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505-555 (Easy)|   Modifiers|                  
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GMATNinja
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Over the past ten years cultivated sunflowers have become a major comm 03 Dec 2021, 20:09
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tkorzhan1995
GMATNinja, could you please explain instances when only modifies noun that precedes and follows it?
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I'm not quite sure what you're looking for -- do you have any official examples in mind? If so, please tag us on the corresponding thread(s), and we'll do our best to help! And as a bonus, you will receive an automatic response from at least one other test-prep company whenever you tag us. :roll:

To help understand the use of "second only to soybeans" in choice (A), imagine picking a random selection of vegetable oil sources that includes cultivated sunflowers and a bunch of other sources. As long as soybeans are not in the group, cultivated sunflowers will rank first. There's only one vegetable oil source out there that will push cultivated sunflowers to #2: soybeans.

So the expression "second only to soybeans" emphasizes the fact that no other vegetable source besides soybeans will beat out cultivated sunflowers.

We could remove "only to soybeans" and still have a logical sentence: "second as a source of vegetable oil" still tells us that cultivated sunflowers are #2. Rather than modifying a noun directly, the "only to soybeans" part further modifies the "second" part.

I hope that helps!
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Over the past ten years cultivated sunflowers have become a major comm 12 Jul 2022, 12:48
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Hello experts,
Can you please shed some lights on E?
instead of "only" a deciding factor, I rejected E based on the placement of "as a source of vegetable oil".
right after the commercial crop as a source of vegetable oil sounds - not good.
whereas in A, its better.

Is it ok to eliminate E on this basis, if yes, why exactly?
whats the difference of meaning in E?

Thank you.
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Over the past ten years cultivated sunflowers have become a major comm 12 Jul 2022, 15:01
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dcoolguy
Hello experts,
Can you please shed some lights on E?
instead of "only" a deciding factor, I rejected E based on the placement of "as a source of vegetable oil".
right after the commercial crop as a source of vegetable oil sounds - not good.
whereas in A, its better.

Is it ok to eliminate E on this basis, if yes, why exactly?
whats the difference of meaning in E?

Thank you.
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Here's the (E) version.

Over the past ten years cultivated sunflowers have become a major commercial crop, as a source of vegetable oil only second to soybeans.

One issue with (E) is that "only second to soybeans" is placed right after "vegetable oil." So, it seems to modify "vegetable oil," with the result that the sentence seems to convey that the vegetable oil is somehow "second to soybeans," a meaning that doesn't make sense, since an oil would not be second to soybeans.

Also, the placement of "only" is problematic. Because it's placed just before "second," rather than after "second," the meaning conveyed is that something is "only second to soybeans," as if what that modifier modifies, whether its "vegetable oil" or "a source of vegetable oil," is only one thing, "second to soybeans." This meaning is not logical either.
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Over the past ten years cultivated sunflowers have become a major comm 14 Aug 2022, 04:17
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Dear Experts,

I have 2 questions

1)
E. as a source of vegetable oil only second to soybeans

E is wrong because just "only" is wrongly placed or "as a source of vegetable is wrong placed too.


2) Does (A) act as a noun phase modifier to modify "Sun flower", right?
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Over the past ten years cultivated sunflowers have become a major comm 14 Aug 2022, 04:38
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Tanchat
Dear Experts,

I have 2 questions

1)
E. as a source of vegetable oil only second to soybeans

E is wrong because just "only" is wrongly placed or "as a source of vegetable is wrong placed too.


2) Does (A) act as a noun phase modifier to modify "Sun flower", right?
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Hello Tanchat,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your queries,

1.) The placement of "as a source" is also incorrect in Option E; the construction of the phrase "as a source...soybeans" incorrectly implies that sunflowers have become a major commercial crop, in the role of a source of vegetable oil that is second only to soybeans the intended meaning is that cultivated sunflowers have become a major commercial crop, and as a separate action are second only to soybeans as a source of vegetable oil.

2.) A does, indeed, modify "sunflowers".

