SC:the Louisiana Purchase of 1803

[RonPurewal]

hi,Ron,I am confused about "comma+v-ing' and "comma+v-ed"
First,"comma+v-ing"
In this question,in choice(D),
"more than doubling the country's size,bring......"
here,"bring" modify "doubling" or the main clause"the united states acquired ......"?

If you see two comma + __ing modifiers in a row, you can pretty much eliminate that choice.

[RonPurewal]

also,in a similar prep question:
The new image of Stone Age people as systematic hunters of large animals, rather than merely scavenging for meat, have emerged from the examination from the examination of tools found in Germany, including three wooden spears that archaeologists believe to be above 400,000 years old.

correct answer:E. mere scavengers of meat, has emerged from the examination of tools found in Germany, including
it seems that,"including" modified "tools"
but,I remeber "comma+v-ing " function as an adverb and modify the entire preceding clause,why "comma+including" modify the noun "tools"?

Yeah -- don't think of "including" as an __ing word.

Read this:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/stone-age-t36393.html#296165

[RonPurewal]

Second,"comma+v-ed"
I think "comma+v-ed" should modify the preceding clause,but in this sentence(it is part of sentence from Og13,but I am not sure whether I can quote it, I am really confused about this sentence,if it violates the forum rules,please delete it,thank you)
Correct sentence:Pilot JC held seventeen official national and international speed records,earned at a time when aviation was so new that many of .....
It seems "earned" modify the closet noun "records"
I met several prep questions similar to the above sentence,maybe I am wrong about the usage of "comma+v-ed"please shed more light on,thanks!

It's clear from that sentence that comma + __ed can describe the preceding noun.

In general English, comma + __ed can also act analogously to comma + __ing. E.g.,
James went to hide in the bathroom, embarrassed by what he had said.

So, as usual, it comes down to context.
(There are lots of modifiers that can have more than one function.)

[Suapplle]

Second,"comma+v-ed"
I think "comma+v-ed" should modify the preceding clause,but in this sentence(it is part of sentence from Og13,but I am not sure whether I can quote it, I am really confused about this sentence,if it violates the forum rules,please delete it,thank you)
Correct sentence:Pilot JC held seventeen official national and international speed records,earned at a time when aviation was so new that many of .....
It seems "earned" modify the closet noun "records"
I met several prep questions similar to the above sentence,maybe I am wrong about the usage of "comma+v-ed"please shed more light on,thanks!

It's clear from that sentence that comma + __ed can describe the preceding noun.

In general English, comma + __ed can also act analogously to comma + __ing. E.g.,
James went to hide in the bathroom, embarrassed by what he had said.

So, as usual, it comes down to context.
(There are lots of modifiers that can have more than one function.)

Ron,thanks for your reply,O(∩_∩)O~
so,

"no comma+_ed" can only modify the closet noun,while "comma+_ed" can modify the preceding clause or closet noun,it depends on the context?

please certify,thanks!I think it is hard to decide whether "comma+_ed" modify the closet noun or modify the preceding clause especially when I don't know the correct answer.

[RonPurewal]

"no comma+_ed" can only modify the closet noun,while "comma+_ed" can modify the preceding clause or closet noun,it depends on the context?

Sounds accurate to me.

I think it is hard to decide whether "comma+_ed" modify the closet noun or modify the preceding clause especially when I don't know the correct answer.

If you have spent adequate time reading the original sentence, it should always be obvious what any modifier is trying to describe.

If you don't know what a modifier is trying to describe, then you are thinking too much about mechanics and not enough about what the sentence is actually trying to say. (When you first read the original sentence, you should only be thinking about its meaning. Don't think about mechanics until you get to the answer choices and see what's actually being tested!)

[Suapplle]

"no comma+_ed" can only modify the closet noun,while "comma+_ed" can modify the preceding clause or closet noun,it depends on the context?

Sounds accurate to me.

I think it is hard to decide whether "comma+_ed" modify the closet noun or modify the preceding clause especially when I don't know the correct answer.

If you have spent adequate time reading the original sentence, it should always be obvious what any modifier is trying to describe.

If you don't know what a modifier is trying to describe, then you are thinking too much about mechanics and not enough about what the sentence is actually trying to say. (When you first read the original sentence, you should only be thinking about its meaning. Don't think about mechanics until you get to the answer choices and see what's actually being tested!)

Thanks Ron!I get it,your advice is very helpful!

[RonPurewal]

You're welcome.

[lemonperb]

Hi GMAT instructors,

I wonder that is "with" in C equals to the meaning of " because of/ as a result of "?

[RonPurewal]

Hi GMAT instructors,

I wonder that is "with" in C equals to the meaning of " because of/ as a result of "?

Close. More accurately, it's "by means of..." or "using ___ as an instrument".

This is the same thing as
With just one punch, the boxer knocked out his opponent
or
I wrote this entire book with a pencil.

[lemonperb]

Hi GMAT instructors,

I wonder that is "with" in C equals to the meaning of " because of/ as a result of "?

Close. More accurately, it's "by means of..." or "using ___ as an instrument".

This is the same thing as
With just one punch, the boxer knocked out his opponent
or
I wrote this entire book with a pencil.

Thank you so much Ron!!
Always feel motivated to study GMAT after reading your reply!

[RonPurewal]

Cool.

[SC312]

Ron,

Although I am not questioning the right answer, can you help me understand one of the rules regarding pronoun ambiguity which generally works. Here is it :

The only time when you should pay attention to pronoun ambiguity is when pronoun is REPLACED WITH AN ACTUAL NOUN. Eliminate options of ambiguous pronouns.

c) .... more than doubling its size and bringing ...

Whereas other options have "country's size" rather than "its size". Is it the fact that the noun is in possessive form the reason for the rule to not work in this case ?

Thanks

[tim]

A possessive pronoun can refer to a subjective or objective noun. Is that the apparent contradiction you are asking about?

[SC312]

Not really.

I was asking about whether the rule(eliminate choices that have pronouns when other choices have the actual noun) which Ron had pointed out in one of his study halls still holds good in this case.

Thanks

[tim]

That is not a rule at all. I'm sure you must have misinterpreted what Ron said if that's the rule you distilled from his explanation. You may wish to go back and review that part of the video again. If you still feel Ron said this, please give me a link to the specific video and tell me what time on the video to watch so I can help you understand what's going on with the explanation.