Minivans carry as many as seven passengers

[gbyhats]

Hi Dear Manhattan Instructors ;)

What is (are) the relationship(s) between "comma + VERBing" modifier and the sentence being modified?

I mean,

(1) Does "comma + VERBing" mean the "when" (when = during the period)?

e.g.
--> [choice D] "Minivans, carrying as many as seven passengers..." = "Minivans, when carry as many as seven passengers..."
--> [made-up] "Sparks, contacting oil, can cause fire" = "Sparks, when contact oil, can cause fire"

2) Can "comma + VERBing" mean result?

e.g.
--> [choice D] "Minivans, carrying as many as seven passengers..." = "Minivans, after carried as many as seven passengers..."
--> [made-up] "Sparks, contacting oil, can cause fire" = "Sparks, after contacted oil, can cause fire"

(3) Can "comma + VERBing" act as a non-restricted clause?

e.g.
--> [choice D] "Minivans, carrying as many as seven passengers..." = "Minivans, which carry as many as seven passengers..."
--> [made-up] "Sparks, contacting oil, can cause fire" = "Sparks, which contact oil, can cause fire"

--

If possible, can I also ask what is (are) the relationship(s) between "comma + VERBed" modifier and the sentence being modified?

--

Probably someone ask before, so I'm so sorry if I ask you guys to repeat explanations...

[RonPurewal]

1/
nope. fundamentally different.

• "when X happens" restricts the discussion to only those instances in which X happens. thus, the implication is that there are times when X does not happen (or has not happened), but that we simply aren't addressing those instances.

• "happening..." means that something is definitely happening (in context).

[RonPurewal]

^^ e.g.,
When carrying more than 100 passengers, our airplanes use xxxx gallons of fuel per mile.
––> sometimes our planes carry more than 100 passengers, but sometimes they don't.

Carrying more than 100 passengers, our airplanes use xxxx gallons of fuel per mile.
––> our airplanes currently carry more than 100 passengers (every time), so they use xxx gallons of fuel per mile

[RonPurewal]

2/

"Sparks, contacting oil, can cause fire" = "Sparks, after contacted oil, can cause fire"

the two colored things are mutually exclusive.

the pink thing, like other __ing's, implies "same timeframe as the sentence to which it's attached".

"after", of course, implies "different timeframe".


--

3/

i'm unable to answer this question, as it concerns terminology that i don't know.

[gbyhats]

Thank you very much for your detail explanations! ;)

I got what you mean now!

i'm unable to answer this question, as it concerns terminology that i don't know.

Oops... I'm sorry!

I mean "comma+which..." modifier.

--

Let me take a shot in rephrasing my question

--

What is (are) the difference(s) between "comma + VERBing" modifier and the "comma+which/who..." modifier?

e.g.

"comma+which/who..."
-->That amusement park, which never charges entrance fee, is owned by Michael Jackson.
-->These schoolboys, who sing loud, are celebrating the approaching winter break.
-->Sparks, which contact oil, can cause fire

"comma + VERBing"
-->That amusement park, charging no entrance fee, is owned by Michael Jackson
-->These schoolboys, singing loud, are celebrating the approaching winter break.
-->Sparks, contacting oil, can cause fire

--

I feel like "comma+which/who..." modifier can do everything that "comma + VERBing" modifier does, while the reverse is not true.

[RonPurewal]

i see you haven't read the thread.
|:

this exact idea is addressed on page 3 of this thread, in my post from may 2014. check it out.

[gbyhats]

i see you haven't read the thread.
|:

this exact idea is addressed on page 3 of this thread, in my post from may 2014. check it out.

Oops...I'm sorry, Ron! I read it and forget it.

You have 14k posts and you still remember, while I just read it and I forget...

[RonPurewal]

You have 14k posts and you still remember, while I just read it and I forget...

this comment is ironic, because i have a horrible memory (it's in the 1st percentile--the lowest percentile--of the human population). i actually suffered brain lesions as a kid that basically wiped some of those circuits. (the same head injuries also killed my ability to sleep like a normal person, but that's another story that doesn't belong here.)

i'm just ... good at using google.
and, if i think that a post is something to which i may refer people later, i'll bookmark it.

really, most people on here should do more googling.
if you want to search this forum, just put "site:manhattanprep.com"--with no space after the colon--in front of the search term(s) you want to look for.

[gbyhats]

i'm just ... good at using google.
and, if I think that a post is something to which i may refer people later, i'll bookmark it.

really, most people on here should do more googling.
if you want to search this forum, just put "site:manhattanprep.com"--with no space after the colon--in front of the search term(s) you want to look for.

Oops, yeah Google is such a good tool that I shouldn't ignore!

