Last visit was: 19 Nov 2025, 10:35 It is currently 19 Nov 2025, 10:35
Home
GMAT
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Rewards
Chat
My Profile
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
   1   2   3   4   5 
655-705 Level|   Modifiers|      
User avatar
Tanchat
User avatar
Joined: 31 Jan 2020
Last visit: 20 Jun 2023
Posts: 222
Own Kudos:
20
Given Kudos: 139
Posts: 222
Kudos: 20
Most of Portugal's 250,000 university students boycotted classes in a 11 Oct 2022, 10:06
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Dear RonTargetTestPrep

Could you pls help :) I will have a test next week but I am struggling with this question.
I read almost comments but I am still not convinced.. why (B) is incorrect?
<If possible, could you pls elaborate each option?>

Most of Portugal's 250,000 university students boycotted classes in a one-day strike to protest a law that requires them to contribute $330 a year toward the cost of higher education, previously paying $7 per year.


A. year toward the cost of higher education, previously paying $7 per year

B. year toward the cost of higher education, for which was previously paid $7 per year

C. year, compared to the previously $7 per year, toward the cost of higher education

D. year toward the cost of higher education, instead of the $7 per year required previously

E. year as opposed to the $7 per year required previously for the cost of higher education
User avatar
Schachfreizeit
User avatar
Joined: 17 Nov 2022
Last visit: 02 Feb 2023
Posts: 110
Own Kudos:
8
Given Kudos: 8
Posts: 110
Kudos: 8
Most of Portugal's 250,000 university students boycotted classes in a 30 Dec 2022, 02:52
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
daagh
A says that the higher education was previously paying $7

B The phrase - for which was previously paid $7 per year - is too awkward to consider
In C - previously $7 per year - is grammatically wrong. Previously is an adverb and can not modify the noun of $7

D has no flaws as such and is the best answer.

E -as opposed to -is not the right idiom to describe comparison, unless the arms of the comparison are positioned opposite to the others physically? In a weird way, E may also give the feeling that the students were in fact opposed to the $7 per year.
Show more

regarding A: why does the sentence say that higher education was paying $7? We have a comma-ing modifier and I thought that a comma-ing modifier always modifies the preceding clause and not the noun
User avatar
Schachfreizeit
User avatar
Joined: 17 Nov 2022
Last visit: 02 Feb 2023
Posts: 110
Own Kudos:
8
Given Kudos: 8
Posts: 110
Kudos: 8
Most of Portugal's 250,000 university students boycotted classes in a 30 Dec 2022, 02:55
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
jzchina
Most of Portugal's 250,000 university students boycotted classes in a one-day strike to protest a law that requires them to contribute $330 a year toward the cost of higher education, previously paying $7 per year.


A. year toward the cost of higher education, previously paying $7 per year

B. year toward the cost of higher education, for which was previously paid $7 per year

C. year, compared to the previously $7 per year, toward the cost of higher education

D. year toward the cost of higher education, instead of the $7 per year required previously

E. year as opposed to the $7 per year required previously for the cost of higher education
Show more


is it a general rule that a comma-ing modifier modifies the preceding clause? Bc in some of the answers here I've read that in A, the comma-ing modifier modifies the preceding noun and therefore A is not correct
User avatar
ExpertsGlobal5
User avatar
Experts' Global Representative
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,195
Own Kudos:
4,765
Given Kudos: 43
Location: India
GMAT Date: 11-01-2019
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 5,195
Kudos: 4,765
Most of Portugal's 250,000 university students boycotted classes in a 30 Dec 2022, 07:12
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Schachfreizeit
jzchina
Most of Portugal's 250,000 university students boycotted classes in a one-day strike to protest a law that requires them to contribute $330 a year toward the cost of higher education, previously paying $7 per year.


A. year toward the cost of higher education, previously paying $7 per year

B. year toward the cost of higher education, for which was previously paid $7 per year

C. year, compared to the previously $7 per year, toward the cost of higher education

D. year toward the cost of higher education, instead of the $7 per year required previously

E. year as opposed to the $7 per year required previously for the cost of higher education


is it a general rule that a comma-ing modifier modifies the preceding clause? Bc in some of the answers here I've read that in A, the comma-ing modifier modifies the preceding noun and therefore A is not correct
Show more

Hello Schachfreizeit,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, yes; if the "comma + present participle ("verb+ing")" construction is linked with a clause, it modifies the entirety of the clause and in doing so conveys that the subject of the clause took the action described in the participle.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
User avatar
Schachfreizeit
User avatar
Joined: 17 Nov 2022
Last visit: 02 Feb 2023
Posts: 110
Own Kudos:
8
Given Kudos: 8
Posts: 110
Kudos: 8
Most of Portugal's 250,000 university students boycotted classes in a 31 Dec 2022, 05:16
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
ExpertsGlobal5
Schachfreizeit
jzchina
Most of Portugal's 250,000 university students boycotted classes in a one-day strike to protest a law that requires them to contribute $330 a year toward the cost of higher education, previously paying $7 per year.


