LucyDang wrote:
Hi aditya8062,
Hmm, I don't think that I agree with you in this point: meaning 1 : Comparable in tensile strength, spider's silk is much better at holding its own weight than [the weight] high-grade alloy steel
Why spider's silk should hold high-grade alloy steel's weight? It's illogical. Thus, the comparison spider's silk is much better at holding its own weight than high-grade alloy steel clearly means that spider's silk is much better at holding its own weight than high-grade alloy steel [is at holding its own weight]. C is not ambiguous in comparison but is incorrect because of the modifier (as I mentioned in my previous post).
Best,
Lucy
Dear Lucy,
I'm happy to respond.
I am the author of this particular
Magoosh question.
This is a funny thing about grammar. Consider the sentence:
I like Chinese food more than my friend Chris.
The ambiguity: this could be
1)
a subjective comparison = comparing "
Chris" to the subject, "
I"; "
Chris" would be the subject in the parallel clause
2) an
objective comparison = comparing "
Chris" to the direct object "
pizza"; "
Chris" would be the direct object in the parallel clause
Now, if you don't know anything at all about me and Chris, it is conceivable that the objective comparison is intended. In other words, I might be so passionate about Chinese food that I have more affection for this cuisine than I have for Chris. That is one reading.
By contrast, if you know the two of us, our good friendship, and Chris's relative disinterest in Chinese food, then the other reading, the subjective comparison appears as correct. Notice, though, we needed outside information to clarify the grammar. That's not a well-constructed sentence, if I need to go outside the sentence to determine what the grammar is intending to say.
Much in the same way, if we look at the (C) version of this sentence:
Comparable in tensile strength, spider's silk is much better at holding its own weight than high-grade alloy steelThe grammar leaves open both the subjective & objective comparisons as possibilities. Again, we could use our physical science knowledge of materials in the real world to deduce that the subjective comparison must be intended, but again, we had to go outside the sentence to make this decision. If the grammar itself leaves open a logical ambiguity, then it is not a well constructed sentence, no matter how easy it may be to resolve the ambiguity by other means.
Does all this make sense?
Mike
can you please help with what type of modifier is below - considerably lighter because the organic composition is less dense than the metallic elements.