Events & Promotions
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Nov 1811:00 AM PST
-12:00 PM PST
Join us in a live GMAT practice session and solve 30 challenging GMAT questions with other test takers in timed conditions, covering GMAT Quant, Data Sufficiency, Data Insights, Reading Comprehension, and Critical Reasoning questions.
Nov 2211:00 AM IST
-01:00 PM IST
Do RC/MSR passages scare you? e-GMAT is conducting a masterclass to help you learn – Learn effective reading strategies Tackle difficult RC & MSR with confidence Excel in timed test environment- Nov 23
11:00 AM IST
-01:00 PM IST
Attend this free GMAT Algebra Webinar and learn how to master the most challenging Inequalities and Absolute Value problems with ease. 
Nov 2510:00 AM EST
-11:00 AM EST
Prefer video-based learning? The Target Test Prep OnDemand course is a one-of-a-kind video masterclass featuring 400 hours of lecture-style teaching by Scott Woodbury-Stewart, founder of Target Test Prep and one of the most accomplished GMAT instructors.
24 Mar 2017, 10:38
Kudos
Bookmarks
Posting a blog from Knewton on Ellipsis. (https://www.knewton.com/resources/blog/ ... -ellipsis/)
The term ellipsis, or elliptical construction, describes the omission of words in order to make a sentence more concise. Ellipses are used frequently with comparisons. An ellipsis may eliminate a subsequent occurrence of a word or words stated previously in a sentence only when the word or words are exactly the same each time they appear.
No ellipsis: During the 17th century, Britain experienced some types of political turmoil, and France, Spain, and Germany experienced others.
Correct ellipsis: During the 17th century, Britain experienced some types of political turmoil, and France, Spain, and Germany others.
The ellipsis omits experienced, which appears in this exact form earlier in the sentence. This ellipsis is correct.
Incorrect ellipsis: I walk as fast now as [I walked] when I was young.
This is not correct because “I walk” and “I walked” are not identical.
Correct ellipsis: I walk as fast now as I did [walk] when I was young.
In this case, “did” indicates the tense shift and stands in for “did walk.”
Incorrect ellipsis: I walk faster than Brian [walks].
Although we say this all the time in everyday English, this sentence is technically not correct. “Walk” and “walks” are not identical, so “walks” should not be omitted. Remember that a word or phrase can be omitted only if it exactly repeats a previous word or phrase.
Correct ellipsis: I walk faster than Brian does [walk].
In GMAT-land, the switch in verb tenses is not OK when you’re omitting verbs, but the switch in a comparison (I walk faster than Brian [walks] ) is sometimes acceptable if it is in the best option and it’s clear what the two things compared are.
On the GMAT, your job is to recognize when an ellipsis is not used correctly. An ellipsis can never be used when parallel construction is an issue, as it is in correlative conjunctions. For example, “I like to swim neither in pools nor lakes” is not correct. The item after “neither” starts with “in,” so the item after “nor” must also start with “in.” This is not a correct elliptical construction. If an ellipsis makes the meaning of the sentence unclear, then it is not correct. Take a look this sample question.
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic determinants of fertility.
(A) have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic
(B) have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
(C) would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
(D) would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economic
(E) would have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economical
First, it’s important to recognize that “have to know” and “would have to know” would both be correct here. They have different meanings of course, but each meaning could work. The “have to know” and “would have to know” split is pretty much just a diversion from the real errors in the sentence. We can immediately eliminate choices B and C; the word “economical” is not correct because its meaning is not logical in this context. We need the word “economic” to describe the “determinants of fertility.”
Next, we can eliminate choices A and E because they both contain ambiguous comparisons. Omitting “they do” is an incorrect ellipsis here because it changes the meaning of the comparison. The comparisons in A and E seem to compare how much demographers (would) have to know, an amount of knowledge, with the present time period (“now”).
D is the correct answer because it repeats “they do” to make the comparison clear.
The term ellipsis, or elliptical construction, describes the omission of words in order to make a sentence more concise. Ellipses are used frequently with comparisons. An ellipsis may eliminate a subsequent occurrence of a word or words stated previously in a sentence only when the word or words are exactly the same each time they appear.
