A higher interest rate is only one of the factors, albeit an important

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Concepts tested here: Subject-Verb Agreement + Comparisons

• “like” is used for comparing nouns, “as” is used for comparing actions/clauses, and “such as” is used for giving examples.
• A comparison must always be made between similar elements.

A: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun "factors" with the singular verb "keeps". Further, Option A incorrectly uses "like" to compare "spiraling out of control" and "did earlier in the decade"; remember, “like” is used for comparing nouns, “as” is used for comparing actions/clauses, and “such as” is used for giving examples.

B: Correct. This answer choice correctly refers to the plural noun "factors" with the plural verb "keep". Further, Option B correctly uses "as" to compare " "spiraling out of control" with "did earlier in the decade".

C: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun "factors" with the singular verb "keeps".

D: This answer choice incorrectly compares "spiraling out of control" to "earlier in the decade"; remember, a comparison must always be made between similar elements.

E: This answer choice incorrectly uses "like" to compare "spiraling out of control" and "did earlier in the decade"; remember, “like” is used for comparing nouns, “as” is used for comparing actions/clauses, and “such as” is used for giving examples.

To understand the concept of "Like" vs "As" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team
Hence, B is the best answer choice.

Official Explanation:

The original sentence states that "a higher interest rate is only one of the factors...that keeps..." The clause "that keeps the housing market from spiraling out of control" is describing the word "factors." Since "factors" is plural noun and "keeps" agrees with singular nouns, we need to find a sentence that replaces "keeps" with "keep". Also, "like it did earlier in the decade" is incorrect. When comparing clauses (i.e., a phrase containing a subject and a verb), we must use "as" instead of "like." For example, "She sings like her mother" and "She sings as her mother does" are both correct, but "She sings like her mother does" is not.

(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.

(B) CORRECT. This choice remedies the verb agreement issue by using the singular "keep." It also correctly changes the comparison word from "like" to "as."

(C) This subject-verb issue with "keeps" remains.

(D) The subject-verb issue is remedied, however, the comparison is a faulty one. "Like" is used to compare two nouns and here the second part of the comparison is "earlier in the decade." The phrase "it did" is needed here to logically complete the comparison, in which case, "as" must be used to draw the comparison.

(E) The subject-verb issue is remedied, however, the word "as" should be used instead of "like."

B should be the answer
One of the + PLURAL NOUN + that/who/ +
PLURAL VERB
e.g- “He is one of the persons who make
money.”
So A and C are out.

A higher interest rate is only one of the factors, albeit an important one, that keep the housing market from spiraling out of control.

The "keep the housing market from spiraling out of control" is an independent clause. Relative pronoun like THAT is used to plug in clause into the sentence. It connects the noun to clause ( not just the subject ).

A higher interest rate is only one of the factors THAT keep ....

"That" works as a restrictive clause to connect "factors" to rest of the clause.

But "interest rate" is always the subject.

"one of" + plural noun (in this case factors) is plural. that's rule.

"That" indicates a phrase necessary to identify a noun. Since we already know what a higher interest rate is, the "that" clause would be inappropriate. However, we DON'T know which are "the factors" with the word itself. The sentence has to explain that we have factors THAT [insert identifier here].

So we know the "that" clause is modifying "factors," so we need an appropriate verb to modify them--keep, not keeps. We're down to B, D, and E.

From there, we zero in on the difference between the three choices. One that jumps out is "as" vs. "like". Here, we are comparing "spiraled" to "did last year." Comparing two verbs means we must use "as".

B.

it is correct to say "one of my friends"

similarly here one of the "factors that keep the market up" , keep is the verb for the subject factors and not the specific "one" under discussion in main sentence

'AS" for sure. a,d,e out.

But I do believe 'ONE OF THE FACTORS' requres singular.
but 'TWO OF THE FACTORS' requres plural.

number of smth - number determines whether verb is singular or plural, not smth.

But I confused with THAT. THAT refer to factors.

So, summarizing:
=================================
1) One of the factors keeps
2) Two of the factors keep
3) One of the factors that keep
4) Two of the factors that keep
=================================
Can gurus confirm it?

So, my ans is B

A higher interest rate is only one of the factors, albeit an important one, that keeps the housing market from spiraling out of control, like it did earlier in the decade.

