‘TO VERB’ VS ‘FOR VERB-ING’ https://gmatclub.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/To-verb-for-GC-e1355345463523.png Hi folks, Let the title of the article not confuse you. Read the following two sentences: 1. Joe wrote a book to share his experiences with others. 2. Joe got acclaims for writing the book. These are very easy simple sentences and so the usage of the highlighted phrases does not bother us. Fair enough. Now let’s reverse these phrase in the above two statements. https://e-gmat.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Celebrating-Milestones1.png 1. Joe wrote a book for sharing his experiences with others. 2. Joe got acclaims to write the book. Now these sentences certainly strike you. You immediately tell yourself, “Hey, these don’t sound right.” Right? Don’t only trust your ears or instincts. Read on to know why they don’t get grammatical approval. REASON OUT We must understand the usage of “to verb” and “for verb” to be able to distinguish between the contexts where these phrases can be used correctly. Use of “to verb" – This phrase is used when we need to present the purpose or the intention of an action. This phrase is actually a shorter way of “writing” “in order to verb”. Let’s take the simple sentences with this phrase we mentioned in the beginning of the article. 1. Joe wrote a book to share his experiences with others.: This sentence correctly uses “to share” because it presents the purpose why Joe wrote the book. It is explicit from the context that Joe wrote the book because he wanted to share his experience with others. 2. Joe got acclaims to write the book.: This sentence does not use “to write” correctly because writing the book is certainly not the purpose of Joe getting acclaims. Use of “for verb-ing” – Since “for” is a preposition, it can modify either a noun or a verb. Prepositional phrase “for verb-ing” can modify the verb or the noun in that it denotes some relation to the entity it modifies. Let’s understand this through the previously mentioned simple sentences. 1. Joe got acclaims for writing the book.: This sentence correctly uses “for writing” because this prepositional phrase logically modifies the verb “got”. Here, there is no question of presenting any purpose. The sentence rather explains “what for” Joe got acclaims. Hence, use of “for writing” is correct. 2. Joe wrote a book for sharing his experiences with others.: This sentence incorrectly uses “for sharing” to denote Joe’s intention of writing the book. So, when the intention is explicit from the context of the sentence, then we must choose “to verb” over “for verb-ing”. Let’s see and evaluate the usages of these phrases in official examples. OFFICIAL EXAMPLES – TO VERB https://gmatclub.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/gmat2-banner11-e1373945998281.jpg EXAMPLE 1 Although this is not a heavily tested concept on GMAT, this is certainly one of those concepts that confuse a lot of test takers. In such questions, generally we can narrow down our selection to two choices – one having “to verb” and the other “for verb-ing”. For example: Warning that computers in the United States are not secure, the National Academy of Sciences has urged the nation to revamp computer security procedures, institute new emergency response teams, creating a special nongovernment organization to take charge of computer security planning. A. creating a special nongovernment organization to take B. creating a special nongovernment organization that takes C. creating a special nongovernment organization for taking D. and create a special nongovernment organization for taking E. and create a special nongovernment organization to take MEANING ANALYSIS: The NAS has warned that the US computers are not secure. Hence, they have urged the nation to do a few things. PoE: We are not doing the Error Analysis here because those errors do not encompass the topic of discussion of this write-up. After error analysis, we can narrow our choices to D and E. The only difference between these two choices is “for taking” and “to take”. So let’s analyze these choices: D. and create a special nongovernment organization for taking: From meaning analysis we know that the NAS has asked the US government to do a few things to secure its computers. One of these tasks is to create a special nongovernment organization. Now, per the context of the sentence, it is clear that taking charge of computer security planning is the purpose for creating this special nongovernment organization. Hence, purpose is explicit from the context. So this choice stands incorrect as it uses “for creating” instead of “to create”. E. and create a special nongovernment organization to take: This choice correctly expresses the purpose by using the correct phrase “to create”, and hence is the correct answer. EXAMPLE 2 The same usage can be seen in OG13#76. Combining enormous physical strength with higher intelligence, the Neanderthals appear as equipped for facing any obstacle the environment could put in their path, but their relatively sudden disappearance during the Paleolithic era indicates that an inability to adapt to some environmental change led to their extinction. https://e-gmat.