Unlike computer skills or other technical skills,

[manhhiep2509]

Unlike computer skills or other technical skills, there is a disinclination on the part of many people to recognize the degree to which their analytical skills are weak.
(A) Unlike computer skills or other technical skills, there is a disinclination on the part of many people to recognize the degree to which their analytical skills are weak.
(B) Unlike computer skills or other technical skills, which they admit they lack, many people are disinclined to recognize that their analytical skills are weak.
(C) Unlike computer skills or other technical skills, analytical skills bring out a disinclination in many people to recognize that they are weak to a degree.
(D) Many people, willing to admit that they lack computer skills or other technical skills, are disinclined to recognize that their analytical skills are weak.
(E) Many people have a disinclination to recognize the weakness of their analytical skills while willing to admit their lack of computer skills or other technical skills.

I am not sure between D and E !
Please comment.
Thanks in advance !

* if you're going to use "while" with an adjective phrase (while willing to...), then that adjective phrase should precede the main verb.
i.e., many people, while willing to... , are disinclined to...

Hi Ron.

Do you mean that "while + adjective" should go before the main verb because the phrase is always written in this way? Or is there another reason?

I try to guess because "while + adjective" is adjective phrase so it should be placed next to the subject. Is it correct?

Thank you.

[tim]

Those are both good ways to think about the issue. Whatever makes sense to you, use that to help you apply the rule correctly! :)

[HimanshuP125]

Unlike computer skills or other technical skills, there is a disinclination on the part of many people to recognize the degree to which their analytical skills are weak.
(A) Unlike computer skills or other technical skills, there is a disinclination on the part of many people to recognize the degree to which their analytical skills are weak.
(B) Unlike computer skills or other technical skills, which they admit they lack, many people are disinclined to recognize that their analytical skills are weak.
(C) Unlike computer skills or other technical skills, analytical skills bring out a disinclination in many people to recognize that they are weak to a degree.
(D) Many people, willing to admit that they lack computer skills or other technical skills, are disinclined to recognize that their analytical skills are weak.
(E) Many people have a disinclination to recognize the weakness of their analytical skills while willing to admit their lack of computer skills or other technical skills.

I am not sure between D and E !
Please comment.
Thanks in advance !

* "have a disinclination to recognize" is wordy/unidiomatic, and is definitely inferior to "are disinclined to recognize".

* if you're going to use "while" with an adjective phrase (while willing to...), then that adjective phrase should precede the main verb.
i.e., many people, while willing to... , are disinclined to...

* there's also a slight change in meaning.
"recognize that their ... skills are weak" just means that the people should know that they have weak skills.
"recognize the weakness..." means that they should actually be able to point out the specific weakness.

Hi Ron

I agree with the verbose and unidiomatic accusation levelled at option E but for option D which is enclosed within comma, isn't that making it non essential and thus changing the meaning drastically. E might be verbose but it is ensuring the logical meaning IMO. From D , I gather that the portion between the comma can be removed and this will change the meaning

[tim]

Change the meaning from what? Please understand that "changing the meaning" doesn't make an answer choice wrong, especially if we're talking about changing the meaning from what's at the top of the page. Remember, 80% of the time A will be an *incorrect* answer, which means its meaning MUST be changed!

[Shelley]

Unlike computer skills or other technical skills, there is a disinclination on the part of many people to recognize the degree to which their analytical skills are weak.
(A) Unlike computer skills or other technical skills, there is a disinclination on the part of many people to recognize the degree to which their analytical skills are weak.
(B) Unlike computer skills or other technical skills, which they admit they lack, many people are disinclined to recognize that their analytical skills are weak.
(C) Unlike computer skills or other technical skills, analytical skills bring out a disinclination in many people to recognize that they are weak to a degree.
(D) Many people, willing to admit that they lack computer skills or other technical skills, are disinclined to recognize that their analytical skills are weak.
(E) Many people have a disinclination to recognize the weakness of their analytical skills while willing to admit their lack of computer skills or other technical skills.

I am not sure between D and E !
Please comment.
Thanks in advance !

* "have a disinclination to recognize" is wordy/unidiomatic, and is definitely inferior to "are disinclined to recognize".

* if you're going to use "while" with an adjective phrase (while willing to...), then that adjective phrase should precede the main verb.
i.e., many people, while willing to... , are disinclined to...

* there's also a slight change in meaning.
"recognize that their ... skills are weak" just means that the people should know that they have weak skills.
"recognize the weakness..." means that they should actually be able to point out the specific weakness.

thank u very much …^^

[tim]

:)

[Ace1]

The sentence primarily talks about the disinclination on the part of people to "recognize the degree to which their analytical skills are weak" while recognizing the weakness in their computer skills or other technical skills.

A) Accurately captures this point.
B) Nowhere in the sentence does it mention that "they admit they lack" Computer or other skills. This talks about a complete lack of, rather missing to certain degree.
C) Analytical skills do not by itself bring out anything in people. It is people who have an inclination or a disinclination to recognize some skill.
D) Like C), people are not said to lack any skill. It is talking about the inclination or a disinclination to recognize some skill.
E) Like C), people are not said to lack any skill. It is talking about the inclination or a disinclination to recognize some skill.

I read the complete post and still didn’t find any strong evidence to eliminate A on meaning grounds. Can you please guide where and how i am wrong?

