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GMAT Ninja SC Expert - Ask Me Anything about GMAT SC and Grammar 11 Apr 2020, 01:44
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David nguyen
pabpinor
Dear GMATNinja first of all thanks a lot for your contribution, your explanations in the forum and your videos are really useful.

I have a question about the following solution: "After their analysis, the consultants mandated that the Ship Easy mail-order company increase the number of advertisements it posts on websites so as to increase the number of its customers who place orders online." 

It is posted as the right solution but I do not see how can be right the "increase" when it refers to the company, shouldn't be "increases"?

Comes from the following question: https://gmatclub.com/forum/after-their- ... 05507.html

Thanks in advance,

Pablo

Hi Pablo, I'm not Gmatninja but I think I could help you out on this topic. What you are struggling with is the usage of "subjunctive mood", which requires all verbs, following a command indicators (such as mandate, require, suggest, etc.), be in plural forms.

Some examples:
-The judge insisted that the jury return a verdict immediately.
-The university requires that all its students take this course.
-The doctor suggested that his patient stop smoking.
-Congress has decreed that the gasoline tax be abolished.
-We proposed that he take a vacation.

As you can see, all 5 subjects are singular and their corresponding verbs are in plural form.

Your sentence is constructed as follow:
+A mandated that B increase....

Hope that helps.

Here is a good source for better understanding Subjunctive Construction: https://gmatclub.com/forum/subjunctive- ... ml#p598317
Show more

Thanks a lot david nguyen for your reply,

I was not aware of this form of conjugating it, in Spanish is more complex but follows a totally different structure, will have to study it properly.
The link you shared is really helpful.

Regards,
Pablo
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GMAT Ninja SC Expert - Ask Me Anything about GMAT SC and Grammar 12 Apr 2020, 08:47
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ARIEN3228
Hello GMATninja,

Could you please explain differences between Idiom #1: so that and Idiom #2 so as to.

Thanks in advance.
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As is often the case, there's no ironclad rule here, but we can use a little logic and some structural clues to figure out how these constructions should work.

First, consider "so that." This one is going to be context dependent. We could see something like this:

    "Tim stopped feeding his children Fruity Pebbles for breakfast so that their teachers would stop sending him bills for all the property damage they caused."

In the above sentence we have "clause" + "so that" + "clause." When we see this, "so that" seems to function the same way as "because" might function: it explains the causal connection between two clauses, or offers a motivation for why the first action took place. Why did Tim cut the sugar out of his kid's breakfast? Because he wanted them to stop breaking things at school. Reasonable enough.

But we could also see something like this:

    "Tim was so tired that he fell asleep while baking Shrinky Dinks, leading to yet another impromptu visit from the fire department."

This time, we have an adjective between "so" and "that." Now the sentence conveys that a trait is of such great magnitude that some action takes place. Tim wasn't just tired. He was so tired that a Shrinky-Dink inferno happened as a result.

So while these are different constructions, "that" introduces a clause in each case.

"So x as to be y," is a little different. Logically, "to be" should introduce a characteristic, or adjective. For example:

    "Tim was so tired as to be basically catatonic."

Before Tim was so tired that he did something. Now he's so tired that he appears a certain way.

And here's the really important part: do not memorize the above discussion. The point isn't to provide a few of the many examples you want to internalize. There are tens of thousands of constructions you could see, so it won't help to try to memorize all of them. Instead, the key is to get better at how to think about unfamiliar constructions, using logic and structure.

I hope that helps!
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GMAT Ninja SC Expert - Ask Me Anything about GMAT SC and Grammar 16 Apr 2020, 11:24
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shameekv1989
One more question is regarding Verbed modifier.

"The weight of the discus used in the tournament" -> Is used modifying discus or the weight of the discus. Is it possible for Verbed modifier to ignore prepositional phrase and modify the noun directly instead of object of the preposition?

"The weight of the discus that was used in the tournament" -> Same question what is "that" modifying in this sentence?

When I read, it sounds as if the weight of the discus is being modified - Hence wanted to clear my understanding.

Thanks,
Shameek
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In your examples, it's logically clear that the "discus" was the thing used in the tournament. But, as described in this post (and the article linked in that post), there are certainly cases where a modifier can reach behind a prepositional phrase.

