The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th : Sentence Correction (EA only)

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Skywalker18

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Re: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th [#permalink]

18 Mar 2018, 20:22

sayantanc2k wrote:

EBITDA wrote:

Hi sayantanc2k,

Could you explain this in a clearer way by putting an example, for instance?

"If a pronoun is subject of a clause and has two possible antecedents, one of them the subject of another clause within the sentence, then the pronoun would unambiguously refer to that subject antecedent."

I do not think that what you are stating is always the case.

Let us take option B as an example:

Like the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are so far away from the Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

"If a pronoun is subject of a clause..": They is the subject of a clause (they are so far away from the Earth ....).
"..has two possible antecedents..": The pronoun they has two possible antecedents - planets and stars.
"..one of them the subject of another clause..": Stars is the subject of another clause (the stars are in motion...).
"...pronoun would unambiguously refer to that subject antecedent": The pronoun they refers to the SUBJECT antecedent stars.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/joan-of-arc- ... 35813.html

The below is an explanation in above link -

daagh wrote:

An important thumb rule to follow while handling compound sentences is the omission of the subject in the second IC, if the subject of first IC can fit in as well as the subject. Here the subject of both the ICs is Joan and hence you can drop the pronoun – she - in the second IC. The whole sentence will still be //. Secondly, the right idiom is to claim. Both these combinations, you find in choice D only

In a compound sentence, is the repetition of the subject in the part that follows the connector FANBOYS(by replacing with a pronoun) considered redundant?

AjiteshArun , GMATNinja , mikemcgarry , egmat , sayantanc2k, DmitryFarber , MagooshExpert ,chetan2u , daagh , other experts- please help
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sonusaini1

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Re: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th [#permalink]

19 May 2019, 08:25

The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being[/u] so far away from the Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

(A) The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being (yet introduces 2nd clause, but there is no subject for 2nd IC)

(B) Like the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are ( correct construction)

(C) Although like the planets the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, yet ( Although & yet both are conjunctions, Use of two conjunctions is not correct, again no subject for the 2nd IC)

(D) As the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are( Use of as to introduce comparison is not correct)

(E) The stars are in motion like the planets, some of which at tremendous speeds are in motion but ( There is no comma before conjunction but)

Will go with choice B, but i couldn't find the error in option E.I request somebody to please help me on this.

Thanks
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Re: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th [#permalink]

19 May 2019, 19:01

Expert Reply

sonusaini1 wrote:

Will go with choice B, but i couldn't find the error in option E.I request somebody to please help me on this.

I think what HKD1710 pointed out is probably the best way to take option E out. Here are a couple of other issues we could look at:

B. Like the planets, the stars are in motion...
E. The stars are in motion like the planets, some of which at tremendous speeds are in motion...

Using in motion twice doesn't help us in any way.

Also, because E introduces planets after stars, we're not quite sure what the information after but points to.

... the planets, some of which at tremendous speeds are in motion but so far away... ← This seems to say "the planets are in motion but (are) so far away that their apparent positions in the sky..."

It's better to connect apparent positions in the sky to stars (we can see stars more easily than we can see planets).
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rashwiniyer

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Re: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th [#permalink]

18 Jun 2019, 18:49

Isn't 'they' ambiguous in option B? I read one comment that priority is to first check the structure. Do we have any order of checking the sentence correction. I know first is the meaning of the sentence, then the rules, and then idioms and awkwardness. But within rules also we have some orders?

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Re: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th [#permalink]

20 Jun 2019, 11:01

Expert Reply

rashwiniyer wrote:

Isn't 'they' ambiguous in option B? I read one comment that priority is to first check the structure. Do we have any order of checking the sentence correction. I know first is the meaning of the sentence, then the rules, and then idioms and awkwardness. But within rules also we have some orders?

Hello rashwiniyer!

Thanks for your question! Let's take a look at option B and answer your questions:

(B) Like the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are so far away from the Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

For this option, the pronoun "they" isn't ambiguous at all. It's clearly referring back to "stars." We know this because it's the only main noun that "they" could be referring back to. It can't refer to "planets" because that's part of a modifier, and pronouns don't refer back to modifiers - they refer back to nouns or subjects of sentences.

