[公告][轉貼]ETS回覆 : 更正OG184<E>選項之解釋

[魚]

下面轉貼自CD , ETS 針對狗狗大哥提問的回函

大家注意一下喔 ~ og裡 184 <E>的解釋有誤

<難怪莫北北說 ...解釋能不看就不看 :P >


===============================================今天总算等到ETS的官方回复了......也证实我的疑问.....

<!--StartFragment --> 以下是我的询问(0810)&ETS的回复(0825):

To whom will concern:First of all, thank you for paying attention to my question.In "Sentence Correction" of the Official Guide, I found one thing I cannotfigure it out.184. As measured by the Commerce Department, corporate profits peaked inthe fourth quarter of 1988 and have slipped since then, as many companieshave been unable to pass on higher costs.(A) and have slipped since then, as many companies have been unable to passon higher costs(B) and have slipped since then, the reason being because many companieshave been unable to pass on higher costs(C) and slipped since then, many companies being unable to pass on highercosts(D) but, many companies unable to pass on higher costs, they have slippedsince then（A）(E) yet are slipping since then, because many companies were unable to passon higher costsA, the best choice, observes an appropriate sequence of verb tenses asingle act in the past (peaked) followed by an extended activity reachingto the present (have slipped). The as clause states clearly the cause ofthe slippage. B suffers from the redundant and unidiomatic expression thereason being because. In C, the use of the simple past slipped with sincethen is unidiomatic because since then denotes extended time. In D, theintrusion of the awkward many... costs causes the antecedent of they tobecome unclear. Furthermore, a comma should precede the but since itintroduces a second independent clause. In E, yet also requires a commabefore it, are slipping with since then is illogical, and were unablerepresents an ungrammatical tense shift.The explanation---In E, yet also requires a comma before it--- made meconfused since "yet" is not connected with two independent clause.Instead, "yet" in choice E is connected with verb to modifer the samesubject, corporate profits.Then I checked several grammar books, but nothing like this condition Ican find.The similar explanation appear in No. 10, No. 135, No.149, and No.179; andall explain the same thing: when "and" connecting two independent clauses, a "comma" is required before the "and". I know this is a slight question about sentence correction. Nevertheless, Ihope someone can give me the complete explanation to resolve this puzzle.In the end, thank you again for paying attention and help me figure out.Sincerely,One puzzled student

<!--StartFragment --> Thank you for your message concerning question 184 in the SentenceCorrection section of The Official Guide for GMAT Review. You indicated thatyou were confused by the explanation for why option (E) is incorrect.The explanation does contain an error; while a comma before "yet" might beadded for emphasis, it is not required because, as you point out, "yet areslipping since then" is not an independent clause. The rest of theexplanation does accurately describe the grammatical and rhetorical problemswith option (E). Again, thank you for taking the time to point out this error. We are alwaysgrateful to receive inquiries such as yours because they help us to improvethe quality of our tests and test preparation materials.

[agk99]

簡單來說，就是強調yet的前是否加逗點是無所謂的

[TonyHsieh]

184. As measured by the Commerce Department, corporate profits peaked in the fourth quarter of 1988 and have slipped since then, as many companies have been unable to pass on higher costs.
(A) and have slipped since then, as many companies have been unable to pass on higher costs
(B) and have slipped since then, the reason being because many companies have been unable to pass on higher costs
(C) and slipped since then, many companies being unable to pass on higher costs
(D) but, many companies unable to pass on higher costs, they have slipped since then
(E) yet are slipping since then, because many companies were unable to pass on higher costs

正確答案是(A)

不過我想請問的是corporate profits peaked ... "and" have slipped ...
在句意上有轉折，所以這邊的連接詞是不是用 but 或是 yet會比較好呢？

[世界和平]

OG 184 解釋:

A, the best choice, observes an appropriate sequence of verb tenses_ a single act in the past (peaked) followed by an extended activity reaching to the present (have slipped). The as clause states clearly the cause of the slippage. B suffers from the redundant and unidiomatic expression the reason being because. In C, the use of the simple past slipped with since then is unidiomatic because since then denotes extended time. In D, the intrusion of the awkward many ... costs causes the antecedent of they to become unclear. Furthermore, a comma should precede the but since it introduces a second independent clause. In E, yet also requires a comma before it, are slipping with since then is illogical, and were unable represents an ungrammatical tense shift.

想請教各位的是如何判定were unable 為 an ungrammatical tense shift ?? 謝謝!

[dibert8]

peak 的時間被 in the fourth quarter 修飾, 用過去式才合理; and 連接的子句只求結構相同,時態依修飾的時間副詞來決定. 因為 since 出現, slip 用完成式; 依句意判斷, as 連接的子句修飾 and 子句 (附屬結構: 意在補充說明), 因此時態跟隨 and 子句.