While I was looking into a problem ("Though the law

Question

While I was looking into a problem ("Though the law will require emissions testing....."), a question struck my mind.
Can a noun and a verb modify a same particular subject and still remain parallel?

please elaborate with an example.

KyleWiddison · Answer

One of the great things about parallelism is how strictly the GMAT applies the rule. If you find a parallelism issue on an SC problem, you can be very confident in your eliminations on that basis. By definition, matching nouns with verbs would not be parallel. Verb-like words, present participles, can actually be nouns when they are used as gerunds. For example:  Hiking  and  fishing  are my favorite weekend activities. These words look like verbs, but they are actually nouns. Even in this example, the GMAT would prefer matching gerund with gerund. I can think of one OG example where a gerund (a noun that looks like a verb) is parallel with other nouns. Check out OG 13 #121.

KW

Marcab · Answer

Many thanks for the reply.
The concept, parallelism between noun and gerund is very well understood by me. Thanks specially to MGMAT SC. In fact, Manhattan wrote, "the effort will pay off, no matter how much time it takes to grasp this concept", which I still remember and trust me this statement was a boost for me.
Btw my point was can a noun and verb( I am not confused with gerund), both pointing to the same subject, be parallel.
Again to mention, I am not confused with gerunds.

KyleWiddison · Answer

I'm glad that we've been able to help you on SC.

Based on sentence structure and the principle of parallelism, the answer to your question is no. You would not see a verb and noun as parallel elements pointing to the same subject. A subject can have 2 parallel verbs (I run and eat.), or it can have 2 parallel noun objects (I eat pizza and hamburgers.), but the verb and noun object would not be viewed as parallel (I eat pizza), they would just be viewed as separate elements in the sentence. Perhaps you have an example? I would be happy to review it... KW

Marcab · Answer

Hey Kyle.
Many thanks for reverting back to me.
Must say, you Manhattan guys are the most helpful in that you produce Sentence Correction "Gita"-a holy book in Hindu religion- and always stay ahead to answer students.
Earlier, I had a nice interaction with Tommy Wallach also and was just helpful as you are.
By the way, going back to question I was asking, I found my mistake and as far as I know now, a verb and a noun can't be parallel. Its a request that if you come across any such question, do post it.
Thanks in advance.
By the way, just for my information, did I wrote the correct GMAT english above.

KyleWiddison · Answer

Glad to hear we are able to help you out!

Your grammar was very good. There are just a few errors, like the verb tense at the end should be "write" not "wrote" and you should include the pronoun when talking about Tommy's help.

Best of luck!

KW

Marcab · Answer

Hahaha....
Yeah got my mistake.
Seems as if the "nice interaction" was helpful rather than Tommy.
Well thanks a ton.

Marcab · Answer

hey Kyle.
I think I have found such question.

Some patients who do not respond therapies of depression may simply have received inadequate treatment,   having, for example been prescribed a drug as a dosage too low to be effective or having been taken   off a drug too soon.

(A) having, for example been prescribed a drug as a dosage too low to be effective or having been
(B) having, for example, a drug prescription that was ineffective because the dosage was too low, or being
(C) as, for example, having too low of a dosage of prescribed drug for it to be effective, or being
(D) when they have, for example, been prescribed too low a drug dosage for it to be effective, or were
(E) for example, when they have a drug prescription with a dosage too low to be effective, or been

My doubt is :
in A) aren't "Having been prescribed" and "having been taken.." nouns?
in B) isn't "Having a drug prescription" a verb which is being compared to a gerund "being'?
Moreover, in A, should'nt "for example" be followed by a comma?
 
Will be waiting for your explanation.
Thanks in advance

KyleWiddison · Answer

Interesting example, what is the source? To resoond to your areas of doubt, in A) the phrases are adverbial modifiers (kind of a variant of the perfect tense), so they aren't nouns and in that construction they are parallel. The adverbial modifiers are pretty complex in A, but here is a simpler example showing a similar structure: I went to bed early and didn't eat dinner, having to suffer hunger pains throughout the night. The grammar in this example isn't amazing, but "having" in my example is an adverbial modifier and the adverbial phrase modifies the preceding independent clause. In B) "having" and "being" are both present participles (not verbs) that are acting as modifiers and those participle forms are parallel (though I should note that being is almost always incorrect on the GMAT). Here is a quick example about how those participles aren't verbs: He having a sandwich. That sentence is incomplete because there isn't a verb. In order for a participle to be a verb it needs a helping verb: He is having a sandwich. So while this question might appear to make nouns parallel with verbs, it's just an issue of participles looking like nouns.

Lastly, "for example" is a non-essential phrase in that instance and should be offset by commas and the trailing comma is missing.

KW

Marcab · Answer

Hey Kyle.
Many thanks for the reply and I really appreciate your consistence response.
Now to answer your first question, 
"what is the source?". 
I was searching for some brutal sc questions on the club and somehow I got my eyes on this one. Even the poster of this question had no idea about the source, anyways who cares of the source when one can get hands on such questions and such experts(Kyle, this one was for you).
Okay now returning to the question, can you suggest how to pick the right answer. The OA seems to be B.

Marcab · Answer

Regarding the adverbial modifier concept, I must say studying Shrodinger wave equation was much better rather than learning so many modifiers. I am just sick now of the phrase "......modifies the entire previous clause". Whether it be absolute phrase, noun modifiers and ,not to forget, appositives, which is quite cute in these terms modifying just the previous noun.
Also, should I consider the missing of comma after "for example" a typo and move on?

Marcab · Answer

can you please provide me a link of such modifier based questions that includes absolute phrase, noun modifiers and adverbial modifiers. I feel if I clear my concept in these questions , then no "meaning" based question would be too difficult.
Thanks in advance.

KyleWiddison · Answer

Haha, I'm laughing at your comparison between quantum mechanics and modiiers.

The OA on this question is A (see this thread some-patients-who-do-not-respond-therapies-of-depression-may-83070.html) and it looks like the original does have a comma. The OA wouldn't be B because of "being". As for sources of modifer questions, I don't have a lot of "free" resources for you. If you have access to the MGMAT OG Archer, it categorizes all the question types. I also found this link (from the GMAT Club) that categorizes OG 12 questions (download/file2.php?id=12850). Review all the modifier questions to see how you do. I would think you could find something similar for OG 13. Best of luck! I'm off to study up on my quantum theory.

KW

Marcab · Answer

Haha... Btw need your help in another thread. added-to-the-increase-in-hourly-wages-requested-last-july-82386-20.html#p1137488 Thanks in advance.

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