Luckily, the GMAT will never give you a sentence in isolation and ask you to decide whether it's right or wrong. There are very few absolute rules on the GMAT, and your job is to select the BEST answer choice out of the five options.

So yes, it's possible for a modifier to "reach behind" a prepositional phrase, but the real question on GMAT SC questions is whether that construction makes sense in a particular sentence, given the meaning of the sentence.

I hope that helps a bit!
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GMAT Ninja SC Expert - Ask Me Anything about GMAT SC and Grammar 19 Apr 2020, 08:46
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bitorbyte
Thanks for doing this. In the following question, why is 'viewing' (a comma ing) a noun modifier? I thought 'comma ing's always modified the action of the previous clause.

Many financial experts believe that policy makers at the Federal Reserve, now viewing the economy as balanced between moderate growth and low inflation, are almost certain to leave interests rates unchanged for the foreseeable future.

(A) Reserve, now viewing the economy as balanced between moderate growth and low inflation, are

(B) Reserve, now viewing the economy to be balanced between that of moderate growth and low inflation and are

(C) Reserve who, now viewing the economy as balanced between moderate growth and low inflation, are

(D) Reserve, who now view the economy to be balanced between that of moderate growth and low inflation, will be

(E) Reserve, which now views the economy to be balanced between moderate growth and low inflation, is
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Important distinction: when an "-ing" word follows a clause with a comma, it modifies the previous clause. But if it follows a noun with a comma, it often modifies the noun phrase. For example:

    The coach believed that Tim, lacking a jump shot and any desire to pass or play defense, was unlikely to be drafted by the Golden State Warriors, who already had Andrew Wiggins on their roster.

Here "Tim" is a noun functioning as the subject of a clause. Because this noun is followed by a comma and an "-ing" modifier, the "-ing" modifier most logically describes the noun, in this case, the athletically-challenged Tim.

We have an almost identical construction in (A). "The Federal Reserve" is a noun phrase. "Now viewing" describes the Federal Reserve. That's perfectly fine.

I hope that helps!
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GMAT Ninja SC Expert - Ask Me Anything about GMAT SC and Grammar 21 Apr 2020, 08:54
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sam9312
In a plan to stop the erosion of East Coast beaches, the Army Corps of Engineers proposed building parallel to shore a breakwater of rocks that would rise six feet above the waterline and act as a buffer, absorbing the energy of crashing waves and protecting the beaches.

Taking the snippet from egmat pdf document on Verb-ING modifiers.

"As mentioned earlier, verb-ing modifiers are made from “verbs” and they denote action. Now,
any action needs a doer. In the same way, the verb-ing modifiers also associate with the subjects
of the preceding clause. What we must keep in mind is that the action denoted by verb-ing must
make sense with the subject of the clause. The use of verb-ing is correct only if it makes sense
with the subject of the clause it is modifying."

Now the correct sentence here ...

In a plan to stop the erosion of East Coast beaches, the Army Corps of Engineers proposed building parallel to shore a breakwater of rocks that would rise six feet above the waterline and act as a buffer, absorbing the energy of crashing waves and protecting the beaches.

Now here according to the theory, absorbing and protecting are actions (modifiers) that must be done by a doer.

I don't think it is very clear that 'the Army Corps of Engineers' is doing these actions.

Please help!!! Abhi077, GMATNinjaTwo, GMATNinja, generis, hazelnut

Posted from my mobile device
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When you see a clause + comma + "-ing" modifier, the "-ing" modifier should logically modify the entire previous clause. In most cases, this modifier will make sense with the previous subject, but it doesn't quite mean that you can always think about it exclusively as an action performed by this subject. For example:

    "Tim organized a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament for the toddlers in the neighborhood, leading to a sharp uptick in spleen injuries among local two-year-olds."

Here, "leading to a sharp uptick" modifies the previous clause and provides a consequence of Tim's ill-conceived plan. But it isn't quite right to say that "Tim" lead to a sharp uptick in spleen injuries. Rather, his actions did. That's fine.

That said, take another look at the relevant portion of the example you mentioned:

    "...a breakwater of rocks that would rise six feet above the waterline and act as a buffer, absorbing the energy of crashing waves and protecting the beaches."

The subject of the clause before "absorbing" is "that," which refers to "a breakwater of rocks." Here, it's perfectly logical to say that the breakwater of rocks was intended to absorb energy and protect the beaches.

