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Difficulty:
15%
(low)
Question Stats:
80% (01:00) correct
20%
(01:26)
wrong
based on 331
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History
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Not Attempted Yet
Scientists dream of one day creating armies of nanobots, tiny robots smaller than a cell, that can enter the human body and use their practical unlimited access to find and repair defects in bodily structures.
A) practical unlimited access to find and repair defects
B) practical unlimited access to finding and repairing defects
C) practically unlimited access to find and repair defects
D) practically unlimited access for finding and repairing defects
E) practically unlimited access for finding defects and repairing them
08 Dec 2021, 01:02
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OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
THE PROMPT
• Meaning?
Scientists hope to create microscopic robots that can enter the human body and use their nearly unlimited access to find and repair defects.
• Practical / Practically
→ These two words are different parts of speech and cannot be used interchangeably.
-- Practical is an adjective that can modify (describe) only a noun.
Synonyms include sensible, feasible, and realistic.
Practical can mean "virtual" or "very nearly," this way:
For all practical purposes, a vigilante empowered by the new state law is now judge, jury, and executioner.
See Oxford online dictionary, here.
-- Practically is an adverb that can modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
Synonyms include virtually, almost, and pragmatically.
The restaurant was practically [nearly] empty.
Oxford online dictionary, here.
• Idiom: ACCESS TO
When the noun access means the ability to enter or to get inside, we use access to.
GMAC tests this idiom.
Spoiler alert: You can find an example of an official question that tests "access to" if you click here.
We can say "Access for Person X to Y," this way:
→ The Affordable Care Act provides access for Americans to health insurance.
The idiom is still "access to."
THE OPTIONS
→ practical is an adjective that must modify a noun, and unlimited is not a noun
→ if you want to argue that "practical" means "reasonable" and modifies access, you will be in trouble.
Practical and unlimited would need to be separated by a comma because in that case they would be coordinate adjectives.
If you are doubtful, keep this option and look for a better one.
Eliminate A.
→ same problem as that in option A
• verb form error: we need the infinitive verbs find and repair, not the verbals finding and repairing
→ although the idiomatic "to" in access to is not necessarily an infinitive "to," in this instance, access to does mean [access] in order to.
These creepily small nanobots get into the human body with a purpose: to find and repair defects.
When an action is purposeful, use the infinitive.
Access to finding is nearly nonsensical in this sentence.
Eliminate B
• the adverb practically acts as a correct modifier of the adjective unlimited
-- the phrase means "nearly unlimited access," as is intended
• access . . . to find and [to] repair defects correctly describes the purpose of the nanobots
KEEP
→ we can insert a someone for whom or something for which the access exists, but that access is still access TO, say, a place or an opportunity.
-- see my notes under the prompt beneath the bullet point "idiom"
-- Correct: Special passes provided access for students to examine recently declassified but not yet public documents.
-- Correct (and identical in meaning): Special passes provided access to students to examine recently declassified but not yet public documents.
• access for finding and repairing defects just does not make sense.
Be careful with ___ING words.
They often connote a sense of the ongoing.
These two ___ING words are gerunds—nouns that are derived from verbs and that connote action or states of being.
At the least, on this issue, this option is not as good as option C.
Finally, this option is functionally indistinguishable from option E. Both must be wrong.
That is, the fact that options D and E are nearly identical means that neither can be correct.
There is no way to choose between D and E, so dump both of them.
Eliminate D
Options E and D are functional equivalents; there is no rhetorical difference between repairing defects and repairing them.
Because you have no way to choose between the two options, both must be incorrect.
• because pronoun ambiguity is not always taught accurately and in case you might be wondering, them is not ambiguous.
Them unqualifiedly refers to defects.
The presence of other plural antecedents (scientists, nanobots, and robots ) does not create pronoun ambiguity, which is relative rare on the GMAT.
The test for pronoun ambiguity is not whether other nouns that agree in number with the pronoun could theoretically be antecedents, but rather, whether more than one logical antecedent exists. (If so, pronoun ambiguity exists.)
There is only one logical antecedent for them: defects.
Only one logical antecedent = no pronoun ambiguity.
Eliminate E
The answer is C.
COMMENTS
Sidebar and no kidding: I just discovered three, um, very large deer in the backyard.
They are crashing through bushes, crunching down frozen snow, and munching noisily on trees.
I do not live anywhere near a forest. Not even close.
KrishnanTN , welcome to SC Butler!
We are always glad to have new participants.
The analysis here is easy to understand and thoughtful.
There are a couple of slightly wrong turns in some of the analysis, and that fact is just fine.
TarunKumar1234 , I am bumping you to Best Community Reply.
Nice work, everyone.
THE PROMPT
Quote:
• Meaning?
Scientists hope to create microscopic robots that can enter the human body and use their nearly unlimited access to find and repair defects.
• Practical / Practically
→ These two words are different parts of speech and cannot be used interchangeably.
-- Practical is an adjective that can modify (describe) only a noun.
Synonyms include sensible, feasible, and realistic.
Practical can mean "virtual" or "very nearly," this way:
For all practical purposes, a vigilante empowered by the new state law is now judge, jury, and executioner.
