Usage of 'Although'

Question

Hey Guys,

On page 739 of OG2015 ,  in the explanation for choice D of question 74,  it is written that:

"Although is a conjunction and should be followed by a finite clause with a subject, not by a participle."

However , in Verbal Review 2nd Edition, SC, question number 36, in the  correct choice E , we have:

Although   eradicated  in the United States, polio continues elsewhere and could be ...

Hence,  contrary to what OG2015 recommends for 'although', in this question in the right answer choice, 'although' is followed not by a definite clause, but by a participle (a past participle) .

Don't you find these two positions contradictory and how can they be explained?!

Lucky2783 · Answer

Hi apolo,

I seriously want to help you but i do not want to open that green book and look into specific lines or questions . Do you mind posting your doubt with all relevant information such that those who do not have og15 will also be able to contribute.

apolo · Answer

I, myself found the answer here:  https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/participle-phrases-on-the-gmat/

As  Mike  from magoosh team has mentioned:

"... IF the section in the subordinate clause can be construed as a clause with short SV omitted (e.g. “it is“), then it is fine. In that official sentence, the short SV “it was” is implied and omitted — “Polio, although   eradicated in the US …” — so implicitly, a clause follows “although.” Compare the mistake in OG13 SC#74, choice (E)."

Also you can see QUestion 35 of OG12, page 664, in which the non-underlined part of the section contains this phrase 'although growing slowly':

Along with the drop in producer prices announced yesterday, the strong retail sales figures released today seem  like it is indicative that  the economy,  although growing slowly , is not nearing a recession. OG12, SC, #35, Page 664

tarunk31 · Answer

In the context of this problem, you may find following article helpful although-is-a-dependent-clause-dc-marker-so-it-has-to-start-a-dc-200260.html

apolo · Answer

Thanks tarunktuteja for your help,

Actually I knew those stuff about reduction of adverb clauses.

But the point is the GMAT's inconsistency about usage of 'although' with or without a verb and subject; as I have pointed out, GMAT in one other case, i.e. page 739 of OG2015, in the explanation for choice D of question 74, asserts that:

"Although is a conjunction and should be followed by a finite clause with a subject, not by a participle."

If this is GMAT's position (about how 'although' (and similar subordinating conjunctions) should be used), then ' although eradicated in the United States ' should also be wrong, since in this case 'although' is followed by a participle, i.e. 'eradicated', rather than a S-V.

Do you have any idea how this inconsistency can be solved?

tarunk31 · Answer

Hi apolo,

The question on Polio that I cited in my article is actually from OG VR2 Q36 and the correct option uses the reduced form. The explanation given in OG VR2 for correct option E says:

The sentence is clear, concise, and grammatically correct.

Indeed we reduce adverbial clauses for concision.

Further this is what I have heard about the OG explanations:

"The Official Guide explanations have been created by different teams over the years – some explanations are from ETS (which administered the GMAT pre-2005); some explanations are from a 3rd party to whom GMAC outsourced the work, and some explanations are created by GMAC experts themselves (hopefully the best ones!). This explains the discrepancy in the quality of answers provided to the awesome questions in the OG."

And this explains the inconsistency among different explanations for the same concept.

apolo · Answer

Yes, I had also mentioned this 'polio' problem in my original question. Furthermore, I also have heard about the quality of OG SC explanations, though not exactly what you have mentioned about ETS.

Mike's words (from Magoosh team) that I have shared above might be an alternative explanation. NO?

VerbalBot · Answer

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