GraceSCKao wrote:
guerrero25 wrote:
In 1852 Robert Angus Smith published a detailed report of the chemistry of rain in a large area around the city of Manchester, England, noting that the closer one came to town, the more the city air would become increasingly acidic.
(A) that the closer one came to town, the more the city air would become increasingly acidic
(B) that the city air became increasingly acidic the closer one came to town
(C) that coming closer to town, the city air became increasingly acidic
(D) that the more the city air became increasingly acidic, the closer one was to town
(E) the city air becoming increasingly acidic as one would come closer to town
Hi experts
AndrewN AjiteshArun GMATNinjaAfter checking all previous posts in this thread, I understood the reasons why the option (A) is incorrect and why the option (B) is better than (A), (C) or (D). But, I hope to talk about (E). This option was less discussed before. I did not pick (E) in my practice exam since I felt that there was something weird about the option, but I cannot spell it out. Because knowing why an incorrect option is incorrect is also important, could I check the problem of (E)? It would be great if you could share some thought when you have time.
With (E), the sentence would read:
In 1852 Robert Angus Smith published a detailed report of the chemistry of rain in a large area around the city of Manchester, England, noting the city air becoming increasingly acidic as one would come closer to town. 1. "note that" ?
Some members have said that they rejected (E) because there is no "that" following "note." I am curious whether this claim is correct. Although I understand that it is usual and common to write "
say that" or "
note that" to introduce a concept/message, but such use is not an absolute rule, is it? Cambridge Dictionary has an example:
In the article, she notes several cases of medical incompetence. Is the lack of "that" in (E) inappropriate because the author (Robert Smith) mentions not just some nouns, but an idea that should be expressed in a noun clause?
2. "as"?
The use of "as" was my main concern for (E), because "as" is ambiguous--it can indicate a cause-effect relationship or act as a time indicator. I remember another
OG question (
https://reurl.cc/d2pp2k) also utilizes this issue. For this sentence, we are looking for a time indicator such as "when" or "while," so the use of "as" is not ideal.
Overall, I could confidently eliminate (E) because of the use of "as," but I am not sure whether its structure is definitely wrong.
Could you share some of your thoughts?
Thanks!
Hello,
GraceSCKao. To address your points, I would not reject a sentence on the basis of a missing
that. It is true that many SC sentences use
that ahead of a complete clause, but there are counterexamples. See, for instance,
this question, in which we see
the seven-store retailer said it would start a three-month liquidation sale in all of its stores. I keep track of such anomalies as I encounter them to not only avoid prescriptive thinking myself, but to be able to provide a more informed view when I urge others not to abandon solid reasoning.
Regarding your second concern, I agree that
the use of "as" is not ideal. However, my main issue with (E) is the pairing of
becoming with the verb
would come. That is,
noting the city air becoming allows the reader to anticipate a commentary on present circumstances. But then the sentence takes a turn with
as one would come closer to town. We should be able to transpose the two larger pieces here and be left with a sensible sentence. But look at the mess that comes out of (E):
as one would come closer to town, the city air becoming increasingly acidic XCompare to (B):
the closer one came to town, the city air became increasingly acidic √No case can be made for (E). Something has to be changed in the way of a verb form to get anything reasonable. We can and should abandon it in favor of (B).
Thank you for thinking to bring me into the dialogue.
- Andrew
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