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/FT-GC-FB-event-e1532524398949.jpg ERROR ANALYIS One of the errors in the sentence is the use of “for facing”. The context of the sentence tells us that the Neanderthals were equipped with the purpose of doing something. And what is this purpose? The purpose was facing any environmental obstacle. Since the purpose is explicit here, we should use “to face” and not “for facing” Following is the sentence with correct answer choice: Combining enormous physical strength with higher intelligence, the Neanderthals appear to have been equipped to face any obstacle the environment could put in their path, but their relatively sudden disappearance during the Paleolithic era indicates that an inability to adapt to some environmental change led to their extinction. This choice corrects that error and changes “for facing” to “to face” to correctly express the explicit purpose in the sentence. OFFICIAL EXAMPLES – FOR VERB-ING EXAMPLE 1 New genetic evidence - together with recent studies of elephants’ skeletons, tusks, and other anatomical features - provide compelling support for classifying Africa’s forest elephants and its savanna elephants as separate species. A. provide compelling support for classifying B. provide compelling support for the classification of C. provides compelling support to the classification of D. provides compelling support for classifying E. provides compelling support to classify MEANING ANALYSIS: The sentence says that New genetic evidence together with some other things provide compelling support. Support for what? Support for classifying Africa’s forest elephants and savanna elephants as separate species. PoE: Again, the error analysis helps us eliminate the first three choices for errors we are not discussing here. Again the only difference between D and E is “for classifying” and “to classify”. D. provides compelling support for classifying: Per the meaning, new genetic evidence provides support. Most certainly, the new genetic evidence does not have any purpose for providing such support. Rather we can ask what is this support for? This support is for doing something else. Hence this choice correctly uses “for classifying”. E. provides compelling support to classify: This choice is clearly incorrect because there cannot be any purpose here per the context of this sentence. P.S: Also, this sentence involves usage of correct idiom. “provide support or help” is always followed a preposition + Noun. Hence, choice E is incorrect idiomatically as well. EXAMPLE 2 There are many official problems in OG the study of which can be useful to understand the usage of “for verb-ing”. Although, the sentences that I’m going to talk about in this section do not necessarily test this usage, they are useful for understanding the correct usage of the phrase. https://gmatclub.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/gmat2-banner11-e1373945998281.jpg Let’s take a look at OG12#40: This is the sentence with the correct answer choice as the topic of discussion is not tested in this question: Dr. Tonegawa won the Nobel Prize for discovering how the body can constantly change its genes to fashion a seemingly unlimited number of antibodies, each targeted specifically at an invading microbe or foreign substance. This sentence correctly uses “for discovering” because Dr. Tonegawa won the Nobel prize for something. If we change “for discovering” to “to discover”, the meaning will be distorted. There is no purpose involved in this sentence and hence “for discovering…” clearly answer what for Dr. Tonegawa won the Nobel Prize. https://gmatclub.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/TA-e1355335350197.png OG QUESTIONS YOU CAN STUDY FOR CORRECT USAGE Apply these rule sets to the following OG questions. OG 12# 51, 106 OG Verbal Review 2# 5, 8, EXERCISE QUESTION While some propose to combat widespread illegal copying of computer programs by attempting to change people's attitudes toward pirating, others by suggesting reducing software prices to decrease the incentive for pirating, and still others by calling for the prosecution of those who copy software illegally. (OG 10) A) by suggesting reducing software prices to decrease the incentive for pirating, and still others by calling B) by suggesting the reduction of software prices to decrease the incentive for pirating, and still others call C) suggest the reduction of software prices for decreasing the incentive for pirating, and still others call D) suggest the reduction of software prices to decrease the incentive for pirating, and still others by calling E) suggest reducing software prices to decrease the incentive for pirating, and still others are calling Hope this helps. Thanks. Shraddha

