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505-555 Level|   Adjectives and Adverbs|   Modifiers|   Pronouns|   Verb Tense/Form|                        
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Especially in the early years, new entrepreneurs may need to find reso 09 Oct 2020, 13:51
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thecoronafever
Though I do comprehend the reasonings above to eliminate incorrect choices, I am not sure on the idioms part as mentioned in few answers. If I make the corrections in A and D options as follows, will that make them correct?

A - that make their companies seem larger
D - so that their companies seem larger
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Let's start with your suggested change to choice A: "that make their companies seem larger". Notice that the only difference between this and the correct answer choice (B) is that we have "that" instead of "to". So, is it wrong to use "that" instead of "to"? That's a tough one, so let's start with a couple basic examples:

  • "We need to find ways to increase profits."
  • "We need to find ways that increase profits."

These two don't seem very different, but when I read the second one, I get the sense that we are looking for WAYS that already increase profits. In other words, it seems like a characteristic of these WAYS is that they increase profits -- so the WAYS are out there somewhere increasing profits, and we just need to find them!

The first option, on the other hand, suggests that the WAYS don't really exist yet. "Profit-increasing" WAYS are not something that we can go find somewhere. Instead, we need to come up with them -- to perhaps create those ways. I think this meaning is more appropriate given the context. Does that mean that using "that" instead of "to" would definitely be wrong? I'm not sure, and I doubt the GMAT would ask you to make that call without any other clues.

Moving on to your suggestion for choice D: "so that their companies seem larger". Let's compare that to choice (B):

  • "... ways to make their companies seem larger" (choice B) - With this option, it is clear that the WAYS are, themselves, a means to an end--the purpose or intention of those WAYS is to make the companies seem larger.
  • "... ways so that their companies seem larger" - I'd argue that using "so that" instead of "to make" actually changes the meaning. It's no longer the WAYS, themselves that are accomplishing the goal of making the companies seem larger. Instead, "finding the ways" seems like a distinct step--one that may or may not have anything directly to do with making the company seem larger. But if we FIND those ways (whatever they are), our company will seem larger. I don't think that conveys the intended meaning as clearly as choice B does.

Again, is that a smoking gun? Definitely not, and I don't think the GMAT would ask you to make such a subtle distinction without any other differences.

And that's why analyzing tweaked answer choices isn't always a great idea. On the GMAT, you will NEVER have to look at a single sentence in a bubble and determine whether it's "correct" or "incorrect". Your job is simply to select the BEST answer choice out of the five available options.

So if you understand why (B), as written, is better than the other four options, as written, then you've done your job. :)

I hope that helps!
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There are 2 pronouns in (B) which change the subjects which is totally wrong on GMAT.
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Hi,

I got confused, please clarify me if possible.

In the correct answer choice they refer back to entrepreneurs, while their refer back to companies. As far as I know, this kind of answers are wrong on GMAT, because personal pronouns and possessive case should refer back to same noun.

Thanks in advance
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Especially in the early years, new entrepreneurs may need to find reso 25 Jan 2021, 12:38
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lakshya14
There are 2 pronouns in (B) which change the subjects which is totally wrong on GMAT.
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aygulismayilova
Hi,

I got confused, please clarify me if possible.

In the correct answer choice they refer back to entrepreneurs, while their refer back to companies. As far as I know, this kind of answers are wrong on GMAT, because personal pronouns and possessive case should refer back to same noun.

Thanks in advance
Show more
There are very few "rules" to GMAT SC that apply to every single question without fail -- after all, it is mostly a reasoning test, not a do-you-know-the-rules test.

In this question, we have four answer choices in which "their" refers to the entrepreneurs, while "they" refers to companies. So, we need to determine two things:

    1) Does this issue make the sentence so illogical or confusing that we can eliminate these four answer choices based on the pronouns? If so, then our job is done, and the remaining answer choice must be correct.

    2) But wait... are there other issues with the remaining answer choice? If so, these other issues may be WORSE than a bit of confusion in the pronouns.

Let's investigate 1) first: is it really so egregious to have "their" refer to the entrepreneurs and "they" refer to companies?

