The bank holds $3 billion in loans that are seriously delinquent or in

The bank holds $3 billion in loans that are seriously delinquent or in such trouble that they do not expect payments when due.

A. they do not expect payments when The option implies that the bank does not expect payments. In this case, the plural pronoun “they” cannot be used.

B. it does not expect payments when it is The option refers to “payments”. So the singular verb “it” cannot be used.

C. it does not expect payments to be made when they are Correct use of pronouns

D. payments are not to be expected to be paid when Payments are not paid; they are made.

E. payments are not expected to be paid when they will be Payments are not paid; they are made.

-Nitha Jay

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that the bank does not expect payments to be made when they are due.

Concepts tested here: Subject-Verb Agreement + Pronouns + Tenses + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• The simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature.
• The simple future tense is used to refer to actions that will take place in the future.

A: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "bank" with the plural pronoun "they".

B: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun "payments" with the singular pronoun "it". Moreover, Option B incorrectly refers to the plural noun "payments" with the singular verb "is".

C: Correct. This answer choice correctly refers to the singular noun "bank" with the singular pronoun "it". Moreover, Option C correctly refers to the plural noun "payments" with the plural pronoun "they" and the plural verb "are". Further, Option C uses the phrase "does not expect payments to be made", conveying the intended meaning - that the bank practically does not expect payments to be made when they are due. Additionally, Option C correctly uses the simple present tense verb "are" to refer to an action that takes place in the current time frame. Besides, Option C is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "are not to be expected"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the bank should not expect payments to be made when they are due; the intended meaning is that the bank practically does not expect payments to be made when they are due. Further, Option D uses the passive voice construction "payments are not to be expected", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

E: This answer choice incorrectly uses the simple future tense verb "will be" to refer to an action taking place in the current time frame; please remember, the simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature, and the simple future tense is used to refer to actions that will take place in the future. Further, Option E uses the passive voice construction "payments are not expected to be paid", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

Hence, C is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

I think it is "C" but I'm not great with SC.

I say "C" because 'they' refers to bank, but bank is singular (and neuter) so
we need an 'it' so choice A is out. D and E just seem clumsy. B uses another 'it' to refer to payments - which is plural so you would need a 'they'

The bank holds $3 billion in loans that are seriously delinquent or in such trouble that they do not expect payments when due.

(A) they do not expect payments when --- they refers to bank which is incorrect as bank is singular and should use it
(B) it does not expect payments when it is -- ambiguous usage of second it . the second it should be replaced by "they" as it should refer to payments .
(C) it does not expect payments to be made when they are -- correct . it refers to bank and they refers to payments
(D) payments are not to be expected to be paid when -- payments and paid are redundant usages.
(E) payments are not expected to be paid when they will be -- payments and paid are redundant usages.

I have a doubt regarding these question:
If we break down question into clauses then
clause 1 The bank holds $3 billion in loans
clause 2: that are seriously delinquent or in such trouble <== In clause 2 'that' refers to loans hence followed by plural verb "are"
clause 3: that it does not expect payments to be made when they are due <== In clause 3 "that" refers to "trouble" so it should be provided by singular verb,but in option "C" we are introducing pronoun "It" after "that"
then the verb form "does not" will be for pronoun "It" rather than "trouble"

If my understanding for relative pronoun "that" is correct then option "C" would be wrong..

There are two "that"s in the sentence -- first "that" is a modifier and the second "that" is a subordinating conjunction (not a relative pronoun). Here, the second "that" is used to link the dependent clause with the main clause. Hence, use of the second "that" is correct.

Its C.

The bank holds $3 billion in loans that are seriously delinquent or in such trouble that they do not expect payments when due.

(A) they do not expect payments when-- use of they for bank -- incorrect
(B) it does not expect payments when it is -it..it .. ambiguous -- incorrect
(C) it does not expect payments to be made when they are -- can't find any issues yet..hold it
(D) payments are not to be expected to be paid when -- payments to be paid -- redundancy .
(E) payments are not expected to be paid when they will be -- payments to be paid -- redundancy .

