Califonia highways

[526930159]

I'm wondering about why "California highways" is correct, but "california scenic highways" is wrong. And I'm also can't understand why "california highways" is correct but "Ron car" has to addt 's to be correct. Could someone explain the resons and the occasions when a noun could be an adj. and when it could not?Thanks a million.

[RonPurewal]

The GMAT won't test the difference. Too nuanced, and too much of a style issue.

For the GMAT, it's sufficient to know that the pattern exists. I.e., if you see something like "California highways", you just have to know that it's not wrong.

(I have never seen an incorrect pattern, e.g., "Ron car", tested.)

If you are replying to something posted in another thread, please reply IN that thread. Thanks.

[526930159]

Yeah,I've understood it, thank you~I just didn't know the details which are reffered in Thursday Class.Thanks for your reply again and sorry for bothering you in this simple question.

[RonPurewal]

Just don't forget: The gmat tests things that are relationships.
If you see something that's a "point" distinction"”i.e., a decision where you just look in one place, and decide what one thing should look like"”it's almost certainly a distraction from what GMAC is actually trying to test.

Just think about all of the major themes tested in SC:
* Subject-verb agreement: The subject is in one place. The verb is somewhere else.
* Parallel structures: They're in different places.
* Pronouns: The pronoun is in one place. The noun is somewhere else.
* Modifiers: The modifier is somewhere. The stuff that determines whether the modifier is correct or incorrect is somewhere else.
* Verbs: The verb is somewhere, but its tense is determined by the entire context of the sentence.

You get the point. EVERYTHING that plays a significant role in SC is a relationship. I.e., you see a split, and you DON'T just look at that split. You resolve the split by looking somewhere else in the sentence.
This is true even for things that are basically formulas, e.g., idioms. Note that idioms don't appear in one place. One part of the idiom is somewhere. The other part is somewhere else.

So, if you see something that's all in one place"”like "California highways" vs. "highways in California" vs. "California's highways""”ignore it. It's just there to throw you off the scent of the stuff that actually constitutes the crux of the problem.

[RonPurewal]

Also, remember that you can't really memorize which constructions are "point" constructions and which are relationships. It varies from problem to problem.

Some things"”like the ones I listed above"”are always relationships, and so are always important.
But, some things can be "point" distinctions (and therefore irrelevant distractions) in some problems, but relationships (and therefore important) in other problems.

E.g.
If you see "California's highways" vs. "California highways" vs. "highways in California" by itself"”with no obvious link to anything else in the sentence"”then it's a distraction and you shouldn't care about it.
On the other hand, if you see that, and you see "Arizona highways" somewhere else in the sentence, then WHOA suddenly it's a parallelism relationship, and you darn well better care about it. A lot.

You get the point. SC is relationships. If you see a split, look to see whether that split is controlled by an "engine" that's elsewhere in the sentence.

[AllenY389]

Also, remember that you can't really memorize which constructions are "point" constructions and which are relationships. It varies from problem to problem.

Some things"”like the ones I listed above"”are always relationships, and so are always important.
But, some things can be "point" distinctions (and therefore irrelevant distractions) in some problems, but relationships (and therefore important) in other problems.

E.g.
If you see "California's highways" vs. "California highways" vs. "highways in California" by itself"”with no obvious link to anything else in the sentence"”then it's a distraction and you shouldn't care about it.
On the other hand, if you see that, and you see "Arizona highways" somewhere else in the sentence, then WHOA suddenly it's a parallelism relationship, and you darn well better care about it. A lot.

You get the point. SC is relationships. If you see a split, look to see whether that split is controlled by an "engine" that's elsewhere in the sentence.

WHOA amazing explanation!
EVERY TIME reading your post, I'm very impressed with your insight!
WHOA amazing Ron！

[RonPurewal]

thanks.