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aidasani
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Concrete vs. action/simple gerund/complex gerund parallelism

by aidasani Fri May 13, 2011 1:40 am

So it appears we have:
action nouns: withdrawal etc
simple gerunds: tracking satellites accurately
complex gerunds: the accurate tracking of satellites

Both simple and complex gerunds also sound more like describing an action in a noun form

book describes:
1) concrete can never be parallel to action
2) similarly, simple gerunds can never be parallel to complex
3) simple gerunds can never be parallel to action nouns (well understood till here)
4) Only complex gerunds can be parallel to action nouns

But, what about:
1) is concrete parallel to simple or complex gerund?


Example discussed:
The flower bouquet was a giving of love.

The flower bouquet - concrete noun (understood)
a giving of love - complex gerund or action noun?
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Re: Concrete vs. action/simple gerund/complex gerund parallelism

by messi10 Tue May 31, 2011 4:22 pm

Hi,

No, Concrete nouns are parallel to concrete nouns only, not to simple or complex gerunds.

"A giving of love" is a complex gerund

Regards

Sunil
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Re: Concrete vs. action/simple gerund/complex gerund parallelism

by tim Wed Jun 22, 2011 6:23 pm

hi aidasani,
does that example come from one of our books? it seems questionable, and i've never seen any such comparison on the GMAT..
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Re: Concrete vs. action/simple gerund/complex gerund parallelism

by messi10 Thu Jun 23, 2011 3:28 am

Hi Tim,

It has been discussed in the in SC guide (4th edition) under parallelism chapter pg57 and in the advanced chapters pg 213. I think it is used just as an example to explain the concept. If I saw this on the GMAT for the first time, I would have had no clue. :)

Regards

Sunil
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Re: Concrete vs. action/simple gerund/complex gerund parallelism

by jnelson0612 Sun Jul 03, 2011 3:42 pm

Thanks Sunil. :-)
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Re: Concrete vs. action/simple gerund/complex gerund parallelism

by nonameee Sun Jan 01, 2012 8:46 am

What if a gerund represents an abstract noun? Can't it be made parallel to a concrete noun in that case?

For example (and I'm not sure that the gerund form is OK here):

a critique AND envisioning of ....

Can these two be made parallel?

PS I'm not sure if a gerund can be an abstract noun.
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Re: Concrete vs. action/simple gerund/complex gerund parallelism

by nonameee Sun Jan 01, 2012 8:49 am

Personally, IMO Sunil is not a 100% right on this one:

No, Concrete nouns are parallel to concrete nouns only, not to simple or complex gerunds.


Here's an answer from Emily:

Yes, a simple gerund can be parallel to a concrete noun.

Examples:
My favorite activities are walking, hiking, and pilates.
He is an expert in hang-gliding and archery.
(your examples above are also correct)


http://gmatclub.com/forum/1-i-am-confus ... 95213.html

IMO, if it logically makes sense to make concrete nouns and simple gerunds parallel, you can make them parallel. It just has to make a logical sense.
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Re: Concrete vs. action/simple gerund/complex gerund parallelism

by jnelson0612 Wed Jan 11, 2012 10:50 pm

Good find, nonamee. I would feel very confident in anything Emily says. :-)
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