The success of the program to eradicate smallpox

[subhojyoti.it]

There are 2 problems with A.
- Major problem is "THE other infections." THE is too definitive here, carrying the connotation of "every single one of the other infections."
* THE is also incompatible with "such as":
- Correct: I never read this book, but I read the other books on the shelf.
- Correct: I never read this book, but I read other books on the shelf, such as "Right Hand, Left Hand" and "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich."
- Incorrect: I never read this book, but I read the other books on the shelf, such as "Right Hand, Left Hand" and "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich."
- Minor problem is "what they had not..." vs. "something they had not..." The "what" construction is awfully strong, suggesting that this was THE ONE THING they hadn't thought possible.
* As an analogy, compare the meanings of "I want to do what I love for a living" and "I want to do something I love for a living." The first suggests that the speaker has one particular field in mind; the second doesn't.

Ron,

In many official questions, I have seen the usage of what. Besides framing a question using What, what are the other ways we can use?
As you have said in this question WHAT raises a very strong implication of the possibilities.

Thanks a lot.

[RonPurewal]

In many official questions, I have seen the usage of what. Besides framing a question using What, what are the other ways we can use?

while this question is reasonable, it's the type of question that's impossible for a human being to answer; our brains don't store information in this sort of way. ("quick! name all the nouns you know that start with 'd' -- same problem.)

so, here are some examples, which may not encompass the full diversity of ways in which "what" can be used:

The witness told the officer what he saw at the crime scene.
--> the witness told the officer everything he knew.

The witness told the officer things he saw at the crime scene.
--> the witness told the officer only some of the things he knew.

You should take what is in the box.
--> you should take all of it.

You should take something that's in the box.
--> you should take one item.

these examples should be enough to give you the basic idea.

[JianchengD868]

There are 2 problems with A.
- Major problem is "THE other infections." THE is too definitive here, carrying the connotation of "every single one of the other infections."
* THE is also incompatible with "such as":
- Correct: I never read this book, but I read the other books on the shelf.
- Correct: I never read this book, but I read other books on the shelf, such as "Right Hand, Left Hand" and "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich."
- Incorrect: I never read this book, but I read the other books on the shelf, such as "Right Hand, Left Hand" and "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich."
- Minor problem is "what they had not..." vs. "something they had not..." The "what" construction is awfully strong, suggesting that this was THE ONE THING they hadn't thought possible.
* As an analogy, compare the meanings of "I want to do what I love for a living" and "I want to do something I love for a living." The first suggests that the speaker has one particular field in mind; the second doesn't.

Dear Ron,

Can we use including in the sentence - I never read this book, but I read the other books on the shelf, including "Right Hand, Left Hand" and "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich." ?

Regards,
Jiancheng

[RonPurewal]

yes--as long as you read all of the other books on the shelf, including those two.

in this sentence, "including x and y" would serve only to emphasize those two books (for whatever reason), since it contributes nothing to the meaning.

[JianchengD868]

yes--as long as you read all of the other books on the shelf, including those two.

in this sentence, "including x and y" would serve only to emphasize those two books (for whatever reason), since it contributes nothing to the meaning.

Dear Ron,

Sorry to reply you late.
I have got the point. Thank you so much.

May you all the best,
Jiancheng

[RonPurewal]

you're welcome.

[JaneL557]

Hi Ron,

Can you please tell me what is wrong with the "What" usage in the sentence below?

[redacted]

First time posting here so hopefully I am doing it correctly and asking the right questions. Thanks in advance for your help.

-Jane

[RonPurewal]

welcome to the forum.

First time posting here so hopefully I am doing it correctly

sorry, nope. (:
lots of things wrong, actually.

1/
this isn't the right folder for that question. (each thread is a discussion based on one problem, which is posted at the head of the thread.)

2/
this folder is for problems from the GMAT PREP free software only.

3/
that's an answer choice from an OG problem. OG problems are not allowed on this forum. (for a list of sources that are banned on this forum, check out the first post in the General Verbal folder.)

