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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the 14 Aug 2017, 14:12
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As far as I know, the protocol for the reference of a pronoun to its eligible noun will be in this order.
1. The pronoun will have the first right to refer to the subject noun,
e.g The Sun is the largest of the Solar system and all planets rotate around it.

2. it may also refer to an object noun with or without essential preposition phrases
e.g Tom ate a mango and it happened to be sweet.

3. There are instances in GMAT when a pronoun has referred to a noun in the prepositional phrase
e.g It was only after Katharine Graham became publisher of the Washington Post in 1963 that it moved into the first rank of American newspapers, and it was under her command that the paper won high praises for its unrelenting reporting of the Watergate scandal.

However, what counts in essence is the logic of the context.
Let's dissect the case of E.
Quote:
E. As would be the case with any star of similar mass, once the Sun exhausts the hydrogen in its core, it will expand into a red giant and eventually eject
Show more
Now 'it' certainly points to the Sun as per the first protocol. it may not refer to the hydrogen because it will be an illogical reference as a spent and exhausted material cannot expand. Nor would 'it' refer to the core since if you replace 'it' with the core, then you have to replace also 'its' with core's, implying as 'core's core'. That would be still more illogical.
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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the 02 Jan 2018, 21:48
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Why is 'like any star' incorrect here? How can I tell if like is followed by a verb or noun here? Like (any star) looks like a noun.
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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the 03 Jan 2018, 06:29
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mrdlee23
Why is 'like any star' incorrect here? How can I tell if like is followed by a verb or noun here? Like (any star) looks like a noun.
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Hey mrdlee23 ,

The general rule is "Like Noun/Pronoun, Noun Pronoun + Verb".

Like can never be followed by a clause. Remember the definition of clause? --> Subject+ Verb.

Now, in this sentence,

Subject is Any Star
Verb is would do.

Therefore, we have a clause after like. This is NOT allowed. Hence, option A is incorrect.

Does that make sense?
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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the 31 Jul 2018, 05:23
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daagh GMATninja2 @abhimanha hazelnut mikemcgarry broall generis Vyshak
I have a doubt
any star is compared to the sun's core
any is adj the sun's adj
star is noun core is noun
What's wrong in this
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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the 31 Jul 2018, 07:39
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Teaserbae

Quote:
I have a doubt
any star is compared to the sun's core
any is adj the sun's adj
star is noun core is noun
What's wrong in this
Show more
Quote:
Show more


It is not clear which part of the question or the choice you are referring to. Nevertheless If any star is compared to the Star's core, then it is utterly wrong. A core is only the molten inner most part of the celestial body. There are more layers in a star including the Sun. Just because adjectives precede the words, the words themselves do not turn parallel and comparable
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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the 31 Jul 2018, 13:15
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teaserbae
daagh GMATninja2 @abhimanha hazelnut mikemcgarry broall generis Vyshak
I have a doubt
any star is compared to the sun's core
any is adj the sun's adj
star is noun core is y noun
What's wrong in this
Show more
teaserbae , I assume you refer to option E?
Quote:
(E) As would be the case with any star of similar mass, once the Sun exhausts the hydrogen in its core, it will expand into a red giant and eventually eject its outer envelope of gases to become a white dwarf.
Show more
"Any" means "every" in this sentence.

The comparison is not between every star and "a" core.

The comparison is between EVERY star = ANY star and THE Sun.
The Sun is a star.

The Sun is like any star; X will happen to the star.
The Sun is like every star; X will happen to stars.

I'm not sure why you believe that the comparison is between a star and the core of the Sun. You appear to be emphasizing a noun compared to noun. True, a star is a noun -- but the Sun is also a noun. Would you please be specific about your confusion if daagh and I do not address your question?

1) "Core" is the object of a preposition, not the subject that performs the action in the dependent clause*

The preposition is "in."
The word "core" tells us the location of the hydrogen.
WHERE is the hydrogen (that the Sun uses up)? In the Sun's core.

Now, hydrogen is the object of the verb "exhausts."
WHAT gets exhausted, i.e., "used up"? Hydrogen.

And which subject performs the action (using up hydrogen)?
The Sun.

The Sun is the subject of both the dependent and the main clause.

2) The pronouns "its" and "it" refer back to the noun the "Sun."