Here's the first pronoun in a stripped down version of (B):
Quote:
"[...] new entrepreneurs may need to find resourceful ways [...] to make their companies seem larger..."
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This first pronoun clearly refers back to "entrepreneurs," no issues there.

And here's the second pronoun:
Quote:
"[...] to make their companies seem larger and more firmly established than they may actually be."
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Again, we're looking for a referent for "they," and "companies" makes perfect sense. It is also the closest plural noun to the pronoun, so the reader doesn't have to work too hard to conclude that "they" refers to companies.

Is it awesome that the two pronouns refer back to different nouns? Maybe not. But it's also not the worst thing in the world -- the sentence makes sense, and the reader doesn't need to reach too far to comprehend the author's intended meaning.

So, let's move onto question 2) : are there other issues with the remaining answer choice?

(D) is the only option that does not have the pronoun issue:
Quote:
(D) Especially in the early years, new entrepreneurs may need to find resourceful ways, like renting temporary office space or using answering services, so that the companies seem larger and more firmly established than they may actually be.
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I'll steal from our previous explanation of (D) to explore the issues here:

If we read the sentence without the modifiers, it becomes "New entrepreneurs may need to find resourceful ways, so that the companies seem larger and more firmly established than they may actually be." Huh? "So that" implies a reason for having performed an action. So the sentence seems to explain a reason for the entrepreneurs "to find new ways." What on earth does that mean? Find new ways to do what? This is why we can eliminate (D) -- it doesn't make any sense.

(B) on the other hand, conveys what the entrepreneurs are finding new ways to do. They're finding new ways "to make their companies seem larger."

The meaning issue on (D) is worse than the mild confusion caused by the pronouns in the rest of the options. Eliminate (D).

I hope that helps!
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Especially in the early years, new entrepreneurs may need to find reso 18 Apr 2021, 06:42
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Greetings experts!
I have a question in the non-underlined part of the sentence correction question.

Especially in the early years, new entrepreneurs may need to find resourceful ways,like renting temporary office space or using answering services, that make their company seem large and more firmly established than they may actually be.

Don't we use 'like' only to compare nouns?Is it acceptable to list ways using 'like' instead of 'such as'..Although I don't find this structure such as....or very appropriate.So I am a little confused.Could you please help ?
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Greetings experts!
I have a question in the non-underlined part of the sentence correction question.

Especially in the early years, new entrepreneurs may need to find resourceful ways,like renting temporary office space or using answering services, that make their company seem large and more firmly established than they may actually be.

Don't we use 'like' only to compare nouns?Is it acceptable to list ways using 'like' instead of 'such as'..Although I don't find this structure such as....or very appropriate.So I am a little confused.Could you please help ?
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Hi angsha, good question. The official explanation has this to say:

While there has been some dispute over the use of like to mean "for example," this is an acceptable use.

However, an interesting thing to note is that I have not come across any official question as yet, where like is preferred over such as, when the intent is to depict examples.
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Especially in the early years, new entrepreneurs may need to find reso 18 Apr 2021, 08:00
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angsha
Greetings experts!
I have a question in the non-underlined part of the sentence correction question.

Especially in the early years, new entrepreneurs may need to find resourceful ways,like renting temporary office space or using answering services, that make their company seem large and more firmly established than they may actually be.

Don't we use 'like' only to compare nouns?Is it acceptable to list ways using 'like' instead of 'such as'..Although I don't find this structure such as....or very appropriate.So I am a little confused.Could you please help ?
Hi angsha, good question. The official explanation has this to say:

While there has been some dispute over the use of like to mean "for example," this is an acceptable use.

However, an interesting thing to note is that I have not come across any official question as yet, where like is preferred over such as, when the intent is to depict examples.
Show more

Frankly what I have noticed is that there are inconsistencies with the application of certain rules for verbal (this being one of them). But, it's not enough to warrant a significantly lower score or anything
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Especially in the early years, new entrepreneurs may need to find resourceful ways, like renting temporary office space or using answering services, that make their company seem large and more firmly established than they may actually be.

