Manufacturers rate batteries in watt-hours; if they rate the

egmat

Could a verb-ing before a comma modify it provided that it has a clear antecedent?
such as in option B: rating the watt-hour higher, it is that much longer (if the pronoun "it" had a clear antecedent then the usage of the verb-ing would have been correct?)

My question is more on a general rule about the correct usage of verb-ing before a comma in regards to modifying a pronoun. So, in a nutshell, can the verb-ing modifier correctly modify the pronoun with clear antecedent?

Could this example is correct:
Sitting on the balcony, It was a toy.

Really appreciate your input and help

Hello Everyone!

Let's take a closer look at this question, so we can narrow the options down to get the to right answer quickly! To get started, here is the original question with the major differences between each option highlighted in orange:

Manufacturers rate batteries in watt-hours; if they rate the watt-hour higher, the longer the battery can be expected to last.

A) if they rate the watt-hour higher, the longer
B) rating the watt-hour higher, it is that much longer
C) the higher the watt-hour rating, the longer
D) the higher the watt-hour rating, it is that much longer that
E) when the watt-hour rating is higher, the longer it is

After glancing over the options quickly, it's clear the only thing that's consistent between all the options is the words "higher" and "longer." It also looks like this sentence is attempting to use the following idiomatic structure:

The -er the X, the -er the Y.

For this structure to work, both X and Y need to be written using parallel format.

Since idiomatic structure is an easy way to knock out options quickly, let's see which options follow this format, and rule out those that don't:

A) if they rate the watt-hour higher, the longer

B) rating the watt-hour higher, it is that much longer
(*This sentence also has a vague pronoun "it" in the second half of the phrase.)

C) the higher the watt-hour rating, the longer

D) the higher the watt-hour rating, it is that much longer that
(*This sentence also has a vague pronoun "it" with no clear antecedent.)

E) when the watt-hour rating is higher, the longer it is
(*This sentences also has a vague pronoun "it" with no clear antecedent.)

There you go - option C is the only one that follows the idiomatic structure correctly. If you familiarize yourself with common idiomatic structures, you will find these are some of the quickest to answer!


Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
_________________

Hello Everyone!

Let's take a closer look at this question, so we can narrow the options down to get the to right answer quickly! To get started, here is the original question with the major differences between each option highlighted in orange:

Manufacturers rate batteries in watt-hours; if they rate the watt-hour higher, the longer the battery can be expected to last.

A) if they rate the watt-hour higher, the longer
B) rating the watt-hour higher, it is that much longer
C) the higher the watt-hour rating, the longer
D) the higher the watt-hour rating, it is that much longer that
E) when the watt-hour rating is higher, the longer it is

After glancing over the options quickly, it's clear the only thing that's consistent between all the options is the words "higher" and "longer." It also looks like this sentence is attempting to use the following idiomatic structure:

The -er the X, the -er the Y.

For this structure to work, both X and Y need to be written using parallel format.

Since idiomatic structure is an easy way to knock out options quickly, let's see which options follow this format, and rule out those that don't:

A if they rate the watt-hour higher, the longer

B rating the watt-hour higher, it is that much longer
(*This sentence also has a vague pronoun "it" in the second half of the phrase.)

C the higher the watt-hour rating, the longer

D the higher the watt-hour rating, it is that much longer that
(*This sentence also has a vague pronoun "it" with no clear antecedent.)

E when the watt-hour rating is higher, the longer it is
(*This sentences also has a vague pronoun "it" with no clear antecedent.)

There you go - option C is the only one that follows the idiomatic structure correctly.If you familiarize yourself with common idiomatic structures, you will find these are some of the quickest to answer!


Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
_________________

The answers appear to vary significantly, signaling likely Structure, Meaning, Modifier, or Parallelism issues.

Issues

(1) Meaning / Pronoun: they

The pronoun they must be referring to manufacturers (before the semicolon) because batteries cannot rate things. The second
half, then, says: if manufacturers rate [batteries] higher, then the battery will last longer.