@rajhere, You are the one who understood e-gmat session thoroughly. This article talks the same Why D is not correct answer according to you then? About the answers, D & E both explains 'what for' aspect, but D tries to elongate the sentence.

Last visit was: 04 May 2026, 09:55

It is currently 04 May 2026, 09:55

Toolkit

Verbal Archive [Locked]

GMAT Club Daily Prep

Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.

Go to My Error Log Learn more

Request Expert Reply

Confirm Cancel

May 05
Inequalities for GMAT Quant: The Concepts You Must Know
10:00 AM PDT
-
11:00 AM PDT
GMAT Inequalities is a high-frequency topic in GMAT Quant, but many students struggle because the concepts behave differently from standard algebra. Understanding the right rules, patterns, and edge cases can significantly improve both speed and accuracy.
May 06
GMAT 615 to 715 in Just 15 Days! Riya’s 100-pt Improvement Strategy
12:30 AM EDT
-
01:30 AM EDT
GMAT 615 to 715 in Just 15 Days! Riya’s 100-pt Improvement Strategy
May 06
Paradox & Discrepancy Questions: GMAT Critical Reasoning #3 | GMAT Ninja
08:30 AM PDT
-
09:30 AM PDT
In Episode 3 of our GMAT Ninja Critical Reasoning series, we tackle Discrepancy, Paradox, and Explain an Oddity questions. You know the feeling: the passage gives you two facts that seem completely contradictory....
May 07
GMAT 705 in 30 days: Best Study Strategy for Working Professionals
01:00 AM EDT
-
02:00 AM EDT
Learn how Keshav, a Chartered Accountant, scored an impressive 705 on GMAT in just 30 days with GMATWhiz's expert guidance. In this video, he shares preparation tips and strategies that worked for him, including the mock, time management, and.....
May 08
$10,000 MBA Scholarships Winners Drawing - Join & Watch the Lucky Winners
08:00 AM PDT
-
08:30 AM PDT
Join the special YouTube live-stream for selecting the winners of GMAT Club MBA Scholarships sponsored by Juno live. Watch who gets these coveted MBA scholarships offered by GMAT Club and Juno.
May 08
Start your free trial!
08:00 PM PDT
-
09:00 PM PDT
Free- full-length test + 15 concept videos + 150+ short videos + study plan!

Back to Forum

Create Topic

TO VERB VS FOR VERB-ING

1 2 3

bagdbmba

Retired Moderator

Joined: 27 Aug 2012

Last visit: 10 Dec 2021

Posts: 996

Own Kudos:

4,228

[3]

Given Kudos: 156

Posts: 996

Kudos: 4,228

[3]

23 Jan 2013, 20:25

Kudos

Bookmarks

egmat

Hi folks,

Found an interesting question that tests the knowledge of this topic here. Try it out and post your analysis.

Scientists claim that the discovery of the first authenticated mammal bones in amber could provide important clues of determining, in addition to how, when mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies.

A: of determining, in addition to how, when mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies

B: in the determination of how and when the islands of the West Indies were colonized by mammals

C: to determine how mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies and when they did

D: for determining when the islands of the West Indies were colonized by mammals and how they were

E: for determining how and when mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies

good question..!

IMO OA :E

Dinesh2Apr

Joined: 15 Aug 2012

Last visit: 09 Feb 2016

Posts: 38

Own Kudos:

[1]

Given Kudos: 2

Posts: 38

Kudos: 86

[1]

24 Jan 2013, 06:37

Kudos

Bookmarks

Meaning :- scientists claim that a discovery provides clues which can help in determining
a. how mamals colonized WI
b. when mamals colonized WI

Error Analysis :- 'Clues of determining' is not the correct idiom. Correct idiom should be 'Clues for' (what are the clue for? Clues are for determining )

POE
A. explained
B. Clues in the determination of....not correct
C. Clues to determine...the intention of the clues was not to determine
D. The tense of the sentence is not correct. Since the action completed in the past we can use simple past tense.
E. Correct, uses for and simple past tense.

IMO :- E

egmat

e-GMAT Representative

Joined: 02 Nov 2011

Last visit: 27 Apr 2026

Posts: 5,632

Own Kudos:

33,446

[1]

Given Kudos: 707

GMAT Date: 08-19-2020

Expert

Expert reply

Posts: 5,632

Kudos: 33,446

[1]

25 Jan 2013, 06:59

Kudos

Bookmarks

tcsing

I am a little confused by 1 OG question though: OG 13 Q128.

