To many critics, it seems strange for Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendar

ORIGINAL SENTENCE:
To many critics, it seems strange for Ms. Tramonivic,72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and to large venues, to be working on a small off-Broadway dance project.
STRIKED PART IS A MODIFIER.
now if you read without modifier.:
it seems strange for Ms. Tramonivic to be working on a small off-Broadway dance project.
idiom: seems --to is correctly used
this seems to be in passive voice but this sentence is perfectly fine ..agreeing to all gramatical rules.

now lets see the modifier part:
72,the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and to large venues
this modifier is a noun modifier modifying the closest noun:Ms. Tramonivic
and WHO correctly refers to ARTIST.
Hence as such there is no error in this option.

lets see other options:

B) that Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and large venues, be working on a small off Broadway-dance project.
WRONG.
= seems + infinitive form ==>correct usage
=use of simplest form of verb is awkward here...(BE..)

C) that Ms. Tramonivic, who is 72 and the legendary print and visual artist that almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and large venues, is working on a small off-Broadway dance project.
WRONG.
=UNNECESSARY use of relative clause WHO IS...adds to wordiness
=use of THAT is wrong FOR ARTISTS(WHO is correct usage)
=awkward construction: who is and the legendary print and....
= seems + infinitive form ==>correct usage

D) for Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public, to large venues, and to be working on a small off Broadway dance project.
WRONG.
= use of AND makes the second half of sentence a FRAGMENT:to be working on a small off Broadway dance project.
= seems + infinitive form ==>correct usage

E) that Ms. Tramonivic, who is 72 and the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and large venues, to be working on a small off-Broadway dance project.
WRONG.
=SUBJECT Ms. Tramonivi==>THIS LACKS a VERB
=UNNECESSARY use of relative clause WHO IS...adds to wordiness
=awkward construction: who is and the legendary print and....

HENCE A

One important concept to note here is: When you use ‘that ‘to start a relative clause as in B, C and E, you need to have a working verb, because it is a clause. Whereas when you use ‘for’ as a preposition, it is a phrase and so no need for a working verb.

In this question, just mask the modifying phrases and you can see that in B and E, there are no working verbs for the relative clauses. Only C is having a working verb in the form of' 'is working'. However, C suffers from using 'that' to refer to the artist. So, BCE are out. D suffers from faulty ‘and’ parallelism. The part before is a clause while after the ‘and’, it is a phrase. In A, because of the absence of the ‘and’ it is a straight - forward simple sentence.

scofield1521 is on the dot and deserves a kudo.
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Hi blueseas, here clearly there is a trade off between the use of that vs for. I thought "it seems strange that.." is better than "it seems strange for". I felt the strange for is implying to Ms T and not to the critics. Pls explain

hi jake,
i am not sure how you are judging "it is strange THAT " better than "it is strange for"...if possible just elaborate more.
more to add...try to remove the modifier part from each option and then read the sentence i think that will make more sense.

IMO, A is changing the meaning of the sentence, implying that the act of "working on a small..." is seeming strange for Ms. Tramonivic and not for the critic.

I think B is the most correct among the given options.

Experts please help.



Regards

Argha

Correct answer should be A.
Here is my explanation.

To many critics, it seems strange for Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and to large venues, to be working on a small off-Broadway dance project.

a.for Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and to large venues, to be working on a small off-Broadway dance project….this choice is perfect….we haven't used "that" so the use of "to be" is correct.

b.that Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and large venues, be working on a small off Broadway-dance project…..we need "is" or "are" here. If it were demand or bossy words then we could have used "be" here. example:
Her boss demanded that she be at work on time……here "be" is alright because its demanded and subjunctive case.

c.that Ms. Tramonivic, who is 72 and the legendary print and visual artist that almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and large venues, is working on a small off-Broadway dance project…..that can't refer to human being. we need "who" here.

d.for Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public, to large venues, and to be working on a small off Broadway dance project…..this choice is missing verb.

e.that Ms. Tramonivic, who is 72 and the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and large venues, to be working on a small off-Broadway dance project…..this choice is wrong because the modifier phrase is too long and awkward. we don't need two "who" here its unnecessary. Another thing is if we are using "that" after seem we should use "is" or are verb rather than "to be"

A) for Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and to large venues, to be working on a small off-Broadway dance project.
Correct
B) that Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and large venues,be working on a small off Broadway-dance project.

