some more writing questions

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<li><p>after sampling the grapes, the six judges decided that the homegrown produce tasted better than the import company.
it’s suppose to be “the import company did” or is it “did the import company”
or are they the same?</p></li>
<li><p>Researchers have found that large fish are most likely to contain high levels of mercury than small fish.
A) [same as original]
B) are more likely to contain high levels of mercury compared to small fish
C) are more likely than small fish to contain high levels of mercury
D) compared with small fish most likely contain high levels of mercury
E) more likely contain higher levels of mercury than in small fish</p></li>
<li><p>Mr. Hanson proudly demonstrated his company’s lastest cellphone, a model that flashes the time in color-coded numerals when pressing a button</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I understand that “pressing a button is wrong”,but what should it be, to make it correct though? is it “when he pressed”? or “when it’s pressed?” ambuity on “it”?</p>

<li><p>At a time when interest in twentieth-century classical music seems on the verge to disappear, the avant-garde compositions of the 1960s and 1970s manage to retain their popularity.
i thought the verb tenses are whacked, but they arent …</p></li>
<li><p>To insist that a poem means whatever one wants it to mean is often ignoring the intention and even the words of the poet.</p></li>
</ol>

2

<p>1) Both are incorrect. It must be a valid comparison. In this case, you are comparing the homegrown PRODUCE to the import company itself.</p>

<p>The correct sentence should read something like "1. after sampling the grapes, the six judges decided that the homegrown produce tasted better than that of import company."</p>

<p>We are now comparing the "homegrown produce" to "that [which unambiguously refers to produce] of the import company," which makes the sentence grammatically correct.</p>

<p>2) A) is incorrect because "most likely" doesn't work when you are comparing two things in the manner of this sentence (you use the comparative degree).</p>

<p>B) The "compared to" part doesn't really make sense.</p>

<p>C) is correct. You fix the problem of "most," in the superlative degree, by changing it to "more," which is in the comparative degree.</p>

<p>D) Again, "compared with" doesn't make sense and we still have the incorrect "most." </p>

<p>E) "More likely contain" doesn't make sense.</p>

<p>3) "I understand that "pressing a button is wrong",but what should it be, to make it correct though? is it "when he pressed"? or "when it's pressed?" ambuity on "it"?"</p>

<p>Yes, you are completely correct about what the problem is. In this case, I would avoid using the pronoun "he" with "presses" for two reasons. First, the main clause of the sentence (starting with "Mr. Hanson") is in the past while the second clause is in the present. Using a "he pressed" doesn't work because we already have a present verb, "flashes." Perhaps "he presses" would work, although the second part of the sentence seems to general to refer directly to him pressing the button (reason number two).</p>

<p>I would personally use "you press" or "one presses," to make the sentence read:</p>

<p>"Mr. Hanson proudly demonstrated his company's lastest cellphone, a model that flashes the time in color-coded numerals when you press [one presses] a button." </p>

<p>The ambiguity about the person performing the action is eliminated. That's just my personal preference, there are other correct answers. Watch the verb tenses however, the final verb ("presses") should be in the present tense.</p>

<p>4) Okay, this sentence was confusing to me at first. We are talking about right now, yet we are referring to music in the last century. So, "interest in twentieth-century classical music seems" to be disappearing right now. However, the compositions "manage" in the present era to retain their popularity. Both verbs refer to the current situation. I don't think that "to disappear" is correct. The problem is idiomatic, "on the verge to..." is not a correct expression. You use "verge of disappearing" in a grammatically correct sentence.</p>

<p>5) "To insist that a poem means whatever one wants it to mean is often ignoring the intention and even the words of the poet."</p>

<p>Parallel structure is the problem here, I believe. The sentence should read "To insist...to ignore." The other underlined parts have no problem:
"One" is perfectly fine because we don't have another conflicting pronoun (i.e., we haven't used a generic "you" elsewhere in the sentence).
"Wants it" agrees with "one," so it's fine.
"Even" is fine; there is no reason why it shouldn't be there.</p>

<p>Parallel structure would dictate that "ignoring" be in the infinitive, to create parallelism with "To insist." Additionally, you can't use a gerund in the way that "ignoring" is used. You would need to reword the sentence as "To insist...often means ignoring." Even then, it's still a bit iffy.</p>

3

<p>I agree with the previous poster on all except the last sentence.</p>

<p>To insist that a poem means whatever one wants it to mean is often ignoring the intention and even the words of the poet.</p>

<p>But wouldn't this work? And be simpler?
Insisting that a poem means whatever one wants it to mean is often ignoring the intention and even the words of the poet.</p>

4

<p>It would also work. The problem is that "To insist" is not something that is able to be answered. I assumed that the underlined words/phrases were those that could potentially be incorrect (like in a normal sentence), as they would be on the real SAT.</p>

<p>However, I still think that using both infinitives would be better. Neither one is more simple than the other, in my opinion. I would say that it is a stylistic choice, unless there is some archaic rule of which I am unaware.</p>

5

<p>oh gosh, you are good!
thankyou for the explanations. the last one , i thought it was "ignorant of.." but now i think "to ignore"is better, the word "often" threw me off, it went between the lines, confused me a bit.
anyway, thanks!</p>