The yield per acre of coffee berries varies enormously in

[RonPurewal]

Hi Ron,

Does "depending on its size and on climate and altitude" modify "is"? or "varies"? or the entire subordinate clause - "a single tree is able to produce..."?

it's an adverbial modifier that modifies the action of the clause with which it's associated. technically, that action is encapsulated by "is (able)", although it's probably easier to think of it as "modifying the entire clause".

with modifiers that serve as adjectives (such as "..., which ..."), it's crucial that you isolate the single noun modified by the modifier.
on the other hand, with adverbial modifiers, it's unimportant to isolate the single word being modified, because the placement of the modifier isn't restricted anywhere near as severely as with adjective-type modifiers.

[tryingFor750p]

Ron,
First of all, thanks for all your excellent explanations. It helped me a lot.

I'm really confused about usage of adverbial phrase. Is it possible that adverbial phrase can modify verb or a clause that comes after adv phrase?

According to your explanation in one of the threads, subject: "modifiers using -ing", you have mentioned
"do notice that if the -ing modifier follows the noun immediately, as in 'the car speeding down the hill', then it cannot be an adverbial modifier, as there's no verb to modify."

If I understood your explanation correctly, then how come in this question participle "depending.." can modify "a single tree is able to produce..." or "is" verb?

[RonPurewal]

If I understood your explanation correctly, then how come in this question participle "depending.." can modify "a single tree is able to produce..." or "is" verb?

hey.

when i said that the -ing modifier follows the noun IMMEDIATELY, i meant IMMEDIATELY - as in "there's not even a comma between the noun and the modifier". if the -ing modifier is DIRECTLY after the noun, without so much as even a comma in the interim, then it's an adjective style modifier that modifies the noun.

in this problem, "depending" is set off by commas, so it doesn't fall into that category.

[tryingFor750p]

I think didn't ask my question properly

I understand noun modifiers, i.e. without comma. But my question is only for adverbial modifiers.

Here "is able to produce enough berries..." comes after "depending.." phrase
So can adverbial modifiers modify part of sentence that comes after it?

[RonPurewal]

I think didn't ask my question properly

I understand noun modifiers, i.e. without comma. But my question is only for adverbial modifiers.

Here "is able to produce enough berries..." comes after "depending.." phrase
So can adverbial modifiers modify part of sentence that comes after it?

sure, there are different orders in which you can arrange such components of a sentence. for instance:
coming home from school, i was blown off my bike by the wind.
or
james, coming home from school, was blown off his bike by the wind.
same sort of deal there.

--

and let's not forget the ultimate rule:
if the gmat does it in a correct answer choice, then it's allowed.
(this is not meant to be facetious at all; in fact, this is the absolute #1 rule you should follow. if you see a construction in a correct answer choice, then you're allowed to use that construction, period.)

[anthonymok930]

Is there any difference in the sentence structure if the comma is removed between enormously and because? I'm just curious whether the comma is necessary.

[vcb_007]

as stated above, "dependent" is an adjective, and "depending" is a participle (which introduces an adverbial modifier that modifies the action of the clause, rather than modifying a noun).

the bigger problem here, though, lies in the different meanings of the 2 words. "dependent" refers to reliance on another for some kind of support (as in "my children are dependent on me for their food and shelter"). so not only is that choice sketchy in terms of grammar, but its meaning is also all kinds of wrong: it makes no sense to say that a tree is "dependent" on its size (does its size provide it with food or water? etc)


I think depending modifies the noun a single tree .

"depending" is a participle (which introduces an adverbial modifier that modifies the action of the clause( which action of the clause ) , rather than modifying a noun).

[RonPurewal]

Is there any difference in the sentence structure if the comma is removed between enormously and because? I'm just curious whether the comma is necessary.

not in terms of structure, no.

there's a rhetorical difference: with the comma, you're emphasizing the result (the fact stated before the comma), not the rationale (the reasons stated after "because"). without the comma, the emphasis is inverted.

compare:
everybody is going to be late to class, because there are protesters out on all the street corners in the neighborhood.
--> i'm emphasizing that everyone is going to be late.

everybody is going to be late to class because there are protesters out on all the street corners in the neighborhood.
--> (you probably already know that everyone is going to be late, and) i'm emphasizing the reason WHY everyone is going to be late.

[RonPurewal]

as stated above, "dependent" is an adjective, and "depending" is a participle (which introduces an adverbial modifier that modifies the action of the clause, rather than modifying a noun).

the bigger problem here, though, lies in the different meanings of the 2 words. "dependent" refers to reliance on another for some kind of support (as in "my children are dependent on me for their food and shelter"). so not only is that choice sketchy in terms of grammar, but its meaning is also all kinds of wrong: it makes no sense to say that a tree is "dependent" on its size (does its size provide it with food or water? etc)


I think depending modifies the noun a single tree .

"depending" is a participle (which introduces an adverbial modifier that modifies the action of the clause( which action of the clause ) , rather than modifying a noun).

this summary is correct on all counts except for what "depending..." is modifying. that clause is modifying the following action (this is absolutely clear from the context of the sentence).

this is a very nice summary of "dependent" vs. "depending", though. well done.

[krishnakumarhod]

Hi Ron/Stacey

Can you please comment on the 'in that' vs 'because' split in this problem.
Is it just a red herring?

Thanks
Krishna

[tim]

seems to me Stacey already answered this in her very first post on this topic..

[gaurav.pdhyy]

i got confused with the certainty vs uncertainty issue of the Question. , could produce enough berries and , is able to produce
In MGMAT SC guide its mentioned that if the question doesn't take the certainty tone then answer shouldn't reflect the same.

My doubt is could is uncertain form of expression and is able to makes the answer more certain. Does that justify ??
I chose A because of the same. :(

[danielpatinkin]

Guarav,
Always focus on grammatical issues over meaning issues. Meaning should only come into play when you have exhausted your grammatical analysis of the answer choices.

Let's consider the original version of the sentence:

The yield per acre of coffee berries varies enormously in that a single tree, depending on both its size and on climate and altitude, could produce enough berries to make between one and twelve pounds of dried beans a year.

The word "both" initiates a parallel structure: "both X and Y." What comes directly after "both" should be structurally the same as what comes directly after "and." In answer choice A, the noun phrase "its size" comes after "both", while the prepositional phrase "on climate" comes after "and." Hence, the two elements are not structurally parallel.

I hope that helps!

- Dan P

[poonamchiK]

This works is beautifully explained by various instructors.

I would also like to post one link for the benefit of students which will help understand the discrepancy b/w
"in that" Vs "because"

Thank u Ron and Stacy. Reading the details to this problem helps me solve atleast 2 other probs from OG which I didnt understand. And now i wll never forget this.
:-)

post14608.html

this post is dedicated to explaining the in that and because.

Thx
P

[jnelson0612]

:-)