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It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from 01 Jul 2020, 00:24
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I agree. That is, I don't see why we cannot go with "trying... may someday be", but it'd be best to just wait for more opinions on this.
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It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from 18 Jul 2020, 23:07
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Sentence Analysis



Sometime in the future, to try to recover uranium from seawater may be worthwhile. However, currently, this process is economically impossible.

The sentence has no issues and is correct as is.

Option Analysis

A. lt may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from seawater
Correct.

B. Someday, it may be worthwhile to try and recover uranium from seawater
Incorrect. “Try and recover” is incorrect. The point is to try to recover; “try” and “recover” are not two different actions.

C. Trying to recover uranium out of seawater may someday be worthwhile
Incorrect. For the following reasons:
1. “Recover x out of y” is incorrect. The correct idiom is “recover x from y”.
2. With this option, “this process” of the non-underlined part will refer to “trying to recover uranium”. Logically, “this process” should refer to “recover uranium”.

D. To try for the recovery of uranium out of seawater may someday be worthwhile
Incorrect. For the following reasons:
1. The first error of option C
2. “To try to recover uranium” is much better than “to try for the recovery of uranium”, just as “to try to reduce weight” is much better than “to try for the reduction in the weight”. The first construction emphasizes the action that is being tried.

E. Recovering uranium from seawater may be worthwhile to try to do someday
Incorrect. “To do” is incorrect. If we replace ‘do’ with ‘recover’, the redundancy is evident. “Recovering …. to try someday” would work.
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It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from 27 Jul 2020, 20:47
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Quote:
It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from seawater, but at present this process is prohibitively expensive
Show more

what does "this" refers to ? Does it refer to to try to recover uranium or to recover uranium?
How can we understand this ? Based on meaning it is clear it is recover uranium , but by reading it may sounds that the process is "to try to recover"

But in Option D:
"Trying to recover xx" makes some distinction between trying and recover and this process could refer more clearly to "to recover"
please suggest.

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It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from 27 Jul 2020, 22:48
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imSKR
what does "this" refers to ? Does it refer to to try to recover uranium or to recover uranium?
How can we understand this ? Based on meaning it is clear it is recover uranium , but by reading it may sounds that the process is "to try to recover"

But in Option D:
"Trying to recover xx" makes some distinction between trying and recover and this process could refer more clearly to "to recover"
please suggest.

GMATNinja AjiteshArun
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Hi imSKR,

This is a slightly different this that we're looking at. It points to the noun in front of it (process, it specifies a particular process), and this process together refers to to recover uranium from seawater.

We can take that decision by asking ourselves whether the author wants to say that (U from seawater) is "prohibitively expensive" or (try to U from seawater) is "prohibitively expensive". At the end of the day, it remains a meaning call, so there is no "sure" way to say that this process can refer only to to recover uranium from seawater.
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It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from 04 Aug 2020, 11:06
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I request the experts to clarify my doubt as i marked A but whether my reasoning is correct or not ..comment on my reasoning
I eliminated C D E in first go as i look for the statement which is not underlined “but X .....”
So , Initial sentence must be parallel to X
As —Y but X —Y and X must be parallel
In this X is a noun —“this process....bla bla”
So look for the noun in options
In C D E we have clauses in the position of Y eliminate
In B the parallelism in between to try and recover is wrong because to try to recover is correct usage according to meaning .
Eliminate
A is the answer

Posted from my mobile device
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It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from 04 Aug 2020, 19:38
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ndawar
In this X is a noun —“this process....bla bla”
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Hi ndawar,

Not quite. This process is a noun, but the group of words after but is a clause (at present this process is prohibitively expensive).
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It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from 21 Feb 2021, 13:32
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Hello AndrewN,

I was wondering whether you would like to offer your opinion regarding answer choice C,
Is there another mistake except for the wrong usage of the idiom recover from?
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It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from 21 Feb 2021, 15:51
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Hello AndrewN,

I was wondering whether you would like to offer your opinion regarding answer choice C,
Is there another mistake except for the wrong usage of the idiom recover from?
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Hello, UNSTOPPABLE12. How about we look at the sentence in question?

Quote:
It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from seawater, but at present this process is prohibitively expensive.

(C) Trying to recover uranium out of seawater may someday be worthwhile
Show more
I would disqualify the answer based on out of: to recover from works fine instead. I would not write off the answer based on the gerund, but I would feel less comfortable with its placement relative to this process mentioned after the underlined portion. Notice how much clearer the original sentence is in this regard, when the process being commented on immediately precedes the comma:

(A) ... to try to recover uranium from seawater, but at present this process...
(C) Trying to recover uranium out of seawater [may someday be worthwhile], but at present this process...

It is a small thing, but words such as this, these, it, or its generally work better when they are closer to whatever they refer back to than when other words fall in between (and force us to jump back over such words to qualify the pronoun).

I hope that helps add some clarity to the matter. Thank you for thinking to ask me.