The takeaway: an "-ing" modifier doesn't necessarily have to work as an action performed by the subject of the previous clause, but if you're going to take that subject into account, make sure you're looking at the appropriate clause!

I hope that helps!
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GMAT Ninja SC Expert - Ask Me Anything about GMAT SC and Grammar 21 Apr 2020, 23:03
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Hi GMAT Ninja
I always get confused about the -ing form verb, when to use especially in respect of parallelism? Can you give me some trick or idea which I can apply to check where -ing is suitable and where not?

The second question is how do you differentiate between Gerund and -ing verb form, Whether in a given context it is acting as a verb or a gerund? Can you throw some light in simple words?
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GMAT Ninja SC Expert - Ask Me Anything about GMAT SC and Grammar 02 May 2020, 22:29
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Hi GMATNinja,

Could you please help me so I can understand the usage of "a fact that" as a dependent clause please?

Quote:
Despite being rivals on the cricket field, Andrew regarded Brett not as an adversary but a friend , a fact that was obvious in the historic Ashes test match between their respective teams in 2005

d) as a friend not as an adversary, an obvious fact

e) not as an adversary but as a friend , a fact that was obvious
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Why does "an obvious fact" in (D) distort the meaning of the sentence? Don't both "an obvious fact" and "a fact that was obvious have the same meaning?

I really appreciate your help. Thanks.
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GMAT Ninja SC Expert - Ask Me Anything about GMAT SC and Grammar 08 May 2020, 17:28
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jkrishh7
Hi GMAT Ninja
I always get confused about the -ing form verb, when to use especially in respect of parallelism? Can you give me some trick or idea which I can apply to check where -ing is suitable and where not?

The second question is how do you differentiate between Gerund and -ing verb form, Whether in a given context it is acting as a verb or a gerund? Can you throw some light in simple words?
Show more
It would be nice if there was a simple trick that told you how to handle a certain construction in every situation, wouldn't it? But English is complicated. There's no simple structural clue that will tell that us we need an "-ing" word. Context is always going to matter.

Imagine, for example, that a sentence begins with the phrase, "Feeding his children." There's no way I can know what "feeding" is doing until I process whatever comes next. It might say the following:

    "Feeding his children has never been a priority for Tim, and that's why the government won't let him see them."

In this case, "feeding" is the subject of the verb phrase "has never been." Or, if you like grammar jargon, "feeding" is a specific type of noun called a gerund.

But I could also write:

    "Feeding his children, Tim paused and realized that the 'pretzels' he'd been giving them as a snack were actually dog biscuits."

Now "feeding," rather than functioning as a subject, is modifying "Tim." Different sentence, different role.

Put another way, I can't memorize what "-ing" does at the beginning of a sentence, because it can do multiple things. I need to think about the logical structure of what I'm reading. Always.

For a general discussion about the various ways "-ing" words can work, this article might help.

And if you have specific official examples you'd like to discuss, please feel free to post them!
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GMAT Ninja SC Expert - Ask Me Anything about GMAT SC and Grammar 15 May 2020, 06:09
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Dear GMATNinja,

Could you please take a look at this question?

https://gmatclub.com/forum/around-1900- ... l#p2520376

Q1. I have some question on the chronological sequence of the correct choice.

Around 1900, fishermen in the Chesapeake Bay area landed more than seventeen million pounds of shad in a single year, but by 1920, over-fishing and the proliferation of milldams and culverts that blocked shad from migrating up their spawning streams had reduced landings to less than four million pounds.

Does the underlined portions imply that: blocking (in simple past) appeared AFTER the reduction (past perfect)?

I think this sequence doesn't make sense at all.

Q2. Why is choice A. wrong?
Why is present perfect tense wrong here?
Why is it illogical to say that blocking started in the past and remains in effect today?
"Milldams and culverts" are long-lasting infrastructure. So, IMO, it makes sense to say that the blocking is still relevant in the present context.
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GMAT Ninja SC Expert - Ask Me Anything about GMAT SC and Grammar 15 May 2020, 06:14
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Dear GMATNinja,

I have some questions on the OA:
Quote:

Greatly influenced by the Protested missionary Samuel Kirkland, the Oneida alone among the five-nation Iroquois League sided with the colonists during the American Revolution.
Show more
Q1. Is "the five-nation Iroquois League" a person or non-person (i.e. league/nation)?