The bank holds $3 billion in loans that are seriously delinquent or in such trouble that they do not expect payments when due.

(A) they do not expect payments when - The bank - Singular
(B) it does not expect payments when it is -> it doesn't agree in number with payments
(C) it does not expect payments to be made when they are - Perfect
(D) payments are not to be expected to be paid when -> payments are not expected to be paid when -> correct
(E) payments are not expected to be paid when they will be -> "when" refers to be the time instance -> the time instance "when" loans are due.
Also who is not expecting? Bank or who else. The original sentence was quite clear on that. Bank doesn't expect that.

In the option C, I think that they is ambiguous as it refers to either 'Payments' or 'Loans'. Please suggest.

Please use pronoun ambiguity (such as in this case where they can refer to either 'Payments' or 'Loans') as a last resort to dis-regard a choice.

One should learn to distinguish between pronoun ambiguity (as is the case here, where a pronoun has multiple antecedents) and orphan pronoun (where pronoun has no antecedent).

Pronoun ambiguity is acceptable on GMAT; orphan pronoun is always incorrect.

p.s. Our book SC Nirvana discusses pronouns, their application and examples in significant detail. If you can PM you email, I can send you the corresponding section.

The bank holds $3 billion in loans that are seriously delinquent or in such trouble that they do not expect payments when due.

(A) they do not expect payments when - They must be It as Ban is singular
(B) it does not expect payments when it is - second it refers to payments hence it must be plural
(C) it does not expect payments to be made when they are - Correct.
(D) payments are not to be expected to be paid when - Passive and wordy
(E) payments are not expected to be paid when they will be - passive and wordy

The bank holds $3 billion in loans that are seriously delinquent or in such trouble that they do not expect payments when due.

Issue: Pronoun reference

Analysis:
1. We need singular pronoun "it" to refer to bank (since there is only single bank)
2. As the word "payment(s)" and it's pronoun is also underlined, we need to make sure that they agree in number as well

(A) they do not expect payments when
- "they" is incorrect pronoun

(B) it does not expect payments when it is
- "it is" is in the wrong form; it should be "they are"

(C) it does not expect payments to be made when they are

(D) payments are not to be expected to be paid when
- passive voice

(E) payments are not expected to be paid when they will be
- "payments" and "to be paid" is redundant
- "will" is the wrong form the verb here

Answer: (C)

Here Bank is Singular. Then how can we use "expect" ? It should have been "expects" right ??

Kindly explain anybody ................

When you negate the simple present tense sentences, you don't use verb with "s".

For example
Positive: Jack eats ice-cream every day.
Negative: Jack doesn’t eat ice-cream every day.

Likewise,
Positive: The bank holds $3 billion in loans that are seriously delinquent or in such trouble that it expects payments to be made when they are due


Negative: The bank holds $3 billion in loans that are seriously delinquent or in such trouble that it (bank) does not expect payments to be made when they (payments) are due.

Does that answer your question?

Press Kudos if it does

I went for E and found that it is wrong.
Please help. How can I eliminate option E?

Hi jackspire, E says:

payments are not expected to be paid when they will be due.

The issue with this is that E is passive voice. Here, it is not clear as to who is not expected to make payments.

The original sentence clearly intends to depict that the bank is not expected to make payments. That meaning is not coming out in E.

Concealing the doer of the action is often a big problem with passive voice constructs.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses Passive voice, its application and examples in significant detail. If someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.

Hi GMATGuruNY , VeritasKarishma, ChiranjeevSingh, Skywalker18, egmat, TheEconomistGMAT, GMATNinjaTwo GMATNinja generis hazelnut mikemcgarry

Could you please explain whether "will be" in option E is wrong?
(E) payments are not expected to be paid when they will be