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18 Aug 2020, 17:45
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Hi everyone.
I am about 4 days away from my first official GMAT exam. Goal is to hit my score from the last practice exam (730), but I could still definitely improve on areas of strategy and knowledge. Which brings me to a grammar rule that I am unsure of:
When a clause is followed by a comma and an ING verb modifier, I understand that the word can modify either the main subject of the preceding clause, or the entire preceding clause. And of course there are some answer choices that are incorrect for this reason (answer choice has an ING modifier, leading to ambiguity of what it modifies). At what point would you consider an ING modifier to be unclear/incorrect, vs. okay for the correct choice?
Take this sentence as an example where the ING modifier is okay (Official Guide Verbal Question, Correct Answer phrase inputted below)
"To map Earth's interior, geologists use a network of seismometers to chart seismic waves that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior, traveling most rapidly through cold, dense regions and more slowly through hotter rocks."
So I think it is clear that "traveling" would modify the entire clause "geologists use a network of seismometers to chart seismic waves that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior", thus referring to seismic waves, but how do we know if the modifier-reference could be perceived as ambiguous/unclear?
Take this sentence as an example where the ING modifier is not okay (Official GMAT Practice Question, Incorrect answer phrase inputted below)
"The most widely known images of Yosemite National Park are those made by photographer Ansel Adams, having photographed it continually since his teenage years."
Now the correct answer choice to this question is the original sentence, "who photographed it continually from his teenage years on". To me, I am not too clear as to why having could not work with this sentence - is this because having absolutely cannot modify the subject Ansel Adams, or is because it can ONLY modify images OR the entire clause "the most widely known images of Yosemite National Park are...."?
I would definitely appreciate some insight on all things ING present participles, as this is probably a topic that I should have a firmer grasp on. Thank you very much!
I am about 4 days away from my first official GMAT exam. Goal is to hit my score from the last practice exam (730), but I could still definitely improve on areas of strategy and knowledge. Which brings me to a grammar rule that I am unsure of:
When a clause is followed by a comma and an ING verb modifier, I understand that the word can modify either the main subject of the preceding clause, or the entire preceding clause. And of course there are some answer choices that are incorrect for this reason (answer choice has an ING modifier, leading to ambiguity of what it modifies). At what point would you consider an ING modifier to be unclear/incorrect, vs. okay for the correct choice?
Take this sentence as an example where the ING modifier is okay (Official Guide Verbal Question, Correct Answer phrase inputted below)
"To map Earth's interior, geologists use a network of seismometers to chart seismic waves that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior, traveling most rapidly through cold, dense regions and more slowly through hotter rocks."
So I think it is clear that "traveling" would modify the entire clause "geologists use a network of seismometers to chart seismic waves that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior", thus referring to seismic waves, but how do we know if the modifier-reference could be perceived as ambiguous/unclear?
Take this sentence as an example where the ING modifier is not okay (Official GMAT Practice Question, Incorrect answer phrase inputted below)
"The most widely known images of Yosemite National Park are those made by photographer Ansel Adams, having photographed it continually since his teenage years."
Now the correct answer choice to this question is the original sentence, "who photographed it continually from his teenage years on". To me, I am not too clear as to why having could not work with this sentence - is this because having absolutely cannot modify the subject Ansel Adams, or is because it can ONLY modify images OR the entire clause "the most widely known images of Yosemite National Park are...."?
I would definitely appreciate some insight on all things ING present participles, as this is probably a topic that I should have a firmer grasp on. Thank you very much!
Archived Topic
Hi there,
This topic has been closed and archived due to inactivity or violation of community quality standards. No more replies are possible here.
Where to now? Join ongoing discussions on thousands of quality questions in our Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Forum
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18 Aug 2020, 21:07
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The questions that you've mentioned are discussed here in detail
- 1. to-map-earth-s-interior-geologists-use-a-network-of-seismometers-to-206347.html
-2. the-most-widely-known-images-of-yosemite-national-park-160637.html
Your doubts regarding the same are also discussed in the respective forums. If you have any further doubts, you can post them on the respective topics.
For better understanding of verb ING modifiers- Refer
https://e-gmat.com/blogs/usage-verb-ing ... rs-part-1/
https://e-gmat.com/blogs/usage-of-verb- ... s-part-ii/
Kindly go through : rules-to-post-on-the-verbal-forum-208733.html
If you need help with general test taking strategies for your latest attempt you can post here:
:https://gmatclub.com/forum/general-gmat-questions-and-strategies-1/?fl=menu
ask-gmat-experts-156/?fl=menu
I hope this helps.
THIS TOPIC IS LOCKED AND ARCHIVED.
- 1. to-map-earth-s-interior-geologists-use-a-network-of-seismometers-to-206347.html
-2. the-most-widely-known-images-of-yosemite-national-park-160637.html
Your doubts regarding the same are also discussed in the respective forums. If you have any further doubts, you can post them on the respective topics.
For better understanding of verb ING modifiers- Refer
https://e-gmat.com/blogs/usage-verb-ing ... rs-part-1/
https://e-gmat.com/blogs/usage-of-verb- ... s-part-ii/
Kindly go through : rules-to-post-on-the-verbal-forum-208733.html
If you need help with general test taking strategies for your latest attempt you can post here:
:https://gmatclub.com/forum/general-gmat-questions-and-strategies-1/?fl=menu
ask-gmat-experts-156/?fl=menu
I hope this helps.
THIS TOPIC IS LOCKED AND ARCHIVED.
Archived Topic
Hi there,
This topic has been closed and archived due to inactivity or violation of community quality standards. No more replies are possible here.
Where to now? Join ongoing discussions on thousands of quality questions in our Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Forum
Still interested in this question? Check out the "Best Topics" block above for a better discussion on this exact question, as well as several more related questions.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!
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