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NandishSS
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GMATNinja
And we're back in the good old-fashioned chat room today! We'll be back on YouTube Live next week. Come join us for an informal chat in about one minute!
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GMATNinja I hope we have Tenses and Comparison YouTube webinar today
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NandishSS
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And we're back in the good old-fashioned chat room today! We'll be back on YouTube Live next week. Come join us for an informal chat in about one minute!

GMATNinja I hope we have Tenses and Comparison YouTube webinar today
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Yes, Youtube webinar please. Chats are very inefficient.
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GMATNinja
And we're back in the good old-fashioned chat room today! We'll be back on YouTube Live next week. Come join us for an informal chat in about one minute!

GMATNinja I hope we have Tenses and Comparison YouTube webinar today

Yes, Youtube webinar please. Chats are very inefficient.
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It's your lucky day! YouTube webinar on simplifying verb tenses, starting at 7:30 a.m. PST/8:00 p.m. IST. See you all there! And we'll have a schedule of upcoming webinars posted later this week.
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I’ll make sure to post the upcoming schedule by Thursday so stay tuned for that. Meanwhile find the YouTube link to join from the GMATClub YouTube channel.


Sent from my iPhone using GMAT Club Forum
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Details on upcoming YouTube webinars can be found in this thread: https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-ninja-v ... 51718.html

Next Wednesday, we'll be doing a Q&A format -- but for it to work, we need your questions ahead of time! So please let us know what you'd like to see in the webinar, and we'll do our best to oblige.
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Hello GMATNinja,

I can't thank you enough for the help u have been to me and everyone over here.

My question is:

Problem I am facing is with comparison and concision.
How to know when is concision enough to bypass the comparison.

Here is one question from Gmat Prep.

How to know when to give more weight age to comparison and when to avoid it. It would be very helpful if you could add this question to the verbal chat.

Q: According to public health officials, in 1998 Massachusetts became the first state in which more babies were born to women over the age of thirty than under it.

Here is the link: https://gmatclub.com/forum/according-to ... 48434.html
Thanks in advance.
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Thank you, Prashant10692! Yeah, that question is a classic pain in the butt. We'll do an entire webinar on comparisons on November 1, so it'll fit really well with that one. Comparisons can be rough, so I wouldn't be surprised if the entire Q&A session on November 8 is devoted to more followup questions on comparisons...
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GMATNinja


I have a strategy question and would appreciate if you could take two steps further
since it is discussed earlier in this forum:

Quote:
Q: I seem to have exhausted all the GMATPrep official tests, and I want to have a rough estimate of my score before I take the GMAT exam. Is there anyway I can get a good estimate? I generally rely on Veritas practice tests as a reliable indicator.

A: here’s not much you can do to get a reliable score -- especially on verbal -- once you’ve exhausted all 6 GMATPreps. It’s unfortunate, but there’s not much you can do. For some people, the scores from Veritas or MGMAT or wherever will be accurate, but in general, they really aren’t the same thing at all... though they can certainly be worthwhile for practicing your timing and stamina and all of that.
GMAT Verbal has a finite number of concepts tested. If you *really* review enough official questions and internalize them, you will see a sizeable improvement in your score. Here’s the thing - the only way to test if you have truly internalized a concept is to come back to a a list of questions that you attempted, say, two weeks back. If you do not have a 100% accuracy, you should give yourself some hard time.

Q: But how would that work? If i get back to same verbal questions, i would know the answer.

A: If you did 50 verbal official questions and got 15 of them wrong (GMAT Club workbook is fantastic to track them), try to go back to those 15 questions 10-15 days later. You shouldn’t be surprised if you don’t get a 100% hit rate on those. That way, you will be able to triangulate the areas that you *really* need to work on.
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My query: I tend to remember the OA and approach , and hence while revising the incorrect Qs after 15-20 days, I do
not get correct image of my revision done to solidify concepts. I made distinct notes of reason for selecting incorrect answer and missing correct OA in earlier notes.
Unfortunately unlike in 'Quant' there are no 'similar' Qs tab in the post to identify if I have really grasped
the concepts since while evaluating OG I found that each Q is unique from another.

Please spare GMAT prep Qs for this discussion. ;)

Is there any subtle difference between below approaches for Quant and Verbal? :

Learning concepts -> Practice Qs ->Revision from concepts (if less than identified accuracy) -> Revision of practice Qs -> Mocks and analysis

Steps 2 and 3 are extremely painful than building stamina during mocks.
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Hi GMATNinja,

Source: MGMAT

During gladiator matches, the unfair match-up between a prisoner with a short sword and ten soldiers with horses and whips can drive the prisoner to a state of manic frenzy, like a rampaging bull whose rage increases when its hide is pierced with swords.

