Wow ,
In addition to above , This was Ron's ( the much renowned Mgmat Instructor ) 2 cents on Meaning dating back to an article on some other forum at around March 2011 :
well, meaning isn't always a *separate* issue. for instance:
* you use grammatical rules to assign modifiers, but the issue of whether the modifier is actually correct (i.e., whether the assignment makes sense) is a meaning issue, not a grammar issue.
* you use grammar to check whether a pronoun correctly matches singular/plural, but the assignment of the pronoun is a function of meaning, not grammar.
* ALL decisions about verb tense are based in meaning, not grammar. (grammar can tell you whether you should use a verb vs. something that's not a verb, but grammar has nothing to say about verb tenses.)
* parallelism is a function of both grammar and meaning.
etc.
there are very few error types that are only grammatical -- and some error types (such as modifiers, pronouns, and verb tenses) are never just grammatical issues -- so, if grammar is all you're thinking about, then a large proportion of the problems on the test are going to be inaccessible to you.
for instance:
the coach sent 12 players onto the field, which led to a penalty for his team.
--> this sentence has no grammar errors, but the "which" modifier creates a meaning error (i.e., it seems to be saying that the field itself caused a penalty).
the coach sent 12 players onto the field; it led to a penalty for his team.
--> again, this sentence has no grammar errors, but the pronoun creates the same meaning error (i.e., the sentence again seems to be saying that the field itself caused a penalty).
etc.
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