Hi, MGMAT experts, I still don't understand why A and B are logical in this case.

If you say "Majove live in shades, each a roof of poles and arrowweed supported by..." , you're saying that the dwelling = a roof of poles + arrow weed, but in fact a dwelling needs a lot more than a roof and some grass. So I thought using "with..." to add this information to "shades" was better than to equate "a roof and weed" with "shades".

no, not really -- read the sentence; the dwellings were "open-sided". i.e., they really were nothing more than a roof and some poles.

(remember that the mojave are a desert tribe; it gets pretty hot in the desert in summertime, and the mojave didn't have air conditioning.)

pls, help.
I have 2 questions.

1. A is correct. I am not familiar with this sentence pattern. pls, explain this pattern.

2. prepositional phrase "with phrase" makes us troubles on gmat, pls, explain the its uses and give example for each case.

thank you.

Hey Ron,

Quick question,

Does the "Comma + Each" as well as "Comma + All/None/Some, etc"
always have to modify the noun before? They are not adjectival in the sense they can modify the entire clause. Am I correct?

"Comma + With" is generally used to modify the entire clause.

I ask because common sense would dictate that "each" must to refer to some noun. "Each cat had black stripes". We are talking about something concrete, an actual noun.

If I am correct, then why is it the case that "each" in choice (A) does not touch "dwelling places"?

Ron, as always, Thank you patience and guidance!

namnam:
1) what pattern are you referring to in particular? you have not made that clear in your question
2) what troubles are you having exactly? you need to be more clear about what you would like help with

Abe, "each" definitely needs to refer to a noun, but in this case it is in fact touching the noun it refers to - "shades". Note that "shades" is being offered as a synonym for "dwellings", so "each" should be able to attach just as easily to one as to the other..

_________________
Tim Sanders
Manhattan GMAT Instructor

pls, help
In A, the correct answer, the phrase "each..." means each shade.... I am not farmiliar with this kind of phrase.

what is this phrase called?

i think it's a type of "absolute phrase" -- but, to be honest, i don't know very many grammatical names.

Thank you. Manhantan experts, members pls, help/ discuss

in the following problem, also from gmatprep

//Because of wireless service costs plummeting in the last year, and as mobile phones are increasingly common, many people// now using their mobile phones to make calls across a wide region at night and on weekends, when numerous wireless companies provide unlimited airtime for a relatively small monthly fee.

A. Because of wireless service costs plummeting in the last year, and as mobile phones are increasingly common, many people

B. As the cost of wireless service plummeted in the last year and as mobile phones became increasingly common, many people

C. In the last year, with the cost of wireless service plummeting, and mobile phones have become increasingly common, there are many people

D. With the cost of wireless service plummeting in the last year and mobile phones becoming increasingly common, many people are

E. While the cost of wireless service has plummeted in the last year and mobile phones are increasingly common, many people are

D is oa. and in this, "with..." dose not refer to "many people"

I think this "with"phrase can be called "absolute" phrase. I see, in the general grammar on the internet, that "absolute phrase has no syntactic relation with main clause". That is why "with ..." phrase in D dose not refer to "many people" . I think this question of GMATPREP shows that point in general grammar very clearly.

But in many places in general grammar in the internet I see the following

his hand strong, he keep the cup

and the first part of the sentence is called absolute phrase

similarly, there is a questions in OG 10

his righ hand and arm crippled...., Horace worked (question 86)

a similar thing in question 104, og 10

the diet of ordinary greek inclassical times was largely vegegarian-vegetables, fresh cheese, oatmeal, and meal cakes, with meat as a rarity.

The point I want to make is that, the phrase with preposition, separated by a comma may or may not refer to a noun in main clause. Is that right? we do not need to know the names of 2 phrases above, one phrase refering to a noun in main clause, another refering to no noun in main clause. Of course, both kinds of phrase are adverb and modify whole main clause.

is my thinking correct? Do we need to differentiate the two kinds of phrases above?

I see that by looking for minor errors, using grammar basics and comparison among answer choices, we can eliminate wrong answers and go to correct one without knowing hard grammar points such as above points.

this is a good way to think -- it makes absolutely no difference what these kinds of things are called, as long as you know how they are used (and not used). in fact, i don't know any of their names, and i'm a professional writer and editor.
the only possible benefit i can see from knowing their names is the possibility of using google to look up more examples.