Dear
chunchboss,
I'm happy to help.
I have several things to say.
The constructions "
a time during which" or "
a time at which" are not automatically incorrect. These would be acceptable. The construction "
time when" is arguably more natural, particularly in this context, but that doesn't mean the "
which" constructions are wrong.
I think you are confusing the adverb "
instead" with the preposition "
instead of." The latter is considered informal and bit low-brow, so it almost never appears on the GMAT as part of a correct answer. Here's the difference:
Instead of doing X, I did Y.
In that construction, action X is the excluded action, and action Y is the implemented action. This phrase would not be used on the GMAT. The GMAT would say:
Rather than doing X, I did Y.
The GMAT might also convey this same information using the adverb "
instead."
I didn't do X; instead, I did Y.
I chose not to do X, instead doing Y. In those versions, the adverb "
instead" is in the same clause or phrase as the implemented action, while the excluded action is negated in a complementary clause.
The word "instead" in choice (B) does not change the meaning at all: if anything, it amplifies and clarifies it.
You are correct the "
to make" is the
infinitive of purpose, and this is far preferable way to express intention than "
for" + [gerund].
I would say the presence/absence of the comma before "
using" is a non-issue.
I would say the HUGE issue in this question is the presence or absence of "
by." Consider this construction:
I avoided X by doing Y.
That conveys a precise meaning with rigorous logic. That's ideal. By contrast,
I avoided X, doing Y.
That's sloppy. This would pass in American colloquial English, and people certainly would understand what the person was trying to say. Technically, though, such a construction has not stated the meaning with precision. Using the word "
by" states the meaning with rigorous precision. Only (C) has this word, so technically, (C) is the only choice that conveys precisely what the other choices were trying to communicate.
Finally, your question. The structure in incorrect choice (E):
... many people are finding that ... when using their mobile phones to make long-distance calls at night or on weekends ...Of course, "
when" is subordinate conjunction that should begin a full
[noun] + [verb] clause. Here, it
appears as if "
when" is followed by a present participle, but this is tricky. Technically, a simple subject & verb have been dropped because they are implied.
... many people are finding that ... when they are using their mobile phones to make long-distance calls at night or on weekends ...Technically, "
using" is not a free-standing participle but the meaty part of a full progressive tense verb, the only leftover when a gratuitous pronoun and auxiliary verb were dropped. Much the same happens in what appears as "
when" + [past participle]: it's actually a passive past tense verb with pronoun & auxiliary verb dropped.
Does all this make sense?
Mike
close
26 Feb 2016, 11:03