Perhaps you believe that the eligible noun nearest to the pronoun must be the antecedent of the pronoun?

No. If a sentence contains a pronoun and more than one possible antecedent (i.e. the nouns and pronoun agree in number and gender), then the antecedent is the noun that makes logical sense or that fulfills the intended meaning of the sentence. Meaning is derived from context.

We are cued by "as would be the case with any star." That phrase signals a set of conditions in which all stars exist or through which all stars pass.

This sentence means

All stars including the Sun exhaust the hydrogen in their cores, expand into red giants, and eventually eject their outer envelope of gases to become white dwarfs.

I removed the singular pronouns to make the comparison between every star and the Sun clearer.

I hope the analysis helps. :-)

** Subordinate clause: "Once" is used as a subordinating conjunction. "Once" introduces a dependent clause that cannot stand on its own and that emphasizes the relatively more important main clause:
it will expand into a red giant and eventually eject its outer envelope of gases to become a white dwarf.

The dependent clause contains both a subject and a verb. "Sun" is the subject. "Exhausts" is the verb. The Sun performs the action of using up all of the hydrogen that is stored in the Sun's core. The possessive pronoun "its" must refer to Sun. The core doesn't possess the core. The Sun possesses the core. The pronoun "it" also refers to the Sun.
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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the 09 Aug 2018, 03:34
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daagh
Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the hydrogen in its store, it expands into a red giant, eventually ejecting its outer envelope of gases to become a white dwarf.

A. Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the hydrogen in its store, it expands into a red giant, eventually ejecting--. Like for a clause is wrong;

B. Like any star of similar mass, once the hydrogen in the Sun’s core is exhausted, then it expands into a red giant and eventually ejects --- Comparing any star with the hydrogen -- wrong.


C. As in the case of any star of similar mass, once the hydrogen in the Sun’s core is exhausted, it will expand into a red giant, and eventually ejecting --- couple of errors herein. 1. comparing the case of a star with the hydrogen; 2.the unparallel " ejecting' phrase after 'and'

D. As any star of similar mass would, once the hydrogen in the Sun’s core is exhausted it will expand into a red giant and will eventually eject --- 1. ambiguous referent of 'it' to mean hydrogen, 2. Just stopping with the auxiliary verb 'would' renders the subordinate clause a fragment

E. As would be the case with any star of similar mass, once the Sun exhausts the hydrogen in its core, it will expand into a red giant and eventually eject --The correct choice.
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E looks correct except the verb eject - Don't you think it should be "ejects" and not eject as we are referring to Sun (singular)?
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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the 27 Aug 2018, 21:52
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Saps
daagh
Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the hydrogen in its store, it expands into a red giant, eventually ejecting its outer envelope of gases to become a white dwarf.

E. As would be the case with any star of similar mass, once the Sun exhausts the hydrogen in its core, it will expand into a red giant and eventually eject --The correct choice.
E looks correct except the verb eject - Don't you think it should be "ejects" and not eject as we are referring to Sun (singular)?
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Saps , small mistake. You would be absolutely correct if the context were in the present tense.
Correct: The sun ejects energy particles. (present tense)

The verb "eject," however, is used in a clause about the future.
The [modal auxiliary] verb "will" is omitted from the second verb phrase: "will expand . . .and . . . [will] eject . . ."

Correct and from Option E: . . . "it [the sun] will expand into a red giant and eventually [it WILL] eject its outer envelope of gases . . .

Hope that helps.
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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the 29 Oct 2018, 08:25
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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the hydrogen in its core, it expands into a red giant, eventually ejecting its outer envelope of gases to become a white dwarf.

(A) Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the hydrogen in its core, it expands into a red giant, eventually ejecting

(B) Like any star of similar mass, once the hydrogen in the Sun's core is exhausted, then it expands into a red giant and eventually ejects

(C) As in the case of any star of similar mass, once the hydrogen in the Sun's core is exhausted, it will expand into a red giant, and eventually ejecting

(D) As any star of similar mass would, once the hydrogen in the Sun's core is exhausted it will expand into a red giant and will eventually eject

(E) As would be the case with any star of similar mass, once the Sun exhausts the hydrogen in its core, it will expand into a red giant and eventually eject

Simply look at the pronoun 'it'. The pronoun should refer to the Sun because that is the one that would expand and not the hydrogen. You can drop B, C, and D on this count alone. Then you have the problem of using like with do in A.
So you have E finally left.