(A) like a rampaging bull whose rage increases when its hide is pierced with swords
(B) like the increased rage of a rampaging bull when its hide is pierced with swords
(C) like a rampaging bull that increases rage while rampaging with its hide pierced with swords
(D) just as a rampaging bull that increases rage by piercing its hide with swords
(E) just as a rampaging bull’s rage increases when it is pierced with swords

I have 1 doubt: how do we decide whether the action is being compared or the noun? I thought that the prisoner is being compared with the bull but as per the OA (E), the actions are being compared. How can we say here that actions are being compared?

Regards
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Verbal Chat with a Tutor every Wednesday at 7:30 AM PST/8 PM IST Updated on: 09 Jun 2021, 03:42
Originally posted by TheUltimateWinner on 30 Nov 2018, 17:00.
Last edited by TheUltimateWinner on 09 Jun 2021, 03:42, edited 1 time in total.
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GMATNinja
Quote:
Hello GMATNinja,

One query regarding the usage: Is below one correct?

From the helicopter, I saw a 6-mile long traffic jam due to the overturned truck.
This doesn't quite look right to me. Structurally, the sentence seems to be trying to say that "I saw" the traffic jam "due to the overturned truck" -- so "due to the overturned truck" seems to modify the verb phrase "I saw." And that's both grammatically wrong ("due to ____" can only modify a noun, not a verb phrase) and nonsensical.

I guess you could argue that "due to the overturned truck" is trying to modify the traffic jam, but it's hard to imagine why you'd construct the sentence that way. Why not make that modifier much more explicit? "From the helicopter, I saw a 6-mile long traffic jam that was caused by the overturned truck." That way, there's zero doubt that the phrase about the overturned truck is modifying the traffic jam.

This would be OK, though: "The horrific, 6-mile long traffic jam was due to the overturned truck."

I hope this helps!
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Hi GMATNinja,
You make me totally confused in the highlighted part :) . As far I know, "verb phrase" is something, which acts as "verb" all the times. So, do you think that "I saw" acts as verb?
As far I know, "verb phrase" contains "the verb or any direct or indirect objects but not the subject anymore". So, why we include the subject "I" with verb "was" considering "verb phrase"?

As far I know the quoted example is from "Thursdays with Ron's study hall September 23, 2010"
Here is the quoted example again:
Quote:
From the helicopter, I saw a 6-mile long traffic jam due to the overturned truck
Show more
RonPurewal says: "due to" should be replaced with "caused by". So, what's the wrong with in the following sentence if I replaced the "due to" with "caused by"? Doesn't "the overturned truck" directly modifies "traffic jam"?
From the helicopter, I saw a 6-mile long traffic jam caused by the overturned truck.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTQlKd ... /playlists
Here is the attachment of Ron's study hall below:
Attachments

5 (4).JPG
5 (4).JPG [ 115.49 KiB | Viewed 3259 times ]

5 (3).JPG
5 (3).JPG [ 45.61 KiB | Viewed 3227 times ]

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Hi is this chat still happen on every Wed or closed?
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Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
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It has been suspended for a little while but there is a chat coming up with a tutor on Feb 25th:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-save- ... 89065.html

Thx.
BB
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Thanks bb.

Signed up for it.
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bb

Join us on Wednesdays at 7:30 AM PST/8 PM IST for a Verbal-focused GMAT chat with GMATNinja (Charles).



Charles Tutors GMAT and GRE and has scored on the GMAT 780 and a perfect 800. He will available in the GMAT Club Chatroom to answer any questions you may have - whether you are struggling with a question or need help with your strategy or timing, do not hesitate to ask him personally. While Charles charges $200+ per hr for his services, he is offering his time and help on GMAT Club absolutely free.


Join us on Wednesdays at 7:30 AM PST/8 PM IST for a verbal chat with Charles!


P.S. If you want Charles to prep for any specific questions, feel free to post them here! He will do best to cover them in the session.
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Hi bb,

Let me kindly remind you that be is missing in this part of your post ...He will be available in the GMAT Club...
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Verbal33
Is this chat still open or closed???
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Hi. The live sessions are on a winter holiday break but you can still watch all of the recordings and 3 seasons with GMAT Ninja on our YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/user/gmatclub/playl ... shelf_id=2

Posted from my mobile device
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Sure, that sounds great, Vyshak and hazelnut -- we've had a few questions on "having been" or "having + past participle", and I think we might have addressed them a little bit in one of the chats, but I'm happy to tackle it again. Would also make a pretty good Topic of the Week for sometime in the future...
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Is this verbal chat still active ?

Or you can suggest any other forum where such things are discussed.
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GMATNinja
Sure, that sounds great, Vyshak and hazelnut -- we've had a few questions on "having been" or "having + past participle", and I think we might have addressed them a little bit in one of the chats, but I'm happy to tackle it again. Would also make a pretty good Topic of the Week for sometime in the future...

Is this verbal chat still active ?

Or you can suggest any other forum where such things are discussed.
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Harsh2111s You can always TAG the individual (like I tagged you in this post) you want to direct your question to. Every unlocked thread here on GC is active. :)
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Kurtosis
Chat Transcript - 6/14/2017

Q: Can you provide an explanation on the usage of 'having + verb'

A: The quick version is that ""having + verb" ("having been", "having studied," "having eaten," etc.) is sort-of just another "-ing" modifier, but the timeline has to be correct.
Just like any other "-ing" modifier, it has to make sense with the noun it modifies. But the added twist is that the timeline has to make sense, too. The "having + -ing" has to occur before some other action. Sort of like past perfect tense.
Ex: 1) Having been sick all day today, Amber called in sick to work this morning.
Here’s the problem: the timeline is wrong in #1. The "having + verb" needs to be the first action, followed by another action. That’s not happening here. Logically, she wasn’t sick "all day today" before she called in sick this morning.
2) Having eaten dinner already, Amber immediately began drinking heavily at the dinner party.
This one actually gets the timeline right. She ate dinner first, and then started drinking at the dinner party. That’s perfectly fine logically.
To be honest, I can’t think of any official questions that use this "having + verb" construction in a correct answer. It’s not inherently wrong, but GMAT doesn’t seem to use it much.
In that sense, it’s sort of like "being" -- mostly used in wrong sentences, but there’s no reason why it couldn’t be used correctly.

Q: But is 2 not redundant?
A: yes, in some sense the verb tenses already clarifies the timeline, so "already" is arguably redundant. But for a teaching example, I’m trying to be super-clear about the logical timeline, so that’s why I put it in there.

Q: Galileo did not invent the telescope, but on hearing, in 1609, that such an optical instrument had been made, he quickly built his own device from an organ pipe and spectacle lenses.

(A) Galileo did not invent the telescope, but on hearing, in 1609, that such an optical instrument had been made, he

(B) Galileo had not invented the telescope, but when he heard, in 1609, of such an optical instrument having been made,

(C) Galileo, even though he had not invented the telescope, on hearing, in 1609, that such an optical instrument had been made, he

(D) Even though Galileo did not invent the telescope, on hearing, in 1609, that such an optical instrument had been made,

(E) Even though Galileo did not invent the telescope, but when he heard, in 1609, of such an optical instrument being made, he

(A) looks OK to me

(B) is missing "he"! Also, the past perfect tense doesn’t work very well here -- there’s no good reason to use it. And the "having been" is unnecessary, too.

(C) is still a full sentence, not a fragment. That last part beginning with "he" is an independent clause. Bigger problem here is the use of past perfect tense. The sentence has three actions: "had not invented the telescope", "instrument had been made", "he quickly built." That implies that Galileo first did not invent the telescope, and then he built one. That doesn’t really make sense -- he NEVER invented the telescope, so why would we use past perfect tense, which suggests an action that ended before some other action?

(D) Repeats the error in B (missing 'he')

I think there’s a point about redundancy in (E), but there are plenty of other problems there, too. Absolutely no good reason to use "being" in (E).

Verb tenses also make more sense in (A): heard that the instrument HAD BEEN MADE... and then he BUILT his own. Textbook use of past perfect tense with simple past tense.

Q: About 5 million acres in the United States have been invaded by leafy spurge, a herbaceous plant from Eurasia with milky sap that gives mouth sores to cattle, displacing grasses and other cattle food and rendering rangeland worthless.

