After gradual declension down to about 39 hours in 1970, the

After gradual declension down [/u]to about 39 hours in 1970, the workweek in the United States has steadily increased to the point that the average worker now puts in an estimated 164 extra hours of paid labor a year.

(A) After gradual declension down - Redundant
(B) Following a gradual declension down - Redundant
(C) After gradual declining down- Redundant
(D) After gradually declining - IMO D
(E) Following gradually declining - doesnt fit into the original sentence, which says:"......has steadily increased to the point...." doesn't go with following

After gradual declension down to about 39 hours in 1970, the workweek in the United States has steadily increased to the point that the average worker now puts in an estimated 164 extra hours of paid labor a year.

(A) After gradual declension down
(B) Following a gradual declension down
(C) After gradual declining down
(D) After gradually declining
(E) Following gradually declining

in og 11th, the explanation for E says "phrase must be introduced by a preposition(after), not a participle (following)"

can anyone explain in detail about choice E compared to D? I do not even understand what the answer choice intends.

following is a participle that modifies the workweek in the United states. This seems to indicate that the workweek followed sth.

this is pretty clearly D... you have a similar question in OG11

D.. Declining down is wordy.. that leaves us with D and E. and D is a way better choice than E..

It should be D .
Declining itself converys the meaning so no need of another word down there!

(A) After gradual declension down
(B) Following a gradual declension down
(C) After gradual declining down
(D) After gradually declining
(E) Following gradually declining

You can rule out A, B & C for redundant expression. Both declension and declining don't need directional word down.

E would have been better if it was written, 'following a gradual declension', but 'Following gradually declining to about 39 hours in 1970' sounds very awkward.

D is the best choice.

Sirrock-

Just a quick note about your comment below:

"gradual declining seems to be best for me but not exist in the answer sheet."

A common error on SC is looking for your ideal answer. The GMAT will rarely give you your ideal answer as a choice. As a result, we need to focus on figuring out why four answer choices are wrong rather than searching for our correct answer. If you understand the other comments about why the other answers are wrong, you're in great shape. If you don't, go ahead and reply and we'll work through them together.

Brett

I understand D is correct , but I could not understand what is wrong in E
Following in E ,I believe is working as a preposition in this sentence.

Anybody

Thanks

mikeCoolBoy

declension down redundant
ABC out

(D) After gradually declining
(E) Following gradually declining

Can I choose D saying, After is preferred to Following?
Both mean the same no??

What is the OA? Is it really E? For me E sound awkward. I think that gerund can't be after adverb). Looks like D is correct

UPdated OA , correct answer is indeed (D), here is more discussion on the topic -

after-gradual-declension-down-to-about-39-hours-in-1970-the-72013.html

After gradual declension down to about 39 hours in 1970, the workweek in the United States has steadily increased to the point that the average worker now puts in an estimated 164 extra hours of paid labor a year.

(A) After gradual declension down
-Redundunt - Declension means decline, which means moving down.

(B) Following a gradual declension down
- Same as A

(C) After gradual declining down
Same as A & B

(D) After gradually declining
Gradually- Adverb, declining- Verb, adverb modifies verb - Correct

(E) Following gradually declining
Following used as Noun ing.

what role declining plays here
is it gerund or participle
after is preposition/conjuction/adverb


please help

This question tests redundancy and choice of words.

We can eliminate Options A, B and C for the error of redundancy.
We need not use ‘decline’ and ‘down’ together.

Option E is awkward – it uses ‘following’ without a noun after.
Plus, when substituted back into the sentence, it alters the meaning.

Eliminate Option E.

Option D is the best choice.

Hope this helps!

A) After gradual declension down
Declension & Down are the same thing. This is redundant. Hence, this option is incorrect.

(B) Following a gradual declension down
We still have redundancy error with declension and down.

(C) After gradual declining down
declining down - redundancy error.

(D) After gradually declining
Seems okay. Down is now removed, hence rectifying redundant error.

(E) Following gradually declining
Redundancy is resolved by removing down here. But, we have an error with "following"

Following can be used in 3 different ways

as a preposition (followed by a noun): Following months of uncertainty, the government has finally announced its decision.
as an adjective (only before a noun): She arrived the following day.
as a pronoun: Please read the following carefully.

In this sentence, Following is used as a preposition. Following X, Y happened.
Gradually is modifying declining (this is adjective). Entire gradually declining is acting as an adjective modifying the noun - worksheet. As mentioned above, we should have a noun after "following'. For this reason, this option is incorrect.

Hi ,
Thanks for your valueabe input , however I would like to correct your reasoning for option D & E.
Declining is not a verb here because it is not preceded by any auxiliary verb (is, was, are etc.) rather declining acts as a gerund here ,and gradually modifies declining as it tells how the decline is happening.

Thanks
Happy learning
.