Australian embryologists have found evidence that suggests that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal, and its trunk originally evolved as a kind of snorkel.
A. that suggests that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal, and its trunk originally evolved
B. that has suggested the elephant descended from an aquatic animal, its trunk originally evolving
C. suggesting that the elephant had descended from an aquatic animal with its trunk originally evolving
D. to suggest that the elephant had descended from an aquatic animal and its trunk originally evolved
E. to suggest that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal and that its trunk originally evolved

I chose C but the OA is E. Wouldn't "to suggest" in E imply that the intent of finding the evidence is to suggest that the elephant is etc etc? And the intention is not implicit in the original sentence?

Thank you!

Hi there,

The basis of your confudion is very valid. It is not clear from the original sentence that the embryologists found the evidence with the intent or purpose of suggesting something. What is clear from the sentence is that the evidence suggests that elephant has descended from an aquatic animal and that its trunk evolved as a kind of snorkel.

Choice C: suggesting that the elephant had descended from an aquatic animal with its trunk originally evolving: Incorrect.
1. Use of past perfect tense "had evolved" is incorrect. Elephants still are descendants of aquatic animal. The original sentence is presenting a general fact.
2. Per this choice, elephant descended "with its trunk" that was evolving as a snorkel. This distorts the intended meaning.

Choice E: to suggest that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal and that its trunk originally evolved: Correct. This sentence is grammatically and logically correct. Parallelism is maintained here, and the verb tense is also correct. Now that we get our correct sentence with et correct answer choice, it kind of makes sense to say that embryologists have found evidence "to suggest" because they probably had an idea that this was a possibility. So they did some research in the firled and purpposely came up with the evidence to substantiate the possibility.

Hope this helps.

Thanks.
Shraddha

umeshpatil

Joined: 31 May 2012

Last visit: 08 Dec 2015

Posts: 101

Own Kudos:

437

Given Kudos: 69

Posts: 101

Kudos: 437

27 Jan 2013, 03:52

Kudos

Bookmarks

+1 kudo for e-GMAT

Quote:

Scientists claim that the discovery of the first authenticated mammal bones in amber could provide important clues of determining, in addition to how, when mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies.

A: of determining, in addition to how, when mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies
B: in the determination of how and when the islands of the West Indies were colonized by mammals
C: to determine how mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies and when they did
D: for determining when the islands of the West Indies were colonized by mammals and how they were
E: for determining how and when mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies

It should be E..
Between to +verb vs for +verb+ing, I eliminate A, B, C.
Between D & E, I would select simple and smart correct answer E. D is so verbose and awkward.

umeshpatil

Joined: 31 May 2012

Last visit: 08 Dec 2015

Posts: 101

Own Kudos:

437

[2]

Given Kudos: 69

Posts: 101

Kudos: 437

[2]

27 Jan 2013, 04:08

Kudos

Bookmarks

A very nice discussion folks,
I have collected all the questions and answers together. Find the post below.
ten-practice-questions-on-to-verb-vs-for-verb-ing-146392.html

consider +kudo if you like this post :-D

rajhere

Joined: 31 Aug 2012

Last visit: 01 Feb 2015

Posts: 6

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 7

Location: United States

Concentration: General Management, Finance

Schools: Sloan '15

GMAT 1: 640 Q44 V34 Verified score

WE:Architecture (Telecommunications)

Schools: Sloan '15

GMAT 1: 640 Q44 V34 Verified score

Posts: 6

Kudos: 24

28 Jan 2013, 02:35

Kudos

Bookmarks

The answer should be E because the discovery could provide clues 'for' determining i.e. 'what for' aspect.

umeshpatil

Joined: 31 May 2012

Last visit: 08 Dec 2015

Posts: 101

Own Kudos:

437

Given Kudos: 69

Posts: 101

Kudos: 437

28 Jan 2013, 03:17

Kudos

Bookmarks

rajhere

The answer should be E because the discovery could provide clues 'for' determining i.e. 'what for' aspect.

@rajhere, You are the one who understood e-gmat session thoroughly. This article talks the same :lol:

Why D is not correct answer according to you then?

