Polio

[RonPurewal]

I actually don't even know what "working verb" means, so I can't really help you there. (An internet search didn't turn up much, either -- I think our instructors may have invented that term!)

In any case, don't make simple things unnecessarily complicated.

This is all you need:

* If you have 2 verbs, then, grammatically, they're parallel.

* Tense depends entirely on context.

MOST IMPORTANTLY
* Remember that parallelism is comparative. It's a beauty contest. You don't have to judge each "contestant" individually -- you just have to pick the winner.
So, if you see (A) "I like to swim, lift weights, and participate in marathons" and (B) "I like to swim, lift weights, and run marathons", it should be quite obvious that B is better than A, because swim/lift/run is clearly better than swim/lift/participate.

The point of SC is that all of the main topics are pretty simple. (The challenge lies in recognizing and isolating the things that are wrong, not in understanding how they work.) If you're encountering a great deal of complexity, then you may be accidentally introducing that complexity yourself.

[RonPurewal]

please can you give more examples in which other verbssuch as continue and could/ is/are are parallel.

Try to write a couple of your own. If you post them, I'll let you know whether they work.

[gauravtyagigmat]

"Continues" and "could" are parallel. Both are verbs.

In the right context, any verb can be parallel to any other verb. (There's only one exception -- a singular verb can't be parallel to a plural verb, because parallel verbs have the same subject.)

I don't know what a "working verb" is, but, whatever that is, it's a concept that you don't need (and that is causing you to get things wrong).

please can you give more examples in which other verbssuch as continue and could/ is/are are parallel.

To refer "working verb"
Please refer manhattan sentence correction chapter 11 page 220 under topic "What else is considered parallel"

It says only working verbs are parallel to other working verbs

ex The plant both exceeded output targets and ran more smoothly than ever

please comment on discrepency

The trees give fruits to animals and are good for environment.
can we parallel "give" and "are" as both are verb

I just want to know can we parallel
a normal verb such as is,are,was were,have,has,had etc

with other verbs such as run ,continue, exceed, etc

[RonPurewal]

The trees give fruits to animals and are good for environment.
can we parallel "give" and "are" as both are verb

This sentence is fine, other than the need for "the" in front of "environment." (The GMAT doesn't test the use of a/an/the, so you don't have to worry about that.)

I just want to know can we parallel
a normal verb such as is,are,was were,have,has,had etc

with other verbs such as run ,continue, exceed, etc

Don't over-complicate the issue.

Any verb can be parallel to any other verb, as long as that parallelism makes sense in context.
Just figure out exactly which two ideas are actually supposed to be in parallel, and you'll be fine.

[gauravtyagigmat]

The trees give fruits to animals and are good for environment.
can we parallel "give" and "are" as both are verb

This sentence is fine, other than the need for "the" in front of "environment." (The GMAT doesn't test the use of a/an/the, so you don't have to worry about that.)

I just want to know can we parallel
a normal verb such as is,are,was were,have,has,had etc

with other verbs such as run ,continue, exceed, etc

Don't over-complicate the issue.

Any verb can be parallel to any other verb, as long as that parallelism makes sense in context.
Just figure out exactly which two ideas are actually supposed to be in parallel, and you'll be fine.

I thought my question is becoming general so posted it under general category on following link

[url]t25358.html[/url]

Above link is not appearing as a link so i am posting my question here as well.
If you feel above link is accessable and question is general then i will delete my question from this post.

Or if my question is not general then i will delete my question from general form post


Ron Thanks for reply..
Can you explain.... how do i exactly know and be sure that what ideas need to be parallel.because in 2 mins time sometimes it gets really difficult to check what things are parallel (specially in long sentence).Please can you explain with an example(long sentence in which parallel items are hidden under fake parallel illusions)
I don't know whether it is unprofessional to write in this way...If it is I am sorry
Ron please do reply to my question.
1.Most of the time when sentence is long I take more than 2 mins to figure out what things are parallel
2.Please explain how do i tackle when long sentence appear as a question not all part is underlined (I mean when 70% of sentence is underlined in very long sentences)

Thanking you in advance

[RonPurewal]

If things are parallel, that should be clear from your original reading of the sentence. It should be one of the very first things you even notice.

Basically, just ask yourself whether anything in the sentence is "A and B", or "(1) and (2)", or "this and that", or "bullet points", etc. If these labels are logical, then you need parallelism.

This is something you already inherently understand. (Try reading off a list of things, and see what kind of gestures you make while reading the list -- without even thinking about it. Those gestures show that you have an in-built understanding of "parallelism".) However, it's essentially impossible to make "rules" for which things should be parallel. You have to rely on that pre-existing sense of "thing #1", "thing #2", etc.

[750plus]

Dear Team,

I have a doubt in option C.

Please let me know if my thinking is CORRECT.

(C) Although still continuing elsewhere, polio has been eradicated in the United States and could be

'Has been', present perfect tense, is used for actions that started in the past BUT continue into the present, or remain true in the present.

Here, polio has been recently eradicated in the U.S. means that it started in the past and still prevalent in the present.

Is the original sentence trying to convey the same thing ?

Is polio still present in the U.S. OR is there a chance of getting Polio introduced again in the U.S. by the visitors.

According to me,'has been' construction in C is INCORRECT.

Please point out the error (if any) in my reasoning. Would love to know.

Warm Regards
Rajat Gugnani

[750plus]

I'm posting the sentence again so that you don't have to scroll.
Polio, although it is eradicated in the United States, it continues elsewhere and is able to be brought into the country by visitors.

