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705-805 (Hard)|   Verb Tense/Form|            
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To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is gradually instilling the 09 Dec 2022, 07:48
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Bare minimum Technique.
Recognizing what this question is testing.
Idioms and Parallelism

To Speak(Infinitive, Simple present tense)..............is to instill(Infinitive, Simple present tense)

To do A is to do B
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To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is gradually instilling the 09 Dec 2022, 10:07
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Hyy I got my answer correct
I rejected A,B,E for using present continous , and D for using gradual notion ,
Am I correct ? egmat GMATNinja anyone can answer
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To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is gradually instilling the 13 Dec 2022, 19:46
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To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is gradually instilling the notion that many of those who are just called “needy” actually have adequate resources; such a conclusion is unwarranted.


(A) To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is gradually instilling the notion

(B) To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is instilling the notion gradually

(C) To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is gradually to instill the notion

(D) Speaking habitually of the “truly needy” is to instill the gradual notion

(E) Speaking habitually of the “truly needy” is instilling the gradual notion
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Why can't we have two verbs here? "is" and "instilling"?
In option A, we can think of this sentence as -
To speak habitually about something is gradually instilling some ideas in people's heads.

Please help.
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To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is gradually instilling the 14 Dec 2022, 05:27
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arya251294
Why can't we have two verbs here? "is" and "instilling"?
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Incidentally, "instilling" is not a verb.

Quote:

In option A, we can think of this sentence as -
To speak habitually about something is gradually instilling some ideas in people's heads.
Show more
If that was the intent, option E would be a better choice, except that gradual notion distorts the meaning.
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To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is gradually instilling the 14 Dec 2022, 08:52
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How is "gradually to instill" a thing? I dont get it, shouldn't it be "to instill gradually"?
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To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is gradually instilling the 14 Dec 2022, 18:44
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EducationAisle
arya251294
Why can't we have two verbs here? "is" and "instilling"?
Incidentally, "instilling" is not a verb.

Quote:

In option A, we can think of this sentence as -
To speak habitually about something is gradually instilling some ideas in people's heads.
If that was the intent, option E would be a better choice, except that gradual notion distorts the meaning.
Show more

But I can see that instill is a verb, so if I put -ing in front of it will it not make a verb in progressive tense?
What am I missing here?
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To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is gradually instilling the 14 Dec 2022, 23:15
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arya251294

But I can see that instill is a verb, so if I put -ing in front of it will it not make a verb in progressive tense?
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Not sure I completely understand your question Arya, but "speaking" is used as a "gerund" (noun-form) in options D and E, not as a "progressive tense".

So, the usage here is like:

Swimming is my hobby.

As you would appreciate, "Swimming" does not denote any progressive tense here; swimming is used as a gerund.
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To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is gradually instilling the 15 Dec 2022, 03:00
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omsoni134
Hyy I got my answer correct
I rejected A,B,E for using present continous , and D for using gradual notion ,
Am I correct ? egmat GMATNinja anyone can answer
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Hey omsoni134

Happy to help you with this.

This question is a simple test of parallelism. When we wish to equate two actions, we have two ways to do it:

1. To verb (a.k.a. Infinitive) = To verb
    For example: To work hard is to succeed.
    This sentence means that the action of working hard is the same as the action of succeeding.
2. Verb-ing Noun (a.k.a. Gerund) = Verb-ing Noun
    For example: Seeing is believing.
    This sentence means that the action of seeing is the same as the action of believing.


Now, in this official question, only choices C and E conform to the two parallel structures discussed above. So, it's an easy elimination of choices A, B, and D. Moving forward, choice E has the distortion of meaning (already identified by you correctly): the gradual notion. It is the instilling that's gradual and not the notion. And that leaves us with choice C.

Now, yes, choice C is a little awkward. The reason is the placement of the adverb "gradually". In modern English, we split the infinitive and place the adverb in between the preposition 'to' and the base verb 'instill': to gradually instill. But please note, this question is a pre-2000 question (very old). Back then, the "Split Infinitive" was considered incorrect on the GMAT. However, as of today, the Split Infinitive is not tested on the GMAT.