It's very interesting to hear that. Well, you prove that "I have a bad memory so I can't learn things well" is not a legit complaint.

1. I remember a fact that the time when US sent Apollo 11 to space, the computing power of entire office on Earth was equal to that of a laptop nowadays, and the computing power of the spaceship is somewhat between that of an electric watch and a smartphone.

2. I remember somewhere in GMAT prep says that people who are able to solve complicated problems does not have bigger brains, but because they use their brain more efficient.


So "not" being doesn't mean one cannot do anything big.

--

I just finished a GMAT test yesterday actually ;)
It was good and I have to say that you gave me a lot of helps!

[tim]

That's right; don't let yourself be held back by perceived limitations. I've had my share of head injuries too and dealt with anterograde amnesia for several years (like the guy in Memento or the girl in 50 First Dates, only less severe). It's all about how you cope with what you're given, and how determined you are to work around your disadvantages.

[gbyhats]

That's right; don't let yourself be held back by perceived limitations. I've had my share of head injuries too and dealt with anterograde amnesia for several years (like the guy in Memento or the girl in 50 First Dates, only less severe). It's all about how you cope with what you're given, and how determined you are to work around your disadvantages.

Wow you life experience is very inspiring!

I never heard of anterograde amnesia before, it appears to be a pretty bad thing. I can't believe that you are able to cope with this. And both you guys prove that "GMAT is hard so I can't handle it" is not a legit excuse

[RonPurewal]

my retrograde amnesia is actually a good thing, because i had a miserable childhood but my life now is pretty awesome. so, you should take back whatever prize you were going to give me for "dealing with adversity".
(:

"GMAT is hard so I can't handle it" is not a legit excuse

i get bored easily by things that are not hard. maybe that's the secret.

[KathyL227]

my first complaint about (d) is that it's noticeably awkward, but you'd have to be a native speaker of english to pick up on that.

however, there's a problem of semantics (meaning) with (d). the modifier "...carrying..." seems to signify that the latter traits are only true of minivans when those minivans are actually carrying the requisite number of passengers. if they aren't, then all of a sudden those things aren't true anymore.

Hi Ron,

I have two questions:
1."Carrying...", implies that "only Minivans carry 7 passengers have the latter traits" or "all Minivans have to carry 7 passengers...";
I was told in other GMAT SC material that, the differences between "which clause" and "that Clause" is that:
e.g.: 1) Minivans, which carry 7 passengers, cost... (it implies that all Minivans have to carry 7 passengers. "which clause" means this feature applies to any minivan in the world);
2) Minivans that carry 7 passengers cost... (it implies that Minivans can carry 7 passengers. "that clause" means this feature applies some minivans);
3) Minivans, carrying carry 7 passengers, cost... (Dose the "carrying" modifier functions in the same way as the "which clause"? )
2. the reason for eliminate D, besides the one you mentioned: if the sentence construct in this way (Minivans, carrying as many as seven passengers, compared with most sport utility vehicles, cost less, get better gas mileage, ... ), "compared with most ..." is somehow wordy. As only if "carry", "cost", "get"... are constructed grammatically parallel, "compared with most ..." is necessary here to indicate the logical relations of the verbs (V1 VS V2-V5).
Similar example is: in OG 15: ... the planet were dated at 3,4 million years old and thus was the earliest evidence on the earth that ... (the "thus" here functions in the similar way to "compared with.." indicates the logical relationship of the verbs.)
Not sure my above understanding is correct.
Looking forward to your reply.

Thanks.

Kathy

[RonPurewal]

hi,
i'm sorry, but i can't tell which parts are questions and which parts are just commentary.

if you are going to post so many things in one post, it's crucial that you...
...1/ separate different ideas with line breaks (= empty lines);
...2/ write questions that end with "?".

thank you.

[KathyL227]

hi,
i'm sorry, but i can't tell which parts are questions and which parts are just commentary.

if you are going to post so many things in one post, it's crucial that you...
...1/ separate different ideas with line breaks (= empty lines);
...2/ write questions that end with "?".

thank you.

Ok Ron,

Let me reorganize my question:

Here is what I understand about the 3 types of modifiers:

1) Minivans, which carry 7 passengers, cost... (it implies that all Minivans have to carry 7 passengers. "which clause" means this feature applies to any minivan in the world. Is my understanding right about "which clause"? );
2) Minivans that carry 7 passengers cost... (it implies that Minivans can carry 7 passengers. "that clause" means this feature applies some minivans. Is my understanding right about "that clause"?);
3) Minivans, carrying carry 7 passengers, cost... (Dose the "carrying" modifier functions in the same way as the "which clause"? )

Please help me to confirm if my understanding is correct.