squirrel could jump

[RonPurewal]

I am not very convinced...what is wrong with C?

"generalization of TOPIC" is not idiomatic.
it works like "statement": it's correct to say "i read a statement that two companies were moving out of state", but it's incorrect to say "i read a statement of two companies moving out of state".

Why are the two 'that' 's in D ok here.

they're unrelated to each other.

And how is the 'it' ok here?

please don't post questions about unrelated problems in the same thread; search for a thread about that problem, and post it there.

the answer to this particular question is given here:
post49622.html#p49622

from now on, if we see posts about a question that is not already the topic of the thread, we will ignore them and/or tell you to post them in another thread. thanks.

[yuanfeng.ma]

What is the problem with C?

At one time, the majestic American chestnut was {so prevalent that it was said a squirrel could } jump from tree to tree without once touching the ground between New York State and Georgia.

(A) so prevalent that it was said a squirrel could
(B) so prevalent that a squirrel was said that it could
(C) so prevalent for a squirrel to be said to be able to
(D) prevalent enough that it was said a squirrel could
(E) prevalent enough for a squirrel to be said to be able to

OA:A

Could anyone help on this, please? thanks.
I understand why BCDE are wrong. But I cannot figure out if we can say "it was said" without following "that" in GMAT or there is any other idioms.

And for me. BCED are wrong with:
(B) a squirrel was said that it could - awkward
(C) so prevalent for a squirrel to be said to be able to - so...that...
(D) prevalent enough that it was said a squirrel could - so...that...
(E) prevalent enough for a squirrel to be said to be able to - so...that...

[saptadeepc]

What is the problem with C?

At one time, the majestic American chestnut was {so prevalent that it was said a squirrel could } jump from tree to tree without once touching the ground between New York State and Georgia.

(A) so prevalent that it was said a squirrel could
(B) so prevalent that a squirrel was said that it could
(C) so prevalent for a squirrel to be said to be able to
(D) prevalent enough that it was said a squirrel could
(E) prevalent enough for a squirrel to be said to be able to

OA:A

Could anyone help on this, please? thanks.
I understand why BCDE are wrong. But I cannot figure out if we can say "it was said" without following "that" in GMAT or there is any other idioms.

And for me. BCED are wrong with:
(B) a squirrel was said that it could - awkward
(C) so prevalent for a squirrel to be said to be able to - so...that...
(D) prevalent enough that it was said a squirrel could - so...that...
(E) prevalent enough for a squirrel to be said to be able to - so...that...

C says " At one time, the majestic American chestnut was so prevalent for a squirrel " -- this does not make sense.

secondly, squirrel to be said to be able to is extremely awkward and incorrect usage.

[tim]

thanks..

[jp.jprasanna]

At one time, the majestic American chestnut was {so prevalent that it was said a squirrel could } jump from tree to tree without once touching the ground between New York State and Georgia.

(A) so prevalent that it was said a squirrel could
(B) so prevalent that a squirrel was said that it could
(C) so prevalent for a squirrel to be said to be able to
(D) prevalent enough that it was said a squirrel could
(E) prevalent enough for a squirrel to be said to be able to

OA:A

Could anyone help on this, please? thanks.
I understand why BCDE are wrong. But I cannot figure out if we can say "it was said" without following "that" in GMAT or there is any other idioms.

And for me. BCED are wrong with:
(B) a squirrel was said that it could - awkward
(C) so prevalent for a squirrel to be said to be able to - so...that...
(D) prevalent enough that it was said a squirrel could - so...that...
(E) prevalent enough for a squirrel to be said to be able to - so...that...

Hi - Can some one let me know what is wrong with D please?
The only difference is that correct ans choice has "So prevalent that" and D - "prevalent enough that"

CHeers
JP

[jnelson0612]

At one time, the majestic American chestnut was {so prevalent that it was said a squirrel could } jump from tree to tree without once touching the ground between New York State and Georgia.

(A) so prevalent that it was said a squirrel could
(B) so prevalent that a squirrel was said that it could
(C) so prevalent for a squirrel to be said to be able to
(D) prevalent enough that it was said a squirrel could
(E) prevalent enough for a squirrel to be said to be able to

OA:A

Could anyone help on this, please? thanks.
I understand why BCDE are wrong. But I cannot figure out if we can say "it was said" without following "that" in GMAT or there is any other idioms.

And for me. BCED are wrong with:
(B) a squirrel was said that it could - awkward
(C) so prevalent for a squirrel to be said to be able to - so...that...
(D) prevalent enough that it was said a squirrel could - so...that...
(E) prevalent enough for a squirrel to be said to be able to - so...that...

Hi - Can some one let me know what is wrong with D please?
The only difference is that correct ans choice has "So prevalent that" and D - "prevalent enough that"

CHeers
JP

The other moderators may have a different way to explain this, but I'll just say that there is a slight meaning difference between the two. Let me give you two simpler sentences:

The party was so wild that the police were called.
The party was wild enough that the police were called.

Which would you say, and why? :-)

The "so X that Y" construction indicates that some condition was so extreme that something rather surprising or unusual happened as a direct result.
The "enough" construction indicates that there is some specific level that must be reached and that this triggers another event.

Take these two constructions and determine which is more appropriate in the context of the sentence. :-)

[thanghnvn]

it is said that...
means
people said that...

in english grammar, there is no pattern
st/sb is said that...

is my thinking correct?

[vietmoi937]

At one time, the majestic American chestnut was {so prevalent that it was said a squirrel could } jump from tree to tree without once touching the ground between New York State and Georgia.