A. year toward the cost of higher education, previously paying $7 per year

B. year toward the cost of higher education, for which was previously paid $7 per year

C. year, compared to the previously $7 per year, toward the cost of higher education

D. year toward the cost of higher education, instead of the $7 per year required previously

E. year as opposed to the $7 per year required previously for the cost of higher education


is it a general rule that a comma-ing modifier modifies the preceding clause? Bc in some of the answers here I've read that in A, the comma-ing modifier modifies the preceding noun and therefore A is not correct

Hello Schachfreizeit,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, yes; if the "comma + present participle ("verb+ing")" construction is linked with a clause, it modifies the entirety of the clause and in doing so conveys that the subject of the clause took the action described in the participle.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
Show more


but then I don't understand your solution for A) "This answer choice incorrectly modifies "the cost of higher education" with "previously paying $7 per year""
User avatar
Krishna7568
User avatar
Joined: 02 Aug 2021
Last visit: 14 Feb 2024
Posts: 15
Own Kudos:
1
Given Kudos: 229
Location: Taiwan
GPA: 3.73
Posts: 15
Kudos: 1
Most of Portugal's 250,000 university students boycotted classes in a 21 Jan 2023, 08:23
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Just a small doubt. Doesn't we use "noun" after 'instead of' not a phrase, verb, adverb or prepositional phrases. Using "instead of" isn't it incorrect here? If it was rather than then would have picked D. Am I getting rule wrong?
User avatar
KarishmaB
User avatar
Joined: 16 Oct 2010
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 16,267
Own Kudos:
76,996
 [1]
Given Kudos: 482
Location: Pune, India
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 16,267
Kudos: 76,996
 [1]
Most of Portugal's 250,000 university students boycotted classes in a 23 Jan 2023, 22:29
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Krishna7568
Just a small doubt. Doesn't we use "noun" after 'instead of' not a phrase, verb, adverb or prepositional phrases. Using "instead of" isn't it incorrect here? If it was rather than then would have picked D. Am I getting rule wrong?
Show more

'instead of' is a preposition and needs a noun/noun phrase after it. In option (D), it is followed by a noun phrase 'the $7 per year.'
(A noun phrase is a noun + articles/modifiers)
User avatar
bilawal_saeed
User avatar
Joined: 28 Oct 2020
Last visit: 01 Sep 2024
Posts: 4
Given Kudos: 221
Location: India
Schools: ISB '23 Kellogg '24
GMAT 1: 690 Q48 V36
Schools: ISB '23 Kellogg '24
GMAT 1: 690 Q48 V36
Posts: 4
Kudos: 0
Most of Portugal's 250,000 university students boycotted classes in a 26 Jun 2023, 03:04
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hello AndrewN MartyTargetTestPrep

I am unable to understand why option A is wrong. If "paying" refers back to "Most of Portugal's 250,000 university students boycotted ...." or "them to contribute ..", is the meaning nonsensical? Can you elaborate on that?
User avatar
MartyTargetTestPrep
User avatar
Target Test Prep Representative
Joined: 24 Nov 2014
Last visit: 11 Aug 2023
Posts: 3,476
Own Kudos:
5,579
 [1]
Given Kudos: 1,430
Status:Chief Curriculum and Content Architect
Affiliations: Target Test Prep
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Posts: 3,476
Kudos: 5,579
 [1]
Most of Portugal's 250,000 university students boycotted classes in a 26 Jun 2023, 05:15
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
bhayanakmaut
Hello AndrewN MartyTargetTestPrep

I am unable to understand why option A is wrong. If "paying" refers back to "Most of Portugal's 250,000 university students boycotted ...." or "them to contribute ..", is the meaning nonsensical? Can you elaborate on that?
Show more
Yes, the meaning conveyed by the (A) version is nonsensical.

Here's the end of that version:

requires them to contribute $330 a year toward the cost of higher education, previously paying $7 per year.

It suggests that, in the process of contributing $330, they are "previously paying $7." Since they would not be paying $7 in contributing $330, that meaning is illogical.

Just to confirm that there is no way for the sentence to work, let's see whether "previously paying $7 per year" could instead modify the main clause of the sentence.

Most of Portugal's 250,000 university students boycotted classes ..., previously paying $7 per year.