No ellipsis: During the 17th century, Britain experienced some types of political turmoil, and France, Spain, and Germany experienced others.
Correct ellipsis: During the 17th century, Britain experienced some types of political turmoil, and France, Spain, and Germany others.
The ellipsis omits experienced, which appears in this exact form earlier in the sentence. This ellipsis is correct.
Incorrect ellipsis: I walk as fast now as [I walked] when I was young.
This is not correct because “I walk” and “I walked” are not identical.
Correct ellipsis: I walk as fast now as I did [walk] when I was young.
In this case, “did” indicates the tense shift and stands in for “did walk.”
Incorrect ellipsis: I walk faster than Brian [walks].
Although we say this all the time in everyday English, this sentence is technically not correct. “Walk” and “walks” are not identical, so “walks” should not be omitted. Remember that a word or phrase can be omitted only if it exactly repeats a previous word or phrase.
Correct ellipsis: I walk faster than Brian does [walk].
In GMAT-land, the switch in verb tenses is not OK when you’re omitting verbs, but the switch in a comparison (I walk faster than Brian [walks] ) is sometimes acceptable if it is in the best option and it’s clear what the two things compared are.
On the GMAT, your job is to recognize when an ellipsis is not used correctly. An ellipsis can never be used when parallel construction is an issue, as it is in correlative conjunctions. For example, “I like to swim neither in pools nor lakes” is not correct. The item after “neither” starts with “in,” so the item after “nor” must also start with “in.” This is not a correct elliptical construction. If an ellipsis makes the meaning of the sentence unclear, then it is not correct. Take a look this sample question.
To develop more accurate population forecasts, demographers have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic determinants of fertility.
(A) have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economic
(B) have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
(C) would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economical
(D) would have to know a great deal more than they do now about the social and economic
(E) would have to know a great deal more than now about the social and economical
First, it’s important to recognize that “have to know” and “would have to know” would both be correct here. They have different meanings of course, but each meaning could work. The “have to know” and “would have to know” split is pretty much just a diversion from the real errors in the sentence. We can immediately eliminate choices B and C; the word “economical” is not correct because its meaning is not logical in this context. We need the word “economic” to describe the “determinants of fertility.”
Next, we can eliminate choices A and E because they both contain ambiguous comparisons. Omitting “they do” is an incorrect ellipsis here because it changes the meaning of the comparison. The comparisons in A and E seem to compare how much demographers (would) have to know, an amount of knowledge, with the present time period (“now”).
D is the correct answer because it repeats “they do” to make the comparison clear.
Archived Topic
Hi there,
This topic has been closed and archived due to inactivity or violation of community quality standards. No more replies are possible here.
Where to now? Join ongoing discussions on thousands of quality questions in our Verbal Questions Forum
Still interested in this question? Check out the "Best Topics" block below for a better discussion on this exact question, as well as several more related questions.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!
friskymarkets
GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V41
Posts: 67
10 Oct 2020, 01:03
Kudos
Bookmarks
The Manhattan GMAT SC guide uses the exact example above mentions that it is correct
Right: I walk faster than Brian [walks].
Right: I walk as fast now as [I walked] when I was younger.
I also found a discussion on ManhattanPrep which is not conclusive on the same (can't post the link because new user but the topic is "omitted words"
Can anybody clear this up?
Right: I walk faster than Brian [walks].
Right: I walk as fast now as [I walked] when I was younger.
I also found a discussion on ManhattanPrep which is not conclusive on the same (can't post the link because new user but the topic is "omitted words"
Can anybody clear this up?
25 Oct 2023, 08:34
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!
Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).
Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).
Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
Archived Topic
Hi there,
This topic has been closed and archived due to inactivity or violation of community quality standards. No more replies are possible here.
Where to now? Join ongoing discussions on thousands of quality questions in our Verbal Questions Forum
Still interested in this question? Check out the "Best Topics" block above for a better discussion on this exact question, as well as several more related questions.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!