The manufacturers could make longer-lasting batteries, but answer (A) implies that simply changing the rating given to a
battery will cause it to last longer. That doesn't make any sense; the actual battery would have to first last longer in order to
deserve the higher rating. Eliminate answer (A).

(2) Parallelism: higher X, longer Y

The sentence contains a cause-effect structure that needs to be parallel.

(A) if they rate X higher the longer the Y
(B) rating X higher it is that much longer the Y
(C) the higher the X the longer the Y
(D) the higher the X it is that much longer that the Y
(E) when the X is higher the longer it is the Y

Answers (A), (B), (D), and (E) are all wrong; not one offers a parallel structure for X and Y. Eliminate answers (A), (B), (D),
and (E).

The Correct Answer (C) offers the only parallel option: the higher the X, the longer the Y.
_________________

Manufacturers rate batteries in watt-hours; if they rate the watt-hour higher, the longer the battery can be expected to last.

A if they rate the watt-hour higher, the longer
B rating the watt-hour higher, it is that much longer
C the higher the watt-hour rating, the longer
D the higher the watt-hour rating, it is that much longer that
E when the watt-hour rating is higher, the longer it is

Option A could be correct if the following clause would be '' the battery can be expected to last longer."

The correct sentence pattern in the underlined segment should be: (the + comparative adjective + ext), (the + comparative adjective + sub + verb......)

Related sentences are: The sooner, the better.
The more, the merrier.
The more you read, the more you will learn.

Therefore, options B, D, E will go off. The correct answer is C.

Actually this is a brilliant question by GMAC. Option A has a phenomenal meaning related nuance.

It says: if they (manufacturers) rate the watt-hour higher, the longer the battery can be expected to last.

Notice how fallacious this conditional construct is; it conveys that the mere act of rating (by the manufacturers) makes the battery last longer!

So, it seems to illogically suggest that the life of a battery depends upon the whim and fancy of the manufacturers!

In fact, for this reason, in this sentence, passive voice is preferred over active voice.
_________________

EducationAisle Thanks for point out a subtle meaning issue in option A. Is there a way to develop meaning understanding?

Hi sjuniv32, the entire sentence correction section has an undercurrent of meaning. So, it is impossible for anyone to capture all nuances of meaning related errors tested on GMAT, in one single post.

Modifiers and parallelism are especially about meaning. GMAT creates subtle modifier/parallelism related construction alterations among the various answer choices, to introduce meaning distortions in incorrect answer choices.

Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana has a dedicated section on meaning distortions, their application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.
_________________

The problem can be solved, using the sentence mentioned below:

The + comparative adjective + first clause,the + comparative adjective + second clause.

A if they rate the watt-hour higher, the longer - if is a possibility, we are talking about something they actually do
B rating the watt-hour higher, it is that much longer - it makes the sentence wordy
C the higher the watt-hour rating, the longer - PERFECT COMPARISON
D the higher the watt-hour rating, it is that much longer that - wordy
E when the watt-hour rating is higher, the longer it is - Referring to a point in time, incorrect

Manufacturers rate batteries in watt-hours; if they rate the watt-hour higher, the longer the battery can be expected to last.

A if they rate the watt-hour higher, the longer X

I don't see any glaring issues with this one, but it's definitely not as clean as C.

B rating the watt-hour higher, it is that much longer X

Besides reading terribly, the problem is 'it' is singular and 'batteries' is plural

C the higher the watt-hour rating, the longer CORRECT

D the higher the watt-hour rating, it is that much longer that X

Besides reading terribly, the problem is 'it' is singular and 'batteries' is plural

E when the watt-hour rating is higher, the longer it is X
-non-sense...this sentence suggests that WHEN the watt-hour rating is higher, the longer it is that the battery can be expected to last
_________________

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.
_________________