GMAT 오답노트: Sentence Correction : Usage / Modification

According to legal experts, doctors require that a minimum of $250,000 in malpractice coverage be purchased to protect against the most common types of medical lawsuits.

		require that a minimum of $250,000 in malpractice coverage be purchased to protect
		require that there be a minimum of $250,000 in malpractice coverage to be protected
		require that there be a minimum of $250,000 in malpractice coverage
		require a minimum of $250,000 in malpractice coverage for the protection
		require a minimum of $250,000 in malpractice coverage to be protected

Read the Original Sentence Carefully, Looking for Errors:

The original sentence features a clumsy modification. The underlined portion seems to say that doctors are responsible for the requirement that coverage must be purchased. Logically, this requirement is actually based on the knowledge of legal experts and arises from the need for protection.

Scan and Group the Answer Choices:

We can quickly group the choices into two groups: choices (A), (B), and (C) all use the word “that” to begin the modifying clause. Choices (D) and (E), on the other hand, eliminate the word “that.”

Eliminate Choices Until Only One Remains:

We have already eliminated the original sentence, choice (A). Because choices (B) and (C) have the same misleading modification, we can eliminate them as well. Check choice (D). It fixes the modification error, but the phrase “for the protection against” at the end of the sentence is awkward. This cannot be correct. We have just one remaining choice. The phrase “to be protected against” in Choice (E) is concise and straightforward. The correct answer is Choice (E).

Despite inflation expectations, allocations to alternative investments like private equity and hedge funds remain roughly constant even though allocations to commodities like gold and precious metals are a market cycle that reflects whether inflation is expected.

		Despite inflation expectations, allocations to alternative investments like private equity and hedge funds remain roughly constant even though allocations to commodities like gold and precious metals are a market cycle that reflects whether inflation is expected.
		Whether inflation is expected determines the market cycle of allocations to commodities such as gold and precious metals, whereas allocations to alternative investments like private equity and hedge funds remain roughly constant despite inflation.
		Allocations to commodities like gold and precious metals are a market cycle that reflects if inflation is expected, whereas alternative investments like private equity and hedge funds remain roughly constant despite inflation.
		The market cycle of allocations to commodities such as gold and precious metals reflects whether inflation is expected, whereas alternative investments such as private equity and hedge funds remain roughly constant despite inflation.
		The market cycle of allocations to commodities such as gold and precious metals reflects whether inflation is expected, whereas alternative investments like private equity and hedge funds remain roughly constant despite inflation.

Read the Original Sentence Carefully, Looking for Errors:

The original sentence is complex. Right away, we notice two problems. First, the sentence is written in the passive voice. Also, we see that two pairs of examples “private equity and hedge funds” and “gold and precious metals” are both introduced with the word “like.” This is a common error. We must find a revision that fixes both problems.

=> Like 는 비교구문에서 사용

=> such as 는 예시를 들 때 사용

Scan and Group the Answer Choices:

We can quickly group the choices by noticing that choices (A), (B), (C), and (E) use “like,” although choice (B) uses a mix of “such as” and “like.” Only Choice (D) uses “such as” rather than “like” in both instances.

Eliminate Choices Until Only One Remains:

We have already eliminated choice (A) as incorrect. And because choices (B), (C), and (E) share the “like” usage error with choice (A), we can rule them out as well. The correct sentence should use “such as.” Now, we can check the only remaining choice. Choice (D) uses the active voice: “The market cycle…reflects.” It also replaces “like” with “such as.” Answer Choice (D) is correct.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Apple founder Steve Jobs are giants of the digital age, their contributions recognized by people from all walks of life.

		Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Apple founder Steve Jobs are giants
		Bill Gates the Microsoft founder and Steve Jobs the Apple founder are giants
		The Microsoft founder named Bill Gates and the Apple founder named Steve Jobs are known giants
		The Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, and the Apple founder, Steve Jobs, are giants
		Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder, and Steve Jobs, the Apple founder, had been giants

Read the Original Sentence Carefully, Looking for Errors:

Anytime we see that proper names follow common nouns, we know we should be checking for errors in modification. In the original sentence, each proper noun identifies a founder, and the sentence appears to be punctuated correctly. That is, no comma separates the proper name from the common noun that it clarifies. The sentence makes sense and appears to be correct.

Scan and Group the Answer Choices:

Before we mark the first choice as correct, however, we need to check the other options. We can group choices (B) and (C) together because they do not use commas to separate the common noun "founder" and the proper names, and we can group choices (D) and (E) as choices that do use commas to separate the common nouns and the proper names.

