Simple Gerunds, Complex Gerunds, and Parallelism ?

[sir_imran]

Advanced Modifier Section is not clear on this ...

1) I am confused whether a gerund by itself is Simple or Complex?

Simple Gerund : swimming in the river
Complex Gerund : the swimming of Cindy
Simple or Complex ? : swimming

2) Is a Simple Gerund parallel to a Concrete Noun?

ex1: I love swimming and Cindy. (With respect to this question, I am assuming that "swimming" is a simple gerund)
ex2: I love swimming in the river and Cindy.

Thank You

[mschwrtz]

1) "Swimming," etc. are simple gerunds.

2) Standard Written English might well permit such sentences as "I love swimming and Cindy," but the GMAT version of American SWE does not permit a parallel between any action noun and any concrete noun. I don't know of a single real GMAT SC question in which the correct answer has a concrete noun parallel to any sort of gerund. That empirical fact about the GMAT is reflected in our flashcards as well as in our SG text.

"I love swimming in the river and Cindy," has the additional problem that you seem to enjoy swimming in Cindy. Is there a Lake Cindy nearby?

[sir_imran]

1) So "swimming" by itself is a Simple Gerund. Thank you.

2) So what your saying is Simple Gerunds are not parallel to Concrete Nouns. That is not clear in the MGMAT SC Guide.

-----

What were you referring to when you said: "That empirical fact about the GMAT is reflected in our flashcards as well as in our SG text".

What I got from the SC Guide was:
i) Concrete Nouns are not parallel to Action Nouns
ii) Action Nouns and Complex Gerunds are only parallel to each other.

[tim]

i prefer to think this one has been very clearly articulated in our SC guide:

"In brief, there are three categories of nouns: (1) Concrete Nouns, (2) Action Nouns and Complex Gerunds, and (3) Simple Gerunds. Do not mix these categories." (p.215)

[sir_imran]

Thanks for the reply. However, can you please explain how the following question is correct?

The following sentence is correct accoring to OG:

Doctors generally agree that such factors as cigarette smoking, eating rich foods high in fats, and alcohol consumption not only ... but also ....

Thanks

[tim]

Fair enough. i have to tell you, i don't really have a good answer for you. Every once in a while the OG throws us something like this and we have to scramble to come up with a just-so story that will allow everyone to maintain a consistent paradigm. The best i can do is point out that the excerpt you refer to is not in the underlined section, so ultimately no choice needs to be made here. Do let me know if you find the OG violating this rule somewhere where it matters.. :)

[lkmen]

[Deleted because this question is from a banned source - see below.]

[ChrisB]

OG is a banned source; it is illegal to post OG questions anywhere on the web. If you are in one of our classes, please ask OG questions during office hours or before/after class.

Thanks,
Chris

[StaceyKoprince]

Thanks for the reply. However, can you please explain how the following question is correct?

The following sentence is correct accoring to OG:

Doctors generally agree that such factors as cigarette smoking, eating rich foods high in fats, and alcohol consumption not only ... but also ....

Just to echo what Tim said: the GMAT, annoyingly enough, will sometimes break its own grammar rules in non-underlined portions of SC sentences or in other parts of verbal (CR, RC). We need to follow what they actually test. That's the best - though irritating! - answer to your question. :)

[sachin.w]

Doctors generally agree that such factors as cigarette smoking, eating rich foods high in fats, and alcohol consumption not only ... but also ....

Hi,
Just trying to understand the noun forms..

I understand that in the quoted text ,cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption are noun forms but
'eating rich foods high in fats' is not a noun form ,right?

'the eating of rich foods' would be the correct noun form( complex gerund) here, right??


Also,
1)Studying this book took me 3 hours.
2) The studying of this book took me 3 hours.

Which one would GMAC prefer between the above 2?

Regards,
Sachin

[tim]

don't worry so much about "complex gerunds"; just make sure you are comparing "things" as opposed to "verbs" or "modifiers" etc.

the GMAT would prefer "studying" to "the studying of", all other things being equal..

[sachin.w]

don't worry so much about "complex gerunds"; just make sure you are comparing "things" as opposed to "verbs" or "modifiers" etc.

the GMAT would prefer "studying" to "the studying of", all other
things being equal..

Thanks Tim..
but my doubt still remains
Is
'eating rich foods high in fats' a noun form ?

'the eating of rich foods' would be the correct noun form( complex gerund) here, right??

[tim]

yes it is a "noun form" if you mean "some type of thing that can stand in for a noun in the sentence", for whatever it's worth. the correct form can be found by simply looking up the OG question in the book, right? remember, it is not always true that there is only one correct way to express something..