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555-605 Level|   Idioms/Diction/Redundancy|   Modifiers|   Modifiers|   Subject Verb Agreement|                        
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Making things even more difficult has been general market inactivity 31 Jan 2023, 05:47
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Vatsal7794
Hi Experts

Why we have used "If not Paralysis" in this sentence? What's the need of it? To show cause and effect?
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The subject of the sentence is "general market inactivity, if not paralysis."

The point of using the wording "if not paralysis" is to is to communicate that the "general market inactivity" may even be so extreme as to be considered "paralysis."

So, "general market inactivity, if not paralysis," means something along the lines of "general market inactivity, or maybe it's even paralysis."

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And also what's the meaning of the sentence?
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The meaning of the sentence is that, lately, general market inactivity, or maybe it's even paralysis, has been making some things difficult because the market is so inactive that people can't tell where market prices stand.
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Making things even more difficult has been general market inactivity 31 Jan 2023, 05:52
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Vatsal7794
Hi Experts

Why we have used "If not Paralysis" in this sentence? What's the need of it? To show cause and effect?
The subject of the sentence is "general market inactivity, if not paralysis."

The point of using the wording "if not paralysis" is to is to communicate that the "general market inactivity" may even be so extreme as to be considered "paralysis."

So, "general market inactivity, if not paralysis," means something along the lines of "general market inactivity, or maybe it's even paralysis."

Quote:
And also what's the meaning of the sentence?
The meaning of the sentence is that, lately, general market inactivity, or maybe it's even paralysis, has been making some things difficult because the market is so inactive that people can't tell where market prices stand.
Show more

Hi MartyTargetTestPrep

Thanks for the explanation
"If" is used to show the cause and effect mostly . I want to know in what other cases can we use "if"

Also Lately is adverb? If yes then how it's modifying noun (Difficult)
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Making things even more difficult has been general market inactivity 31 Jan 2023, 07:08
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MartyTargetTestPrep
Vatsal7794
Hi Experts

Why we have used "If not Paralysis" in this sentence? What's the need of it? To show cause and effect?
The subject of the sentence is "general market inactivity, if not paralysis."

The point of using the wording "if not paralysis" is to is to communicate that the "general market inactivity" may even be so extreme as to be considered "paralysis."

So, "general market inactivity, if not paralysis," means something along the lines of "general market inactivity, or maybe it's even paralysis."

Quote:
And also what's the meaning of the sentence?
The meaning of the sentence is that, lately, general market inactivity, or maybe it's even paralysis, has been making some things difficult because the market is so inactive that people can't tell where market prices stand.

Hi MartyTargetTestPrep

Thanks for the explanation
"If" is used to show the cause and effect mostly . I want to know in what other cases can we use "if"
Show more
"If" is always used to present conditions.

Even in this case, "if not paralysis" in a way presents a condition to express the meaning "if it is not paralysis, then it is general market inactivity."

Quote:
Also Lately is adverb? If yes then how it's modifying noun (Difficult)
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"Lately" is an adverb, and it modifies the action "making things more difficult."
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Making things even more difficult has been general market inactivity 02 Feb 2023, 03:38
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Vatsal7794

Why we have used "If not Paralysis" in this sentence? What's the need of it? To show cause and effect?
And also what's the meaning of the sentence?
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A usage of "if not" is to depict that there might be a bit more or less of a particular attribute or characteristic.

For example:

Gandhiji's ideals are very difficult, if not impossible, to achieve.

The teacher asked the students to submit their assignments in a week's time, if not sooner.

Incidentally, in this case, GMAT is not really expecting test-takers to know this usage of "if not", since all the options have the exact same usage.
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Making things even more difficult has been general market inactivity 15 Jun 2023, 01:58
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Correct answer is d)
a) referent of which is paralysis makes no sense at all
e)referent of which is paralysis makes no sense at all
b) there usually refers to a place. No need of there in this sentence
c) ING modifier (Making things even more difficult general market inactivity) is modifying what? who is making things difficult?
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Making things even more difficult has been general market inactivity 21 Jun 2023, 09:40
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The "which" in the original sentence modifies "general market activity" or "paralysis"?

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Making things even more difficult has been general market inactivity 30 Jun 2023, 09:18
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anshgupta_2
The "which" in the original sentence modifies "general market activity" or "paralysis"?

BrentGMATPrepNow GMATNinja AndrewN egmat
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Good question! It's kind of hard to tell, eh? That gives us another little vote against (A).

That said, you could probably argue that it makes more sense as a modifier for "general market activity". But notice that (D) avoids that confusion entirely, making it a better choice.
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Making things even more difficult has been general market inactivity 20 Sep 2025, 05:42
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