(A) Polio, although it is eradicated in the United States, it continues elsewhere and is able to be
(B) Polio, although eradicated in the United States, it still continues elsewhere and can be
(C) Although still continuing elsewhere, polio has been eradicated in the United States and could be
(D) Although having been eradicated in the United States, polio still continues elsewhere and is capable of being
(E) Although eradicated in the United States, polio continues elsewhere and could be -- CORRECT CHOICE

If I apply the same concept in an OG problem that I cannot quote here, then I see a contradiction.
I'd request you to please check OG13 ED #74, option E.

Please if you can confirm the usage of 'although' in option E. Can it be used the way it is mentioned there.

Warm Regards
Rajat Gugnani

[RonPurewal]

Coming home from school, the wind blew me off my bike.
--> incorrect (nonsense). there's nothing structurally wrong here, but this sentence says that the wind was "coming home from school" when it decided to knock me off the bike.

for that sentence to work, "coming home from school" must be followed by "i" (Coming home from school, I was blown off my bike by the wind).

if you understand what's wrong here, then you also understand what's wrong with the cited OG answer choice. the structure of the modifier is perfectly acceptable, but its meaning is nonsense.

[750plus]

Dear Ron,

Thank You for your prompt response.

Sorry that I was not specific with my question. I understand that logically it does not makes sense to have 'wind' after the initial phrase.

But, my question is with the structure. Sorry I am quoting your point here as I copied it long time back in my notes and cannot locate the thread.

If Although xxxxx comes BEFORE the main sentence, the "xxxxx" can be ...
... an adjective (Although exhausted, Rob continued to work);
... a modifier describing the following subject (Although in considerable debt already, Tom spent two thousand dollars on a new designer suit);
... an entire sentence.

As per the concept stated above by you, this structure should be fine.

But the OG explanation says that "Although is a conjunction and should be followed by a finite clause with a subject, not a participle"

Can you please shed some light.

Warm Regards
Rajat Gugnani

[RonPurewal]

then the OG explanation is bunk.

the OG explanations--which were outsourced to people far less talented (and thus, presumably, far cheaper to hire) than the writers of the actual problems--are far from perfect.

[RonPurewal]

as another example, "this choice is wrong because it's wordy/awkward" really means "the person writing the explanation didn't know how to explain, and perhaps didn't even understand, why this choice is wrong".

[750plus]

This is really bad.

GMAC has set the standards and they don't want us to know the exact reason(s) of why they think an option is correct or incorrect. And we if apply rules of American English on GMAT land, we 'sometimes' fail.
Who do we have to trust on then ? Leaving Manhattan, which maintains a good standard, there are some prep companies that I don't want to name here make us learn bad English. Though it must be unintentional, but this is one of the reasons why one will not perform well on the test.

Moreover, if the explanation given in OG are bunk, what do one do? Manhattan has strict policies of not discussing any OG/ GMAT Prep paid question. What is the way out?

Please help.

Warm Regards

[RonPurewal]

This is really bad.

GMAC has set the standards and they don't want us to know the exact reason(s) of why they think an option is correct or incorrect.

here, you're accusing GMAC of deliberate deception.
i can understand how you might feel inclined to make such an accusation, especially if you're frustrated with the answer keys, but that accusation is off the mark.

the problem isn't that GMAC (or anyone else) is out to deceive you. rather, the problem is that it's really, really hard to explain why sentences are correct or incorrect (in ANY language, not just english).
it's really, really, REALLY hard.

if you don't understand the magnitude of the task, just listen to a foreign speaker of your first language (whatever that might be), whenever you get the chance, and write down the mistakes that (s)he makes.
now, see whether you can explain why those mistakes are, in fact, mistakes (a very difficult task)--and, then, imagine how you'd give that person instructions on how to recognize and avoid those mistakes (an even MORE difficult task).

that's the real problem: when someone has true mastery of a language, his/her command of the language is entirely subconscious/instinctive.
i've been, inter alia, a professional writer and editor for more than 20 years. when i see a SC problem, i can basically just look at the options and tell whether they're right or wrong, without any conscious reasoning--in exactly the same way YOU could immediately identify mistakes (and "awkward" things) in the speech of someone speaking YOUR first language.
the same is true for most good writers/editors...but the number of those people who can competently explain their judgments is VERY small.

the problem is not simply that people are bad at explaining things (though that, too, is true to a large extent).
rather, the problem is that, to EXPLAIN why one has judged a sentence as right/wrong, one must use thought processes that are not at all involved in actually MAKING the judgment.

that's a rare skill indeed, and the people who possess it are (generally speaking) expensive to hire.
answer keys have absolutely zero effect on the integrity or validity of the test, so, frankly, they are simply not a high priority for GMAC. thus they hire somewhat less talented (and cheaper) writers to produce the answer keys, thereby saving a dime.

[RonPurewal]

Moreover, if the explanation given in OG are bunk, what do one do? Manhattan has strict policies of not discussing any OG/ GMAT Prep paid question.

look, it's true that GMAC has explicitly asked us not to quote the OG here.

but, there's also the business reality of the situation.
for the low low price of $0.00, you get unlimited access to this forum (as well as sundry other offerings, e.g., the recordings of "thursdays with me").
at the end of the day, though, we're a business, and we need to keep the lights on around here. to keep the lights on, we need clients. free forum users are not clients.
you see where i'm going with this.

so...

What is the way out?

"the way out" is for our free offerings to convince users of our high standard of quality, and for those users to become clients of our company.
so we can keep the lights on around here.
(: