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suhstacy · 2009 October 22nd, 04:52 AM

1) Hopefully, it is not too late to reverse the damage that years of neglect and harsh weather have wrought on the beautiful old mansion. Why is hopefully wrong??

2) So great was John Ldnnon's fame as he could scarcely walk out his door without being accosted by fans and photographers. why is great was wrong?

3) My parents instilled their moral values for my sister and ma, enabling us, by the time we reached our teen years, to know right from wrong. why is for wrong?

4) If you'd been willing to take him for face value and had not tried to search for hidden motives... why is for wrong?

5) The experience of taking a car on teh road wiht a driving teacher fosters learning far more useful than that which results as students sit through a dull lecture. Why is as wrong?

If you could answer any of these five questions, I will greatly appreciate it!!!!! =))) thanks!

Knowledge · 2009 October 23rd, 06:43 AM

1.) Hopefully is considered a disjunct: Read more on this: See wikipedia (disjuncts)

2.) You could re-write the sentence this way: John Lonnon's fame is so great that he could barely walk out his door without being accosted by fans and photographers. (The situation discusses his current state of fame, not his past fame, because that wouldn't make sense, so 'is' should be used, not 'was')

3.) You could re-write the sentence this way: My parents instilled into my sister and ma their moral values, enabling us....(instilled for is incorrect expression. See the Cambridge Dictionary online: instilled

4. You don't take someone or something for face value, you take something at face value: See Free Dictionary online keyword: at face value

5. The experience of taking a car on the the road with a driving teacher fosters learning far more useful than that which results if (or when) students sit through a dull lecture (this is a comparison; that's why if should be used...than that which results if...not than that which results as...)

I hope I was able to help at all

suhstacy · 2009 October 24th, 01:23 AM

Thank you so much!!
You really helped me A LOT!! ^^

suhstacy · 2009 October 24th, 02:03 AM

Could you answer more writing sentence errors questions for me? It seems like you are really good at these!!

My SAT book does not provide me with explanations and I feel so frustrated when I don't know why something is wrong... =(((

1. Greta Garbo became a recluse for most of her adult life and remained isolated but looking beautifully until the day she died. (I know beautifully is supposed to be just beautiful, but can you explain why?^^)

2. There is no sense in continuing the research, now that the assumptions on which it was based had been disproved. (Is it supposed to be has been? if so, why? I'm really bad at the tenses)

3. The counsilwoman could not understand how the mayor could declare that the city is thriving when the number of firms declaring bankruptcy increase every month. (Why is increase wrong?)

4. Should a college application essay be required, ... (does the word "should" have the same meaning as "if"?)

5. It's difficult ot imagine how one can contrive of vivid, picturesque details about an exotic and distant place (why is about wrong?)

6. The woman found that her brisk, early morning walk had become an enervating ritual that would keep her alert. (why is enervating wrong?)

7. Although the office measures only ten feet by thirteen feet, ... (why is feet wrong?)

8. Grandma, affectionately called "Gramm" encouraged her grandson's reading by assuring him that the words he hesitated are the same ones she would have stumbled upon. (why is hesitated wrong?)

Sorry to bother you...
I just REALLY need to know...~~

Knowledge · 2009 October 24th, 04:35 AM

1). If you're describing how something looks, you use an adjective because adjectives describe. Beautifully is an adverb and is therefore out of place. You could just say: Greta Garbo became a recluse for most of her adult life but remained beautiful until the day she died. Sometimes when figuring these sentences out, you might what to start by excluding expletives and observing what you're left with.

What you can say: beautiful-looking, nice-looking, gorgeous-looking, etc. "Looking beautiful is an important part of a super model's lifestyle." "Those are some beautiful-looking flowers." "You're looking beautiful today." "Well aren't you looking beautiful today?" "He is looking nice today." "That is a nice-looking dress."

What you don't say: beautifully-looking, nicely-looking, gorgeously-looking etc. "You're looking beautifully today." "Well, aren't you looking beautifully today?" "Looking beautifully is an important part of a model's lifestyle." "He is looking nicely today." "That is a nicely-looking dress."

2.) Re-write the sentence this way: Now that the assumptions have been disproved, there is no sense in continuing the research. Once again, eliminating expletives helps.

3.) Re-write the sentence without the prepositional phrase: The councilwoman could not understand how the mayor could declare that the city is thriving when the number increases every month.

4.) Not necessarily. You can use should in a question or when giving advice: Should a college application be required? You should wash today.
You can't do the same for if. (If a college application be required? You if wash today.) That just doesn't make sense. You shouldn't use should to begin a sentence. Use if instead, especially with (if, then) statements and scenarios. Go to the following sites for more specific info on differences:
yourdictionary.com/if
yourdictionary.com/should

5.) It's more accurate to say...It's difficult to imagine how one can contrive vivid, picturesque details describing an exotic and distant place. Contrive is another word for the phrase (come up with). You wouldn't say, "It's difficult to imagine how one can come up with vivid, picturesque details about an exotic and distant place" when it is better to use words like (describing, depicting, illustrating).

6.) Enervating = tiring. Does it make sense to say, "The woman found that her brisk, early morning walk had become a tiring ritual that would keep her alert."? I don't think so.

7.) 10-foot by 13-foot is correct. For example, "that is a 10-foot by 13-foot wall." You don't say 10 feet by 13 feet. You can say that a tree is 8 feet tall, but it's an 8-foot tree. The only difference is, one uses "an or a" as an article before the description. Also, when you say ten foot or thirteen foot, the hyphen usage is implied. When you use a hyphen, the description automatically becomes singular. It's not just with foot descriptions. For example: "a 10-meter fence." As far as why, let's just say Mathematicians and English professors don't always agree. (I didn't make the rules, I only learned them)

8.) hesitated doesn't seem to fit well in this sentence. What should take the place of hesitated appears to be a two word phrase: "Grandma, affectionately called "Gramm" encouraged her grandson's reading by assuring him that the words he stumbled upon are the same ones she would have stumbled upon.

You could use any two word phrase to replace in this situation, but parallelism would apply: "the same words he struggled with are the same ones she would have struggled with".

Hope this helps

suhstacy · 2009 October 24th, 03:27 PM

For number 4, it is one of the improving sentences questions.

It says that the correct answer is "Should a college application essay be required, one ought to set aside a large block of time and avoid writing it at the last minute."
I don't really get why that is the correct one... If you do, please reply...

But other than that, it really helped me!!
Thank you so much.

Knowledge · 2009 October 24th, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suhstacy

For number 4, it is one of the improving sentences questions.

It says that the correct answer is "Should a college application essay be required, one ought to set aside a large block of time and avoid writing it at the last minute."
I don't really get why that is the correct one... If you do, please reply...

But other than that, it really helped me!!
Thank you so much.

It's giving advice/suggestion. It's telling you something that you ought to do which is the role of a typical should sentence.

4.) Not necessarily. You can use should in a question or when giving advice: Should a college application be required? You should wash today.
You can't do the same for if. (If a college application be required? You if wash today.) That just doesn't make sense. You shouldn't use should to begin a sentence. Use if instead, especially with (if, then) statements and scenarios. Go to the following sites for more specific info on differences:
yourdictionary.com/if
yourdictionary.com/should

I don't know what the other options are, but that sentence appears to be doing what it should.

Take a look at this website:

dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=73138&dict=CALD

Here's what it the site says about sentences beginning with Should:

should modal verb (POSSIBILITY)

formal used when referring to a possible event in the future:

Should you (= If you) ever need anything, please don't hesitate to contact me.

In this case, 'if' could take the place of 'should'.

The only reason why 'If' wouldn't work in your sentence is because of the grammatical disconnect that would occur with the verb form 'be'. Nevertheless, both sentences fall under the same modal verb (Possibility)

By the way....what are the other options?

suhstacy · 2009 October 27th, 11:35 PM

Thanks!!

Should a college application essay be required, one ought to set aside a large block of time and avoid writing it at the last minute.

Other options were
1. Should you need to write a college application essay
2. If you need to write a college application essay
3. In any event that one needs to write a college application essay
4. If a college application essay is necessary for anyone to write

I thought it was 3. lol.