Q2. How can "among" be used with SINGULAR noun "five-nation Iroquois League"?

My understanding is that "five-nation" is just an adjectivial noun modifying "League"
Since "League" is singular, "five-nation Iroquois League" should also be singular?
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GMAT Ninja SC Expert - Ask Me Anything about GMAT SC and Grammar 25 May 2020, 06:55
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Hey GMATNinja, love your videos! I have a question hoping you can help: when do we invert the subject and the verb in GMAT SC?
For example,
Quote:
Not only did the systematic clearing of forests in the United States create farmland (especially in the Northeast), but it also gave consumers relatively inexpensive houses and furniture.
Show more
(modified from a GMAT PREP question)
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GMAT Ninja SC Expert - Ask Me Anything about GMAT SC and Grammar 27 May 2020, 05:20
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Hi,

Wonder if you have any interesting acronyms or easy methods to remember all the trigger words for subjunctive verbs, to-verbs and verbs where you can use either subjunctive or to to-verbs?

Thanks
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GMAT Ninja SC Expert - Ask Me Anything about GMAT SC and Grammar 07 Jun 2020, 03:16
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Hi All,

Hope everyone is safe and well during these challenging times!

I recently came across an OG 18 - (Question 600) Critical Reasoning question.

***600. Politician: Hybrid cars use significantly less fuel per kilometer than nonhybrids. And fuel produces air pollution, which contributes to a number of environmental problems. Motorists can save money by driving cars that are more fuel efficient, and they will be encouraged to drive hybrid cars if we make them aware of that fact. Therefore, we can help reduce the total amount of pollution emitted by cars in this country by highlighting this advantage of hybrid cars.

Which of the following, if true, would most indicate a vulnerability of the politician's argument?***

While I was reading the question. I couldn’t help but notice the usage of the conjunctive adverb ‘therefore’ used after a full-stop and followed by a comma to connect two independent clauses.

I was curious if that is correct? As the Aristotle Prep - Sentance Correction book that I currently use, says that conjunctive adverbs must only be preceded by a semi-colon if connecting independant clauses

While i know this is a CR question can someone help me on the usage of conjunctive adverbs with a full-stop like in that question??

Appreciate any help!

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GMAT Ninja SC Expert - Ask Me Anything about GMAT SC and Grammar 13 Jun 2020, 08:06
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Victorz
Hey GMATNinja, love your videos! I have a question hoping you can help: when do we invert the subject and the verb in GMAT SC?
For example,
Quote:
Not only did the systematic clearing of forests in the United States create farmland (especially in the Northeast), but it also gave consumers relatively inexpensive houses and furniture.
(modified from a GMAT PREP question)
Show more
Glad to hear the videos have been helpful!

Most sentences can, theoretically, be written with an inverted structure. For example:

    "Tim's power saw was in the baby's crib, much to the chagrin of his wife."

Pretty conventional sentence. We start with the subject, "Tim's power saw," and then introduce the verb, "was" and end with a bunch of modifiers.

But if I'd wanted to, I could have written the sentence like this:

    "In the baby's crib was Tim's power saw, much to the chagrin of his wife."

Now we start with a modifier, and the verb, "was" comes before the subject, "Tim's power saw," so the typical order is inverted. That's fine too. Just a question of personal taste, I guess.

The example you cited is a little different than a typical inverted structure. Take another look:

    "Not only did the systematic clearing of forests in the United States create farmland..."

The main clause is in red. Unlike in the previous example, the main verb doesn't come before the subject in this one. Instead, "did," a helping verb, comes first, then the subject, "the systematic clearing," followed by the main verb "create." That's fine.

What's important here isn't that you're able to label the clause as either inverted or not, but that you're able to identify the subject and see that "did" influences the form of the main verb. (You could write, "The clearing creates" or "The clearing did create.") Because there doesn't appear to be an error in this example, you'd move on to other answer choices.

The takeaway: Rather than try to internalize when you should invert a sentence structure, you want to become adept at understanding the structure and meaning of whatever you're given, relying on context clues and logic.

I hope that helps!
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GMAT Ninja SC Expert - Ask Me Anything about GMAT SC and Grammar 17 Jun 2020, 22:14
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GMATNinja


Love your videos and keep them coming.

