Prep SC Q:

[77044388]

Most insomnia is not an illness or a physical condition so much as a symptom of another problem that may simply be a reaction to certain medications, anxiety about travel, or stress before a job interview.


A. an illness or a physical condition so much as a symptom of another problem that may simply be a reaction to certain medications
B. an illness or a physical condition so much as symptomatic of another problem that may be a simple one, like a reaction caused by certain medications
C. so much an illness or a physical condition but a symptom of another problem that may be as simple as when certain medications cause a reaction
D. so much an illness or a physical condition, but it is a symptom of another problem, maybe a simple one like certain medications causing a reaction
E. so much an illness or a physical condition but symptomatic of another problem, maybe simply a reaction to certain medications

OA is A, Ron, would you please explain to me the structure of sentence? is "anxiety about travel, or stress before a job interview. "the enumeration of "a symptom of another problem"? but why there is no any conjunction？

[RonPurewal]

What, in your understanding, is the meaning that the sentence is trying to convey?

Forget about grammar and just read the sentence, as though it were in a magazine.
What does it tell you?
What things appear in a list?

[77044388]

dear Ron, please correct me if my understanding below is wrong, thanks!

a symptom of anther problem is more appropriate than an illness or a physical condition to be the definition of insomnia, and a symptom of anther problem could be a reaction to certain medications, anxiety about travel, or stress before a job interview.

[RonPurewal]

dear Ron, please correct me if my understanding below is wrong, thanks!

a symptom of anther problem is more appropriate than an illness or a physical condition to be the definition of insomnia, and a symptom of anther problem could be a reaction to certain medications, anxiety about travel, or stress before a job interview.

I'm sorry"”"”I tried several times to read what you wrote, and I just can't follow it.

Let me show you an example of what I'm looking for.

I bought apples, bananas, and grapes.
In this sentence, the three parallel structures are three things I bought, which are ...
"- apples
- bananas
"- grapes

When I say "Which things are in a list?", I'm looking for something with this degree of clarity.
Give it a shot.

[soulwangh]

E. so much an illness or a physical condition but symptomatic of another problem, maybe simply a reaction to certain medications

Hi, Ron

I know E is wrong for the parallelism issue.
I want to know is there anything wrong with the phrase “maybe simply a reaction to certain medications”.
It sounds good but I don't know whether this patten-adv+noun- is legal in written english.

Thanks!

[RonPurewal]

There's no mistake you'd have to recognize. It's weird from a stylistic standpoint, but style isn't tested on this exam (because it's essentially impossible for anyone except well-versed native speakers to judge).

Incidentally, I can't imagine that a correct answer choice would ever use the word "maybe". Very informal word—a lot like using "OK".

[soulwangh]

There's no mistake you'd have to recognize. It's weird from a stylistic standpoint, but style isn't tested on this exam (because it's essentially impossible for anyone except well-versed native speakers to judge).

Incidentally, I can't imagine that a correct answer choice would ever use the word "maybe". Very informal word—a lot like using "OK".

Thanks! Your explanation is very clear!

[RonPurewal]

Sure.

[gbyhats]

Hi dear Manhattan Instructors,

1. Can I ask what makes choice C wrong?

2. Is "not...so much as..." a idiomatic expression?

--

I'm a non-native speaker, and I found choice C sounds very natural, making me choose C.

[gbyhats]

And also, speaking of choice C

Can I ask what is meaning of "when", when it is used as part of a modifier that starts with "when..."?

e.g.
1. When my phone is connected to wifi, I can check my emails.
2. When observed in a telescope, the Mar appears much bigger.

is this the same as:
3. If my phone is connected to wifi, I can check my emails.
4. If observed in a telescope, the Mar appears much bigger.

--
I suspect any differences between these two words. However, in my first language, these two English words refer to exactly the same word.

[RonPurewal]

NB:
you can't apply modifier rules to #1 and #3, because #1 and #3 are not modifiers.

in #1 and #3, "if"/"when" is used to link a complete sentence to another complete sentence (in much the same way as "and", "but", "although", etc.)
these kinds of things are not assigned to "modify" any particular element, because they aren't modifiers. (modifiers have to modify specific things because they AREN'T complete sentences; i.e., they couldn't exist at all without tagging themselves onto something in a complete sentence.)

[RonPurewal]

as far as the meaning difference between "if" and "when", i wrote extensively about that here:
post103513.html#p103513

check it out.

[gbyhats]

Thank you Ron!!! Tons of thanks!!! You help me solve a puzzle that have confused me for years!

[tim]

Glad to hear it! Of course, I have two observations of my own: First, if you have spent years studying for the GMAT, you really should either figure out what is going wrong with your studying or move on to something else. Second, if one particular concept is so difficult that it takes you years to figure it out, it's probably best to let that go; imagine all the other concepts you could have mastered in that time! Remember, a big key to success on the GMAT is choosing your battles.

[gbyhats]

Hi Dear Tim,

Haha, thank you for your advise!

I've only been studying for GMAT for 8 month.

While, my confusion about "if" and "when" had been there long time ago, long before I started to study for GMAT

The reason why I have such a confusion for such a long time is only because I had never studied for English grammar systematically.