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NitinCFA2016
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Verbs in Parallel Structure 23 Nov 2016, 08:09
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Hi,

I would like to clarify the usage of verbs in parallel structures. I've realized that I don't quite completely understand certain questions from OG. I've provided few statements below to seek opinions:

1. confidence that the economy “will” avoid recession and instead (is “will” understood here?) come in for a soft landing.
2. Pakistan, the site of an ancient civilization that flourished at the same time as the civilizations in the Nile Delta and the river valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates (is “did” understood here?).

Firstly, I would like to know what is the similarity between the above sentences. Secondly, what is the general rule for dropping verbs in a parallel structure. Has it got anything to do with ellipsis?

Suggestions and views are highly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
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mikemcgarry
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Verbs in Parallel Structure 23 Nov 2016, 17:13
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NitinCFA2016
Hi,

I would like to clarify the usage of verbs in parallel structures. I've realized that I don't quite completely understand certain questions from OG. I've provided few statements below to seek opinions:

1. confidence that the economy “will” avoid recession and instead (is “will” understood here?) come in for a soft landing.
2. Pakistan, the site of an ancient civilization that flourished at the same time as the civilizations in the Nile Delta and the river valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates (is “did” understood here?).

Firstly, I would like to know what is the similarity between the above sentences. Secondly, what is the general rule for dropping verbs in a parallel structure. Has it got anything to do with ellipsis?

Suggestions and views are highly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Dear NitinCFA2016,

I'm happy to respond. :-)

First of all, understand my friend that this post is really miscategorized. Any question about grammar, especially one that quotes individual GMAT SC questions, should be posted in the SC subforum. You see, this "Ask GMAT Expert" section is not for specific content questions about math or verbal material. Instead, it is about general study strategies, study schedules, retakes, recommended study materials, etc. It's for general information about preparing for the GMAT, not about the specific content on the test itself. Since it's here, I'll answer you here.

You may find these blog articles helpful:
Dropping Common Words in Parallel on the GMAT
Repeating Verb Phrases on the GMAT
GMAT Grammar Rules: Parallelism and Verb Tenses

For sentence #1, yes. Whenever two verbs in parallel share the same auxiliary verb, this auxiliary verb is almost always omitted for the second verb. Thus, the verb "come" is understood to have the same auxiliary verb, "will," that the verb "avoid" has.

Sentence #2 is a classic example of omitting understood information in the second branch of the parallelism. We could say that the full verb "flourished" or the substitute auxiliary verb "did" has been omitted from the second branch here. I discuss this case in great detail in that first blog article to which I linked.

Does all this make sense?
Mike :-)
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NitinCFA2016
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Verbs in Parallel Structure 24 Nov 2016, 06:11
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Hi Mike,

Thanks for the explanation. The posts that you referred to clarified a lot. So I understand that the full verb and the auxiliary verb in the parallel branch can be dropped provided the comparison is logical and parallel.

Thanks.