See Oxford online dictionary, here.
-- Practically is an adverb that can modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
Synonyms include virtually, almost, and pragmatically.
The restaurant was practically [nearly] empty.
Oxford online dictionary, here.
• Idiom: ACCESS TO
When the noun access means the ability to enter or to get inside, we use access to.
GMAC tests this idiom.
Spoiler alert: You can find an example of an official question that tests "access to" if you click here.
We can say "Access for Person X to Y," this way:
→ The Affordable Care Act provides access for Americans to health insurance.
The idiom is still "access to."
THE OPTIONS
Quote:
• incorrect modifier: practical
→ practical is an adjective that must modify a noun, and unlimited is not a noun
→ if you want to argue that "practical" means "reasonable" and modifies access, you will be in trouble.
Practical and unlimited would need to be separated by a comma because in that case they would be coordinate adjectives.
If you are doubtful, keep this option and look for a better one.
Eliminate A.
Quote:
• incorrect modifier: practical
→ same problem as that in option A
• verb form error: we need the infinitive verbs find and repair, not the verbals finding and repairing
→ although the idiomatic "to" in access to is not necessarily an infinitive "to," in this instance, access to does mean [access] in order to.
These creepily small nanobots get into the human body with a purpose: to find and repair defects.
When an action is purposeful, use the infinitive.
Access to finding is nearly nonsensical in this sentence.
Eliminate B
Quote:
• I do not see any errors
• the adverb practically acts as a correct modifier of the adjective unlimited
-- the phrase means "nearly unlimited access," as is intended
• access . . . to find and [to] repair defects correctly describes the purpose of the nanobots
KEEP
Quote:
• the correct idiom is access to
→ we can insert a someone for whom or something for which the access exists, but that access is still access TO, say, a place or an opportunity.
-- see my notes under the prompt beneath the bullet point "idiom"
-- Correct: Special passes provided access for students to examine recently declassified but not yet public documents.
-- Correct (and identical in meaning): Special passes provided access to students to examine recently declassified but not yet public documents.
• access for finding and repairing defects just does not make sense.
Be careful with ___ING words.
They often connote a sense of the ongoing.
These two ___ING words are gerunds—nouns that are derived from verbs and that connote action or states of being.
At the least, on this issue, this option is not as good as option C.
Finally, this option is functionally indistinguishable from option E. Both must be wrong.
That is, the fact that options D and E are nearly identical means that neither can be correct.
There is no way to choose between D and E, so dump both of them.
Eliminate D
Quote:
• see analysis of option D
Options E and D are functional equivalents; there is no rhetorical difference between repairing defects and repairing them.
Because you have no way to choose between the two options, both must be incorrect.
• because pronoun ambiguity is not always taught accurately and in case you might be wondering, them is not ambiguous.
Them unqualifiedly refers to defects.
The presence of other plural antecedents (scientists, nanobots, and robots ) does not create pronoun ambiguity, which is relative rare on the GMAT.
The test for pronoun ambiguity is not whether other nouns that agree in number with the pronoun could theoretically be antecedents, but rather, whether more than one logical antecedent exists. (If so, pronoun ambiguity exists.)
There is only one logical antecedent for them: defects.
Only one logical antecedent = no pronoun ambiguity.
Eliminate E
The answer is C.
COMMENTS
Sidebar and no kidding: I just discovered three, um, very large deer in the backyard.
They are crashing through bushes, crunching down frozen snow, and munching noisily on trees.
I do not live anywhere near a forest. Not even close.
KrishnanTN , welcome to SC Butler!
We are always glad to have new participants.
The analysis here is easy to understand and thoughtful.
There are a couple of slightly wrong turns in some of the analysis, and that fact is just fine.
TarunKumar1234 , I am bumping you to Best Community Reply.
Nice work, everyone.
08 Dec 2021, 10:51
Kudos
Bookmarks
Scientists dream of one day creating armies of nanobots, tiny robots smaller than a cell, that can enter the human body and use their practical unlimited access to find and repair defects in bodily structures.
A) practical unlimited access to find and repair defects -> To modify adjective, unlimited, we need adverb. Incorrect.
B) practical unlimited access to finding and repairing defects -> Same as A. Incorrect.
C) practically unlimited access to find and repair defects -> This is better and we can see find and repair are parallel too. Let's keep it.
D) practically unlimited access for finding and repairing defects -> "access to" is better than "access for". Incorrect.
E) practically unlimited access for finding defects and repairing them -> Same error as D and we have another glaring error as pronoun, them. Incorrect.
So, I think C.
A) practical unlimited access to find and repair defects -> To modify adjective, unlimited, we need adverb. Incorrect.
B) practical unlimited access to finding and repairing defects -> Same as A. Incorrect.
C) practically unlimited access to find and repair defects -> This is better and we can see find and repair are parallel too. Let's keep it.
D) practically unlimited access for finding and repairing defects -> "access to" is better than "access for". Incorrect.
E) practically unlimited access for finding defects and repairing them -> Same error as D and we have another glaring error as pronoun, them. Incorrect.
So, I think C.
