Skywalker18 wrote:
souvik101990 wrote:
Great discussion, everyone. Here is the OE from
Manhattan Prep(1) Take a First Glance (5 seconds)The split between is and there is does not strongly indicate a particular topic.
(2) Read for MeaningThe sentence structure is inverted-the verb comes before the subject-so reorder it to simplify your task. A beach … and a waterfall … is at the end of the Na Pali Coast Trail. The compound subject a beach … and a waterfall is plural and should be paired with the verb are. Eliminate answer choice (A) and any others that repeat this Subject-Verb mistake. But wait! All five answers use the verb is. What makes the original subject plural and how can you make it singular, instead?
The word and connecting beach and waterfall is what makes the subject into a compound subject. Answers (C) and (D) use the word and as well, so eliminate those. Choices (B) and (E), however, switch up the structure.
(3) Find a Starting PointStart with any difference that seems easiest to you, then move to the next easiest issue, and so on. Stop when you have one answer or you aren't sure how to address the remaining differences. All errors for each choice are detailed in the next section.
(4) Eliminate (and Repeat)(A) The plural subject a beach … and a waterfall does not match the singular verb is.
(B) CORRECT. This answer switches and to beside. Now, beside a waterfall is a modifier that describes the beach. Mentally ignore the modifiers to find the subject, which is now the singular beach; this matches the singular verb is.
(C) This is also an inverted sentence structure; the word there cannot function as the subject of the sentence. The plural subject a beach … and a waterfall does not match the singular verb is. In addition, the meaning of a waterfall that provides freshwater for many of the people … is misleading. This implies that the waterfall provides freshwater for many, but not all, of the campers.
(D) This is also an inverted sentence structure; the word there cannot function as the subject of the sentence. The plural subject a beach … and a waterfall does not match the singular verb is.
(E) This is also an inverted sentence structure; the word there cannot function as the subject of the sentence. This answer switches and to beside, fixing the subject-verb mismatch in the initial sentence. However, the comma -ing modifier providing should modify the previous subject and verb. In this sentence, providing modifies the beach that stretches. In fact, though, it is the waterfall, not the beach, that provides freshwater. In addition, the meaning of a waterfall that provides freshwater for many of the people … is misleading. This implies that the waterfall provides freshwater for many, but not all, of the campers.
OE for eliminating options C and E contains " In addition, the meaning of a waterfall that provides freshwater for many of the people … is misleading. This implies that the waterfall provides freshwater for many, but not all, of the campers." ---> Can you please explain this and how is this different from the corresponding part in OA (B) ?
'a waterfall that provides fresh water for the many' vs 'a waterfall that provides fresh water for many of the people'
AjiteshArun ,
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generis , other experts - please enlighten
, I don't think we can read for meaning unless we understand that two kinds of phrasing mean very different things.
Determiners (words that "point to" nouns) underlie the difference.
I am surprised to see Manhattan testing this issue: a specific way of phrasing words can
only mean
everyone, whereas a very similar way of phrasing
cannot mean
everyone. I looked at prep sources and dictionaries to get a sense of how much information was available to sort out this matter. Answer? Not much.
Different constructionsThe distinction turns on the way we describe or "point to" the entity we are trying to signify.
-- B is very restrictive. B has two determiners,
the and
many, one right after the other.
B defines a particular group tightly.
-- C and E are not as restrictive as B.
C and E's phrase has one determiner,
the. C and E are diluted, too, by OF (a good number OF the people who camp there, but not all OF the people who camp there).
C and E define a particular group much less tightly than B does.
Generally• if the construction is
the many who camp there, it means "
the numerous people
who camp there" or "all who camp there"
• if the construction is
many OF the people who camp there, it means "a large number OF the people who camp there, but not all of them"
Emphasis on determinersIn B,
the many who camp there means
all because two determiners,
the and
many, back to back, point to a very restricted group
who camp there. All who camp there.
The boundaries that enclose the group cannot vary. Everyone is inside the group. If 100 people camp there, "the many who camp there" = 100
--
The is a determiner
--
many is a postdeterminer (it comes after another determiner)
--
who camp there is a restrictive relative clause*
THE + MANY + WHO do X= ALL
This entity in B is a particular set of people, to whom we "point" with these determiners.
The determiner, postdeterminer, and restrictive relative clause make B different from C and E.
B is restrictive. It can mean only "everyone."
Emphasis on part OFBy contrast, in C and E,
many OF the people who camp there means
-- Some number
of the people who camp there.
-- A large number
of the people who camp there
-- Some significant part
of all who camp there, but not all
In C and E,
--
many, followed by
of, means
a large number OF [some other number];
--
many is
not preceded and "captured" by
the; and
-- the phrase "OF the people" connotes some part of a whole group.
The boundaries that enclose the group to which we "point" can vary.
100 people visit?
Water is for
many of the people who visit?
In that car, the group of people who get water could contain 40 people.The group could contain 63, 82, 90 people.
The only limit? The group cannot contain 100 people.
100 out of 100 people does not = MANY [people]
[out] of [all] the people.
100 out of 100 people = ALL
of the people.
The boundaries of the part -- the boundaries of the defined group to which we are pointing -- can vary.The boundaries that define the group in B cannot vary.
Rephrasing - may clarifyOption B?
The waterfall provides water for
the many who camp there. We can rearrange the words to understand the difference between phrases:(X)
the waterfall provides water for the many who camp there can be
paraphrased as
(Y)
the waterfall provides water for the people who camp there—and there are many such people [the total number of these people is great]
Options C and E?
The waterfall provides water for
many of the people who camp there.-- paraphrasing?
The waterfall provides water for people who camp there—to many of [a significant portion of] the people, but not to allTakeawayLook for
the in front of
many, and see whether
many is followed by a restrictive relative clause.
If so, that phrasing means ALL.
Hope that helps.
*-- For material on the grammar structure of B, and an example of paraphrasing, see Quirk et al, 2010 (1985) 6.53
Grammar structure of B:
[determiner] + [postdeterminer] + [restrictive relative clause]
=
[the] + [many] + [who camp there]
Grammar structure of C and E:
[adjective] + [preposition] + [determiner] + [noun] + [restrictive relative clause]
=
[many] + [OF] + [the] + [people] + [who camp there]
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Updated on: 16 Jun 2021, 02:01
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