Eliminate Choices Until Only One Remains:

In choice (B), the phrases "the Microsoft founder" and "the Apple founder" are placed after the proper nouns. In this configuration, we need commas to set off the modifying phrases. Commas do not appear. Therefore, we can rule out choice (B). We can eliminate choice (C) because of its wordiness; it conveys the same information that choice (A) does, but "known" and "named" are useless bulk. Turning to the next group of choices, we rule out (D) because separating the common noun "founder" from the proper noun that identifies it implies that the proper noun can be removed from the sentence without changing its meaning. However, there may be more than one founder at Microsoft or Apple, so proper names are indeed needed. Similarly, choice (E) is suspect. What’s more, choice (E) changes the tense from the original "are" to "had been." This alters what’s being said about the founders. The best and clearest way to word this sentence is the original. Choice (A) is correct.

Although he patented over 1,000 inventions, many of which revolutionized the modern world, Thomas Edison attained worldwide fame based upon his invention of the incandescent light bulb.

		Thomas Edison attained worldwide fame based upon his invention of the incandescent light bulb
		it was his invention of the incandescent light bulb that brought Thomas Edison worldwide fame
		it was the incandescent light bulb and his invention of it that brought Thomas Edison worldwide fame
		Thomas Edison’s invention of the incandescent light bulb brought him worldwide fame
		Thomas Edison earned worldwide fame for his invention of the incandescent light bulb

Read the Original Sentence Carefully, Looking for Errors:

Whenever we have a prepositional phrase in an underlined portion of our sentence, we want to check for idiom errors. In formal diction, the verb phrase "attain fame" should be followed by the preposition "for" and then an object. We need to find a correct replacement among the answer choices.

Scan and Group the Answer Choices:

After ruling out choice (A), we can group the revisions into pairs. Choices (B) and (C) change the underlined portion by replacing the subject "Thomas Edison" with the pronoun "it." Choice (D) uses "Thomas Edison" as a possessive adjective (소유형용사 my, your, thier) with "invention" acting as the subject. Choice (E) correctly retains "Thomas Edison" as the subject of the sentence.

Eliminate Choices Until Only One Remains:

Let’s start with the first pair, choices (B) and (C). Both are incorrect because they do not have "Thomas Edison" as the properly modified noun. Additionally, the use of the place-holding pronoun "it" in each of these choices creates unnecessarily wordy constructions. Choice (D) also has a modification error because it places "invention" as the subject. We can eliminate this choice. The correct answer is Choice (E), which keeps "Thomas Edison" as the modified subject and replaces the wordy, informal phrase "attained worldwide fame based upon" with the concise and idiomatically correct phrase "earned worldwide fame for his invention." Choice (E) is correct.

Coming to be regarded as a miracle food in the 1980s, it was a staple of (주요소인)the Mediterranean diet even in antiquity(고대); the olive oil consumed in the United States increased steadily ever since, and may surpass that of Greece by next year.

1. Modification

2. Verb (tense) : "ever since" => present perfect

		Coming to be regarded as a miracle food in the 1980s, it was a staple of the Mediterranean diet even in antiquity; the olive oil consumed in the United States
		Being a staple of the Mediterranean diet since antiquity and having been regarded as a miracle food since the 1980s, the olive oil consumed in the United States
		Having been a staple of the Mediterranean diet since antiquity and coming to be regarded as a miracle food in the 1980s, the olive oil consumption of the United States
		A staple of the Mediterranean diet since antiquity, olive oil came to be regarded as a miracle food in the 1980s; the olive oil consumption of the United States has
		Being regarded as a miracle food since the 1980s and a staple of the Mediterranean diet even in antiquity; the amount of olive oil consumed in the United States has

From among even heavy cloud cover / brilliant sunsets can often appear, which can fully brighten the sky being so momentary(순간의, 찰나의) that a person could easily miss the display.

		sky being so momentary
		sky so momentary
		sky, also being so momentary
		sky, yet be so momentary
		sky however momentary

1. Modification: where does the underlined sentence or word modify? 

  :  What is " being so momentary " modifying? SKY? NO! => a. b, e (out)

2. 의미상 the sunsets are brilliant but momentary => d (in) 

Read the original sentence carefully, looking for errors:

As written, the underlined portion of the sentence, because of its position suggests that the sky is momentary. However, the sentence is clearer if it conveys the sunsets are brilliant but momentary. The underlined portion is followed by a 'that' clause showing result - the sunsets are so momentary that a person could miss them.

Scan and group the answer choices:

Choices (A), (B), (C), and (E) all have 'momentary' modifying 'sky' and can be eliminated.

Eliminate answer choices until only one remains:

Answer Choice (D) includes the conjunction 'yet' and changes 'being' to 'be', which becomes the complement of 'can.' Now the clause reads "which can … be so momentary that … . " Answer Choice (D) is correct.