[inc.manni]

The Use of Past Perfect "had not previously considered" should require another past action - probably stimulated - rather than has stimulated (present perfect)

I have seen certain answer choices explained as wrong just on the basis of using past perfect along with present perfect rather than simple past.

Yes i do agree that correct choice is correct - May be the correct choice is best among the other choices and may not be ideal.

Would appreciate your reply.

[RonPurewal]

there's no need to try to make 'rules' for this sort of thing; a basic conceptual understanding of these tenses (= a really, really, REALLY basic understanding) is enough to let you see why that combination is unlikely (NOT impossible).

* 'had __ed' describes the situation at some specific past point. i.e., it occurs within a past timeframe.
(the timeframe of the sentence is NOT the timeframe in which 'had __ed' actually occurred. the point is that 'had __ed' is something already completed or manifested by that point.)

* "has/have __ed" describes the situation at present.
analogously, the action of "has/have __ed" should be something that has already been completed, or has already occurred/manifested, and that thus affects the present situation in some way.

[RonPurewal]

...so, if a sentence contains both of these, it must contain 2 distinct timeframes—one past, to accommodate 'had __ed', and one present, to accommodate 'has/have __ed'.

this is certainly not impossible. in fact, it can happen in perfectly normal sentences—sometimes even fairly short ones:
I have been thinking about what Cindy told me she had seen.

note how this works:
I have been thinking = recently (not right now)... but the point is that this 'thinking' affects my current situation and/or thought processes. this is the present timeframe.
Cindy told me... = there's your past timeframe...
...she had seen = this observation, which cindy had made previously, had some impact upon cindy when she told me whatever she told me.

obviously you will not have to think about that much stuff on this exam. in fact, it's much more likely that you won't have to think about ANY of it.
(verb-tense splits are VERY often just distractions; they are quite frequently paired with issues that are MUCH easier to resolve.
if a verb-tense split is small or subtle, it will ALWAYS be paired with some easier means of elimination.)

on the other hand, if you actually do understand how each individual piece of that sentence works, then your understanding of these tenses should be more than adequate for the exam.

[RonPurewal]

incidentally, if you want to improve your intuition about verb tenses in a way that's enjoyable, try reading some fiction.

in fiction, tenses tend to be blended and mixed, MUCH more than in nonfiction. (fiction contains lots and lots of sentences like the one i made up above. nonfiction, while interesting, is much more likely to use the same couple of tenses over and over and over.)

[RichaChampion]

In many official questions, I have seen the usage of what. Besides framing a question using What, what are the other ways we can use?

while this question is reasonable, it's the type of question that's impossible for a human being to answer; our brains don't store information in this sort of way. ("quick! name all the nouns you know that start with 'd' -- same problem.)

so, here are some examples, which may not encompass the full diversity of ways in which "what" can be used:

The witness told the officer what he saw at the crime scene.
--> the witness told the officer everything he knew.

The witness told the officer things he saw at the crime scene.
--> the witness told the officer only some of the things he knew.

You should take what is in the box.
--> you should take all of it.

You should take something that's in the box.
--> you should take one item.

these examples should be enough to give you the basic idea.

Wonderful Ron Sir, You are always great .

[RonPurewal]

thanks.

[RichaChampion]

In many official questions, I have seen the usage of what. Besides framing a question using What, what are the other ways we can use?

while this question is reasonable, it's the type of question that's impossible for a human being to answer; our brains don't store information in this sort of way. ("quick! name all the nouns you know that start with 'd' -- same problem.)

so, here are some examples, which may not encompass the full diversity of ways in which "what" can be used:

The witness told the officer what he saw at the crime scene.
--> the witness told the officer everything he knew.

The witness told the officer things he saw at the crime scene.
--> the witness told the officer only some of the things he knew.

You should take what is in the box.
--> you should take all of it.

You should take something that's in the box.
--> you should take one item.

these examples should be enough to give you the basic idea.

You have said here that the usage of "what" is wrong. Can you please help me to understand why.