krndatta wrote:
ParamjitDasGMAT sir,
Can you throw some light on option B?
Why is option B wrong as compared to option A?
Thanks
Hi
krndatta, I'm happy to help. First, let's compare the two options side by side:
Quote:
(A) Because paper of all kinds is the biggest single component of municipal trash, many municipalities have tried recycling to reduce the cost of trash disposal.
(B) Because paper of all kinds is the biggest single component in municipal trash, many municipalities tried to recycle so that the cost of trash disposal is reduced.
Firstly, there's a slight difference in terms of meaning between "
try to do something" (as in Option B) and "
try doing something" (as in Option A). "
Try to do something" carries the implication that "
X" is some task or activity that is somewhat difficult and the municipalities are trying to do this task. Additionally, the "
X" in this case has to be a "
verb". On the other hand, "
try doing something" implies that these blokes have other options, and this
something is just one of the many options that they're trying out. In this case, the "something" is a
(noun-like) gerund. To understand the difference better, we can consider the following 2 sentences:
- He tried to open the window -- suggests that, for example, the window was shut tight or stuck, and he tried to open it by force
- He tried opening the window -- suggests that, for example, he was feeling hot, and he tried opening the window to feel cooler. Maybe he tried other things as well, e.g., turning on the AC, fan, and so forth.
There is a difference wrt tense between (A) and (B) -- and here the present perfect (
have tried) does make a bit more contextual sense than the simple past (
tried), simply because the first half of the subordinate clause states a stone-cold fact, and if the independent clause uses a simple past, the sense of the sentence is a bit incomplete (
They tried to recycle....And then what? When did they do it? What happened after? Why are we mentioning what these blokes did in the past without a time reference? As we can see, a lot of these questions remain unanswered, puzzling the reader as to why this single sentence was written in the first place). A GMAT SC question always conveys some sort of a story, and the story conveyed via B is, at best, sketchy and evasive.
This is, however, beside the point, as the more crucial differentiator between (A) and (B) -- and one reason for definitively eliminating (B) on grammatical grounds - is that when "to recycle" is used as a verb in B, it needs to be used
transitively and with a direct object.We cannot simply say something along the lines of "They recycled" and leave it at that -- we need an object for the verb (
What did they recycle? Paper? Pen? Plastic? Glass?..or something else? ). Using "
recycling" as a gerund -- since now it refers to the process of recycling -- avoids this problem, making (A) a more appropriate option than (B).
There is also a difference between the active and passive voice constructions in (A) and (B), and while this shouldn't be used as the first or primary reason for elimination, an active voice sentence is more
direct,
punchy, and
to the point. This is particularly true when we want to convey the "intent" or "purpose" of people.
All of these points, depending on which you select, make
Option (A) correct and/or more superior to
Option (B).
Hope this helps, and thank you for considering asking me this query.