(A) that make their company seem large
(B) to make their companies seem larger
(C) thus making their companies seem larger
(D) so that the companies seem larger
(E) of making their company seem large


Show Spoiler
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/12/business/12sbiz.html

To build a successful company, entrepreneurs need to play a variety of roles — visionary, sales representative and morale builder, to name a few. But, in some cases, especially in the early years, they may need to play another, less obvious one: illusionist. That means finding resourceful ways, like renting temporary office space or using answering services, to make themselves seem larger and more firmly established than they may actually be. Of course, no matter how adept their sleight-of-hand, it will not work unless they are delivering the goods.

New Entrepreneurs

(A) Sentence Structure (that); Noun-Pronoun and Noun-Noun Agreement (company); Comparison (large than)

(B) CORRECT

(C) Sentence Structure (thus);

(D) Sentence Structure (so that);

(E) Noun-Noun Agreement (company); Comparison (large than)

First glance

The opening word in each choice changes substantially (that, to, thus, so, of). That particular mix of words indicates possible Sentence Structure, Meaning, or Modifier issues.

Issues

(1) Sentence Structure: that; thus; so that

These differences pop out at the first glance. Check the earlier sentence structure to see what leads into these words.

The earlier sentence core is as follows: New entrepreneurs may need to find resourceful ways … (that; to; thus; so that; of). The entrepreneurs are purposely taking action, so they are finding ways to do something or of doing something. Answers (B) and (E) are okay, but eliminate choices (A), (C), and (D).

(2) Noun-Pronoun and Noun-Noun Agreement: company

The pronoun they appears in the last line of the sentence. Logically, they should refer to companies, but the original sentence uses the singular company. Eliminate choices (A) and (E) for faulty noun-pronoun agreement.

The original sentence also talks about a class of businessperson in general: new entrepreneurs. These businesspeople all share certain problems that are specific to being a part of this category. In general, then, this sentence is talking about many different entrepreneurs who are starting many different companies.

The language make their company seem, then, is illogical. This implies that all of these entrepreneurs are starting just one company together—but, logically, the different entrepreneurs, plural, should be starting many companies, plural. Eliminate choices (A) and (E) for faulty noun-noun agreement.

(3) Comparison: large

The original sentence indicates that these entrepreneurs want to make their compan(ies) seem large and more firmly established than … they are.

The sentence is trying to say that these entrepreneurs want to do two things: make the companies seem larger than they are and make the companies seem more firmly established than they are. The original sentence, however, says seem large … than, not larger than. Eliminate choices (A) and (E) for a faulty comparison structure.

The Correct Answer

Correct answer (B) makes a proper comparison (seem larger … than) and has proper noun-noun agreement (entrepreneurs … find ways … to make their companies). The overall sentence structure also conveys intent: Entrepreneurs may need to find resourceful ways to make something happen.
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Hello experts, MartyTargetTestPrep

I am not able to process why C and D are wrong? their is missing in D, but why "so that" is wrong?
It seems ok to me- they may need to find new ways so that (reason or intention) their companies seem larger...

so that is giving a reason as to why they may need to find new ways...

In C, comma+ing correctly modifying the doer (entrepreneures), I know if its answering how aspect, its becoming illogical.
but sometimes, comma+ ing also gives an output or result?
they may need to find new ways and as a result their companies seem larger.
I know B is better than C.
but why exactly C is wrong?
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dcoolguy
AbdurRakib
Especially in the early years, new entrepreneurs may need to find resourceful ways, like renting temporary office space or using answering services, that make their company seem large and more firmly established than they may actually be.

(A) that make their company seem large
(B) to make their companies seem larger
(C) thus making their companies seem larger
(D) so that the companies seem larger
(E) of making their company seem large

Hello experts, MartyTargetTestPrep

I am not able to process why C and D are wrong? their is missing in D, but why "so that" is wrong?
It seems ok to me- they may need to find new ways so that (reason or intention) their companies seem larger...

so that is giving a reason as to why they may need to find new ways...

In C, comma+ing correctly modifying the doer (entrepreneures), I know if its answering how aspect, its becoming illogical.
but sometimes, comma+ ing also gives an output or result?
they may need to find new ways and as a result their companies seem larger.
I know B is better than C.
but why exactly C is wrong?
Show more
(C) and (D) are illogical for similar reasons.

Let's remove the "like" modifier from the (C) and (D) versions to simplify what they say.

Here's the (C) version simplified:

Especially in the early years, new entrepreneurs may need to find resourceful ways ... thus making their companies seem larger.

Notice that it suggests that, by simply finding resourceful ways, new entrepreneurs make their companies seem larger. This meaning is illogical because finding resourceful ways would not make a company seem larger.

What makes sense is that they could (1) find resourceful ways TO make the companies seem larger and then (2) USE those ways, thus making their companies seem larger.

The (D) version has a similar issue.

Especially in the early years, new entrepreneurs may need to find resourceful ways ... so that the companies seem larger.

Notice that, in this case, the sentence implies that the purpose of finding resourceful ways is to make the companies seem larger, as if by simply finding the ways, the entrepreneurs will make the companies seem larger.

So, both (C) and (D) are incorrect because the sentences produced with those choices suggest the illogical idea that, by simply finding the ways, the entrepreneurs will make the companies seem larger.
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Especially in the early years, new entrepreneurs may need to find reso 11 Jul 2022, 00:09
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Hi MartyTargetTestPrep and GMATNinja, can you please share your opinion on seem vs seems. I eliminated A because it uses plural 'seem' with singular company.

Thank you!
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Hi MartyTargetTestPrep and GMATNinja, can you please share your opinion on seem vs seems. I eliminated A because it uses plural 'seem' with singular company.

Thank you!
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The use of "seem" in (A) is not an issue because the (A) version does not say simply "company seem." It says "make their company seem."

In this context, "make" is a causative verb. Some other examples of causative verbs are "help" and "get."

When "make" is used as a causative verb in a "make x y" structure, it's correct to use the base or bare infinitive form of the y verb, which in this case is "seem." Thus, it would be incorrect to say, "make their company seems." It is correct to say, "make their company seem."
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Hi MartyTargetTestPrep and GMATNinja, can you please share your opinion on seem vs seems. I eliminated A because it uses plural 'seem' with singular company.

Thank you!
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Hello CrushTHYGMAT,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the use of "seem" is not incorrect in this context.

Here, "seems" acts as the base form of the verb - rather than the plural form - as part of the construction "causative verb ("make" in this case) + base form of verb".

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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KarishmaB ChiranjeevSingh EMPOWERgmatVerbal RonTargetTestPrep

To show intention / purpose - we use either "to+verb" or "so that" eg. He worked in double shift so that he could pay for the medical bills

In this question, to understand why the usage of "so that" in the question is incorrect
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KarishmaB ChiranjeevSingh EMPOWERgmatVerbal RonTargetTestPrep

To show intention / purpose - we use either "to+verb" or "so that" eg. He worked in double shift so that he could pay for the medical bills

In this question, to understand why the usage of "so that" in the question is incorrect
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Hello Rickooreo,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the construction of the phrase "so that the companies seem larger", incorrectly implies that new entrepreneurs may need to find unspecified resourceful ways, for the purpose of making their companies seem larger and more firmly established than they may actually be; the intended meaning is that new entrepreneurs may need to find those specific resourceful ways that make their companies seem larger and more firmly established than they may actually be.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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Rickooreo
KarishmaB ChiranjeevSingh EMPOWERgmatVerbal RonTargetTestPrep

To show intention / purpose - we use either "to+verb" or "so that" eg. He worked in double shift so that he could pay for the medical bills

In this question, to understand why the usage of "so that" in the question is incorrect

Hello Rickooreo,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the construction of the phrase "so that the companies seem larger", incorrectly implies that new entrepreneurs may need to find unspecified resourceful ways, for the purpose of making their companies seem larger and more firmly established than they may actually be; the intended meaning is that new entrepreneurs may need to find those specific resourceful ways that make their companies seem larger and more firmly established than they may actually be.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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ExpertsGlobal5 can you please help me understand how did you interpret that "so that" leads to meaning as may need to find unspecified resourceful ways
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KarishmaB ChiranjeevSingh EMPOWERgmatVerbal RonTargetTestPrep