(A) that keeps the housing market from spiraling out of control, like it did earlier in the decade.
"A higher interest rate is only one" [this is the main clause] "of the factors" [this is the prepositional phrase describing the 'one'] "that keep/s the housing market from spiraling out of control, like it did earlier..." [this is a relative clause that SHOULD define the 'factors'] Thus, the verb should be plural, "keep".

Also, "like" is used to compare one noun to another. Like cannot be followed by noun+verb.

Ex.
She sings like a duck. (Correct)
She sings as a duck does/sings. [color=#80FF40](Correct: "as" when used in a comparison is followed by a noun+verb.)
She sings like a duck does. (Incorrect)
She sings as a duck. (Incorrect)


(B) that keep the housing market from spiraling out of control, as it did earlier in the decade

Correct: The plural "keep" is the correct verb in the clause referring to "factors". "As+subject+verb" is the correct form for a comparison using "as".

(C) that keeps the housing market from spiraling out of control, as it did earlier in the decade
"Keeps"-->Same problem as in A.

(D) that keep the housing market from spiraling out of control, like earlier in the decade
"Like+adjective" is incorrect. "Like" must compare two nouns.

(E) that keep the housing market from spiraling out of control, like it did earlier in the decade
"Like it did" --> same problem as in A.

Like is used when comparing nouns whereas as is used when comparing actions. In this question, since actions are compared so use of "as" is the correct one.

rule: one of the NOUN who/that PLURAL-VERB
---> A, C out

rule: "as" is used for clauses and "like" for nouns/noun phrases
---> E out

can someone please explain why B is correct over D?

that keeps the ..... is modifying the "factors" not "one of the factors" so it should be plural form of the verb.. so KEEP is correct.

we use as to compare phrases and like to compare nouns
here we are comparing two phrases so it should be "as'

so clearly B

A higher interest rate is only one of the factors ,albeit an important one,that keeps the housing market from spiraling out of control ,like it did earlier in the decade.

A. keeps the housing market from spiraling out of control ,like it did
B.keep the housing market from spiraling out of control,as it did
C. keeps the housing market from spiraling out of control,as it did
D. keep the housing market from spiraling out of control,like
E.keep the housing market from spiraling out of control ,like it did

My logic:
ONE OF THE FACTORs is singular,as it points ot to just one of the many factors,hence verb associated with it should be singular,that is KEEPS. we come down to option A and C
Now, LIKE IT DID compared two things, and AS IT DID is implying some examples,Here we are comparing higher interest rate to to older interest rate of past decade,that means we are comparing two things,So I went with option A.

You take on this pls?

Oh by the way,option A is incorrect.

Look at "that" following factors. (You can ignore the phrase set off by commas "albeit an important one.")
"That" indicates an essential noun modifier, which means the clause following it is modifying the noun immediately preceding it - factors (again, ignore that phrase set off by the commas). So, "factors keep" is the correct subject-verb match here.
When you say "as it did" you are referring to some noun that did something. Earlier in the sentence, the "rate" didn't do anything - I can't say, "oh, earlier in the decade the rate did X." The "market" on the other hand was spiraling out of control earlier in the decade - I know what "it did." (by Stacy)


ONE OF THE FACTORs is [strike]singular[/strike] plural.

One more tip:

Like vs. As
Like is used to compare nouns.
As is used to compare actions.

Like vs. Such As
“like” means similar to, and “such as” means for example.

• Can you buy me some fruit like oranges or grapefruit?
This sentence would mean that you do NOT want oranges or grapefruit; instead, you'd prefer some fruit similar to oranges and grapefruit. For example, you may want pomelo, lemons, or limes.

• Can you buy me some fruit such as oranges or grapefruit?
Oranges and grapefruit are examples of the type of fruit we want.

First thing to note is - 'one of the' needs special attention.

John is one of the guys who appreciate my efforts.

John is the only guy who appreciates my efforts.

John is one of those guys who appreciate my efforts.

Among all the guys John appreciates my efforts.

A higher interest rate is only of the factors...that keep the housing market from spiraling out of control,

as it[market] did earlier in the decade.

The usage of like is not proper here. Strictly speaking like is a preposition and not a conjunction. Therefore it can be used to introduce a prepositional phrase (John is tall like my father) but not a clause:

My brother cannot sit on chair like he did before the accident. WRONG
My brother cannot sit on chair as he did before the accident. RIGHT.


So answer should be B. I hope it will help

The formation is - one of the + noun in plural form + who/that + verb in plural form. Hence B is correct.