Thanks again!

Knowledge · 2009 October 28th, 03:13 AM

Post your sentence (options included) in the following forum: GMAT Sentence Correction. See what others say. It's between the original sentence and number 3. 3 does make sense but I can't put a finger on which one is more correct.

MnogoSpageti · 2009 October 29th, 07:42 PM

You might ask the same question at GenieTalks

2009 October 22nd, 04:52 AM	#1 (permalink)
suhstacy I JUST got here. Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 10	Writing- sentence errors question! help!!! 1) Hopefully, it is not too late to reverse the damage that years of neglect and harsh weather have wrought on the beautiful old mansion. Why is hopefully wrong?? 2) So great was John Ldnnon's fame as he could scarcely walk out his door without being accosted by fans and photographers. why is great was wrong? 3) My parents instilled their moral values for my sister and ma, enabling us, by the time we reached our teen years, to know right from wrong. why is for wrong? 4) If you'd been willing to take him for face value and had not tried to search for hidden motives... why is for wrong? 5) The experience of taking a car on teh road wiht a driving teacher fosters learning far more useful than that which results as students sit through a dull lecture. Why is as wrong? If you could answer any of these five questions, I will greatly appreciate it!!!!! =))) thanks!

2009 October 23rd, 06:43 AM	#2 (permalink)
Knowledge Master Champion Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Chicago Posts: 16	1.) Hopefully is considered a disjunct: Read more on this: See wikipedia (disjuncts) 2.) You could re-write the sentence this way: John Lonnon's fame is so great that he could barely walk out his door without being accosted by fans and photographers. (The situation discusses his current state of fame, not his past fame, because that wouldn't make sense, so 'is' should be used, not 'was') 3.) You could re-write the sentence this way: My parents instilled into my sister and ma their moral values, enabling us....(instilled for is incorrect expression. See the Cambridge Dictionary online: instilled 4. You don't take someone or something for face value, you take something at face value: See Free Dictionary online keyword: at face value 5. The experience of taking a car on the the road with a driving teacher fosters learning far more useful than that which results if (or when) students sit through a dull lecture (this is a comparison; that's why if should be used...than that which results if...not than that which results as...) I hope I was able to help at all Last edited by Knowledge : 2009 October 23rd at 08:09 AM.

2009 October 24th, 04:35 AM	#5 (permalink)
Knowledge Master Champion Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Chicago Posts: 16	1). If you're describing how something looks, you use an adjective because adjectives describe. Beautifully is an adverb and is therefore out of place. You could just say: Greta Garbo became a recluse for most of her adult life but remained beautiful until the day she died. Sometimes when figuring these sentences out, you might what to start by excluding expletives and observing what you're left with. What you can say: beautiful-looking, nice-looking, gorgeous-looking, etc. "Looking beautiful is an important part of a super model's lifestyle." "Those are some beautiful-looking flowers." "You're looking beautiful today." "Well aren't you looking beautiful today?" "He is looking nice today." "That is a nice-looking dress." What you don't say: beautifully-looking, nicely-looking, gorgeously-looking etc. "You're looking beautifully today." "Well, aren't you looking beautifully today?" "Looking beautifully is an important part of a model's lifestyle." "He is looking nicely today." "That is a nicely-looking dress." 2.) Re-write the sentence this way: Now that the assumptions have been disproved, there is no sense in continuing the research. Once again, eliminating expletives helps. 3.) Re-write the sentence without the prepositional phrase: The councilwoman could not understand how the mayor could declare that the city is thriving when the number increases every month. 4.) Not necessarily. You can use should in a question or when giving advice: Should a college application be required? You should wash today. You can't do the same for if. (If a college application be required? You if wash today.) That just doesn't make sense. You shouldn't use should to begin a sentence. Use if instead, especially with (if, then) statements and scenarios. Go to the following sites for more specific info on differences: yourdictionary.com/if yourdictionary.com/should 5.) It's more accurate to say...It's difficult to imagine how one can contrive vivid, picturesque details describing an exotic and distant place. Contrive is another word for the phrase (come up with). You wouldn't say, "It's difficult to imagine how one can come up with vivid, picturesque details about an exotic and distant place" when it is better to use words like (describing, depicting, illustrating). 6.) Enervating = tiring. Does it make sense to say, "The woman found that her brisk, early morning walk had become a tiring ritual that would keep her alert."? I don't think so. 7.) 10-foot by 13-foot is correct. For example, "that is a 10-foot by 13-foot wall." You don't say 10 feet by 13 feet. You can say that a tree is 8 feet tall, but it's an 8-foot tree. The only difference is, one uses "an or a" as an article before the description. Also, when you say ten foot or thirteen foot, the hyphen usage is implied. When you use a hyphen, the description automatically becomes singular. It's not just with foot descriptions. For example: "a 10-meter fence." As far as why, let's just say Mathematicians and English professors don't always agree. (I didn't make the rules, I only learned them) 8.) hesitated doesn't seem to fit well in this sentence. What should take the place of hesitated appears to be a two word phrase: "Grandma, affectionately called "Gramm" encouraged her grandson's reading by assuring him that the words he stumbled upon are the same ones she would have stumbled upon. You could use any two word phrase to replace in this situation, but parallelism would apply: "the same words he struggled with are the same ones she would have struggled with". Hope this helps Last edited by Knowledge : 2009 October 24th at 03:11 PM.

