Gusty westerly winds will continue to usher in a seasonably cool air m

Hi,

For eliminating option C,let's try to understand meaning of sentence.

It seems that statement "a broad area of high pressure building" doesn't make sense here.

If it is a modifier, what does it modifying ?

a region where broad area of high pressure is building, doesn't make any sense here.

And if it not a modifier then meaning is distorted here.

"high pressure building"

Is high pressure is still building ???

If you see option E " to usher a seasonably cool air mass into the region while a broad area of high pressure builds".

Here meaning is clear that both high pressure build and gusty westerly wings usher are occurring simultaneously.

Hope it helps.

Btw great GMATNinja fan too, but he is too busy , thus applying his thought process to solve your query,

Yes, technically "bring" can be parallel to "usher". But that leaves us with, "Gusty westerly winds will continue to (1) usher {...} and (2) bring {...} for several days." Does "for several days" apply to both parts of that parallel list? Will the winds continue to usher in a seasonably cool air mass to the region for several days? Or does "for several days" only apply to "bring..."?

In choice (E) we don't have that problem -- the use of "which" is a little bit funky, but helps clarify that "for several days" does NOT apply to "usher...". Does that make (C) wrong? No, but in (C) the meaning is open to interpretation. That's one vote in favor of (E) over (C).

Speaking of "bring", what is it that brings fair and dry weather? In choice (C), it's the winds. In choice (E), however, it's the ushering in of a cool air mass and the simultaneous building of a broad area of high pressure. In (C), it sounds as though the winds are literally transporting fair and dry weather from one place to another. In (E), it's the two simultaneous weather phenomena that bring the fair and dry weather. The latter makes a bit more sense.

Also, if it is the winds that bring the fair and dry weather, what is the significance of "a broad area of high pressure building" in choice (C)? Is that a completely independent statement/observation that has nothing to do with the weather? Does the cool air mass somehow cause the building of high pressure? Is "broad area" meant to modify "air mass"? Or "region"? That comma-separated portion of choice (C) just kinda sits there without a clear purpose.

Ultimately, it comes down to this: when we line up (C) and (E), the intended meaning is clearer in (E).

I hope that helps a bit!

GMATNinja Thanks for your amazing explanations.

Can you please elaborate on why the use of "which" isn't wrong on option E? How can we generalize this touch-rule exception?

Another example would be that question: https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-use-of-l ... 83581.html

Thanks!

Apologies for my slowness on this one!

Here's a simple way to think about the issue: "which" is fine if it 1) describes a noun or noun phrase; and 2) is reasonably close to this noun. That's it. There is no such thing as a touch rule. It's true that "which" will often touch what it modifies, as, ideally, we'd like for our modifiers to be as close as possible to whatever they describe, and you can't get any closer than touching. But a tendency is not a rule, and we certainly don't have to memorize exceptions to a rule that doesn't actually exist.

Now take another look at (E):

Here, the only noun phrase that's reasonably close to "which" is "a broad area of high pressure." Does it make sense for a broad area of high pressure to bring fair and dry weather? If I'm being honest, I'm not sure. (My knowledge of meteorology is limited to the smiley-faced clouds a TV weatherman slides around his map.)

If I had the option of changing that "which" to an "-ing" modifier that could modify the entire previous clause, I might prefer that, as I think it makes sense for the fair and dry weather to be a consequence of the previous actions. But here's the thing: we don't have that option. So I'm left with (E) -- which has a modifier I'm not sure about about -- and four answer choices that I KNOW are definitively wrong. So while I might not love the use of "which" in (E), I don't need to. It's clearly the best available option.

Takeaways:

1) Don't change the way you interpret "which" because of this question. It's still a noun modifier. It should still be reasonably close to what it describes. Yes, it will often touch what it describes, but it's not a rule, so don't try to memorize exceptions.
2) If an answer contains a construction you don't like, but you don't know for sure that it's wrong, hang on to it. SC doesn't occur in a vacuum. It's possible another answer choice will be better. But it's also possible that all the other answer choices will have concrete errors. You can't know until you evaluate them.

I hope that helps!

Request Expert Reply:

The correct choice is .
In E, it seems that the word 'builds' is a verb. So how 'which' modify a verb?

Hi TheUltimateWinner, this is indeed a very unconventional question from GMAC; in any case, which can only modify a noun (not a verb).

So, the best way to understand E is that which is modifying the noun phrase a broad area of high pressure.

GMATNinja mikemcgarry

While I have read through different posts and analyzed answer choices, I have a very different query with the correct answer choice.

Gusty westerly winds will continue to usher a seasonably cool air mass into the region while a broad area of high pressure builds, which will.....

So what does builds(verb) here do? is it not a fragment? builds what?

When I say: Rahul will continue to play in the league while the board decides, what does the board decide? again does it not make the sentence a fragment?

Wouldn't it be much better to say: Rahul will continue to play in the league while the board decides on his inclusion, career etc?

Your query is different. I add my two cents.
Actually as I learnt through posts, sentence fragment means a given structure doesn't match with expected one.
E.g. While XYz happens, UVW happens. - the structure is While Noun verb , Noun verb
What if I write: While Noun, Noun verb- this is sentence fragment.

