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SC: what does "the" modify in "the more than 50 plants..."

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jellyfisher
 Post subject: SC: what does "the" modify in "the more than 50 plants..."
 Post Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 4:41 am 
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Course Students


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SC: 4th ed. Chapter 2 Q4 (p.25)

4. She is the most dedicated gardener on the block, every day watering the more than 50 plants in her yard.

every day watering more than the 50 plants in her yard.

The official answer is (A) - takes the original sentence. I found the original sentence a bit odd b/c the word "the" is modifying "more than 50 plants". What exactly does it mean when there is a "the" in front of "more than"? Is it grammatically correct?
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tim
 Post subject: Re: SC: what does "the" modify in "the more than 50 plants..."
 Post Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 11:51 am 
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It is grammatically correct. She has more than 50 plants, and that group of plants is what she is watering. The "the" makes it clear that it is that group she is watering. Replace the "more than 50 plants" with "group of plants" and it will make a lot more sense; the former is just a more specific description to give the group of plants..

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Tim Sanders
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alisha.thakar
 Post subject: Re: SC: what does "the" modify in "the more than 50 plants..."
 Post Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 6:35 am 
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Posts: 31
I understand the difference between the meanings of A and B.

However, can A be reconstructed without the 'the' and without altering the meaning and grammatical correctness?

She is the most dedicated gardener on the block, every day watering more than 50 plants in her yard.

Does this sentence mean what (A) does and is correct grammatically?
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jnelson0612
 Post subject: Re: SC: what does "the" modify in "the more than 50 plants..."
 Post Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 10:11 pm 
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alisha.thakar wrote:
I understand the difference between the meanings of A and B.

However, can A be reconstructed without the 'the' and without altering the meaning and grammatical correctness?

She is the most dedicated gardener on the block, every day watering more than 50 plants in her yard.

Does this sentence mean what (A) does and is correct grammatically?


Your sentence is correct grammatically but has a different meaning.

Your sentence implies that there could be anywhere from 51 to an infinite number of plants in her yard and she waters more than 50 every day; thus, she could be watering some or all of the plants. If you said that sentence to me I would assume that she has a lot of plants and rotates which plants she is watering so she gets to 51 or more every day.

The original sentence (using "the more than") implies that she has at least 51 plants in her yard and she waters them all.

Let me know if you are still confused.

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Jamie Nelson
ManhattanGMAT Instructor
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alisha.thakar
 Post subject: Re: SC: what does "the" modify in "the more than 50 plants..."
 Post Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 5:31 am 
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That absolutely clears my doubt.

Thanks for the explanation!

Regards.
Alisha.
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jnelson0612
 Post subject: Re: SC: what does "the" modify in "the more than 50 plants..."
 Post Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 10:29 pm 
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Great! Thanks Alisha!

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Jamie Nelson
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bolopaneer
 Post subject: Re: SC: what does "the" modify in "the more than 50 plants..."
 Post Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 3:28 pm 
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jnelson0612 wrote:
alisha.thakar wrote:
I understand the difference between the meanings of A and B.

However, can A be reconstructed without the 'the' and without altering the meaning and grammatical correctness?

She is the most dedicated gardener on the block, every day watering more than 50 plants in her yard.

Does this sentence mean what (A) does and is correct grammatically?


Your sentence is correct grammatically but has a different meaning.

Your sentence implies that there could be anywhere from 51 to an infinite number of plants in her yard and she waters more than 50 every day; thus, she could be watering some or all of the plants. If you said that sentence to me I would assume that she has a lot of plants and rotates which plants she is watering so she gets to 51 or more every day.

The original sentence (using "the more than") implies that she has at least 51 plants in her yard and she waters them all.

Let me know if you are still confused.


Awesome :)
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jnelson0612
 Post subject: Re: SC: what does "the" modify in "the more than 50 plants..."
 Post Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 10:45 pm 
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ManhattanGMAT Staff


Posts: 1857
Thanks! :-)

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Jamie Nelson
ManhattanGMAT Instructor
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