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555-605 Level|   Comparisons|      
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lakshya14
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According to findings derived from functional magnetic resonance 06 Aug 2021, 08:10
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I was checking earlier advice you gave me about the finding the subject and the verb. Does the the first clause in (E) after the semicolon has a verb? I think not because "occupying" is just a modifier for "each language".

Am I correct? AndrewN
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According to findings derived from functional magnetic resonance Updated on: 02 Feb 2022, 18:34
Originally posted by jabhatta2 on 02 Feb 2022, 18:11.
Last edited by jabhatta2 on 02 Feb 2022, 18:34, edited 6 times in total.
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Hi avigutman - In A - I understand that whereas does not need parallelism. Also in comparisons -- the subjects of each clause -- dont have to be the same.

But shoudnt the comparison make sense at-least ?

I eliminated A because i thought the two clauses did not make sense to be compared

I dont think these 2 clauses (language occupies vs area overlap) make sense to be compared.

1st action
Active voice -- each different language occupies area 1 and area 2

vs
2nd action
Active voice -- area 1 & area 2 overlap
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According to findings derived from functional magnetic resonance Updated on: 15 Feb 2022, 09:26
Originally posted by jabhatta2 on 02 Feb 2022, 18:30.
Last edited by jabhatta2 on 15 Feb 2022, 09:26, edited 1 time in total.
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^^^^
This too me doenst make sense because you are esentially comparing

an action (language occupying) vs a description (of area 1 and area 2)

I guess grammatically its okay but meaningfull - how can an action be comapred to a description

analogy
- flowers grow in the summer
vs
- flower are beautifull in the winter

The comparison is between an action vs a description.

Gramatically okay but meaning wise -- not meant to be compared.
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According to findings derived from functional magnetic resonance 02 Feb 2022, 20:51
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jabhatta2
This too me doenst make sense because you are esentially comparing

an action (language occupying) vs a description (of area 1 and area 2)

I guess grammatically its okay but meaningfull - how can an action be comapred to a description

analogy
- flowers grow in the summer
vs
- flower are beautifull in the winter
Show more

jabhatta2 the purpose of the sentence is to highlight the different ways in which adult brains and child brains store a new language. It's really quite fascinating, if you think about it - I didn't know this, did you? I find it helpful to think deeply about the content and try to get excited about it.

Whereas each language occupies a distinct area of the brain in an adult learner, language areas overlap in a young child.

I wonder, jabhatta2, once you think deeply about the point of this comparison: do you still feel that it's just comparing an action to a description?
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According to findings derived from functional magnetic resonance Updated on: 15 Feb 2022, 19:56
Originally posted by jabhatta2 on 15 Feb 2022, 09:26.
Last edited by jabhatta2 on 15 Feb 2022, 19:56, edited 1 time in total.
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Hey GMATGuruNY - just curious on your thoughts on my question Here and Here w.r.t. to A?

I did select A because the other options are gramatically wrong but i was curious on your thoughts on what is being compared in option A exactly
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According to findings derived from functional magnetic resonance 15 Feb 2022, 09:39
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avigutman
jabhatta2
This too me doenst make sense because you are esentially comparing

an action (language occupying) vs a description (of area 1 and area 2)

I guess grammatically its okay but meaningfull - how can an action be comapred to a description

analogy
- flowers grow in the summer
vs
- flower are beautifull in the winter

jabhatta2 the purpose of the sentence is to highlight the different ways in which adult brains and child brains store a new language. It's really quite fascinating, if you think about it - I didn't know this, did you? I find it helpful to think deeply about the content and try to get excited about it.

Whereas each language occupies a distinct area of the brain in an adult learner, language areas overlap in a young child.

I wonder, jabhatta2, once you think deeply about the point of this comparison: do you still feel that it's just comparing an action to a description?
Show more

Hi Avi – sorry this fell under the radar.
I think my main reason why I thought the 1st half was an ‘action verb’ whereas the 2nd half was ‘description’ was because the first verb (Occupies) is a transitive verb. The 2nd verb (Overlap) is in-transitive verb

First verb = Occupies is a transitive verb (in need of a direct object)
whereas
2nd verb = Overlap is intransitive (NOT IN NEED of a direct object)
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According to findings derived from functional magnetic resonance 15 Feb 2022, 13:27
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avigutman
jabhatta2
This too me doenst make sense because you are esentially comparing

an action (language occupying) vs a description (of area 1 and area 2)

I guess grammatically its okay but meaningfull - how can an action be comapred to a description

analogy
- flowers grow in the summer
vs
- flower are beautifull in the winter

jabhatta2 the purpose of the sentence is to highlight the different ways in which adult brains and child brains store a new language. It's really quite fascinating, if you think about it - I didn't know this, did you? I find it helpful to think deeply about the content and try to get excited about it.

Whereas each language occupies a distinct area of the brain in an adult learner, language areas overlap in a young child.