2009 October 24th, 03:27 PM	#6 (permalink)
suhstacy I JUST got here. Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 10	For number 4, it is one of the improving sentences questions. It says that the correct answer is "Should a college application essay be required, one ought to set aside a large block of time and avoid writing it at the last minute." I don't really get why that is the correct one... If you do, please reply... But other than that, it really helped me!! Thank you so much. Last edited by suhstacy : 2009 October 24th at 04:17 PM.

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2009 October 24th, 01:23 AM	#3 (permalink)
suhstacy I JUST got here. Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 10	Thank you so much!! You really helped me A LOT!! ^^

2009 October 24th, 02:03 AM	#4 (permalink)
suhstacy I JUST got here. Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 10	Could you answer more writing sentence errors questions for me? It seems like you are really good at these!! My SAT book does not provide me with explanations and I feel so frustrated when I don't know why something is wrong... =((( 1. Greta Garbo became a recluse for most of her adult life and remained isolated but looking beautifully until the day she died. (I know beautifully is supposed to be just beautiful, but can you explain why?^^) 2. There is no sense in continuing the research, now that the assumptions on which it was based had been disproved. (Is it supposed to be has been? if so, why? I'm really bad at the tenses) 3. The counsilwoman could not understand how the mayor could declare that the city is thriving when the number of firms declaring bankruptcy increase every month. (Why is increase wrong?) 4. Should a college application essay be required, ... (does the word "should" have the same meaning as "if"?) 5. It's difficult ot imagine how one can contrive of vivid, picturesque details about an exotic and distant place (why is about wrong?) 6. The woman found that her brisk, early morning walk had become an enervating ritual that would keep her alert. (why is enervating wrong?) 7. Although the office measures only ten feet by thirteen feet, ... (why is feet wrong?) 8. Grandma, affectionately called "Gramm" encouraged her grandson's reading by assuring him that the words he hesitated are the same ones she would have stumbled upon. (why is hesitated wrong?) Sorry to bother you... I just REALLY need to know...~~

2009 October 27th, 11:35 PM	#8 (permalink)
suhstacy I JUST got here. Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 10	Thanks!! Should a college application essay be required, one ought to set aside a large block of time and avoid writing it at the last minute. Other options were 1. Should you need to write a college application essay 2. If you need to write a college application essay 3. In any event that one needs to write a college application essay 4. If a college application essay is necessary for anyone to write I thought it was 3. lol. Thanks again!

2009 October 28th, 03:13 AM	#9 (permalink)
Knowledge Master Champion Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Chicago Posts: 16	Post your sentence (options included) in the following forum: GMAT Sentence Correction. See what others say. It's between the original sentence and number 3. 3 does make sense but I can't put a finger on which one is more correct.

2009 October 29th, 07:42 PM	#10 (permalink)
MnogoSpageti www.GenieTalks.com Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 35	You might ask the same question at GenieTalks

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