About the answers, D & E both explains 'what for' aspect, but D tries to elongate the sentence.

egmat

e-GMAT Representative

Joined: 02 Nov 2011

Last visit: 27 Apr 2026

Posts: 5,632

Own Kudos:

33,446

[3]

Given Kudos: 707

GMAT Date: 08-19-2020

Expert

Expert reply

Posts: 5,632

Kudos: 33,446

[3]

03 Feb 2013, 13:48

Kudos

Bookmarks

Hi everyone,

Thanks for posting your analysis of this question. Here is the detailed solution for this one.

Scientists claim that the discovery of the first authenticated mammal bones in amber could provide important clues of determining, in addition to how, when mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies.

Meaning Analysis:

The sentence talks about a scientific discovery. Scientists found the first authenticated mammals bones in amber that could provide clues that would help in determining:
A. How mammals colonized the islands of West Indies, and
B. when they did so

Error Analysis:

1. "clues of determining" is an incorrect expression. Per the context of the sentence, the correct expression should be "clues for determining".

2. "in addition to how, when mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies" is very awkward. It fails to communicate the intended meaning in a prices and clear manner.

PoE:

A: of determining, in addition to how, when mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies: Incorrect for the reasons stated above.

B: in the determination of how and when the islands of the West Indies were colonized by mammals: Incorrect.
1. "In the determination" is not what we need here.
2. The passive voice construction makes the choice wordy.

C: to determine how mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies and when they did: Incorrect.
1. "To determine" is incorrect because it was not the intention of the clues to determine how and when mammals colonized West Indies.
2. This choice is not written in the most concise manner.

D: for determining when the islands of the West Indies were colonized by mammals and how they were: Incorrect.
1. The passive voice construction makes the choice wordy.
2. Use if "were" is incorrect. It should be "did". However, even after that, the construction would not have been precise.

E: for determining how and when mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies: Correct.

Hope this helps.

Thanks.
Shraddha

BukrsGmat

Joined: 27 Jul 2011

Last visit: 24 Jul 2013

Posts: 116

Own Kudos:

1,135

Given Kudos: 103

Posts: 116

Kudos: 1,135

23 Feb 2013, 06:09

Kudos

Bookmarks

I have a doubt regarding To v/ For when both meant for ' for the purpose'.
Below is gmat prep question:

Responding to the public’s fascination with-and sometimes undue alarm over-possible threats
from asteroids, a scale developed by astronomers rates the likelihood that a particular asteroid or comet may collide with Earth.

A. a scale developed by astronomers rates the likelihood that a particular asteroid or comet may
B. a scale that astronomers have developed rates how likely it is for a particular asteroid or comet to
modifying astonomers so a, B out
C. astronomers have developed a scale to rate how likely a particular asteroid or comet will be to
D. astronomers have developed a scale for rating the likelihood that a particular asteroid or comet will
E. astronomers have developed a scale that rates the likelihood of a particular asteroid or comet that may
its not the likely hood of comet but the likely hood of hitting also likely + may in same sentence

Now comparing C and D
C. astronomers have developed a scale to rate how likely a particular asteroid or comet will be to
D. astronomers have developed a scale for rating the likelihood that a particular asteroid or comet will

I am not sure of OA, though some forums claim it to be C.

in C "likely X will be to" is it correct.
In D is 'for rating ' - wrong ;
In D is 'likelihood that ' is correct..

help me understanding the construction..

egmat

e-GMAT Representative

Joined: 02 Nov 2011

Last visit: 27 Apr 2026

Posts: 5,632

Own Kudos:

33,446

[2]

Given Kudos: 707

GMAT Date: 08-19-2020

Expert

Expert reply

Posts: 5,632

Kudos: 33,446

[2]

01 Apr 2013, 10:44

Kudos

Bookmarks

Rec'd a PM regarding this topic. Its another question that uses the "to verb" vs "for verb-ing" concept. Posting my analysis on forum for benefit of all.

Quote:

The Skill and precision of the ancient people of the American SouthWest, in measuring the movements of the Sun and the moon is evidenced not only at Chaco canyon , but also at number of other sites.

A. -----
B. in measuring the movements of sun and moon are evidenced not only at
C. in measuring the movements of sun and moon is evidenced at not only
D. to measure the movements of sun and moon is evidenced at not only
E. to measure the movements of sun and moon are evidenced not only at

The correct answer for this is B, while I chose E. Please help me to understand the difference between "in measuring" and "to measure".