You may have umpteen other ways of finding fault with these wrong choices. However, what I have said above is the shortest.

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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the 18 Dec 2018, 23:11
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daagh
Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the hydrogen in its store, it expands into a red giant, eventually ejecting its outer envelope of gases to become a white dwarf.

A. Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the hydrogen in its store, it expands into a red giant, eventually ejecting--. Like for a clause is wrong;

B. Like any star of similar mass, once the hydrogen in the Sun’s core is exhausted, then it expands into a red giant and eventually ejects --- Comparing any star with the hydrogen -- wrong.


C. As in the case of any star of similar mass, once the hydrogen in the Sun’s core is exhausted, it will expand into a red giant, and eventually ejecting --- couple of errors herein. 1. comparing the case of a star with the hydrogen; 2.the unparallel " ejecting' phrase after 'and'

D. As any star of similar mass would, once the hydrogen in the Sun’s core is exhausted it will expand into a red giant and will eventually eject --- 1. ambiguous referent of 'it' to mean hydrogen, 2. Just stopping with the auxiliary verb 'would' renders the subordinate clause a fragment

E. As would be the case with any star of similar mass, once the Sun exhausts the hydrogen in its core, it will expand into a red giant and eventually eject --The correct choice.
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daagh
Sir
Can you help me to understand the ways in which the "do" (annotated in the sentence) would change the structure of the sentence (primarily after comma). Can you please cite certain examples?
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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the 19 Dec 2018, 02:08
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singh

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daagh
Sir
Can you help me to understand the ways in which the "do" (annotated in the sentence) would change the structure of the sentence (primarily after comma)? Can you please cite certain examples?
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I couldn't get you. Perhaps you mean 'do' in the underlined part. Where is the 'do' and more precisely 'after the comma'?
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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the 19 Dec 2018, 08:25
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singh

Quote:
daagh
Sir
Can you help me to understand the ways in which the "do" (annotated in the sentence) would change the structure of the sentence (primarily after comma)? Can you please cite certain examples?

I couldn't get you. Perhaps you mean 'do' in the underlined part. Where is the 'do' and more precisely 'after the comma'?
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Sir, thank you for the reply. My question is when the Modifier is "Like any star of similar mass ", the clause following should have a star for a correct comparison. But if the modifier is followed by a do or would do, as in this case "Like any star of similar mass would do", how would the structure of clause following change?
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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the 19 Dec 2018, 12:26
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Singh
There can not be a modifier such as --- Like any star of similar mass would do-- because a comparison starting with like cannot have a verb. There is no exception to this rule.

Therefore, I am changing your question slightly as: " As any star of similar mass does/ did/ would do". Now in this structure what is being compared is the verb "does/did/ would do". Therefore the other compared arm should also exhibit a verb'

We should essentially say that as any star of similar mass does, the Sun shines in the night. The verb shines in the second leg is comparable to the 'does' in the first leg. If you don't use a verb for the comparison will turn faulty as an action has to be matched by another action. Example: No one knows the child as the mother does.

However, pl. remember that this construction is valid for action verbs. There is a class of verbs known as linking verbs or status verbs. for which we may skip the verb in the second arm.

E.g: I am taller than my brother. Here 'am' is a linking verb. Therefore we are not using any verb for my brother.

The subject is indeed deep and ridden with a lot of exceptions.
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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the 19 Dec 2018, 20:45
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Singh
There can not be a modifier such as --- Like any star of similar mass would do-- because a comparison starting with like cannot have a verb. There is no exception to this rule.

Therefore, I am changing your question slightly as: " As any star of similar mass does/ did/ would do". Now in this structure what is being compared is the verb "does/did/ would do". Therefore the other compared arm should also exhibit a verb'

We should essentially say that as any star of similar mass does, the Sun shines in the night. The verb shines in the second leg is comparable to the 'does' in the first leg. If you don't use a verb for the comparison will turn faulty as an action has to be matched by another action. Example: No one knows the child as the mother does.

