Last visit was: 31 Oct 2024, 16:32 It is currently 31 Oct 2024, 16:32
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
avatar
rliu030
Joined: 02 Oct 2013
Last visit: 06 Jan 2015
Posts: 5
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 2
Location: New Zealand
Concentration: Leadership, General Management
Schools: HBS '17 (S)
GMAT 1: 740 Q51 V38
GPA: 4
WE:Information Technology (Consulting)
Schools: HBS '17 (S)
GMAT 1: 740 Q51 V38
Posts: 5
Kudos: 7
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
mikemcgarry
User avatar
Magoosh GMAT Instructor
Joined: 28 Dec 2011
Last visit: 06 Aug 2018
Posts: 4,488
Own Kudos:
29,231
 [3]
Given Kudos: 130
Expert reply
Posts: 4,488
Kudos: 29,231
 [3]
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
avatar
rliu030
Joined: 02 Oct 2013
Last visit: 06 Jan 2015
Posts: 5
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 2
Location: New Zealand
Concentration: Leadership, General Management
Schools: HBS '17 (S)
GMAT 1: 740 Q51 V38
GPA: 4
WE:Information Technology (Consulting)
Schools: HBS '17 (S)
GMAT 1: 740 Q51 V38
Posts: 5
Kudos: 7
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
sivasanjeev
Joined: 16 Jan 2013
Last visit: 22 Dec 2014
Posts: 116
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 56
Posts: 116
Kudos: 1,593
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
rliu030
Hi Mike,

Thanks a lot for the answer and your post is great!
The example you provided seems to be the only one I have found so far that makes perfect sense by using a past participle modifying the clause. I am also curious to know the difference between:

The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday, caused by the falling price of gold.
and
The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday, causing panic..

in terms of how the present/past participle is selected. My understanding is that in your example, if we replace the "The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday" with "A", the reason we use caused is that "A" was caused "by the falling price of gold"; on the other hand, "A" is causing "panic". Am I right?

Having said that, I am wondering if there is another option like:

The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday;it was caused by the falling price of gold.
or
The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday, a phenomenon caused by the falling price of gold.

Which one would you prefer and why?

Again, thank you for your time and wish you a bright 2014!

Cheers,
Ray

Hi Ray,
My two cents on the examples you had provided.

1. The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday, caused by the falling price of gold.
As said by Mike, caused is an -ed modifier (to be more specific past participle modifier). It states that the falling prices of gold led to a plummeting of stocks

2. The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday, causing panic..
Here, 'causing panic' is a participle phrase
It means that plummeting led to panic.

A modified verison - 3. The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday, causing the prices of gold to fall..
Here, the causative effect is reversed (compared to ex. 1)

Another example.
4. The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday, and caused the gold's price to fall .
Here, caused is a plain verb, and it describes the action of 'stocks'.

Coming back to two other examples provided by you,

5. The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday;it was caused by the falling price of gold.
What was caused by the falling price? plummeting of stocks. But "it" cannot refer to 'plummeting of stocks'. So, this option is wrong.

6. The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday, a phenomenon caused by the falling price of gold.
This looks fine.

Another example.
7. The stock of XYZ Corporation that plummeted yesterday is causing panic..
'causing panic' is a gerund phrase- the subject complement of "is"

I hope I am clear.
User avatar
mikemcgarry
User avatar
Magoosh GMAT Instructor
Joined: 28 Dec 2011
Last visit: 06 Aug 2018
Posts: 4,488
Own Kudos:
29,231
 [4]
Given Kudos: 130
Expert reply
Posts: 4,488
Kudos: 29,231
 [4]
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
2
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
sivasanjeev
rliu030
Hi Mike,

Thanks a lot for the answer and your post is great!
The example you provided seems to be the only one I have found so far that makes perfect sense by using a past participle modifying the clause. I am also curious to know the difference between:

The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday, caused by the falling price of gold.
and
The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday, causing panic..

in terms of how the present/past participle is selected. My understanding is that in your example, if we replace the "The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday" with "A", the reason we use caused is that "A" was caused "by the falling price of gold"; on the other hand, "A" is causing "panic". Am I right?

Having said that, I am wondering if there is another option like:

The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday;it was caused by the falling price of gold.
or
The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday, a phenomenon caused by the falling price of gold.

Which one would you prefer and why?

Again, thank you for your time and wish you a bright 2014!

Cheers,
Ray

Hi Ray,
My two cents on the examples you had provided.

1. The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday, caused by the falling price of gold.
As said by Mike, caused is an -ed modifier (to be more specific past participle modifier). It states that the falling prices of gold led to a plummeting of stocks

2. The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday, causing panic..
Here, 'causing panic' is a participle phrase
It means that plummeting led to panic.

