SC: During the past decade, the labor market in France..

[tricaltronics]

Hi,
I understand that ';' is used for independent clauses.
but here the second independent clause starts with an 'instead'.
If I go by your suggestion and see it as a complete sentence, then I find the sentence to start with 'instead' (cause 'instead' comes after ';'). I would like to know,
1.can i start a sentence with instead.
2.if yes, then please tell me more words like instead , that can come right after ';' not making it dependent.
I would really appreciate your efforts with regards to this.

[jnelson0612]

Here's a thread discussing exactly that issue; scroll down to see Tim's response which addresses your question.
sc-during-the-past-decade-the-labor-market-in-france-t5227.html

[rustom.hakimiyan]

I was stuck between B and E, chose B - obviously wrong.

Two quetions:

1) Besides the run on sentence error, is there anything else because I can't seem to find it if there is? If there was a semi colon there, instead of a comma, would that make "B" correct?


2) I seem to run into this issue a LOT - When comparing "instead it has been functioning in a stifled manner" in answer choice B vs. "instead, its functioning has been stifled by various government regulations" in choice E - is one option preferred over the other, and if so, why? Don't both of them imply "present perfect" b/c of "functioning in a ..." vs. "its functioning has been..."

Thanks a ton. Question 2 has been a pain for me, greatly appreciate any help.

[jlucero]

I was stuck between B and E, chose B - obviously wrong.

Two quetions:

1) Besides the run on sentence error, is there anything else because I can't seem to find it if there is? If there was a semi colon there, instead of a comma, would that make "B" correct?


2) I seem to run into this issue a LOT - When comparing "instead it has been functioning in a stifled manner" in answer choice B vs. "instead, its functioning has been stifled by various government regulations" in choice E - is one option preferred over the other, and if so, why? Don't both of them imply "present perfect" b/c of "functioning in a ..." vs. "its functioning has been..."

Thanks a ton. Question 2 has been a pain for me, greatly appreciate any help.

1) Other than the comma splice, there's a few "wordy but awkward" parts in B, one of which you already mentioned. The other is the expression "as a result of". It's just not as forceful of a sentence structure as B, mostly because of...

2) X has been functioning (in a stifled manner)
vs
X has been stifled

Notice that the second expression makes the "stifling" a part of the main idea of the sentence, while the first makes "in a stifled manner" more of an afterthought. Which sounds worse to you:

My car has been working in a slow manner
My car has been slow

I'd say that the second is more forceful in emphasizing the problem.

[ramendra.awesome]

Is 'but instead' really redundant in first option? I understand there are other grammatical issue with option A, but I think the use of 'but instead' is fine. Experts, please help. Thanks!

[j.r.ashish]

Nope, no typos in Emily's explanation.

When there are two independent clauses (as in choice E) and the second one contains a pronoun as part of the subject, the structural expectation is that the pronoun refers to the subject of the first clause.

During the past decade, the labor market in France has not been operating according to free market principles; instead, its functioning has been stifled by various government regulations restricting the hiring and firing of workers

Is it correct here to refer possessive pronoun "Its" to Labor Market.
Possessive pronoun should refer to only possessive noun, right?

[RonPurewal]

Either "it" or "its" can refer to "the labor market".

[PrakharS433]

Hi Ron,

I want to discuss the non-underlined part-

During the past decade, the labor market in France has not been operating

If we are discussing about the past decade--shouldn't we use past tense..?
If it was written Since past decade--> In that case present perfect tense should be used.

But in this scenario we are discussing about PAST. So, how the usage of present perfect tense is correct.

I have one more sentence of MGMAT SC-->


During the twentieth century, the study of the large-scale structure of the universe evolved from the theoretical to the practical

Here we are using past tense
Are both tenses appropriate with during..??
Don't know why I am getting inclined toward using the past tense with during
According to me we should use past tense as we are discussing about past.

Can you please shed some light into it..?

Additionally, is it correct approach to try to parallel operating and functioning in this sentence...??
If so, the first part will be in active voice and the second part will be in passive voice.

But, I have learnt that if two things are connected with conjunction then both part should be either in active or in passive voice.....????
Can I say INSTEAD is working as a conjunction here.....??


Thanks and Regards,
Prakhar

[myrah284]

Hi Ron,
I am sorry to reopen this question, but I have few questions about E.
instead, its functioning has been stifled by various government regulations restricting the hiring and firing of workers
My problem is that the use of "functioning" here is awkward to me. Is it a modifier of "its"? I just can not understand the use of it. Can you explain it for me, please? I am really confuse about it.
Thx.

[elenas903]

Pooja is correct; this question is primarily about punctuation.

You may be interested in another current thread on this question:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/sc- ... t5197.html

The explanation in the CAT says: (B) This choice incorrectly uses a comma to connect two independent clauses, thus creating a run-on sentence. Two independent clauses must be connected either by a conjunction, such as “and” or “but,” or by a semicolon.

Please clarify it is correct to use ONLY AND OR BUT to connect 2 indep clauses or it is correct to use FANBOYS? What is GMAC rule?

thanks!