While some people use a hierarchy when checking SC questions for the GMAT, we at EMPOWERgmat don't think that's helpful. It forces you to look for problems that may not be there, or focus on grammar concepts you're not great with! We prefer to use this method:

1. Do a quick scan over the options, and eliminate any that you can tell right away are just plain wrong.
2. Highlight/Note the major differences between each option. That's a hint of what you should focus on!
3. Start with the major differences that will eliminate 2-3 options right away, or choose the difference you're most familiar with to start. For example, if the options use two different conjunctions (let's say 2 use "but" and 3 use "and"), this is a great place to start because no matter which one is correct, you will easily remove 2-3 options quickly. Or, if you're more familiar with using pronouns, and there are major differences with the pronouns in each one, start there.
4. Eliminate options that don't work until you only have one left!

I hope this helps! I highly recommend checking out our site (https://www.empowergmat.com) for more helpful tools to beat the SC portion of the GMAT!
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Re: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th [#permalink]

21 Dec 2019, 06:00

EMPOWERgmatVerbal wrote:

Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question, one issue at a time, and narrow it down to the correct choice! First, let's take a closer look at the original question and highlight any major differences between the options in orange:

The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being so far away from the Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

(A) The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being
(B) Like the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are
(C) Although like the planets the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, yet
(D) As the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are
(E) The stars are in motion like the planets, some of which at tremendous speeds are in motion but

After glancing over the options quickly, a few key differences pop out that we can focus on:

1. yet being / but they are / yet / but (Coordinating Conjunctions)
2. placement of the phrase "some of them at tremendous speeds" (Modifiers/Meaning)
3. just as the planets are / like the planets / as the planets (Idioms/Comparisons)

Let's start with #1 on our list: coordinating conjunctions! Whenever we see coordinating conjunctions as one of our key differences, we MUST check to see that they are being used properly. Coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) can only be use to connect 2 independent clauses. Let's take a look at each option to figure out if they are using conjunctions correctly. (I've added the non-underlined portion of the sentence to help see the problem.)

(A) The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being so far away from the Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

independent clause + yet + dependent clause = WRONG

(B) Like the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are being so far away from the Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

independent clause + but + independent clause = OK

(C) Although like the planets the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, yet being so far away from the Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

independent clause + yet + dependent clause = WRONG

(D) As the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are being so far away from the Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

independent clause + but + independent clause = OK

(E) The stars are in motion like the planets, some of which at tremendous speeds are in motion but being so far away from the Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

independent clause + but + dependent clause = WRONG (This is also missing a comma before the conjunction "but.")

There you go - we can eliminate options A, C, & E because they don't use coordinating conjunctions properly!

Now that we have it narrowed down to only 2 options, let's take a closer look at each one and see if we can find any problems:

(B) Like the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are

This is the CORRECT choice! The preposition "like" should always be used after a noun, which it is here.

(D) As the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are

This is INCORRECT. The word "as" should only be used as a conjunction to join two clauses together. Since the phrase "As the planets" isn't a clause with a subject and verb, this doesn't work.

There you have it - option B is our correct choice!

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

Hi EMPOWERgmatVerbal,

The solution you have posted is very insightful and helped me eliminate a number of choices that I had confusion with. Thanks for the posting.
I have one last doubt which I request you to help with - I understand that 'Like' is used to compare and must be followed by nouns but in D the construction 'Like the planets, the stars are in motion' seems to compare the motion of stars with planets. Should it be not 'The stars are in motion as planets are'?

Warm Regards,
Pritishd

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Re: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th [#permalink]

26 Dec 2019, 15:54

Expert Reply

Pritishd wrote:

EMPOWERgmatVerbal wrote:

Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question, one issue at a time, and narrow it down to the correct choice! First, let's take a closer look at the original question and highlight any major differences between the options in orange:

The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being so far away from the Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

(A) The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being
(B) Like the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are
(C) Although like the planets the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, yet
(D) As the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are
(E) The stars are in motion like the planets, some of which at tremendous speeds are in motion but

After glancing over the options quickly, a few key differences pop out that we can focus on:

1. yet being / but they are / yet / but (Coordinating Conjunctions)
2. placement of the phrase "some of them at tremendous speeds" (Modifiers/Meaning)
3. just as the planets are / like the planets / as the planets (Idioms/Comparisons)

Let's start with #1 on our list: coordinating conjunctions! Whenever we see coordinating conjunctions as one of our key differences, we MUST check to see that they are being used properly. Coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) can only be use to connect 2 independent clauses. Let's take a look at each option to figure out if they are using conjunctions correctly. (I've added the non-underlined portion of the sentence to help see the problem.)

(A) The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being so far away from the Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

independent clause + yet + dependent clause = WRONG

(B) Like the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are being so far away from the Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

independent clause + but + independent clause = OK

(C) Although like the planets the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, yet being so far away from the Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

independent clause + yet + dependent clause = WRONG

(D) As the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are being so far away from the Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

independent clause + but + independent clause = OK

(E) The stars are in motion like the planets, some of which at tremendous speeds are in motion but being so far away from the Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

independent clause + but + dependent clause = WRONG (This is also missing a comma before the conjunction "but.")

There you go - we can eliminate options A, C, & E because they don't use coordinating conjunctions properly!

Now that we have it narrowed down to only 2 options, let's take a closer look at each one and see if we can find any problems:

(B) Like the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are

This is the CORRECT choice! The preposition "like" should always be used after a noun, which it is here.

(D) As the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are

This is INCORRECT. The word "as" should only be used as a conjunction to join two clauses together. Since the phrase "As the planets" isn't a clause with a subject and verb, this doesn't work.

There you have it - option B is our correct choice!

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

Hi EMPOWERgmatVerbal,

The solution you have posted is very insightful and helped me eliminate a number of choices that I had confusion with. Thanks for the posting.
I have one last doubt which I request you to help with - I understand that 'Like' is used to compare and must be followed by nouns but in D the construction 'Like the planets, the stars are in motion' seems to compare the motion of stars with planets. Should it be not 'The stars are in motion as planets are'?

Warm Regards,
Pritishd

Thank you for your question, Pritishd!

In option D, this is what it would look like if you repeated the comparison on both sides:

Like the planets are in motion, the stars are in motion

Since we don't have to repeat the same phrase twice to get our point across, the writer simply left it out of the first half. The two things being compared are still the planets and the stars - which are parallel in kind - the basis on which they're being compared is that they're in motion. As long as we compare planets to starts, and not planets to motion, as it is in option D, we're fine.

You could also write it the way you suggested, which I think is how they do in option A - however, option A has other problems that remove it from our list of options.

I hope this helps! Feel free to tag us at EMPOWERgmatVerbal if you have any other questions!
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singhamit06

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Re: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th [#permalink]

27 Jul 2020, 07:55

In B option, Isn't antecedent of "They" ambiguous?
Stars or Planets?

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Re: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th [#permalink]

10 Oct 2020, 19:30

generis AndrewN GMATNinja

Just want to understand that is the usage of 'being' correct in option A.

As far as I know 'being' is correct in 2 cases :--
1. Being used as a gerund
2. Being used as a past progressive

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Re: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th [#permalink]

07 Nov 2020, 04:17

Please can someone elaborate on the usage of 'being' on GMAT. It's very confusing.

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Re: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th [#permalink]

18 Nov 2020, 05:30

Expert Reply

sudeshpatodiya wrote:

Please can someone elaborate on the usage of 'being' on GMAT. It's very confusing.

Hi sudeshpatodiya, few scenarios when the usage of being is correct are:

i) being in a progressive form (depicting the meaning in the process of)

ii) When being is used as a gerund (noun form)

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses usage of "being", its application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.
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lakshya14

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Re: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th [#permalink]

03 Dec 2020, 04:59

In (B), "they" after but should refer back to the subject of the previous clause "planets" which is wrong, then how com "they" is referring to "stars"?

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Re: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th [#permalink]

26 Dec 2020, 10:01

AjiteshArun wrote:

singhamit06 wrote:

In B option, Isn't antecedent of "They" ambiguous?
Stars or Planets?

Hi singhamit06,

We could consider the they ambiguous (though the way the sentence is structured makes it hard to link the they to planets), but pronoun ambiguity is not a major issue. We should remove an option on the basis of pronoun ambiguity only when we don't have a better, more reliable way to get through the question.

AjiteshArun

Quote:

Like the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are so far away from the Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

it seems that 'some of them at tremendous speeds' is the modifier of 'the stars are in motion' not 'Like the planets' at all. so, 'them' indicates only noun of modified part (the stars are in motion), and ultimately 'them' refers to 'they' in the next clause. so, 'they' or 'them' is not ambiguous. am i right in my way of thinking?
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AjiteshArun

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Re: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th [#permalink]

26 Dec 2020, 21:23

Expert Reply

TheUltimateWinner wrote:

AjiteshArun

it seems that 'some of them at tremendous speeds' is the modifier of 'the stars are in motion' not 'Like the planets' at all. so, 'them' indicates only noun of modified part (the stars are in motion), and ultimately 'them' refers to 'they' in the next clause. so, 'they' or 'them' is not ambiguous. am i right in my way of thinking?

Hi TheUltimateWinner,

Think of it as a "signal" to the reader. Even if something like this is reasonably clear, it is still just a "signal". Of course, if you've seen a rule that says that a pronoun cannot refer to another element in the sentence, I'd be happy to take a look at that.
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Re: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th [#permalink]

10 May 2021, 21:18

beckee529 wrote:

The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being so far away from the Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

(A) The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being

(B) Like the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are

(C) Although like the planets the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, yet

(D) As the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are

(E) The stars are in motion like the planets, some of which at tremendous speeds are in motion but

The Official Guide for GMAT Review 2017

Practice Question
Question No.: SC 775
Page: 704

Show Spoiler

The World Almanac and Book of Facts

The stars are also in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are so far away that their motion does not change their apparent positions in the heavens sufficiently for anyone to perceive that change in a single lifetime.

Attachment:

01.jpg

Attachment:

02.jpg

Attachment:

03.jpg

Attachment:

04.jpg

Hello experts,

Can we say that, in addition to the errors pointed out by various experts, usage of "being" is also an error because it seems like it refers to temporary state. It seems like the stars are being far away for some time and then they'll not be far away.

Is my understanding wrong?

And can you please explain WHY is the modifier "some of them at tremendous speed" modifying "the stars are in motion" and not "starts"? I mean how would the meaning change if it modifies "stars"?

Thank you in advance!

ChiranjeevSingh VeritasKarishma GMATNinja AjiteshArun AndrewN

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Re: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th [#permalink]

10 May 2021, 21:53

Expert Reply

ashmit99 wrote:

Hello experts,

Can we say that, in addition to the errors pointed out by various experts, usage of "being" is also an error because it seems like it refers to temporary state. It seems like the stars are being far away for some time and then they'll not be far away.

Is my understanding wrong?

And can you please explain WHY is the modifier "some of them at tremendous speed" modifying "the stars are in motion" and not "starts"? I mean how would the meaning change if it modifies "stars"?

Thank you in advance!

ChiranjeevSingh VeritasKarishma GMATNinja AjiteshArun AndrewN

Hi ashmit99,

It'd be great to see more opinions on this, but this type of being actually looks like the "because (they are)" being to me ("being so far away" ~ "because they are so far away"). Of course, this is not a complete clause, which is the primary reason to remove option A.

As far as the placement of some of them at tremendous speeds goes, it's better to use that phrase after the verb (but I wouldn't go so far as to say that it is absolutely impossible to use it the way A does). For example:

Athletes, some of them at a very high level, compete... ← This is not very clear. Are we trying to say that some athletes are at a very high level or are we trying to say that some athletes compete at a very high level?
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AcesA

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Re: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th [#permalink]

24 Nov 2022, 05:48

In option B, "them" can point to both the stars and the planets. Again "they" can refer to both. How to counter this issue?

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capsguy2018

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Re: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th [#permalink]

28 Jan 2023, 14:28

When comparing answer choices B and D. Isn't the comparison between the motion of the planets and the stars?

I am having a hard time deciding on whether to use like or as in this case. I understand like is used to compare nouns such as planets vs stars but in this case aren't we comparing the action (or the motion) of the two?

"the stars are in motion" - I thought this is a clause and therefore we would need "as"

Any help on clarifying this would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

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Re: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th [#permalink]

28 Jan 2023, 18:50

Expert Reply

capsguy2018 wrote:

When comparing answer choices B and D. Isn't the comparison between the motion of the planets and the stars?

I am having a hard time deciding on whether to use like or as in this case. I understand like is used to compare nouns such as planets vs stars but in this case aren't we comparing the action (or the motion) of the two?

"the stars are in motion" - I thought this is a clause and therefore we would need "as"

Take another look.

Does the sentence (B) version say "like the motion of the planets" or "like the planets are moving"?

What is compared in the (B) version of the sentence?
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DmitryFarber

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Re: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th [#permalink]

29 Jan 2023, 16:58

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capsguy2018

When we start with a comparison phrase, there will always be a clause afterward, because otherwise we wouldn't have a sentence! But that doesn't mean we are comparing the noun in the comparison phrase to the whole sentence. I can say "Like my parents, I read every day" or "As my parents do, I read every day." The idea conveyed is essentially the same in both, but on a technical level, the first is comparing me to my parents. We are alike. How? We read every day. The second is comparing actions. What is it that I do that my parents also do? Read every day.

Notice that answer choice D doesn't work in either of these two ways, because the initial modifier doesn't describe an action. It just says "As the planets." So D is just an incorrectly-phrased noun comparison. The only way that it would work would be if the stars WERE the planets, since AS before a noun can mean "in the role of." This is the usage we see in "As your attorney, I advise you not to answer that."
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gmatclubot

Re: The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th [#permalink]

29 Jan 2023, 16:58

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The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as th

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