C) that Ms. Tramonivic, who is 72 and the legendary print and visual artist that almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and large venues, is working on a small off-Broadway dance project.

D) for Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public, to large venues, and to be working on a small off Broadway dance project.
Incomplete sentence.
E) that Ms. Tramonivic, who is 72 and the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and large venues, to be working on a small off-Broadway dance project.

Hi All,

Could somebody explain whats wrong with choice B and instead why did we choose A as correct here?

Hey anuj,
according to me B is wrong because it uses Subjunctive Mood here.

using subjunctive mood doesn't go with the meaning. The Meaning of the sentence is too many people critique X for Doing Y.
The structure is something like " too many critics that X ..... be ..... " --- Not Correct. (Meaning changes) There is no demand or that sort of action taking place so it is not correct.

we can use subjunctive Mood when it is an order. "we demand that he be here" --- correct.

I hope your are getting why B is wrong.


Hit kudos if it helps .

To many critics, it seems strange for Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and to large venues, to be working on a small off-Broadway dance project.

A) for Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and to large venues, to be working on a small off-Broadway dance project.

B) that Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and large venues, be working on a small off Broadway-dance project. that + be working incorrect

C) that Ms. Tramonivic, who is 72 and the legendary print and visual artist that almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and large venues, is working on a small off-Broadway dance project."who" is incorrectly used

D) for Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public, to large venues, and to be working on a small off Broadway dance project. no need for "and"

E) that Ms. Tramonivic, who is 72 and the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and large venues, to be working on a small off-Broadway dance project. "who" is incorrectly used, that + be working incorrect

The basic point here is that ‘for’ is preposition and ‘that’ is a subordinate conjunction that starts a clause in this case. That said, both ‘for’ and ‘that’ can be used correctly under slightly different constructions. ‘For’ as a preposition can be only followed a phrase ( a noun phrase in this case) and since it is only a phrase, we do not need to put in a verb and therefore, ‘to be’ is good enough as used in A. Same time, D, which uses ‘for’ is wrong because the ‘and’ is spoiling the parallel structure, rendering the second part after ‘and’ a fragment.
On the contrary, that as an introducer of a relative clause requires a full- fledged verb; that is the reason B and E are out. In C, the modifier within the parenthesis is unparallel, with a clause on one side and a phrase on the other side.
So, A wins
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To many critics, it seems strange for Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and to large venues, to be working on a small off-Broadway dance project.

A) for Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and to large venues, to be working on a small off-Broadway dance project.

B) that Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and large venues, be working on a small off Broadway-dance project.

C) that Ms. Tramonivic, who is 72 and the legendary print and visual artist that almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and large venues, is working on a small off-Broadway dance project.

D) for Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public, to large venues, and to be working on a small off Broadway dance project.

E) that Ms. Tramonivic, who is 72 and the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and large venues, to be working on a small off-Broadway dance project.

Hi
any expert please explain why the usage of for is correct in this sentence.
To many critics, it seems strange for Ram to be woking in a small project.

When we say strange for, doesn't it imply that it is strange for Ram. The intended meaning is that Critics find it strange that ram works in a small project.

Also,
why in option C, who is 72 and legendary print and visual artist not parallel. The entities are grammatically parallel(both are adjectives) and logically parallel.(they describe the person.


VeritasPrepBrian
VeritasKarishma
daagh
Gladiator59
chetan2u
generis
GMATNinja
DmitryFarber
egmat

I thought that two modifying clauses one after another (72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and to large venues) in the original sentence were a bit strange. I guess on the GMAT two successive dependent modifying clauses should not be used as a hard deciding factor?

Hey blueseas, i understood this explanation. I have one question though.

Which one of the following is a correct construction?
1) To many critics, it seems strange for Ms. Tramonivic to be working on a small off-Broadway dance project.
2) To many critics, it seems strange that Ms. Tramonivic is working on a small off-Broadway dance project.

The verb strange belongs to critics here and not Ms. Tramonivic , right?

Hi!
A quick assistance required from experts daagh Bunuel GMATNinja hazelnut generis

I narrowed down my options to A and C. The dilemma I faced with A was that I looked at "72" as a separate modifier modifying Ms. Tramonivic and "the legendary.." as another separate modifier modifying Tramonivic. Can two modifiers modifying the same noun appear continuous as in option A? Or am I making a mistake?
Thanks in advance for your kind replies.

To many critics, it seems strange for Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and to large venues, to be working on a small off-Broadway dance project.