(A) States have been invaded by leafy spurge, a herbaceous plant from Eurasia with milky sap that gives mouth sores to cattle, displacing grasses and other cattle food and rendering
(B) States have been invaded by leafy spurge, a herbaceous plant from Eurasia, with milky sap, that gives mouth sores to cattle and displaces grasses and other cattle food, rendering
(C) States have been invaded by leafy spurge, a herbaceous plant from Eurasia having milky sap that gives mouth sores to cattle and displacing grasses and other cattle food, rendering
(D) States, having been invaded by leafy spurge, a herbaceous plant from Eurasia with milky sap that gives mouth sores to cattle, displaces grasses and other cattle food, and renders
(E) States, having been invaded by leafy spurge, a herbaceous plant from Eurasia that has milky sap giving mouth sores to cattle and displacing grasses and other cattle food, rendering

A: Refer - https://gmatclub.com/forum/about-5-mill ... l#p1869892

Q: I have picked up a bad habit of removing the line placed between two commas and thinking is the sentence right should I keep this practice or can it be fatal.

A: I think I might have said something about that in an earlier chat, but I’m not sure. Quick version: it’s really dangerous to "remove" entire chunks of a sentence. Sure, temporarily ignoring little pieces of the sentence can help you see what’s really happening, especially with subject-verb issues, or sometimes with comparisons or modifiers. But the key is "temporarily". Everything in the sentence is in there for a reason, and could very welll affect the grammar or structure or meaning.

Q: Can you throw some light on the usage of 'that' and 'which' modifying a distant noun

A: The traditional rule: when used as noun modifiers, "that" and "which" must modify the immediately preceding noun. And that’s correct most of the time.
Silly example: "My favorite restaurant is in Brooklyn, which serves delicious bhindi masala." - Wrong, because Brooklyn doesn’t serve bhindi masala.
Traditional rule about "that" and "which", part 2: "that" isn’t preceded by a comma, "which" always is. "That" is an essential modifier, "which" is non-essential.
The GMAT really doesn’t spend a lot of time testing the distinction between essential and non-essential modifiers, and it definitely doesn’t spend any time testing you on comma rules. It’s actually really hard to test whether it’s better to use "that" or "which"...
1) The GMAT book, which is on the table, is useless.
2) The GMAT book that is on the table is useless.
Both are fine. Which one is better? It just depends on whether you think that "on the table" is extra information, or if I’d have a hard time identifying the book if you didn’t point out that it was on the table. So the vast majority of the time, the GMAT is interested in whether you can figure out if the modifier makes logical sense -- the difference between "that" and "which" doesn’t matter much
And I can’t find any official GMAT questions that are concerned with comma rules, either. So yes: "which" is generally preceded with a comma, like any other non-essential modifier. "That" generally isn’t preceded with a comma when it’s used as a noun modifier. But there are exceptions, and you shouldn’t worry too much about the comma. That’s rarely, if ever, the thing you should be focused on.
Same with dashes, by the way -- they really don’t matter much. Experts disagree about the correct way to use dashes. When you see them on the GMAT, look for other issues. The dash isn’t the determining factor.
One last thought (for now!) on "that" and "which": both of them can occasionally reach back a little bit further. 95% of the time, they have to "touch" the noun being modified -- but there are exceptions. They’re rare, but they exist. There has to be a really, really good reason for "that" or "which" to "reach further back" into the sentence. Usually a prepositional phrase of some sort. Again, here’s one of the best examples: https://gmatclub.com/forum/for-many-rev ... -5903.html

Q: I need help in understanding the way they are solved

A: I think I have enough time for a quick wisecrack on weaken/strengthen questions. To be honest, there’s really not much to them from a logical perspective. I think you probably know what it means to weaken or strengthen something, at least in theory. The reason most people make mistakes on them: you’re not 100% clear about what you’re trying to weaken...
The key is to be crystal-clear about how, exactly, the argument is constructed in the passage. Identify the conclusion, and make sure that you understand the EXACT language of that conclusion.
If you tweak the language in the conclusion just a little bit, you can distort its meaning. And then you’re far more likely to make a mistake if you’re trying to weaken a conclusion that isn’t EXACTLY the same as the conclusion in the passage. It’s natural to paraphrase when you read, but it’s also really dangerous, in some sense, on CR. It’s all about precision: do you understand EXACTLY what the author’s conclusion is, or are you putting words in the author’s mouth? Honestly, that’s the heart of strengthen/weaken/assumption questions: precision in understanding the conclusion and the author’s support for that conclusion. Not terribly exciting, but that’s really it.

Q: Can you please provide me an approach to solve RC questions?

A: https://gmatclub.com/forum/experts-topi ... 41004.html
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GMATNinja Kurtosis

This post just discusses the correct usage of having+participle. Can you please throw some light on correct usage of having+noun? TIA.
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