The sentence talks about the "Skill and precision" of a group of people. Let's pick a skill, say skill in teaching a complex concept.
Now when we mention this specific skill, we are literally describing the skill. What kind of skill, skill in teaching a complex concept.
Now if I said "skill to teach a complex concept", I would be wrong since this expression will imply that the intent of "skill" i.e. "some general term skill" is to teach a complex concept.

This is exactly what is happening in the sentence above. Now consider the following two sentences:

1: James' skills in teaching complex concepts are exemplary.
2: James' skills to teaching complex concepts are exemplary. (INCORRECT - Implies that the intent of skills of James is to teach complex concepts)
3: James has developed his skills in teaching complex concepts to make sure he can be employed by leading education companies.

Notice how in sentence 1 is correct but sentence 2 is incorrect. Also notice how sentence 3 uses both "to verb" and "in verb-ing" correctly. The former is used to express intent of developing the specific skills in discussion. The latter is used to describe the skills in discussion.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Payal

egmat

e-GMAT Representative

Joined: 02 Nov 2011

Last visit: 27 Apr 2026

Posts: 5,632

Own Kudos:

33,446

Given Kudos: 707

GMAT Date: 08-19-2020

Expert

Expert reply

Posts: 5,632

Kudos: 33,446

01 Apr 2013, 14:18

Kudos

Bookmarks

sujit2k7

Hi Sujit,

Are you sure that this is an official question. I ask this since I am toggling between C and D (and that does not happen with official questions!!!). I do not think that "for rating" is essentially incorrect here. This is because we can very well say that Astronomers have come up with a certain scale and by the way this is what the scale does. So we can provide the description of the scale using "for verb-ing". At the same time, I would prefer going with "to rate" in choice C here since the context of the sentence renders a sense of purpose, which is best represented through to verb.

Along slightly different lines, choice D is more precise in presenting the likelihood.

So I actually doubt if this question is truly an official question. Where did you find this question - in gmat prep software?

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Payal

BukrsGmat

Joined: 27 Jul 2011

Last visit: 24 Jul 2013

Posts: 116

Own Kudos:

1,135

Given Kudos: 103

Posts: 116

Kudos: 1,135

01 Apr 2013, 20:53

Kudos

Bookmarks

egmat

So I actually doubt if this question is truly an official question. Where did you find this question - in gmat prep software?

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Payal

Actually i picked this from a pdf file that contains collection of Gmat Prep problems. Might be this is not a official problem :pc

Thanks for the reply.

domfrancondumas

Joined: 11 Jul 2013

Last visit: 19 Nov 2013

Posts: 28

Own Kudos:

[1]

Given Kudos: 92

Posts: 28

Kudos: 33

[1]

20 Jul 2013, 12:41

Kudos

Bookmarks

egmat

Hi folks,

Found an interesting question that tests the knowledge of this topic here. Try it out and post your analysis.

I think the answer is E.
Could you please tell the OA?
Thanx. G8 article...

egmat

e-GMAT Representative

Joined: 02 Nov 2011

Last visit: 27 Apr 2026

Posts: 5,632

Own Kudos:

33,446

[3]

Given Kudos: 707

GMAT Date: 08-19-2020

Expert

Expert reply

Posts: 5,632

Kudos: 33,446

[3]

23 Jul 2013, 07:04

Kudos

Bookmarks

Hi everyone,

He comes the explanation for this question.

Scientists claim that the discovery of the first authenticated mammal bones in amber could provide important clues of determining, in addition to how, when mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies.

Since the meaning is easy to understand, let’s move to Error Analysis.

ERROR ANALYSIS:
1. With “provide”, we use the preposition “for”. Use of “of determining” is incorrect.
2. The discovery of bones provide clues for determining two things:
a. How the mammals colonized the islands of West Indies
b. When the mammals colonized the islands of West Indies
So we have a list here, and the entities in this list must be joined by a marker. This marker should be “and” which is missing in the sentence.

PoE:

A: of determining, in addition to how, when mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies: Incorrect for the reasons stated above.

