General SC problems

[gmatwork]

a) What is the GMAT recommended usage of the word 'should'?

b) If two prepositional phrases are combined by a parallel marker, then do both phrases need to start with the same preposition?

c) What is the right usage of the word confusion?

I am confused about X.
I am confused with X.
I am confused over X.

d) Is the word legislature countable? Is it a collective noun?

e) In which cases will the use of passive voice in the answer choice justified?

f) In Manhattan GMAT 4 ed. chapter 9, they say:

Idiom usage of 'Confidence':

We have confidence that the market will recover. (Correct)
We have confidence in the market's ability to recover (Suspect)
We have confidence in the market to recover. (Wrong)


My question is will it be incorrect to say: I have confidence in you ....or ......I have confidence in Sally. What about the regular usage of the word confidence? Do we have to always consider using Confidence as per its idiom usage?


Please clarify.


Thanks!

[manitshah]

I'll address some of your concerns.

b) No. As long as they both phrases begin with a preposition, you're fine. The two phrases do not need to begin with exactly the same preposition. For example:
It was difficult to decide whether to meet AT the park or IN the bar. [CORRECT]


c)
confused ABOUT X [CORRECT]
This is used to indicate confusion about some event. For example:
She was utterly confused ABOUT what had happened.
Self-explanatory. She was bewildered about what had happened.

confused WITH X [CORRECT]
This is used to indicate incorrect identification, or more generally, a mistake of some sort between two things, people, etc.
I confused Reagan with Jefferson. [CORRECT]
This means you incorrectly identified Jefferson as Reagan, or the other way round.
A lot of people confuse a stroke WITH a heart attack.
This means you incorrectly identified a stroke as a heart attack, or the other way round.

confused OVER ABC AND XYZ.
This is definitely more unusual than the earlier two, and it is used to indicate uncertainty between two things. The proper usage is CONFUSED OVER A... AND B...
or somewhat more commonly,
CONFUSED OVER WHICH ...
For instance,
He was confused over which car to use.


d) Legislature is a good ol' noun. It refers to the (one) legislative body of a state. Therefore,
India's legislature IS great. [CORRECT]
The plural of legislature is legislatures. Therefore,
The legislatures of the Western democracies ARE great. [CORRECT]


e) As a rule of thumb, when there's no correct answer in active voice. An option in passive voice does not HAVE to be incorrect. However, since your job is to select the "best" answer, and since active voice is considered (stylistically) better, passive voice can only be picked when all the active voice choices have some concrete error in grammar / meaning.


f) Since I don't have the particular book with me right now, I can't answer this question.


Manit Shah
GMAT Trainer, Singapore

[gmatwork]

Thanks a lot for posting the answers. This was very helpful.

[gmatwork]

Hi,

Can anyone please answer these two questions?


a) What is the GMAT recommended usage of the word 'should'?

b) In Manhattan GMAT 4 ed. chapter 9, they say:

Idiom usage of 'Confidence':

We have confidence that the market will recover. (Correct)
We have confidence in the market's ability to recover (Suspect)
We have confidence in the market to recover. (Wrong)


My question is will it be incorrect to say: I have confidence in you ....or ......I have confidence in Sally. What about the regular usage of the word confidence? Do we have to always consider using Confidence as per its idiom usage?

[tim]

for "should", can you dig up some problems that use "should" so we can compare and contrast them for you? the discussion will probably make more sense if we have some concrete examples to work from..

the main thing about "confidence" is to remember what ways it is used incorrectly as an idiom and to eliminate answer choices that use that form. it is okay to say each of the following:
"i have confidence"
"i have confidence in you"
"i have confidence in your ability"
"i have confidence in your ability to do well on the GMAT"

as indicated in the SC guide though, you cannot say:
"i have confidence in you to do well"