A modified verison - 3. The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday, causing the prices of gold to fall..
Here, the causative effect is reversed (compared to ex. 1)

Another example.
4. The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday, and caused the gold's price to fall .
Here, caused is a plain verb, and it describes the action of 'stocks'.

Coming back to two other examples provided by you,

5. The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday;it was caused by the falling price of gold.
What was caused by the falling price? plummeting of stocks. But "it" cannot refer to 'plummeting of stocks'. So, this option is wrong.

6. The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday, a phenomenon caused by the falling price of gold.
This looks fine.

Another example.
7. The stock of XYZ Corporation that plummeted yesterday is causing panic..
'causing panic' is a gerund phrase- the subject complement of "is"

I hope I am clear.
Dear Ray & Siva,
I have some disagreements with what Siva said in response to Ray:

1. The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday, caused by the falling price of gold.
Perfectly correct. Past participle modifies the action of the clause.

2. The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday, causing panic..
Perfectly correct. Present participle modifies the action of the clause.

3. The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday, causing the prices of gold to fall..
This changes the meaning by reversing the order of causality. It's grammatically correct, but it says something entirely different. Be very careful with this --- the GMAT SC loves to give grammatical correct alternatives that change the meaning.

4. The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday, and caused the gold's price to fall .
This is not correct. It is not the stocks themselves that caused the price to fall --- not the noun, but the action of the sentence, the plummeting itself, that cause the price to fall.
sivasanjeev
5. The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday;it was caused by the falling price of gold.
What was caused by the falling price? plummeting of stocks. But "it" cannot refer to 'plummeting of stocks'. So, this option is wrong.
Here, Siva is perfectly correct. The pronoun can refer to an action. See:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2013/gmat-pronoun-traps/

6. The stocks of XYZ Corporation plummeted yesterday, a phenomenon caused by the falling price of gold.
I agree with Siva. This is fine. This uses the strategy I discuss here:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/gmat-sente ... te-a-word/

7. The stock of XYZ Corporation that plummeted yesterday is causing panic..
This is the same problem as #4. The cause is not the stocks themselves, but the action of plummeting. We could phrase this as:
7b. The plummeting of the stock of XYZ Corporation yesterday is causing panic.
This version is logically and grammatically correct, but rhetorically it's awkward and indirect. This would never be correct on the GMAT SC. Version #2 is much stronger, much more powerful.

Does all this make sense?
Mike :-)
User avatar
sivasanjeev
Joined: 16 Jan 2013
Last visit: 22 Dec 2014
Posts: 116
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 56
Posts: 116
Kudos: 1,593
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Thanks a ton for the wonderful discussion, Mike.

I was only checking the grammatical correctness of the sentences (and not the meanings - as the question stem is unavailable) - discussing various ways of forming grammatically correct question, irrespective of the meaning.

Though, will appreciate your time and suggestions, very much.
avatar
rliu030
Joined: 02 Oct 2013
Last visit: 06 Jan 2015
Posts: 5
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 2
Location: New Zealand
Concentration: Leadership, General Management
Schools: HBS '17 (S)
GMAT 1: 740 Q51 V38
GPA: 4
WE:Information Technology (Consulting)
Schools: HBS '17 (S)
GMAT 1: 740 Q51 V38
Posts: 5
Kudos: 7
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
What a great discussion! Thank you both, guys. Though I am still new to the GMAT, I kinda got a feeling that meaning seems to be the KEY in SC.

Anyway, thanks a lot and Happy New Year.
User avatar
TargetMBA007
Joined: 22 Nov 2019
Last visit: 29 Oct 2024
Posts: 266
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 215
Schools: Stanford (S)
GPA: 4.0
Schools: Stanford (S)
Posts: 266
Kudos: 182
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Reviving a really post here. Probably a really basic question, but I wonder when we say a "Modifier modifies an action" is that the same as a saying "it modifies a verb". I wonder if there is a difference in the two meanings here?

Thanks
User avatar
himanshu0123
Joined: 27 Mar 2016
Last visit: 20 Mar 2023
Posts: 191
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 101
Posts: 191
Kudos: 5
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi,

I have this doubt on RPC modifier v/s ed verbal.

'who were born in the city' v/s 'born in the city'

what difference does it make in the meaning below using above two modifiers?


''50 percent of male drivers and 35 percent of female drivers, who were born in the city, were involved in at least one accident''
Moderators:
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7108 posts
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
234 posts
GRE Forum Moderator
14074 posts