However, pl. remember that this construction is valid for action verbs. There is a class of verbs known as linking verbs or status verbs. for which we may skip the verb in the second arm.

E.g: I am taller than my brother. Here 'am' is a linking verb. Therefore we are not using any verb for my brother.

The subject is indeed deep and ridden with a lot of exceptions.
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Sir
Thanks for the crisp explanation. Would you have a look at the following sentence which is probably from GMAT prep.
As it is with traditional pharmacies, online drugstores rely on prescriptions to be successful, since it is primarily prescriptions that attract the customers, who then also buy other health-related items.
A. As it is with traditional pharmacies, online drugstores rely on prescriptions to be successful
B. As with the case of traditional pharmacies, online drugstores rely on prescriptions to have success
C. As is the case with traditional pharmacies, prescriptions are the cornerstone of a successful online drugstore
D. As traditional pharmacies, so online drugstores rely on prescriptions to be successful
E. Like traditional pharmacies, the cornerstone of a successful online drugstore is prescriptions

Can you please explain the first part of sentence "As it is with traditional pharmacies" and what would be a correct structure to follow it.
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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the 19 Dec 2018, 21:20
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Singh

Pl. see the link given below, where Ron has explained it well

https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/foru ... t2420.html

Any problem you can address Ron directly.
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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the 31 Jul 2019, 09:14
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Dear generis, I'm getting hard time of eliminating option D here. Since possessive poison is not tested in GMAT, IT seems to correctly refer to SUN. then what exactly is wrong in option D. Your response is highly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the 31 Jul 2019, 12:28
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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the hydrogen in its core, it expands into a red giant, eventually ejecting its outer envelope of gases to become a white dwarf.


A. Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the hydrogen in its core, it expands into a red giant, eventually ejecting

B. Like any star of similar mass, once the hydrogen in the Sun's core is exhausted, then it expands into a red giant and eventually ejects

C. As in the case of any star of similar mass, once the hydrogen in the Sun's core is exhausted, it will expand into a red giant, and eventually ejecting

D. As any star of similar mass would, once the hydrogen in the Sun's core is exhausted it will expand into a red giant and will eventually eject

E. As would be the case with any star of similar mass, once the Sun exhausts the hydrogen in its core, it will expand into a red giant and eventually eject
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mjzakaria
Dear generis, I'm getting hard time of eliminating option D here. Since possessive poison is not tested in GMAT, IT seems to correctly refer to SUN. then what exactly is wrong in option D. Your response is highly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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Hi mjzakaria , I can understand how you might think that "possessive poison is not tested on the GMAT," but that statement is too strong. :)

• possessive poison is allowed under certain circumstances but is not preferred
I wrote a fairly comprehensive post about "possessive poison" that you can find HERE.

In that post I stressed that although GMAC will allow a subject pronoun (here, IT) or object pronoun to have a possessive noun as an antecedent, that pairing is rare.
Takeaway: if two options seem equally good and one does not use a possessive noun as an antecedent for a pronoun, choose the latter.
(And if you have time, thoroughly inspect the one the does not use the possessive noun as an antecedent to make sure that you have analyzed it accurately.)
-- Possessive noun as antecedent for a subject or object pronoun?
Allowed as long as meaning is clear, but not preferred.
Not forbidden as long as meaning is clear, but not common.

In the post you can see what kinds of official examples have allowed a possessive noun to stand for a subject or object pronoun.
Seeing these examples helps people to understand what "as long as meaning is clear" means.

• Cannot eliminate an option? See whether you can convince yourself that the other one is worse

Before I compare D and E, let's try a trick that often helps when test takers feel as if they cannot decide between two options.

Make an argument that option E is better than option D.

Sometimes the only way to eliminate an option is to say that D is worse and E is better.
Comparison is one of the best weapons we have in SC.

• as would be/is/was the case = a phrase that test takers need to understand

I am not sure why people are so uncomfortable with (E).
I gather that this phrase seems weird: As would be the case

There are a few phrases/clauses in English that can stand in for a few things, including entire verb phrases and entire clauses.
Do so is one of them. I cannot fix this gadget. Would you please do so? (do so = fix the gadget)

As would be the case /As is the case /As was the case can also stand in for a whole clause.

