{"id":11342,"date":"2012-05-08T09:00:15","date_gmt":"2012-05-08T16:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=11342"},"modified":"2012-05-04T18:02:13","modified_gmt":"2012-05-05T01:02:13","slug":"gmat-grammar-and-logic-spoken-english-vs-written-english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/gmat-grammar-and-logic-spoken-english-vs-written-english\/","title":{"rendered":"GMAT Grammar and Logic: Spoken English vs. Written English"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Don't reproduce spoken-English mistakes in GMAT Sentence Correction<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

It's logical, but \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Consider the following sentences.<\/p>\n

1) Unlike the full gram of potassium found in a baked potato, a banana has only about 600 milligrams.<\/p>\n

2) So upset with the low wages set in the new contract, management had to hear a long litany of complaints from the union as well as from individual factory workers.<\/p>\n

3) Composing his first symphony a full twenty years after he became well-known as a composer, music critics were elated when Brahms finally published the piece.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In all three of those sentences, the logic is probably clear.\u00a0 We know the comparison is between a baked potato and a banana.\u00a0 We know the union & factory workers, not management, are the upset ones.\u00a0 We know that that Brahms, not the music critics, composed the symphony.\u00a0 We know all that, and in spoken-English these sentences would be clear enough.\u00a0 BUT, that's not good enough on the GMAT.\u00a0 On the GMAT, it's not enough if a sentence conveys the gist of what an author is trying to say.\u00a0 On GMAT Sentence Correction, the grammar and logic must be in complete agreement.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Grammar vs. Logic<\/h2>\n

All three of those sentences would be incorrect on GMAT SC.\u00a0 In the grammatical construction --- \"Unlike X, Y does\u2026.\", the object of the preposition \"unlike\" is always the first term of the comparison.\u00a0 Here, in sentence #1, the object of \"unlike\" is \"the full gram\" --- what follows are modifiers of \"the full gram.\"\u00a0 The grammar is set up so that the comparison is between \"the full gram\" and \"a banana.\"\u00a0 Logic tells us the comparison should be between \"a baked potato\" and \"a banana.\"\u00a0 Grammar and logic suggest different things, so this is a faulty sentence.<\/p>\n

The first part of the sentence is a modifying clause, built around the adjective \"upset.\"\u00a0 By the Modifier Touch Rule, the very next noun the clause touches is what it modifies, and in this case, that's \"management.\"\u00a0 Thus, according to the grammar, management is upset.\u00a0 But the logic of the overall sentence suggests: no, the union and the factory-workers are the ones who are upset --- after all, these latter are the ones complaining!\u00a0 Grammar and logic suggest different things, so this is a faulty sentence.<\/p>\n

The first part of the sentence is a participial phrase, built around the participle \"composing.\"\u00a0 This participial phrase touches \"music critics\", so according to the Modifier Touch Rule, the grammar suggests that the music critics composed the symphony.\u00a0 But, we know that Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was a composer --- in fact, one of the \"three B's\", the three premier composers.\u00a0 Logically, we know that Brahms, not the music critics, wrote the symphony in question, Symphony #1 in C minor, Op. 68.\u00a0 Grammar and logic suggest different things, so this is a faulty sentence.\u00a0 (Are you sensing a pattern?)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Harmony<\/h2>\n

Our standards on GMAT Sentence Correction must be higher than they are in everyday spoken English.\u00a0 In spoken English, in many situations, it's often enough to make the logic, the meaning, clear.\u00a0 That alone is\u00a0not good enough\u00a0on the GMAT.\u00a0 In a well-crafted GMAT sentence, the grammar and logic must be in harmony, must be united in supporting the same interpretation.<\/p>\n

As examples of this, here are possible corrected versions of those three sentences.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1)\u00a0 Unlike a baked potato, with a full gram of potassium, a banana has only about 600 milligrams.<\/p>\n

2) So upset with the low wages set in the new contract, the union andindividual factory workers laced into management with long litany of complaints.<\/p>\n

3a) Composing his first symphony a full twenty years after he became well-known as a composer, Brahms elated music critics when he finally published the piece.<\/p>\n

3b) Brahms composed his first symphony a full twenty years after he became well-known as a composer, and music critics were elated when he finally published the piece.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When your grammar and logic are aligned, your writing is that much more powerful and persuasive.\u00a0 That is exactly what will further your career when you write in the business world.\u00a0 Therefore, this is exactly what the GMAT rewards on Sentence Correction.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here's a related SC question, to practice these ideas further.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/gmat.magoosh.com\/questions\/1112<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This post was written by Mike McGarry, GMAT expert at\u00a0Magoosh<\/a>, and originally posted\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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