B: in the determination of how and when the islands of the West Indies were colonized by mammals: Incorrect.
1. Use of “in” with provide is incorrect.
2. Passive voice makes the choice wordy.

C: to determine how mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies and when they did: Incorrect.
1. Use of “to” is incorrect.
2. The entities in the list can be written in more concise manner.

D: for determining when the islands of the West Indies were colonized by mammals and how they were: Incorrect. Passive voice makes the choice wordy.

E: for determining how and when mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies: Correct.

Hope this helps.

Thanks.
Shraddha

drebellion

Joined: 10 Nov 2012

Last visit: 04 Aug 2023

Posts: 21

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 29

Posts: 21

Kudos: 25

17 Aug 2013, 03:44

Kudos

Bookmarks

Quote:

This article has been very helpful

I am a little confused by 1 OG question though: OG 13 Q128.

Australian embryologists have found evidence that suggests that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal, and its trunk originally evolved as a kind of snorkel.
A. that suggests that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal, and its trunk originally evolved
B. that has suggested the elephant descended from an aquatic animal, its trunk originally evolving
C. suggesting that the elephant had descended from an aquatic animal with its trunk originally evolving
D. to suggest that the elephant has descended from an aquatic animal and its trunk originally evolved
E. to suggest that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal and that its trunk originally evolved

I chose C but the OA is E. Wouldn't "to suggest" in E imply that the intent of finding the evidence is to suggest that the elephant is etc etc? And the intention is not implicit in the original sentence?

Thank you!

Hi tcsing,

You copied the whole question wrongly! Check it... Answer to correct question (from OG 13, 128) is indeed E. And yeah, in this question the correct answer has changed the meaning, but then all other answers are WRONG for clear grammatical reasons. So, after reading the options I will say, well GMAT (the almighty!) can change the meaning in some circumstances. SD (Shraddha

) am I right in saying so?

I would say in your version of the question, A is the best option.

PS: if possible its better to modify this question here, otherwise it will create a lot of confusion for others.

vietmoi999

Joined: 08 Apr 2013

Last visit: 07 Dec 2014

Posts: 96

Own Kudos:

[2]

Given Kudos: 27

Posts: 96

Kudos: 71

[2]

20 Aug 2013, 09:14

Kudos

Bookmarks

TO DO is used to show the purpose of subject+verb, the subject must perform TO DO

FOR DOING is used to show the purpose of a previous verb, . the subject of the previous clause do not perform FOR DOING. other agent performs the FOR DOING

I learn gmat to take MBA. "I" perform "to take"

evidence provides support for classifying the terms. (from og)

the chambers were closed for cleaning and repair. (from og)

if we think this way, it is more easy to use to do/for doing

summer101

Joined: 06 Jun 2012

Last visit: 16 Jun 2014

Posts: 106

Own Kudos:

1,072

Given Kudos: 37

Posts: 106

Kudos: 1,072

04 Oct 2013, 01:34

Kudos

Bookmarks

Hi Shraddha,

Thanks for the great article. What i gather is that intent is important when differentiating to-verb and for-verbing. in the below sentence if i ask myself what is the intention of "a sophisticated method", my answer will be "to diagnose coronary disease". So shouldn't the below sentence be "a sophisticated method TO diagnose coronary disease". Can you please explain?

Coronary angiography, a sophisticated method for diagnosing coronary disease involving the introduction of a dye into the arteries of the heart, is now administered selectively, because it uses x-rays to observe cardiac function.

MDK

Current Student

Joined: 31 Oct 2012

Last visit: 06 Mar 2021

Posts: 40

Own Kudos:

584

Given Kudos: 18

Status:Impossible is just an opinion

Location: Ukraine

Concentration: Strategy, Marketing

Schools: Insead '14 (I) IESE '16 (A$)

GMAT 1: 590 Q47 V24 Verified score

GMAT 2: 650 Q47 V34 Verified score

GMAT 3: 670 Q49 V31 Verified score

GMAT 4: 690 Q48 V37 Verified score

GPA: 3.8

WE:Marketing (Consumer Packaged Goods)

Schools: Insead '14 (I) IESE '16 (A$)

GMAT 4: 690 Q48 V37 Verified score

Posts: 40

Kudos: 584

15 Oct 2013, 11:49

Kudos

Bookmarks

BukrsGmat

egmat

So I actually doubt if this question is truly an official question. Where did you find this question - in gmat prep software?