[RonPurewal]

the problem with (a) isn't some nuance of meaning.

if you have "unlike xxxx or yyyy skills", then, to create a sensible comparison, you need some other skill after the comma. (a) doesn't have that.

[sdfsdfsdfs481]

"I will to + verb" is not a valid English construction.

"Willing" is not a verb-derived form. It's an adjective, used in much the same way as "able".

(There are other words that work the same way, too. For instance, a table can be missing a leg, but a table can't "miss a leg".)

How about this sentence:

Many people have a disinclination to recognize the weakness of their analytical skills while many people are willing to admit their lack of computer skills or other technical skills.

using dangling modifier the sentence above could be equivalent to

Many people have a disinclination to recognize the weakness of their analytical skills while willing to admit their lack of computer skills or other technical skills.

So I don't think "while willing" is a problem in the sentence. Does it make sense?

[PengG163]

Unlike computer skills or other technical skills, there is a disinclination on the part of many people to recognize the degree to which their analytical skills are weak.
(A) Unlike computer skills or other technical skills, there is a disinclination on the part of many people to recognize the degree to which their analytical skills are weak.
(B) Unlike computer skills or other technical skills, which they admit they lack, many people are disinclined to recognize that their analytical skills are weak.
(C) Unlike computer skills or other technical skills, analytical skills bring out a disinclination in many people to recognize that they are weak to a degree.
(D) Many people, willing to admit that they lack computer skills or other technical skills, are disinclined to recognize that their analytical skills are weak.
(E) Many people have a disinclination to recognize the weakness of their analytical skills while willing to admit their lack of computer skills or other technical skills.

I am not sure between D and E !
Please comment.
Thanks in advance !

* "have a disinclination to recognize" is wordy/unidiomatic, and is definitely inferior to "are disinclined to recognize".

* if you're going to use "while" with an adjective phrase (while willing to...), then that adjective phrase should precede the main verb.
i.e., many people, while willing to... , are disinclined to...

* there's also a slight change in meaning.
"recognize that their ... skills are weak" just means that the people should know that they have weak skills.
"recognize the weakness..." means that they should actually be able to point out the specific weakness.

Ron, thank you very much for your explanation, which is quite fantastic. However, I have two small question about "while".
(1) In the post below, "while Ving" is to the last of the sentence, does not precede the main verb. Is this contradict with the explanation above ?
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/foru ... -t460.html

(2) In your previous post, you have already explained the use of Although/though when it appears in different place, ie:
• if "(al)though xxxx" PRECEDES the sentence, then "xxxx" can be either a complete sentence or an adjective/modifier.
• if "(al)though xxxx" INTERRUPTS the sentence, then "xxxx" should be only a modifier. in this case, "xxxx" should NOT be a complete sentence.
• if "although xxxx" FOLLOWS the sentence, then "xxxx" should be a complete sentence. in this case, "xxxx" should not be a modifier/adjective.

Can I deem that "while" can also be used under this rule?

[hardiksanghavi90]

How about the issue with option D changing the intended meaning? People aren't willing to admit that they 'lack skills', they're just disinclined to recognize the degree to which they are weak.

I discredited this choice immediately thinking it is wrong in spite of it being grammatically fine. I ended up choosing a sub-optimal choice after eliminating everything else as well.

Would appreciate some clarifications about this.

[ravi.iitm]

How about the issue with option D changing the intended meaning? People aren't willing to admit that they 'lack skills', they're just disinclined to recognize the degree to which they are weak.

I discredited this choice immediately thinking it is wrong in spite of it being grammatically fine. I ended up choosing a sub-optimal choice after eliminating everything else as well.

Would appreciate some clarifications about this.

I chose E for the exact same reason. I hope someone can provide an explanation to this.

[JbhB682]

"I will to + verb" is not a valid English construction.

"Willing" is not a verb-derived form. It's an adjective, used in much the same way as "able".

(There are other words that work the same way, too. For instance, a table can be missing a leg, but a table can't "miss a leg".)

Hi Sage - how can one realize that "Willing" is not a verb derived form as suggested by Ron ? "Willing" is an adjective but how does the test taker know this ? Most Verb + -ING are considered adverbial modifiers

Also -- per the blue, could you confirm where i can learn more about this (perhaps in the MGMAT guide ?) or perhaps share a link /thread about this construction

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

Good question. I'm going to disagree with Ron here: his comment makes sense within this problem, but the word 'willing' could be derived from a verb. Let me try to untangle this.

There's a modal verb 'will' for talking about the future. Like other modal verbs (can, should, must, etc.) it doesn't have regular verb forms such as -ed, and -ing. It combines with other verbs. So, we can't get 'willing' from this.

There is a verb 'to will'. This means to intend or desire something, for example 'I really wanted Stacey to finish the marathon: I cheered loudly and willed her on'. From this verb we definitely could get the word 'willing' as a modifier.

Finally, as we have in the question above, the word 'willing' is an adjective that just means able or ready.

That's enough for the definitions, the big question is how you apply this. I would suggest that the key is to pay attention to the meaning. Many native speakers of English can get a problem like the one above correct just by knowing what the word 'willing' means. As much as it's useful to learn some grammar rules, I would caution you not to over-complicate things, and to watch out for situations like this one, in which your application of grammar rules may have actually made the problem more difficult.