Here's what the Official Guide 2022 has to say about Split Infinitive, and I quote:

"Some issues that are not tested:
You may hear that some usage advisors object to placing anything between to and an infinitive verb, as in to finally reach the destination. You should not expect to see Sentence Correction questions for which the deciding factor is merely whether the writer follows this advice. However, you might encounter a sentence that is awkward and unclear because too many words—or words that would go better elsewhere—are crammed in between the preposition and the verb. This occurs in the following sentence:

    I try to remember to scrupulously every day before I leave work log off my computer.

This sentence has an issue of general unclarity and inelegance falling under the heading of rhetorical construction, and not a mere case of a split infinitive."

So, to conclude, this was a test of simple parallelism. Also, the Split Infinitive is no longer tested on the GMAT nor is it strictly considered incorrect. You'll not be required to take any decisions in SC on the basis of this rule.


I hope this helps improve your understanding.

Happy Learning!

Abhishek
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To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is gradually instilling the 15 Dec 2022, 19:32
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EducationAisle
arya251294

But I can see that instill is a verb, so if I put -ing in front of it will it not make a verb in progressive tense?
Not sure I completely understand your question Arya, but "speaking" is used as a "gerund" (noun-form) in options D and E, not as a "progressive tense".

So, the usage here is like:

Swimming is my hobby.

As you would appreciate, "Swimming" does not denote any progressive tense here; swimming is used as a gerund.
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Sorry to bother you again, but I am under the impression that "instilling" is after the verb "is" in option A, B, and E so that is why it is not a gerund but a verb.
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To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is gradually instilling the Updated on: 16 Dec 2022, 03:11
Originally posted by EducationAisle on 15 Dec 2022, 23:28.
Last edited by EducationAisle on 16 Dec 2022, 03:11, edited 1 time in total.
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arya251294
Sorry to bother you again, but I am under the impression that "instilling" is after the verb "is" in option A, B, and E so that is why it is not a gerund but a verb.
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No botheration at all Arya.

As I mentioned in my last post, "speaking" is used as a gerund in options D and E.

No "-ing" form of a verb is ever a verb; at the very least, this principle avoids a lot of confusion.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses differences between Present participles and Gerunds, their 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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To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is gradually instilling the 15 Dec 2022, 23:59
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shikhar
To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is gradually instilling the notion that many of those who are just called “needy” actually have adequate resources; such a conclusion is unwarranted.


(A) To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is gradually instilling the notion

(B) To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is instilling the notion gradually

(C) To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is gradually to instill the notion

(D) Speaking habitually of the “truly needy” is to instill the gradual notion

(E) Speaking habitually of the “truly needy” is instilling the gradual notion

Why can't we have two verbs here? "is" and "instilling"?
In option A, we can think of this sentence as -
To speak habitually about something is gradually instilling some ideas in people's heads.

Please help.
Show more

Yes, 'is instilling' is acting as a present progressive verb here but then you need the do-er of the action as the subject.

X is instilling this notion in people's heads.
Who is doing the instilling? X

Then you need the structure:
When you speak habitually of ..., you are gradually instilling the notion ...
The do-er of the action is 'you' here.

'To speak habitually ... is to instil the notion ...
Here we are equating 'to speak' with 'to instil' and that makes sense. 'is' stands for '=' here.
We don't need to say who is instilling.
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To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is gradually instilling the 19 Dec 2022, 23:32
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Joses111
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"To do A is to do B" means when you are doing A, you end up doing B, intentionally or unintentionally ("doing A is equivalent to doing B" or "doing A leads to doing B")

is it at least possible?
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Joses111 - I am not sure I understand your question. Please elaborate.
Btw, welcome to GMAT Club :)
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To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is gradually instilling the 28 Dec 2023, 14:36
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