It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from

hirendhanak-

"Try to" and "try and" is a perfect example of how our ear can lead us astray on the GMAT. Even native English speakers grow up hearing people say things such as:

"I'll try and make it to the party."

When we really should have been hearing:

"I'll try to make it to the party."

Unfortunately, we've all been hearing this wrong! It's really an idiom issue, as others have shared above, so it's really not worth trying to explain the grammar behind it; it's just one of those things you have to memorize. There are plenty of idiom lists floating around out there, and I think 15 minutes per day of idiom flash cards is generally a good place to start. This will help ensure that you can identify the correct (and common incorrect) versions of the idioms tested on the GMAT.

Good luck!

Brett

Official Explanation

Verb form; Rhetorical construction

This sentence is well-formed. It appropriately uses the construction to try to rather than the common yet idiomatically inappropriate to try and. It also uses the idiomatically correct construction recover . . . from.

A. Correct. This choice is correct for the reasons discussed above.
B. This choice uses the idiomatically incorrect construction to try and.
C. This choice suggests that what is prohibitively expensive is trying to recover uranium . . . rather than the process of recovering uranium itself.
D. To try for is idiomatically incorrect, as is the recovery . . . out of.
E. To try to do—as opposed to to attempt, for example—is awkward and unnecessarily wordy.

The correct answer is A.

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that although it may be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from seawater, someday, at present this process is prohibitively expensive.

Concepts tested here: Idioms +Meaning + Verb Form + Redundancy/Awkwardness[/b]

• “to try to” is a correct, idiomatic usage.

A: Correct. This answer choice correctly uses the idiomatic construction “to try to”. Further, Option A uses the phrase “to try to recover uranium from seawater”, conveying the intended meaning- that the process of recovering uranium from seawater is prohibitively expensive at present. Additionally, Option A is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

B: Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction “to try and” rather than the idiomatic construction “to try to”; please remember, “to try to” is a correct, idiomatic usage.

C: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “Trying to recover…”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the process of trying to recover uranium from seawater is prohibitively expensive at present; the intended meaning is that the process of recovering uranium from seawater is prohibitively expensive at present.

D: This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction “to try for” rather than the idiomatic construction “to try to”; please remember, “to try to” is a correct, idiomatic usage.

E: This answer choice uses the redundant phrase “to try to do” and the passive voice construction "Recovering uranium from seawater may be worthwhile", rendering it needlessly wordy and awkward.

Hence, A is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

Did OG12 today and came across #62 problem. Seems the same..try to establish or try and establish

GMAT states that "to try and" is not correct on GMAT, Undiomatic

I think we can also rule out B and C by considering the meaning issues.

(B) Someday, it may be worthwhile to try and recover uranium from seawater
"Someday," is at the beginning of the sentence and thus should be applied to the whole sentence.
Someday, (bla bla, but bla bla)
Therefore B is illogical.

(C) Trying to recover uranium out of seawater may someday be worthwhile
So the whole sentence is:
Trying to recover uranium out of seawater may someday be worthwhile, but at present this process is prohibitively expensive.
As written, "this process" = "trying to recover uranium out of seawater"
However, "trying to ..." cannot be said to be expensive. We can say "to recover ..." is an expensive process, but we cannot say "trying to recover ..." is an expensive process. So (C) is illogical.

Hi Experts

I selected Option E over A.

I read Option E as
Recovering uranium from seawater may be worthwhile to try to do (recover) someday

Please help on this one.

Thank you.

similar question :
https://gmatclub.com/forum/it-may-somed ... 05176.html

It makes sense her to eliminate option B, C, D and E. However, I struggle to identify in which instances can you use "It" to start a sentence without a pronoun error?

"it" in this case is "placeholder" you can find grammar of "it placeholder" on net or this link maybe helpful
https://gmatclub.com/forum/pronouns-usa ... 28522.html

You can also check out this thread for a discussion of "non-referential" pronouns like the "it" in this question.

Dear GMATGuruNY

1-Can you shed light why choice C is wrong?

2- Is there any difference between 'trying to recover.....' and 'to try to recover'?

Thanks in advance

In the SC above, the main verb in the first clause -- may -- is a form of the PRESENT TENSE.

Generally, to + VERB expresses an action expected to happen AFTER the main verb.
Original sentence:
lt may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from seawater.
Here -- since the main verb may is a form of the present tense -- the use of to try implies that the attempt to recover uranium is expected to happen IN THE FUTURE (after the main verb).
Conveyed meaning:
We are NOT trying to recover uranium right now.
The attempt would not be worthwhile.
But the attempt MAY someday be worthwhile.

Generally, VERBing expresses a temporary action happening AT THE SAME TIME as the main verb.
C: Trying to recover uranium out of seawater may someday be worthwhile.
Here -- since the main verb may is a form of the present tense -- the use of trying implies that the attempt to recover uranium is happening RIGHT NOW (at the same time as the main verb).
Conveyed meaning:
We are TRYING to recover uranium RIGHT NOW.
But the attempt is not worthwhile.
The attempt MAY someday be worthwhile.

The portion in red distorts the intended meaning of the original sentence.
Eliminate C.

Also:
Incorrect idiom: recover X out of Y
Correct idiom: recover X from Y

The correct answer is (A), but it starts with a pronoun without any antecedent. So isn't (A) wrong?

Hi Lakshya14. Let me help you with this doubt.

You're right in saying that every pronoun should have an antecedent, but there is one exception to this rule, which is when the pronoun is not supposed to refer to anything or in simple terms it is a placeholder. In this original sentence, the pronoun "it" is acting as a placeholder and is not really referring to anything. For example, there is no harm in saying:

It is raining outside. In this sentence too, it is acting as a placeholder. Hope it is clear to you now why choice A isn't wrong.

Dear AjiteshArun DmitryFarber GMATRockstar GMATNinja IanStewartVeritasPrepHailey MartyTargetTestPrep ,

What's wrong with choice C. (apart from the incorrect idiom "recover...out of")?
(C) Trying to recover uranium out of seawater may someday be worthwhile

Hi varotkorn,

The idiomatic issue is the only reason I'd remove C. Is there a something else in that option that's on your mind?

Dear AjiteshArun,

Honestly, I don't understand what this explanation by an expert is saying https://gmatclub.com/forum/it-may-somed ... l#p2329450

I think "may" connotes FUTURE sense.
For example, if I say I MAY go to the party tonight, then the meaning conveyed is not at the present, but in the future.