A) for Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and to large venues, to be working on a small off-Broadway dance project.

B) that Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and large venues, be working on a small off Broadway-dance project.

C) that Ms. Tramonivic, who is 72 and the legendary print and visual artist that almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and large venues, is working on a small off-Broadway dance project.

D) for Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public, to large venues, and to be working on a small off Broadway dance project.

E) that Ms. Tramonivic, who is 72 and the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and large venues, to be working on a small off-Broadway dance project.

Hi cristianosubo , you are not mistaken about the fact that on the GMAT we often want to avoid "stacked" modifiers (what you describe).
alessandrolawrence and nitesh50 (sorry I missed your tag), you two had the same question.

Sometimes is it okay for two modifiers that modify the same noun to appear side-by-side.

As is the case with most rules, exceptions exist to the "do not stack adjectives" guideline.

(1) One of the most common exceptions is in the structure:

-- noun + prepositional phrase + comma + which
-- Correct: I bought the book of French recipes, which completed my collection of European cookbooks.

Technically, if a prepositional modifier is followed by a comma + which modifier, we have two modifiers that modify the same noun.
But essential modifiers trump nonessential modifiers

Simone de Beauvoir's letters to Jean-Paul Sartre, which were written throughout their tempestuous relationship, caused an uproar when they were published in 1990.

Neither modifier can be placed differently. The essential modifier (to Jean-Paul Sartre) "trumps" the nonessential WHICH-clause, but both modifiers refer to de Beauvoir's letters.


Yes. The most common example is the one I listed above.

(2) One very short (or shortened) modifier can precede or follow a longer modifier even when both modifiers refer to the same noun.

Spoiler alert: the correct answer to an official question is obliquely revealed.
The best "short phrase" official example is

(3) Rarely, two long-ish phrases can modify the same noun when the sentence makes sense and the option is the best of the five.

Each of the hand sewn couture dresses, some created as wraparounds, others as simple A-lines, had a unique identifier assigned by the dressmaker.

That sentence is modeled on an official question.
Spoiler alert: the correct answer to an official question is revealed.



(4) If both modifiers refer to the noun and are joined by a conjunction (usually AND).
The treasure, found in a tomb and covered with cobwebs, was priceless.

I have not covered all of the exceptions.

This guideline is the best that I can offer:
If the sentence is grammatical and makes sense but two modifiers refer to the same noun,
check the other options.
If the other options contain errors worse than the stacked-adjective option,
then choose the stacked adjective option.
HERE is an MGMAT question in which an appositive and a compound relative clause follow the noun.

• THIS question?

In this question, which is worse:
• (A), in which a tiny adjective, 72, immediately precedes another modifier?
OR
• (C), in which
-- that used to refer to a human being
-- a modifier gives equal weight to a woman's age and the reason that she is a legend

I'm old school. The word that never refers to human beings.
Rhetorically, the sentence should emphasize "the legendary print and visual artist who . . ."
In option A, "72" gets nothing but commas.
In option C, "72" and "the legendary artist" get equal weight in the modifier: "who is 72 and the legendary print and visual artist. . . ."

Does option A make sense? Yes. Are the modifiers hard to understand? No.
Option A is better.

Hope that helps.
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Thank you very much generis The list of exceptions you have provided has gone beyond just explaining my doubt and has also shed light on concepts I didn't have a clear idea of. Really appreciate you taking your valuable time to share some pondering thoughts with me

To many critics, it seems strange for Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and to large venues, to be working on a small off-Broadway dance project.

A) for Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and to large venues, to be working on a small off-Broadway dance project. -> There is no error. There are 2 modifiers for the same noun. Let's keep it.

B) that Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and large venues, be working on a small off Broadway-dance project. -> That hints for a clause and we have a missing verb. It is incorrect.

C) that Ms. Tramonivic, who is 72 and the legendary print and visual artist that almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and large venues, is working on a small off-Broadway dance project. -> artist doesn't singlehandedly did something. It was Ms. Tramonivic. Incorrect.

D) for Ms. Tramonivic, 72, the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public, to large venues, and to be working on a small off Broadway dance project. -> we need and in between two list items "general public" and "large venues". Incorrect.

E) that Ms. Tramonivic, who is 72 and the legendary print and visual artist who almost singlehandedly brought performance art to the general public and large venues, to be working on a small off-Broadway dance project. -> Same as B. Incorrect.

So, I think A.