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Payal

Actually i picked this from a pdf file that contains collection of Gmat Prep problems. Might be this is not a official problem :pc

Thanks for the reply.

Guys, I confirm. This is an official question. I saw it in my GMAT Prep (Extention pack #1) exam.
The official answer is D.

I think that the best way to approach this questions is from meaning point of view. Thus, astronomers developed the scale not to rate (they didn't want to rate anything themselves), but to respond to public's fascination.
Therefore, the usage of FOR RATING is perfectly fine; whereas, "will be to collide" sounds extremely strange even for the foreigner. I would rather prefer "... comet will collide".

Thoughts?

yodeepak

Joined: 10 Jan 2012

Last visit: 04 Nov 2014

Posts: 18

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 22

Concentration: Strategy, Finance

Schools: ISB '15 Schulich '16 Great Lakes '15 Tuck '16 NTU '17 Rotman '16 HKUST '16 LBS '16

GMAT Date: 10-17-2013

WE:Consulting (Computer Software)

Schools: ISB '15 Schulich '16 Great Lakes '15 Tuck '16 NTU '17 Rotman '16 HKUST '16 LBS '16

Posts: 18

Kudos: 26

26 Feb 2014, 07:02

Kudos

Bookmarks

egmat

tcsing

Thanks.
Shraddha

Hi,

Please explain why option A is wrong?

GmatDestroyer2013

Joined: 17 Jul 2013

Last visit: 15 Jun 2015

Posts: 59

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 67

Schools: Krannert '17 (S) Smith '17 Weatherhead '17 (II) Katz '17 Rutgers '17 Merage

Posts: 59

Kudos: 43

06 Jun 2014, 03:06

Kudos

Bookmarks

Here is my analysis for these questions:

1) Scientists claim that the discovery of the first authenticated mammal bones in amber could provide important clues of determining, in addition to how, when mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies.

A: of determining, in addition to how, when mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies : Incorrect
of determining is not correct

B: in the determination of how and when the islands of the West Indies were colonized by mammals : incorrect in the determination is wordy and in appropriate.

C: to determine how mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies and when they did : Incorrect
to determine is used to show the indent or purpose, here instead we need the reason what clues will provide ?
Also, sentence is presented in passive form.

D: for determining when the islands of the West Indies were colonized by mammals and how they were : Incorrect
reasons : Passive voice ; and is used to connect two independent clauses but how they were is run on sentence.

E: for determining how and when mammals colonized the islands of the West Indies . Correct, for determining answers "what for" and also its most concise sentence.

2) Australian embryologists have found evidence that suggests that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal, and its trunk originally evolved as a kind of snorkel.
A. that suggests that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal, and its trunk originally evolved -- that is redundant also, since evidence suggests two things both must mentioned after that.
B. that has suggested the elephant descended from an aquatic animal, its trunk originally evolving -- Run on sentence
C. suggesting that the elephant had descended from an aquatic animal with its trunk originally evolving --- past perfect to be used in case two past events has occurred in a sequential manner.
D. to suggest that the elephant has descended from an aquatic animal and its trunk originally evolved -- present perfect tense usage is incorrect ... elephant still existing.
E. to suggest that the elephant is descended from an aquatic animal and that its trunk originally evolved - Correct because the evidence claims two things each is introduced with 'that' in the sentence.

Controversial mortgage laws passed last year state that, if at any point during the maturation period of the loan the person in whose name it is taken is not able to meet the payments, that person’s spouse will have responsibilities that include paying the balance.
a. will have responsibilities that include paying -- will have incorrect , only will is needed
b. will be responsible to pay -- to pay shows purpose where it must suggest he is responsible for what? ...
c. is responsible to pay -- wrong fails to address subjunctive form of verb
d. will be responsible for paying -- correct
e. is responsible for paying -- as explained above its wrong.

Hi Shraddha,

Please check my responses and please correct me .... if I failed to apply the concepts correctly ..