(A) so prevalent that it was said a squirrel could
(B) so prevalent that a squirrel was said that it could
(C) so prevalent for a squirrel to be said to be able to
(D) prevalent enough that it was said a squirrel could
(E) prevalent enough for a squirrel to be said to be able to


I do not understand why B is wrong? the error in B is basic grammar error or logic error.

we never have: something is said that ...

is that right?

pls, explain.

[RonPurewal]

it is said that...
means
people said that...

in english grammar, there is no pattern
st/sb is said that...

is my thinking correct?

I don't think I've ever seen that sort of construction, and I can't imagine any circumstances under which it would work.

Why are you posting under two different usernames?

[vietmoi937]

Thank you , Ron,

can I say that from now on, whenever I see
" sb/st is said that..."

I can eliminate that phrase immediatly. This is a hard and fast rule and is a problem of grammar rule, not a problem of logic, which is corner stone of gmat sc.

Ron,
though you said that you have not ever seen the above phrase, you do not declare that the above phrase is wrong? I highly appreciate your honest.

how do we know the above phrase is wrong or not?

I search in some grammar books and see no explanation relevant to this point/this phrase. we also have no explanation from OG regarding this phrase.

what do we do now? how do we know that this phrase is correct or not.

if the problem is grammar, we can review the grammar. if the problem is logic, we can learn the logicness. What is the problem inhere.? What dose gmat want to test us in this sc question.?

( 2 user names, I do not understand this )

[jnelson0612]

Thank you , Ron,

can I say that from now on, whenever I see
" sb/st is said that..."

I can eliminate that phrase immediatly. This is a hard and fast rule and is a problem of grammar rule, not a problem of logic, which is corner stone of gmat sc.

Ron,
though you said that you have not ever seen the above phrase, you do not declare that the above phrase is wrong? I highly appreciate your honest.

how do we know the above phrase is wrong or not?

I search in some grammar books and see no explanation relevant to this point/this phrase. we also have no explanation from OG regarding this phrase.

what do we do now? how do we know that this phrase is correct or not.

if the problem is grammar, we can review the grammar. if the problem is logic, we can learn the logicness. What is the problem inhere.? What dose gmat want to test us in this sc question.?

( 2 user names, I do not understand this )

I think that Ron has been pretty clear. He cannot imagine how this construction could work in a sentence (neither can I). Because of that, I would not choose an answer with this construction.

[RAHULS852]

But I cannot figure out if we can say "it was said" without following "that" in GMAT

if you're looking at this problem, you can definitely figure it out.

in the CORRECT ANSWER, they have "it was said", WITHOUT "that". so, the issue is settled.

--

see here:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/vie ... w=previous

--

also, they really go out of their way to avoid repeated-word constructions such as X THAT Y THAT Z or X OF Y OF Z.
in fact, if you see one of these constructions, you can pretty much trust that it's wrong. they'll switch to lesser idioms, which they wouldn't normally use, in order to avoid these constructions.

here are a couple of examples (taken from official problems, so they are authentic):

* normally, you'd say "evidence that suggests...".
however, in order to avoid "evidence THAT suggests THAT...", one official problem contains the idiom "evidence TO suggest THAT..."

* normally, you'd say "it was said that..."
however, in this problem, you don't want "...so prevalent THAT it was said THAT..."
so you can get around this by killing the second "that".

* if you see something like "extent OF the shift OF light...", you can be 99.9% sure that it's incorrect.

Hi Sage/Manhattan Expert,

I applied this rule in an official problem( OG19 Q 782) but failed in choice C.

C- .......a series of new initiatives to try to relieve.
E-...... a series of new initiatives to try relieving.

I am also confused in E.
I think there are 2 errors
1. client's patience vs patience of clients ( But i am not sure about this error because i have seen this construction in right answers Q 787 OG 19)
2. to try to relieve vs to try relieving ( I am unable to decode proper meaning between these two)

Kindly help

Regards,
Rahul Singh

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

Regarding OG2019 SC782, presumably the test writers think that 'to try to' sounds find. Also, the problem with 'to try relieving' is that the meaning is illogical. The idiom 'try to do something' has a different meaning from 'try doing something'. Take a look at these (correct) examples and see if you can understand the difference:
Daniel tried to ski, but he fell over.
Daniel tried skiing, but he didn't enjoy it.

However, it looks like there's a weakness in your approach to solving SC problems. If you're looking for a bunch of rules that you can memorize and apply without thinking, then you're almost certainly taking an inefficient route. SC problems do have involve some rules, but they tend to be pretty basic ones, such as about CLAUSE, -ing or pronouns having antecedents. And, since words are less precise than numbers, these rules will get pushed a bit, as in the case above. In this case the missing 'that' in answer A is far less serious than the problems in the other sentences.

[RAHULS852]

Daniel tried to ski, but he fell over.
Here meaning is intentional.
Eg. Tarun developed a technique to solve SC problems.

Daniel tried skiing, but he didn't enjoy it
Here meaning is non intentional.

After Grammar i rely on meaning but somehow i could not understand the meaning in this problem.
Missing "that" is fine in choice (A). 1) This map indicates all locations of New York city.
2) This statistic indicates that crime is rising in the city.

Kindly check my understanding.

Regards,
Rahul Singh

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

No need to quote my message in your reply.

It's interesting that you wrote "after grammar I rely on meaning". I suggest that reading the sentence for meaning is the first thing that you do, simply to understand the sentence. Of course, you can go back and check precise elements of the meaning later.

Don't be afraid to use a good dictionary, such as https://www.lexico.com/en
try to do sth. = attempt
try sth. = taste
indicate that [statement]
indicate NOUN