Now the sentence conveys that, in the process of boycotting classes, the students were somehow "previously paying $7 per year," as if, by boycotting classes, they paid $7 previously. How would they do something previously by boycotting classes in the present? Do they have a time machine? Also, they would not pay $7 by boycotting.

The (A) version of the sentence is nonsensical no matter how we read it.
User avatar
Raman109
User avatar
Joined: 17 Aug 2009
Last visit: 28 Jul 2025
Posts: 805
Own Kudos:
170
Given Kudos: 33
Posts: 805
Kudos: 170
Most of Portugal's 250,000 university students boycotted classes in a 14 Nov 2023, 09:38
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Most of Portugal's 250,000 university students boycotted classes in a one-day strike to protest a law that requires them to contribute $330 a year toward the cost of higher education, previously paying $7 per year.

Option Elimination -

A. year toward the cost of higher education, previously paying $7 per year - Comma + ING is adverbial. Here, "paying" is modifying "law requires" as if the law is making the payment. Wrong.

B. year toward the cost of higher education, for which was previously paid $7 per year - "which" modifying "higher education"? Moreover, depending on the context, "for which was ..." is a prepositional phrase that can be adjectival or adverbial. Here, "for which was ..." modifying "the cost"? The cost was paid? No. Or "higher education"? Higher education was paid $7. No. Can it be adverbial? "for which was ..." modifying "law requires"? No. So, this prepositional phrase doesn't make much sense.

C. year, compared to the previously $7 per year, toward the cost of higher education - "ed" verbals modify nouns. The nearest noun is "a year." Does it make sense? No. Moreover, "previously" is an adverb modifying the noun phrase "$7 per year" - wrong.

D. year toward the cost of higher education, instead of the $7 per year required previously - Two ways to look at it. First, X instead of Y. X is "contribute $330 a year," which is modified by the prepositional phrase "toward the cost of higher education," and Y is "the $7 per year" modified by "ed" verbal "required." Another way is "instead of" with a comma acts as an adverbial like any other prepositional phrase modifying the preceding clause.

E. year as opposed to the $7 per year required previously for the cost of higher education - This is a perfect deception. Let's dig deeper.
First, there is a difference between "as opposed to" and "instead of."
"as opposed to" highlights the contrast or difference between two things. E.g., "an approach that is theoretical as opposed to practical."
"instead of" indicates substituting or replacing one thing with another. E.g., She decided to have tea instead of coffee. RonTargetTestPrep shared this difference pretty well.
Let's also refresh "rather than" to put things in perspective. "rather than" indicates a preference or choice between two options. E.g., I would prefer to go for a walk rather than watch TV.

In this option, we aren't contrasting "$330 a year" and "$7 per year." The intended meaning is earlier "$7 per year" is substituted with "$330 a year," which is a substantial difference and thus boycotts.

Moreover, we are comparing "X," which is "$330 a year, with "the $7 per year required previously for the cost of higher education." As sayantanc2k also pointed out, its better to use ellipses to the latter than the former. Here the prepositional phrase "for the cost of higher education" is next "$7 per year" which it modifies and this preposition phrase is not linked to "$330 a year" which is wrong.

Additionally, let us also refresh our memories on the usage of the preposition "for."

1. Preposition of Purpose: "For" is often used as a preposition to indicate the purpose or intended use of something. It answers the question "Why?" or "What is the intended goal or benefit?" Example: I bought a laptop for work. Explanation: In this sentence, "for" indicates the purpose or intended use of the laptop, which is for work.

2. Preposition of Time: "For" can also be used as a preposition to indicate a duration of time. It answers the question, "How long?" Example: She studied for three hours. Explanation: Here, "for" indicates the duration of time, which is three hours.

3. Preposition of Exchange or Exchange Rate: "For" can be used to express an exchange or exchange rate when discussing currencies or trading. Example: I exchanged my dollars for euros. Explanation: In this sentence, "for" indicates the exchange of one currency (dollars) into another currency (euros).

4. Conjunction: Sometimes, "for" is a coordinating conjunction connecting two clauses or phrases. Example: She studied hard for she wanted to pass the exam. Explanation: In this sentence, "for" is a coordinating conjunction connecting the two independent clauses, indicating a cause-and-effect relationship.

Here, "for the cost" is a bit off as the cost is not the purpose.
User avatar
VerbalBot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 01 Oct 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 18,829
Own Kudos:
986
Posts: 18,829
Kudos: 986
Most of Portugal's 250,000 university students boycotted classes in a 29 Aug 2025, 08:16
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
   1   2   3   4   5 
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7443 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
231 posts
miag
189 posts