To show intention / purpose - we use either "to+verb" or "so that" eg. He worked in double shift so that he could pay for the medical bills

In this question, to understand why the usage of "so that" in the question is incorrect

Hello Rickooreo,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the construction of the phrase "so that the companies seem larger", incorrectly implies that new entrepreneurs may need to find unspecified resourceful ways, for the purpose of making their companies seem larger and more firmly established than they may actually be; the intended meaning is that new entrepreneurs may need to find those specific resourceful ways that make their companies seem larger and more firmly established than they may actually be.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team


ExpertsGlobal5 can you please help me understand how did you interpret that "so that" leads to meaning as may need to find unspecified resourceful ways
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Hello Rickooreo,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the construction "ways...to" more clearly conveys the idea that entrepreneurs need to find ways - or "methods" - to make their companies seem larger; the construction "ways...so that the companies seem larger" seems to imply that the idea that entrepreneurs need to find some type of ways so that by some process their companies seem larger.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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Especially in the early years, new entrepreneurs may need to find reso 23 Aug 2022, 21:26
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Rickooreo
KarishmaB ChiranjeevSingh EMPOWERgmatVerbal RonTargetTestPrep

To show intention / purpose - we use either "to+verb" or "so that" eg. He worked in double shift so that he could pay for the medical bills

In this question, to understand why the usage of "so that" in the question is incorrect
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Rickooreo

Options (B) vs (D)

"so that" is a subordinate conjunction that joins two clauses together. It gives us the reason why we did what we did/should do in the main clause.
Whereas the preposition "to" tells us about the noun "ways" before it.

Take a simpler example:
We need to find a way to score well.
We need to find a way so that we score well.

The meaning of the two given sentences is not the same.

We need to find a way to score well.
'The way' that we need to find is 'how to score well.' It is the method to score well. The way could be 'talk to a teacher' or 'find your friend and ask them to explain it to you' etc.

We need to find a way so that we score well.
Here, 'the way' that we need to find needn't be the way to score well. Finding the way would lead to scoring well. The way could even be an actual path through a forest (if you are involved in a school treasure hunt etc.) The point is that the way needn't be the way to score well. It could be just the cause that leads to scoring well.

Since our original sentence talks about 'ways to make their company seem larger...' (the kind of ways) we need to use 'to.'
'So that' is not the intended meaning.

Hence, option (B) is correct, not option (D).
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Especially in the early years, new entrepreneurs may need to find reso 23 Aug 2022, 22:03
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Especially in the early years, new entrepreneurs may need to find resourceful ways, like renting temporary office space or using answering services, that make their company seem large and more firmly established than they may actually be.

(A) that make their company seem large Parallelism error since the non-underlined part has comparative form (more firmly), therefore the underlined part should also have comparative form i.e. larger
(B) to make their companies seem larger Correct
(C) thus making their companies seem larger Incorrect because two different clauses are joined by a Comma.
(D) so that the companies seem larger Incorrect the companies should be replaced by their companies.
(E) of making their company seem large Parallelism error since the non-underlined part has comparative form (more firmly), therefore the underlined part should also have comparative form i.e. larger
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Especially in the early years, new entrepreneurs may need to find reso 11 Sep 2022, 21:08
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(B) Especially in the early years, new entrepreneurs may need to find resourceful ways, like renting temporary office space or using answering services, to make their companies seem larger and more firmly established than they may actually be.

"Their" seems to have two antecedents - why is that not being counted as ambiguity?
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Especially in the early years, new entrepreneurs may need to find reso 11 Sep 2022, 23:25
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(B) Especially in the early years, new entrepreneurs may need to find resourceful ways, like renting temporary office space or using answering services, to make their companies seem larger and more firmly established than they may actually be.

"Their" seems to have two antecedents - why is that not being counted as ambiguity?
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By the way, you missed highlighting years and answering services as possible antecedents as well :) .

Please note that pronoun ambiguity should never be a reason to eliminate an answer choice.
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