So the sentences that you referred have no sentence fragmentation.

Your query is more about transitive vs intransitive verb
A transitive verb is one that only makes sense if it exerts its action on an object. e.g. --> The pirates found. Found what? ( I am looking for further information. The sentence doesn't give complete informaiton.
An intransitive verb will make sense without one -- > She laughed ( I get complete meaning)

Next your query is : builds is transitive or intransitive .

Actually I can solve SC question without getting into this thought. But Since you asked , I don't see builds need an object because I can get complete information with the sentence: high pressure builds.
The worker builds -- > now I have question in mind build what? building? block? machine? demo?
( yes some verbs can be transitive as well as intransitive)

I hope this information is useful.

Thanks!

mSKR Am I correct in saying: the firefighters continue to rescue the people in forest while the wildfire intensifies?

To make it easy, you can ask a question to check what information do you need to have a complete thought.

the firefighters continue to rescue the people in forest - while the wildfire intensifies
the wildfire intensifies- its a complete thought. What else information is pending to have a complete thought. I don't have question in mind.

Another example:
the firefighters continue to rescue the people in forest - while the wildfire damages
Now I have a question - damage what? property? lives? land?

I hope you get the point.
For GMAT SC, I don't think this understanding would make any difference in choosing a correct option.

AndrewN
I still didn't get why in optionA
Will build and will bring is wrong.

Posted from my mobile device

Hello, saby1410. I think you may be getting too caught up on parallel verbs if (A) does not look incorrect to you on the whole. How about we break down the original sentence?

Point #1: Notice the redundancy in to usher in [something] into [somewhere]. Are the stacked prepositions necessary?

Point #2: The use of [comma] + as is questionable. Typically, this construct will introduce an explanation, with as acting in the capacity of because/since, not a concurrent action (as appears to be the case in the sentence).

Point #3: Building off the previous point and getting to your question, because the sentence aims to convey that a front will move in at the same time as this high pressure does something, we use the simple present to express this notion. A similar and simpler sentence might run, He will go to the body shop while she runs errands. The concurrent action of running errands is understood to occur in the future, building off the earlier will go. I did not invent English. That is just the way it is.

I would urge you not to focus too much on one consideration if there are others that you may feel more confident about. And if these 700-level questions prove too difficult, move back down to medium or easy questions and master the fundamentals first.

I hope that helps. Thank you for thinking to ask.

- Andrew

Hi GMATNinja - In E), how are you so sure what the "Which" is modifying ? I keep reading "Which" is modifying the noun phrase "a broad area of high pressure "

When I read E), i thought the "Which" was perhaps talking about High Pressure or Broad area specifically (not the entire Noun Phrase)

How can you be so sure, the "Which" is NOT talking about High Pressure specifically or a Broad area specifically ?

Hi GMATGuruNY - How do you eliminate C ? C is parallel given a broad area of high pressure building is an modifying Region only per my understanding.

Thus C becomes

Winds will cotinue to Usher ____xxxx____ and Bring ____YYYY_____

It seems parallel to me and making sense (None of us are weather experts so I am not a 100 % sure if Winds have this capability to Usher ____xxxx____ and Bring ____YYYY_____ but I think Winds do)

to usher a seasonably cool air mass into the region while a broad area of high pressure builds, which will

there is no contradiction here then why we used "while"

C: Gusty westerly winds will continue to usher in a seasonably cool air mass to the region.
The prepositions in red are incorrectly separated.
Since the intent is to convey movement INTO the region, the two prepositions must be combined to form the single preposition INTO, as in the OA:
Gusty westerly winds will continue to usher a seasonably cool air mass INTO the region.
Eliminate C.

If the original sentence conveys a logical meaning, eliminate answers that distort the intended meaning.

C: Gusty westerly winds will continue to usher in a seasonably cool air mass to the region, a broad area of high pressure building.
The intended referent for the modifier in red is unclear.
It seems to refer to the nearest preceding noun -- the region -- implying that the REGION is a BROAD AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING.
Not the intended meaning of the original sentence.
In the original sentence, the region is not -- as a general truth -- a broad area of building high pressure.
The following clause from the original sentence indicates that the building of pressure is TEMPORARY:
as a broad area of high pressure will build
Since C does not convey the intended meaning of the original sentence, eliminate C.

C: Gusty westerly winds will continue to...bring fair and dry weather.
Not the intended meaning of the original sentence.
In the original sentence, fair and dry weather is brought by a BROAD AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE, as follows:
a broad area of high pressure will...bring fair and dry weather
Since C does not convey the intended meaning of the original sentence, eliminate C.

Hi AndrewN - how do you choose E over C ?

I dont see anything grammatically wrong with option C because i see C as saying

option C) Winds will continue to usher in XXXX and bring YYYYY

Option C makes sense to me personally as I thought winds can usher in XXXX and bring YYYYY (I am no weather expert and neither does GMAT expect us to be). Also option C seemed parallel

I see a broad area of high pressure building as an absolute modifier, clearly modifying the noun Region and nothing else.