the one that touches which clause) or the noun with modifier attached to it( ved phrase or prep phrase modifying noun).

The situation in which this kind of jumping is allowed is the one in which if we remove the middleman( ved or prep phrase), we inevitably distort the meaning.
The middleman, thus, is indispensable.
We just cannot afford to omit it.

Omitting it distorts the meaning drastically: true for instances in official material but not for SC under discussion--thus a problem.
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