I wonder, jabhatta2, once you think deeply about the point of this comparison: do you still feel that it's just comparing an action to a description?
Show more

Hi avigutman - take-away : I thnk my initial assumption that verb 1 (occupies) is an "action verb" whereas verb 2 (overlap) is descriptive was wrong

normally with descriptive verbs (list below) -- i think you need to have "is / are / to-be verb" before the descriptive verb
Avi is swift
Avi is smart

(occupies) and (overlap) are action verbs because there is no to-be verb before (occupies) and (overlap
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According to findings derived from functional magnetic resonance 17 Feb 2022, 08:37
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As requested, here is my reasoning take-away. first through an analogy and then the original question

Quote:
(i)Whereas each student drives a honda civic in Canada, each student drives a ford fusion in USA
Here the comparison is the actions of the students
Show more


Quote:
(ii) Whereas each student drives a honda civic in Canada, honda civics are not available in USA
Here the comparison is NOT the actions of the students
Instead, the comparison is between the fact that honda civics are available in Canada whereas Honda civics are not available in the USA
Show more


Whereas -- when used as a comparison -- allows for the flexibility to compare subject's actions or compare direct objects (i think)

In the original question - the focus on the comparison is not language occupying distinct areas in adult brains vs language occupying shared area in young brains.

The focus on the comparison not on 'language occupying'

instead the focus is on -- 1 language area owning a distinctive area in the adult brain vs 1 language area overlapping with another language area in the young brain

A subtle difference

Could i do this in a span of 120 seconds though ? tough
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According to findings derived from functional magnetic resonance 21 Oct 2023, 23:32
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Hello Expert,
I am really stuck on this question, as I was during my mock exam.
I feel the comparison should be between 'language areas' as stated in the sentence after underlined part. "language areas overlap in a young child"
But, none of the answer choice seems to address that. Each answer choice is making a comparison between 'each language' and 'language areas'.
Please help !
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According to findings derived from functional magnetic resonance 31 Oct 2023, 08:40
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Ishaan0104
Hello Expert,

I am really stuck on this question, as I was during my mock exam.

I feel the comparison should be between 'language areas' as stated in the sentence after underlined part. "language areas overlap in a young child"

But, none of the answer choice seems to address that. Each answer choice is making a comparison between 'each language' and 'language areas'.

Please help !
Show more
The non-underlined portion is: "language areas overlap in a young child". The verb ("overlap") is key -- we aren't trying to compare "language areas" (a noun) to something else. Instead, we're trying to compare what the language areas do to some other clause or action.

In other words, we're trying to compare one thing that happens to another thing that happens. In (A), those two things are:

  • each language occupies a distinct area of the brain in an adult learner
  • language areas overlap in a young child

Each of these things is a clause (with a subject and a verb), so the comparison is clear from a structural standpoint (comparing one clause to another).

There is a clear contrast between (1) having language areas overlap and (2) having each language occupy a distinct area of the brain, so the comparison is perfectly logical: in an adult learner, one thing happens (each language occupies a distinct area of the brain), and in a young child something different happens (language areas overlap).

I hope that helps!
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According to findings derived from functional magnetic resonance 29 Nov 2023, 03:56
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Ishaan0104
Hello Expert,

I am really stuck on this question, as I was during my mock exam.

I feel the comparison should be between 'language areas' as stated in the sentence after underlined part. "language areas overlap in a young child"

But, none of the answer choice seems to address that. Each answer choice is making a comparison between 'each language' and 'language areas'.

Please help !
The non-underlined portion is: "language areas overlap in a young child". The verb ("overlap") is key -- we aren't trying to compare "language areas" (a noun) to something else. Instead, we're trying to compare what the language areas do to some other clause or action.

In other words, we're trying to compare one thing that happens to another thing that happens. In (A), those two things are:

  • each language occupies a distinct area of the brain in an adult learner
  • language areas overlap in a young child

Each of these things is a clause (with a subject and a verb), so the comparison is clear from a structural standpoint (comparing one clause to another).

There is a clear contrast between (1) having language areas overlap and (2) having each language occupy a distinct area of the brain, so the comparison is perfectly logical: in an adult learner, one thing happens (each language occupies a distinct area of the brain), and in a young child something different happens (language areas overlap).

I hope that helps!
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Is the sentence after the semicolon inverted?
I read it wheras onwards and thought it doesnt make sense. Had I read the non-underlined part first, it would have makes sense. Let me know
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According to findings derived from functional magnetic resonance 29 Nov 2023, 13:31
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RenB

No, there's no inversion. WHEREAS is just comparing two clauses: x happens in an adult and y happens in a child. We could have put "whereas" in between the two clauses and it would have worked the same way. In other words, you can say "Whereas x happens here, y happens there" or "x happens here, whereas y happens there." Those usages are equivalent.
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