Ergenekon wrote:
Chose A. Parallelism is between stressing and investing. I don't agree with
e-gmat's answer that economically does not mean financially. I think economically can be used for both finance and not wasteful.
Chose A. Parallelism is between stressing and investing. I don't agree with
e-gmat's answer that economically does not mean financially. I think economically can be used for both finance and not wasteful.
Dear
Ergenekon,
I got your p.m. and I am happy to respond.
First of all, you may find this blog helpful:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/gmat-sente ... al-ending/The GMAT loves the "
economic" vs. "
economical" split.
As I think you already appreciate, these two words have very different meanings.
economic =
related to the economy, to macro- or microeconomics;
an economic summit
the President's economic policy
the city's economic decisions (i.e., decisions about money policies, spending, investing, etc.)
economical =
thrifty; cost-cutting; designed to save moneyan economical restaurant (i.e. one where we can get inexpensive meals)
an economical car (i.e. that doesn't strain the budget of the person who bought it)
the city's economical decisions (i.e. city-wide cost-cutting measures)
Now, I believe your question concerns the adverb, "
economically." This adverb corresponds to which adjective? Well, if we think more in terms of the pure mathematical grammatical patterns, then we could start with either adjective and turn it into this adverb. BUT, think about the logic of the word. The word "
economic" most often denotes a large-scale process, not necessarily something that is the consequence of the decision of one person or a few people; after all, the economy involves the action of what Adam Smith called the "invisible hand," the emergent properties of the system which arise without anyone having intended them. By contrast, the word "
economical" always implies a very specific decision of one person or a group of people.
By far, the most common use of the adverb "
economically" would be in the latter context, describing the intentions and goals of the individuals who are in the process of enacting cost-cutting measures. It is conceivable to use the adverb in the former sense, but typically, the actor would a nation or other large group. For example,
India is advancing economically.
In that sense, clearly we discussing the national economy of India, so we are using the adverb in the "
economic" sense, not in the "
economical" sense.
Now, let's consider this SC question, and choices
(A) &
(B), which get the parallelism correct:
More and more in recent years, cities are stressing the arts as a means to greater economic development and investing millions of dollars in cultural activities, despite strained municipal budgets and fading federal support.
(A) to greater economic development and investing
(B) to greater development economically and investingIncidentally, this question also test the very subtle idiom difference of "
means of" vs. "
means to." See:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/gmat-sente ... -means-to/Obviously,
(A) is flawless, but let's ignore that for the moment. What is going on with
(B)? Suppose
(B) were correct: what would it mean?
....
cities are stressing the arts as a means to greater development economically ....
Notice that, in this
(B) version, we have absolutely no idea
what kind of development the author has in mind----artistic development? personal development? moral development? spiritual development? The arts are going to support this kind of development, whatever it is, and somehow this connection between the arts and this unspecified development is related to the economic situation of the city. You see, if the development we have in mind is very specifically the development of the city's economy, then we need to use the adjective "
economic" to modify development, not the adverb "
economically" to modify the verb "
are stressing." We are not talking about a variety of "
stressing" that is related to the economy; we are trying to talk about a kind of "
development" that is related to the economy. When what we want to modify is a noun, not a verb, we need an adjective, not an adverb.
Does all this make sense?
Mike
_________________
Mike McGarry
Magoosh Test PrepEducation is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. — William Butler Yeats (1865 – 1939)