ccheryn wrote:
JonShukhrat wrote:
2. Quote:
Hi jon, i cant understand the link between usage of which and that vis a vis countable and uncountable noun. sorry for my naive knowledge, i wud have chosen unambiguously the noun supplies even if which are is present instead of that are , due to the usage of are (plural one). where am i wrong?
Sorry for that confusion. I wrote about
which vs. that because one of the posts above suggested that
that are should be replaced with
which are. I just decided to share my thoughts on that, and I hope the author of that post doesn’t mind. This place is for sharing thoughts and learning from each other, all in all.
In short, if A looked like:
…supplies of strategic metals, such as cobalt, which are important… then
which would definitely refer to
cobalt, not to
metals or
supplies. Hence,
which are would be incorrect because cobalt is uncountable. We would need
which is.
It’s impossible for
which to jump over another inessential modifier in the middle. Most folks try cross off what is in between commas and glue the remaining part:
…supplies of strategic metals , such as cobalt, which are important… But that’s incorrect.
Important: which can jump only over prepositional phrases if those phrases are noun modifiers.
generis wrote about that a lot. You can also read
RonPurewal here:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/foru ... ml#p1049333. I wasn’t rooting for any answer choice. However, D has the highest probability of being correct because the second appositive correctly modifies
cobalt. It’s indeed cobalt what is important in producing high-performance steel.
B and D say that people are trying to get access to many or all types of strategic metals.
A,C, and E say that people are trying to get access
only to those strategic metals that are important in making good steel. They aren’t interested in other types.
thanks jon, now it is turning into a cliche, but sorry no other words to express it,
in your single post i got 3 eternal take aways
first
usage of appositives, now i am clear how to use appositives at the end and how it modifies only the noun nearby.
second
usage of which that it cannot jump the modifiers in between
third, how the verb after the which turns into a important decision maker vis a vis noun it modifies earlier ( i will look for countable or uncountable from here on that too especially uncountable ending with s. such as acoustics classics logistics politics aerobics economics mathematics statistics aerodynamics electronics mechanics thermodynamics aeronautics genetics obstetrics athletics linguistics physics) .
its fun learning gmat, if somebody has a friend like u.
Hi
ccheryn,
it's great to see how you are doing progress. Make sure that your understanding is correct, though.
Quote:
first usage of appositives, now i am clear how to use appositives at the end and how it modifies only the noun nearby.
Please, pay attention to the wording I used: “…gives additional information about a noun or noun phrase standing
before it.”
…a noun phrase standing before it doesn’t necessarily mean
only the noun nearby, but means any noun standing somewhere before the appositive (not just in front of it).
Actually, appositive doesn’t always touch the noun it modifies. There is a good explanation from
GMATNinja of this nuance:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/in-a-d-391-r ... l#p2176017Quote:
second usage of which that it cannot jump the modifiers in between
Once again, please be attentive to the wording used in rules and explanations. I wrote: “It’s impossible for which to jump over another
inessential modifier in the middle.” That
inessential is a key word here. So whenever you see an inessential modifier in between, be sure that
which can’t jump over it. However, if the modifier is essential, there are two possible cases:
1. which can jump over a prepositional phrase and modify a noun (standing in front of that prep phrase), if that prep phrase is a noun modifier describing that noun.
generis explains this condition by saying “essential mod trumps inessential mod”. For more info, see page 54 in All the Verbal
MGMAT 7th edition (example with box of nails) and page 10 in All the Verbal Companion (example with a new CEO). Or in
MGMAT SC guide 6th edition on pages 59, 60, and 167.
A couple of examples from official questions:
…she participated in the hearings on the impeachment of President Nixon, which were televised nationwide. As you see,
which were refers to
hearings because logically
hearings were televised. Here, prep phrase
on the impeachment of President Nixon is a noun modifier that refers to
hearings, so it gives additional information about hearings. What kind of hearings? The hearings on the impeachment of President Nixon. That’s why,
which can jump over that prep phrase and touch
hearings.
Emily Dickinson’s letters to Susan Huntington, which were written…Similar situation here.
to Susan Huntington is a prep phase and a noun modifier referring to
letters. Therefore,
which can touch
letters.
Caveat: Which can’t jump over all prep phrases. An
incorrect answer choice from official question:
The electronics company has unveiled what it claims is the smallest network digital camcorder in the world, which is as long as a handheld computer.Here,
which refers to
world, not to
camcorder. Even though
in the world is a prep phrase,
which can’t jump over it and touch
camcorder. That’s because
in the world is not a noun modifier referring to
camcorder, but an adverbial modifier referring to verb
is. That’s why this answer choice is incorrect. The correct answer removes this issue:
…is the world’s smallest network digital camcorder, which is as long as a handheld computer. Another
incorrect answer choice from another question:
…goods to non-industrialized countries rose to $167 billion in 1992, which is 14 percent more than the previous year…Once again,
which tries to jump over
in 1992 (prep phrase) and touch
$167 billion. However, that’s impossible because
in 1992 is not a noun mod referring to
$167 billion, but an adverbial mod referring to verb
rose.
In 1992 explains when goods rose – they rose in 1992, so it’s an adverbial mod. Therefore, this answer choice is incorrect. The correct answer choice removes
which altogether and instead uses an appositive:
…goods to non-industrialized countries rose to $167 billion in 1992, an amount that is 14 percent higher than the previous year's figure. 2. Which can also jump over other essential mods acting as adjectives. Quite strangely, there is an official question in
OG 2020 in whose correct answer choice "which" jumps over a verb. Crazy GMAT.
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