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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Over the past ten years cultivated sunflowers have become a major comm 14 Aug 2022, 19:08
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Tanchat
Dear Experts,

I have 2 questions

1)
E. as a source of vegetable oil only second to soybeans

E is wrong because just "only" is wrongly placed or "as a source of vegetable is wrong placed too.
Show more

The latter placement isn't objectively incorrect. Whether "as a source of vegetable oil" is placed at the start or at the end of that modifier is a stylistic decision; the GMAT does not test style, so that aspect of this problem is not worth studying.

The placement of "only", however, IS objectively incorrect.
"Only" needs to be placed in front of "to soybeans". (Sunflowers are in second place. What ranks higher than sunflowers? ONLY SOYBEANS, which are in first place, rank higher. in other words, sunflowers are second ONLY TO SOYBEANS in this ranking.)


Quote:
2) Does (A) act as a noun phase modifier to modify "Sun flower", right?
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Nope—it explains the precise way in which sunflowers have become a major commercial crop (the action that appears directly before the comma).

If that modifier was intended to work in the way you've described here, then it would be incorrect. (Modifiers of nouns can't jump over the entire remainder of a fairly lengthy clause/sentence in order to apply to the subject.)
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Over the past ten years cultivated sunflowers have become a major comm 15 Aug 2022, 09:32
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EMPOWERgmatVerbal
Hello Everyone!

First, let’s scan over the answers quickly and note any major differences. Next, we can narrow down the bad answers to get to the correct one!

After a quick scan, we can clearly see a few major differences to address:

1. Placement of the word “only”
2. Placement of the phrase “as a source of vegetable oil”
3. Use of the phrase “in importance”

To start, let’s look at the difference between saying “second only to” and “only second to” to figure out which one we need:

X is second only to Y = only Y can be better than X out of all the options available

X is only second to Y = X is second to Y, but may be first, third, or tenth compared to other options available

Based on the meaning of both options, it makes the most sense to keep answers that use the “X is second only to Y.” To test this out, let’s add “sunflowers are” to the beginning of each answer to see if they work:

A: “sunflowers are second only to soybeans…” → OK
B: “sunflowers are second to soybeans only…” → WRONG
C: “sunflowers are second…only to soybeans…” → OK
D: “sunflowers are…only second to soybeans…” → WRONG
E: “sunflowers are...only second to soybeans…” → WRONG

Only answers A and C correctly use “X is second only to Y” and keep the original meaning, so let’s toss out the other three answers right away.

Now we’re left with just A and C. Let’s look at both answers together to find a clear winner

A. second only to soybeans as a source of vegetable oil.

This answer is CORRECT because it uses the proper structure of “X is second only to Y,” and it doesn’t include any redundant or unnecessary words.

C. being second in importance only to soybeans as a source of vegetable oil.

This answer is INCORRECT because there are added words in the answer that are unnecessary. The word “being” doesn’t add anything to the sentence’s meaning, and the phrase “in importance” is redundant. We can safely assume if things are being ranked in some way, they are ranked by order of importance.

That leaves us with the correct answer, A!

Don’t study for the GMAT. Train for it.
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EMPOWERgmatVerbal
Can you please elaborate on what does for #1 - X is second to Y only mean? as used in option B
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Over the past ten years cultivated sunflowers have become a major comm 16 Aug 2022, 06:13
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Rickooreo
EMPOWERgmatVerbal
Hello Everyone!

First, let’s scan over the answers quickly and note any major differences. Next, we can narrow down the bad answers to get to the correct one!