- Andrew
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It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from 30 Jul 2021, 05:50
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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.
I think you might have answered your own question!

You're correct that the word "do" is a stand-in for "recover" here. So if we replace "do" with "recover" in (E), we have: "Recovering uranium from seawater may be worthwhile to try to [recover] someday."

Do you see the redundancy? (E) is basically saying that recovering uranium would be useful to recover. And that's not awesome.

I hope this helps!
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Hi GMATNinja !! Can we say that verb-ing is wrong because it is not personalized?
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It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from 17 Aug 2021, 12:16
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It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from seawater, but at present, this process is prohibitively expensive.

What does this process modify trying to recover uranium or recover uranium?

I rejected option A for this reason

Experts, please help.
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It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from 18 Aug 2021, 12:54
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Loser94
It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from seawater, but at present, this process is prohibitively expensive.

What does this process modify trying to recover uranium or recover uranium?

I rejected option A for this reason

Experts, please help.
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Hi Loser94,

I think it refers to the process of recovering uranium from seawater. I don't think the author wants to say that the process of trying to recover uranium from seawater is prohibitively expensive.
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It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from 20 Aug 2021, 09:47
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The modifier "who read and analyzed data at the Langley...." in the underlined portion modifies the nearest noun , therefore going by the meaning of sentence , the noun at the end of underlined portion should be "so-called human computers" ,only option A and E remains.

Now, in option E "which was called the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics" modifies NASA, which makes no sense. Therefore , correct answer is A
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It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from 01 Oct 2021, 09:05
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Hi, I have a doubt in option B..

I understood that "to try and" is an INCORRECT idiomatic usage. But, my doubt is in the construction.

Can I approach the question like this...!!!!

>Someday,
it may be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from seawater
,but
> at present
this process is process is prohibitively expensive.

Two ICs are connected parallelly with "comma + conjunction (but)".

But similar kind of parallelism is not seen in option A, and hence I ruled out option A.

please tell is this a correct way of analysis....???
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It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from 01 Oct 2021, 12:28
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urvsandeep
Two ICs are connected parallelly with "comma + conjunction (but)".
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Hi urvsandeep,

Option A is very similar. It may be is joined to this process is by a conjunction, but.

1. It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from seawater, but at present this process is prohibitively expensive. ← Two independent clauses, joined by but. Ignore at present (it's a modifier).
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It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from 13 Oct 2021, 06:42
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try to is correct idiom and in option a it used try to so its correct
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It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from 20 Oct 2021, 11:36
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There are a few other questions from OG trying to distinguish the meaning between, "trying to do [something]" or "to try to do [something]" or "try to do [something]"
ie see this: https://gmatclub.com/forum/with-the-pat ... 42541.html

But, albeit suggested by some others, I don't see a problem here for Ans C. To try and trying are the same.
C is eliminated for me on the basis of "recover uranium out of water" = wrong preposition.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
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It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from 21 Oct 2021, 01:00
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faat99
There are a few other questions from OG trying to distinguish the meaning between, "trying to do [something]" or "to try to do [something]" or "try to do [something]"
ie see this: https://gmatclub.com/forum/with-the-pat ... 42541.html

But, albeit suggested by some others, I don't see a problem here for Ans C. To try and trying are the same.
C is eliminated for me on the basis of "recover uranium out of water" = wrong preposition.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
Show more

Hello faat99,

We hope this finds you well. Having gone through your query and this question, we believe that we can help resolve your doubt.

In this question, the use of "Trying to" does lead to a subtle change in meaning; "Trying to recover" implies that the process of simply trying to recover uranium out of seawater is prohibitively expensive at present; the intended meaning is that the process of practically recovering uranium from seawater is prohibitively expensive at present. In other words, "Trying to" is a more appropriate usage in circumstances where the probability of success is not relevant, and "to try to" is more appropriate where at least some probability of success is implied.

We hope we were able to resolve your doubt.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from 29 Oct 2021, 09:18
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Apart from the idiom issue in C, what is a good reason to eliminate C?
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It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from 27 Nov 2021, 04:38
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kornn

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.
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A present tense verb can refer to a future possibility.
John is likely to study music.
Even though this sentence refers to a future possibility, the main verb in blue is clearly in the present tense.

While it is common for may to refer to a future possibility, the verb itself does not have a future tense.
The definition for may in the Macmillan dictionary states the following:
"might is used as the past tense of may. There is no future tense."
Link: https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/may_1#may_4
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It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from 06 Jul 2022, 02:56
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I solved this via parallelism but I think it was luck more than skill. Could any experts see if my reasoning below makes sense:

It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from seawater, but at present this process is prohibitively expensive.

In italics: The timing came first in the sentence (at present)
In answer choices, only A and B stated the "timing" (someday) at the start of the sentence. Further reading B, "to try and" is wrong. Hence A.

Any experts able to comment if the above method was right or was it purely luck? AjiteshArun DmitryFarber GMATNinja
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