Free use VS freer use

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Free use VS freer use

by shivani.magan » Tue Jan 31, 2012 6:01 am
In Contrast to the symphonies of Haydn, a much freer use of dissonance is evident in the symphonies of Mahler.

A) In contrast to the symphonies of Haydn, a much freer use of dissonance is evident in the symphonies of Mahler.
B) In contrast with Haydn's symphonies, Mahler uses dissonance much more freely.
C) In Contrast to those of Haydn, the symphonies of Mahler demonstrate a much more free use of dissonance.
D) In contrast to Haydn's symphonies, Mahler's demonstrate a much freer use of dissonance.
E) In contrast with Haydn's symphonies, those of Mahler use dissonance much more freely.

The OA is D.

I picked C. I can't understand why much more free in C is wrong ?
Also can you help with why E is wrong?
Source: — Sentence Correction |

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by sam2304 » Tue Jan 31, 2012 8:42 am
C - wordy and much freer is better than much more free.
E - In contrast with is inappropriate.

Hence D.


P.S: Use spoilers while mentioning the OAs.
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by e-GMAT » Tue Jan 31, 2012 9:49 am
shivani.magan wrote:I can't understand why much more free in C is wrong ?
Also can you help with why E is wrong?
Hi,

Choice C: In Contrast to those of Haydn, the symphonies of Mahler demonstrate a much more free use of dissonance.
In this choice, the phrase "much more free use" is unidiomatic. Phrase "use (or uses) X much more freely" is the correct idiom. The unidiomatic expression makes this choice incorrect.

Choice E:: In contrast with Haydn's symphonies, those of Mahler use dissonance much more freely.
In this choice, there is this construction, In contrast with X, Y where X and Y must be grammatically as well as logically parallel. Here, X and Y are logically parallel but they are not grammatically parallel, especially when the entity can be written in the form to make it absolutely parallel to the other. X is in possessive while Y is a noun phrase.

Hope this helps.
Shraddha

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by gmatblood » Tue Jan 31, 2012 11:44 am
shivani.magan wrote:In Contrast to the symphonies of Haydn, a much freer use of dissonance is evident in the symphonies of Mahler.

A) In contrast to the symphonies of Haydn, a much freer use of dissonance is evident in the symphonies of Mahler. - PASSIVE
B) In contrast with Haydn's symphonies, Mahler uses dissonance much more freely.
C) In Contrast to those of Haydn, the symphonies of Mahler demonstrate a much more free use of dissonance.
D) In contrast to Haydn's symphonies, Mahler's demonstrate a much freer use of dissonance.
E) In contrast with Haydn's symphonies, those of Mahler use dissonance much more freely.

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by shivani.magan » Thu Feb 02, 2012 2:12 am
Thanks Shraddha. Its clear now.

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by lunarpower » Mon Feb 06, 2012 5:22 am
i received a PM about this thread.

what's the source of this question?

it's not a good question. first, all of the choices have a fundamental problem: "in contrast to..." is incompatible with comparatives, such as "more ADJ" or "ADJ-er". it has to be one or the other.

examples:
my brother is taller and skinnier than i am.
--> correct

in contrast to me, my brother is tall and skinny.
--> correct (note absolute adjectives "tall" and "skinny", NOT comparative adjectives "taller"/"skinnier"; the comparison is implied by "in contrast").

in contrast to me, my brother is taller and skinnier.
--> incorrect. you can view this either as redundant or as combining 2 incompatible constructions; either way, it's wrong.
this sentence has the same issue in all 5 choices. it's a serious issue, and one that has been tested regularly on GMAC's comparison problems.

ignore. run away.
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by GmatKiss » Mon Feb 06, 2012 7:05 am
clearly D

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by sui generis » Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:37 pm
Ron is a rockstar! Excellent concept excellently explained.

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by lunarpower » Wed Feb 22, 2012 4:06 pm
sui generis wrote:Ron is a rockstar! Excellent concept excellently explained.
thanks.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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