Those phrases are excellent ways to refer to circumstances that are similar or to phenomena that are characteristic of some group of things.
In this case, the author wants to say that all stars, including our Sun, evolve in certain ways.

• comparing D and E

(D) As any star of similar mass would, once the hydrogen in the Sun's core is exhausted it will expand into a red giant and will eventually eject its outer envelope of gases to become a white dwarf.
-- will, have, and do are all helping verbs, as are their verb variations (would, had, has, did, does).
Will and have cannot stand in as substitutes for an entire verb phrase.

As any star of similar mass would . . . what?
-- Let's try to refer to that whole verb phrase:
As any star of similar mass would have (?) its core become exhausted and then would expand into a red giant and would eventually eject its outer envelope of gases to become a white dwarf.
-- This rendition makes no sense to my native ears. I'm not sure I wrote it correctly. :lol:
-- Would, a helping verb, must be paired with something.
-- We need the word do. Then would do will work.

-- Possessive poison? As long as meaning is clear, GMAT might allow a possessive noun to be the antecedent for a subject or object pronoun.
Well, meaning is not clear.
I think that IT refers to the Sun because ITS outer layer must refer to the Sun's outer layer, unless a core also has an outer layer, in which case, I am lost.

This case is suspect.
-- Can the core of a star have an outer layer?
-- If so, once it is exhausted, can this core expand?
"The Sun" makes more sense as a referent, but I am not certain.

This question is similar to another official question that gives people trouble. That official question is [u]here.[/u] My post that discusses possessive poison in the context of that question is HERE.

Option D has a couple of issues. One is fatal. Would cannot stand alone as it does in D.
Suppose that a test taker noticed the pronoun issues (but shrewdly did not immediately eliminate D) and could not decide whether the standalone would were erroneous.

Compare to option E:

(E) As would be the case with any star of similar mass, once the Sun exhausts the hydrogen in its core, it will expand into a red giant and eventually eject its outer envelope of gases to become a white dwarf.
-- pronouns? Aha. Sometimes question writers and editors let a blooper slip through, but not often.
This option does not contain any confusion about the antecedent of the pronoun IT because its clearly refers to the Sun and thus it also clearly refers to the Sun.

-- Aha. This version does not repeat the helping verb will. GMAC usually leans towards not repeating the helping verb. I would not make this issue a decision point by itself.

-- Most importantly, as would be the case cures the fatal error in (D).

Option D is inferior to option E.
Eliminate D.

I hope that helps. These issues are not easy. :)
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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the 17 Feb 2021, 05:32
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We use “like” to compare two nouns
For ex- Like any star, the Sun….

In the given sentence, we should use “as” and not “like” because the comparison is between two clauses. Eliminate A and B.

C- As in the case of any star of similar mass, “once the hydrogen in the Sun’s core is exhausted” is incorrect. The comparison is between “stars” and “the Sun”. Option C incorrectly compares “stars” with “ hydrogen in the Sun’s crore”.
Incorrect parallelism- It will expand and ejecting - incorrect. Eliminate C

D- commits the same error as option C- incorrectly compares “stars” with “ hydrogen in the Sun’s crore”. Eliminate.

E- correct.

Correct use of “as” to compare two clauses
Correct use of Comparisons- Stars are compared to Sun.
Correct parallel structure- It will expand and eject..

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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the 27 May 2021, 00:04
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Is eject right in option E.
Since Sun is ejecting so it should be ejects and not eject.

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Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the 27 May 2021, 01:58
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priyanshu8946
Is eject right in option E.
Since Sun is ejecting so it should be ejects and not eject.
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Hi priyanshu8946, do we say:

i) He will go.

Or do we say:

ii) He will goes.

It is easy to see that it should be he will go, despite the fact that he is the singular subject here. The rule at play here is that in future tense (will), we always use will/shall with the base form of the verb (go).

Similarly, in the sentence under consideration, parallelism plays a role here.

Notice the construct in E:

...it will expand into a red giant and eventually eject...

expand and eject are parallel.

So, the construct is:

...it will
i) expand into a red giant and
ii) eventually eject...

This is equivalent to:

i) ...it will expand into a red giant and
ii) ...it will eventually eject...

Now hopefully it is clear why ejects is incorrect: ...it will eventually ejects... would be a wrong sentence.
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