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AnmolKukreja
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Identify predicates in a sentence 01 Apr 2014, 10:47
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Hi Mike

1) As per Magoosh tutorials, predicates for the intransitive verb include just the intransitive verb and the adverbial phrases. So, i came across a sentence in which i was unable to identify the predicate.Please help me with the same.the questions are:

a) They also serve who only stand and wait.
According to me,in this sentence, along with the verb "also serve", the substantive clause should also be a part of the predicate but its not.

2) Also i saw in the video that
Infinitives/Gerunds/participle+other elements of predicate=phrase
I am really confused as to what it means.Please help Mike

3) This is related to the strategy that i am following. As VA is my weakest area and as i plan to focus more on it, i started watching the Sentence correction videos and as per the plan i wish to complete all the VA related videos first starting with Sentence correction,CR and then RC's. Mike, is this the right strategy to follow?

Thanks in advance Mike

Regards
Anmol Kukreja
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mikemcgarry
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Identify predicates in a sentence 01 Apr 2014, 11:51
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AnmolKukreja
Hi Mike

1) As per Magoosh tutorials, predicates for the intransitive verb include just the intransitive verb and the adverbial phrases. So, i came across a sentence in which i was unable to identify the predicate.Please help me with the same.the questions are:

a) They also serve who only stand and wait.
According to me,in this sentence, along with the verb "also serve", the substantive clause should also be a part of the predicate but its not.

2) Also i saw in the video that
Infinitives/Gerunds/participle+other elements of predicate=phrase
I am really confused as to what it means.Please help Mike

3) This is related to the strategy that i am following. As VA is my weakest area and as i plan to focus more on it, i started watching the Sentence correction videos and as per the plan i wish to complete all the VA related videos first starting with Sentence correction,CR and then RC's. Mike, is this the right strategy to follow?

Thanks in advance Mike

Regards
Anmol Kukreja
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I'm happy to help. :-)

1) The sentence "They only serve who only stand and wait" is a famous quote --- it's the last line of a sonnet by English poet John Milton (1608 - 1674), a sonnet in which he laments his blindness. The rough meaning is --- we all know that folks going out and doing useful things are benefiting society, but in some cases, folks who aren't doing anything but simply patiently waiting are also doing something beneficial. That's approximately the meaning.

If you're curious, you can see the whole sonnet here:
https://www.bartleby.com/101/318.html

In this sentence, the long modifier "who only stand and wait" is a clause that modifies the subject --- a less elegant phrasing would be
The people who only stand and wait also serve.
What's unusual about the original phrasing is that the noun modifier that modifies the subject comes after the verb. Thus, almost the entire sentence is subject + clause modifying the subject, and the entire predicate is simply "also serve." Usually, everything after the verb is predicate, but in this particular sentence, the real estate after the verb belongs to the subject, not the verb.

2) I would say --- that end of the predicate video is just a preview. Wait until you watch the videos about infinitive phrase, gerund phrases, and participial phrases --- once you see some examples of those, this brief summary at the end of the predicate video might make more sense.

3) I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what you mean by the "VA-related videos" --- I'm not sure what you mean by VA. Do you mean "Verbal"????

Mike :-)
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AnmolKukreja
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Identify predicates in a sentence 02 Apr 2014, 09:44
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AnmolKukreja
Hi Mike

1) As per Magoosh tutorials, predicates for the intransitive verb include just the intransitive verb and the adverbial phrases. So, i came across a sentence in which i was unable to identify the predicate.Please help me with the same.the questions are:

a) They also serve who only stand and wait.
According to me,in this sentence, along with the verb "also serve", the substantive clause should also be a part of the predicate but its not.

2) Also i saw in the video that
Infinitives/Gerunds/participle+other elements of predicate=phrase
I am really confused as to what it means.Please help Mike

3) This is related to the strategy that i am following. As VA is my weakest area and as i plan to focus more on it, i started watching the Sentence correction videos and as per the plan i wish to complete all the VA related videos first starting with Sentence correction,CR and then RC's. Mike, is this the right strategy to follow?

Thanks in advance Mike

Regards
Anmol Kukreja
I'm happy to help. :-)

1) The sentence "They only serve who only stand and wait" is a famous quote --- it's the last line of a sonnet by English poet John Milton (1608 - 1674), a sonnet in which he laments his blindness. The rough meaning is --- we all know that folks going out and doing useful things are benefiting society, but in some cases, folks who aren't doing anything but simply patiently waiting are also doing something beneficial. That's approximately the meaning.

If you're curious, you can see the whole sonnet here:
https://www.bartleby.com/101/318.html

In this sentence, the long modifier "who only stand and wait" is a clause that modifies the subject --- a less elegant phrasing would be
The people who only stand and wait also serve.
What's unusual about the original phrasing is that the noun modifier that modifies the subject comes after the verb. Thus, almost the entire sentence is subject + clause modifying the subject, and the entire predicate is simply "also serve." Usually, everything after the verb is predicate, but in this particular sentence, the real estate after the verb belongs to the subject, not the verb.

2) I would say --- that end of the predicate video is just a preview. Wait until you watch the videos about infinitive phrase, gerund phrases, and participial phrases --- once you see some examples of those, this brief summary at the end of the predicate video might make more sense.

3) I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what you mean by the "VA-related videos" --- I'm not sure what you mean by VA. Do you mean "Verbal"????

Mike :-)
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Hi Mike

Thanks for a great answer.And yes, i mean verbal..:)
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Identify predicates in a sentence 02 Apr 2014, 10:51
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AnmolKukreja
Hi Mike

Thanks for a great answer.And yes, i mean verbal..:)
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Dear AnmolKukreja,
Thank you for clarifying. To the best of my knowledge, none of the GMAT Preparation companies abbreviate Verbal "VA", so I would recommend against using that abbreviation in the future. In America, VA is the abbreviation for the Veteran's Administration.

So you said: "This is related to the strategy that i am following. As Verbal is my weakest area and as i plan to focus more on it, i started watching the Sentence correction videos and as per the plan i wish to complete all the Verbal related videos first starting with Sentence correction, CR and then RC's. Mike, is this the right strategy to follow?"

The first thing I'll say is --- I think it would be best if, in the time you have, you could watch all the Verbal videos, then watch all the Math videos, then watch all the Verbal videos again. Seeing the Verbal videos twice, separated by a few weeks between the same viewing, would really help your brain absorb the material on the deeper level.

As we have discussed, another important thing to do is READ. I know you have already begun this. That habit of reading every day is just as important, if not more important, then any of the content of those Verbal videos. If you do both, it will create a powerful synergy: the videos will explain things that you then will see in your reading, and things you encounter in the reading will raise questions about concepts you heard in the videos. If you really get a book "back-and-forth" going between your reading and the concepts of the videos, you will really progress rapidly.

Does this make sense?
Mike :-)