I came across this sentence in a RC passage (W.E.B. Du Bois, no surprise!), and though the meaning to me makes sense and it is easy on the ears, I am not entirely sure that I follow the parallel "structure", especially for the underlined part. I don't think I have come across a similar structure of: less/more + prep. phrase + than + clause

Sentence: "In 1903, however, Du Bois aligned himself with Trotter, Washington's militant opponent, less for ideological reasons than because Trotter had described to him Washington's efforts...."

Thanks in advance!
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GMAT Ninja SC Expert - Ask Me Anything about GMAT SC and Grammar 04 Jul 2020, 09:19
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I am getting all the sc questions wrong. Please suggest suitable material. I plan to take the test in September. Thanks

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GMAT Ninja SC Expert - Ask Me Anything about GMAT SC and Grammar 14 Jul 2020, 09:20
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Hi,

Can you please help me with the following SC question:

Because Albert is the most experienced and he is therefore the best ballet dancer in the company, he is being increasingly viewed by the director as the best candidate for the role of the Nutcracker.

(A)and he is therefore the best ballet dancer in the company, he is being increasingly viewed
(B)he is therefore the best of ballet dancers, and it has increased the view
(C)and therefore the best ballet dancer, he is being increasingly viewed
(D)and therefore he is the best of ballet dancers, there is an increasing view
(E)therefore being the best of ballet dancers, it is increasingly viewed

Since all the options, except 'A', talk about Albert being the best Ballet dancer but not mentioning "in the company", they should imply that he is best dancer in conceivable universe. Doesn't that make option 'A' correct.

(As per the guide the correct answer was option 'C')
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GMAT Ninja SC Expert - Ask Me Anything about GMAT SC and Grammar 14 Jul 2020, 12:05
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Ankit137
Hi,

Can you please help me with the following SC question:

Because Albert is the most experienced and he is therefore the best ballet dancer in the company, he is being increasingly viewed by the director as the best candidate for the role of the Nutcracker.

(A)and he is therefore the best ballet dancer in the company, he is being increasingly viewed
(B)he is therefore the best of ballet dancers, and it has increased the view
(C)and therefore the best ballet dancer, he is being increasingly viewed
(D)and therefore he is the best of ballet dancers, there is an increasing view
(E)therefore being the best of ballet dancers, it is increasingly viewed

Since all the options, except 'A', talk about Albert being the best Ballet dancer but not mentioning "in the company", they should imply that he is best dancer in conceivable universe. Doesn't that make option 'A' correct.

(As per the guide the correct answer was option 'C')
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Hello, Ankit137. Although this is not my thread, I did notice that this very question is discussed by the community in a different thread, here. If you have further questions once you have read through those posts, I suggest you post there.

Good luck with your studies. (And if GMATNinja or GMATNinjaTwo happens across this post, I hope I am not overstepping my bounds. I just thought I would point someone in the right direction.)

- Andrew
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GMAT Ninja SC Expert - Ask Me Anything about GMAT SC and Grammar 14 Jul 2020, 20:54
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hey GMATNinja!

I have a doubt about an idiom usage (i know you don't advocate this, but I came across the below statement in a blog and wanted to confirm the same)

is "seems as" incorrect on GMAT and "seems to" the correct usage?

Thanks!!
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GMAT Ninja SC Expert - Ask Me Anything about GMAT SC and Grammar 24 Jul 2020, 09:53
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Kritisood
hey GMATNinja!

I have a doubt about an idiom usage (i know you don't advocate this, but I came across the below statement in a blog and wanted to confirm the same)

is "seems as" incorrect on GMAT and "seems to" the correct usage?

Thanks!!
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You've anticipated the answer to your question! There are too many idioms to bother trying to internalize them, and it is exceedingly rare that an official question comes down to recognizing a given idiom.

In this case, either construction could work, depending on context. For example:

    Tim seems as enthused about the possibility of watching Frozen for the seventeenth time as his wife does.

Here we're comparing how enthused Tim is about an activity and how enthused his wife is about the same activity. That's fine. However, we could also write:

    Tim seems to lose consciousness and begin twitching every time his daughters insist on watching Frozen again.

Now Tim seems to do something. Also fine.

Takeaway: It's probably not worth devoting any brain space to memorizing idioms. Save it for more productive uses, like internalizing entire soundtracks from children's movies. ;)

I hope that helps!
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