After a quick scan, we can clearly see a few major differences to address:

1. Placement of the word “only”
2. Placement of the phrase “as a source of vegetable oil”
3. Use of the phrase “in importance”

To start, let’s look at the difference between saying “second only to” and “only second to” to figure out which one we need:

X is second only to Y = only Y can be better than X out of all the options available

X is only second to Y = X is second to Y, but may be first, third, or tenth compared to other options available

Based on the meaning of both options, it makes the most sense to keep answers that use the “X is second only to Y.” To test this out, let’s add “sunflowers are” to the beginning of each answer to see if they work:

A: “sunflowers are second only to soybeans…” → OK
B: “sunflowers are second to soybeans only…” → WRONG
C: “sunflowers are second…only to soybeans…” → OK
D: “sunflowers are…only second to soybeans…” → WRONG
E: “sunflowers are...only second to soybeans…” → WRONG

Only answers A and C correctly use “X is second only to Y” and keep the original meaning, so let’s toss out the other three answers right away.

Now we’re left with just A and C. Let’s look at both answers together to find a clear winner

A. second only to soybeans as a source of vegetable oil.

This answer is CORRECT because it uses the proper structure of “X is second only to Y,” and it doesn’t include any redundant or unnecessary words.

C. being second in importance only to soybeans as a source of vegetable oil.

This answer is INCORRECT because there are added words in the answer that are unnecessary. The word “being” doesn’t add anything to the sentence’s meaning, and the phrase “in importance” is redundant. We can safely assume if things are being ranked in some way, they are ranked by order of importance.

That leaves us with the correct answer, A!

Don’t study for the GMAT. Train for it.

EMPOWERgmatVerbal
Can you please elaborate on what does for #1 - X is second to Y only mean? as used in option B
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Hello Rickooreo,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the construction of the phrase "second...to soybeans only" implies that only in the context of being a source of vegetable oil are sunflowers second to soybeans.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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Over the past ten years cultivated sunflowers have become a major comm 25 Dec 2022, 18:34
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Hi, GMATNinja GMATGuruNY

Wondering what to do if the intended meaning is not clear. Here, I wasn't sure whether the author was trying to say that sunflowers are second to soybeans in terms of the major crops OR whether sunflowers are second to soybeans in terms of sources of vegetable oil. Perhaps this is a silly question, but it is why I chose D.
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Over the past ten years cultivated sunflowers have become a major comm 29 Dec 2022, 16:19
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sseth8
Hi, GMATNinja GMATGuruNY

Wondering what to do if the intended meaning is not clear. Here, I wasn't sure whether the author was trying to say that sunflowers are second to soybeans in terms of the major crops OR whether sunflowers are second to soybeans in terms of sources of vegetable oil. Perhaps this is a silly question, but it is why I chose D.
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Hello sseth8,

Hope you are doing well. I will be glad to help you with this one. :)


We need to read the sentence slowly and carefully to understand the meaning. The sentence says that over a decade, cultivated sunflowers have become a major commercial crop. It is ONLY second to soybeans as a source of vegetable oil. So, cultivated sunflowers have become a major commercial crop. It is only second to soybeans as a source of vegetable oil.

So, Choice A is the correct answer because it presents logical meaning through correct grammar.

Choice D also presents the same meaning as in it intends to say that cultivated sunflowers are second to soybeans as a source of vegetable oil. However, the grammar used in this choice is not correct. The noun modifier "which" in this choice illogically refers to the preceding noun "commercial crop".


Hope this helps. :)
Thanks.
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Over the past ten years cultivated sunflowers have become a major comm 11 Feb 2023, 06:59
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[quote="Bunuel"]Over the past ten years cultivated sunflowers have become a major commercial crop, second only to soybeans as a source of vegetable oil.


A. second only to soybeans as a source of vegetable oil

B. second in importance to soybeans only as a source of vegetable oil

C. being second in importance only to soybeans as a source of vegetable oil

D. which, as a source of vegetable oil, is only second to soybeans

E. as a source of vegetable oil only second to soybeans



a phrase, which refers to subject of the main clause and work as adverb is popular in english. the examples are

asked, I do not answer
learning gmat, I understand english more
she has left, tired of you

position of this phrase is flexible, at the begining, in the middle or at the end of the main clause. though this phrase work as an adverb modiying the main verb, it refer to the subject , meaning the action or attributes belong to the subject.

choice A in our problem is this pattern.
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