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Manhattan SC..

sag

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26 Apr 2010, 22:15

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Please explain the errors :

1. The players' helmets need to be repainted so that they will be ready to be used at practice on Sunday.

2. Some people believe that the benefits of a healthy diet outweigh that of regular exercise.

3. We finally chose the coffee table towards the back of the store, which we thought would complement our living room furniture.

4. Jim may not be elected CEO by the board because he does not meet their standards.

5. We finally returned all the books to the library, which we left at the front desk.

Thanks

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seekmba

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27 Apr 2010, 08:36

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1. The players' helmets need to be repainted so that they will be ready to be used at practice on Sunday. - correct. they correctly refers to palyers' helmets

2. Some people believe that the benefits of a healthy diet outweigh that of regular exercise. - benefits is plural and so should be "those"

Some people believe that the benefits of a healthy diet outweigh those of regular exercise.

3. We finally chose the coffee table towards the back of the store, which we thought would complement our living room furniture. - which incorrectly refers to store. It is not the store that would complement the living room furniture.

We finally chose the coffee table towards the back of the store, because we thought it would complement our living room furniture - "it" correctly refers to coffee table. This is stratight from Manhattan SC book.

4. Jim may not be elected CEO by the board because he does not meet their standards. - board is singular subject. Hence the pronoun should be singular

Jim may not be elected CEO by the board because he does not meet its standards.

5. We finally returned all the books to the library, which we left at the front desk. - which incorrectly refers to library. It is not the library that was left at the front desk.

We finally returned all the books, leaving them at the library's front desk. "them" correctly refers to books. This is stratight from Manhattan SC book.

sag

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27 Apr 2010, 22:35

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Thanks for the explanations... still little doubts.

1. players' helmets : Possessive Noun
but they : Subject pronoun...
Doesn't it require Possessive... i know im wrong but don't know how...

And if you can explain a bit more on usage of Possessive Pronouns ...

Thanks once again...

neoreaves

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29 Apr 2010, 03:21

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i think its kind of burdensome to put 5 sentences in one thread ...its always better to post 5 separate threads

digineo

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29 Apr 2010, 08:22

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"players' helmets" is plural. Hence the use of 'those'.

I believe, 'they', is used mostly for referring to a group of people and not objects (as in this case - the helmets.)

Administrators please correct me if i'm wrong.

jagveerbrar

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03 May 2010, 21:00

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Hi,

I am confused in the question "Jim may not be elected by the board because he does not meet their standards"
Here, of course, he appears to refer to Jim naturally. But in gmat, we cant really go with what sounds natural. So here, is there some specific explanation why "he" is actually referring to Jim and not the board?

TIA

jagveerbrar

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03 May 2010, 21:05

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seekmba

Hi

I am still confused about the 5th question here regarding the coffee table. I don't understand why adding "because" resolves the ambiguity whether "which" is referring to the table or the shop.
Please friends, help me out

TIA

jenterrier

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03 May 2010, 21:06

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digineo

Hehe funny thing with wrong grammar, nobodies perfect anyway. :d

esledge

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15 Jun 2010, 11:10

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digineo

"They" can refer to either people or non-human plural nouns.

The birds outside are noisy; they begin to sing at 5 every morning.
The books would be worth more with their dust jackets intact.
Because they don't know who is in charge, the employees have been unproductive since the merger.

You may be thinking of "who," which only refers to people (or sometimes named animals, such as fictional characters or pets).

esledge

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15 Jun 2010, 11:16

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jagveerbrar

A few reasons:
(1) Parallelism: "Jim and "he" are both subjects of their respective verbs ("may not be elected" and "does not meet"). This similarity implies that Jim = he, and may be what makes the pronoun seem to "refer to Jim naturally" according to your ear.

(2) The subject of the sentence, "Jim" is the strongest noun, and therefore the best antecedent candidate. In contrast, "board" is part of a modifier.

(3) "He" can only refer to a male person. The board is a singular entity, but is neither male nor human itself (although comprised of humans, I would assume).

esledge

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15 Jun 2010, 11:26

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jagveerbrar

seekmba

3. We finally chose the coffee table towards the back of the store, which we thought would complement our living room furniture. - which incorrectly refers to store. It is not the store that would complement the living room furniture.

We finally chose the coffee table towards the back of the store, because we thought it would complement our living room furniture - "it" correctly refers to coffee table. This is stratight from Manhattan SC book.

In general, "which" modifies the immediately preceding noun, so we are stuck interpreting "the store" as the thing that "we thought would complement our living room furniture."

“Because” doesn’t operate that way; it doesn’t make a modifier out of the text after the comma. "Because” makes a new clause, with a new subject and verb after the comma.

So you have a clause before the comma: We chose the coffee table
And a clause after the comma: we thought it (would complement)

Notice the parallelism: the coffee table = it = objects of their respective verbs.

manuag

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11 Feb 2012, 04:57

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esledge

jagveerbrar

I am confused how can "board" be an antecedent as it is part of the modifier "by the board", hence use of "its" in the sentence is unappropriate.

Please look at the below example from manhattan sc:

Supernovas destroy their immediate environments in vast explosions, BUT by synthesizing heavy chemical elements, THEY provide the universe with the possibility of biochemistry-based life as we know it.

In the explanation, it says that "THEY" clearly refers to supernovas. Why is there not an ambiguity of antecedent between - supernovas and explosions.
Is it just due to the modifier " by synthesizing heavy chemical elements"

Explanation by Manhattan fellow "An antecedent cannot be a noun in a preposition, and if you look "explosions" is part of the phrase "in vast explosions". Good question!"

priyankas19

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15 Jun 2021, 10:27

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HI!
I am going to give the exam in 2021 so I downloaded all the verbal GMAT book; previously I was studying from manhattan SC 5th edition book(hardcopy).I switched to all the verbal book because its the latest edition however all the verbal book is not so in depth as compared to the 5th edition one.
5th edition is an old book so should I study rom the old guide? In all the verbal book it is mentioned or high stuff there is additional material in atlas-to which i don't have login of

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