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10 Jun 2021, 23:34
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D
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
35%
(medium)
Question Stats:
66% (01:31) correct
34%
(01:44)
wrong
based on 695
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
A 2011 Cornell University study found that restaurant menus that render prices as numerals without the dollar sign, as in 6.75, encourages customers to spend more than menus that either use the dollar sign, as in $6.75, or that write out everything in words, as in six dollars and seventy-five cents.
A) encourages customers to spend more than menus that either use the dollar sign, as in $6.75, or that write out
B) encourage customers to spend more than menus that either use the dollar sign, as in $6.75, or that write out
C) encourage customers to spend more as compared with menus using either the dollar sign, as in $6.75, or writing out
D) encourage customers to spend more than menus that either use the dollar sign, as in $6.75, or write out
E) encourages customers to spend more as do menus that either use the dollar sign, as in $6.75, or write out
10 Jun 2021, 23:37
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OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
THE PROMPT
Meaning: A study found that restaurant menus in which prices are written a certain way encourage customers to spend more money than menus in which prices are written in two other ways.
Structure?
Subject: menus, plural
→ the that clause that follows menus is an essential modifier of menus and has nothing to do with the verb that should match menus
At times, a that clause does influence the verb, such as when we have one of the Xs.
Sometimes that construction takes a singular verb. Sometimes that construction takes a plural verb.
If you would like to know how that construction works, read my post, here.
→ Verb? Should be encourage, plural.
• Parallelism
We are dealing with the correlative conjunction Either X or Y.
Let's call Either X or Y a "structure."
The idiomatic structure has boundaries, this way: || Either X or Y. ||
The idiomatic structure's beginning signal is the word either.
To maintain parallelism, the word that
(1) must be placed once outside that structure, this way:
THAT || either X or Y ||
or
(2) must be placed twice inside that structure, this way:
|| Either that X or that Y ||
If the word that is placed once outside and once inside, or only once inside, we lose parallelism.
Wrong, once outside, once inside: THAT || either X or that Y ||
→ Native speakers, be careful with this one. You are likely to hear it as unproblematic.
Wrong, once inside: || either that X or Y ||
Wrong, once inside: || either X or that Y ||
• Comparison MORE
→ If you see a comparison with the word more in it, start looking for a than.
Unless the comparative object is absolutely clear without than, in a comparison, the word more must be paired with than.
THE OPTIONS
→ The plural subject menus should be paired with the plural verb encourage, not with the singular encourages.
• parallelism error - Either X or Y
X = use the dollar sign
Y = write out everything in words
→ The word that ruins parallelism because it comes once outside the construction ("that either use") and once inside the construction ("or that write out")
→ Essentially, the use of the word that after the word or breaks the parallelism.
The word that is already placed once "outside" (before) the construction, Either X or Y.
If that is outside a correlative construction, the word "that" distributes to each element, X, and Y.
Now, oddly enough, if the word that is inside a correlative construction (most likely after either and before the X element), the word that does not distribute to the Y element and parallelism is lost.
In correlative conjunctions and other word pairings, whatever comes after the parallelism marker (in this case, EITHER) and applies to the X element does not carry over to the Y element.
Look at the placement of the word that. These two are not parallel:
that either use [before "either"]
or that write out [after "or"]
ELIMINATE A
→ we have exactly the same parallelism problem as that in option A.
The use of that after the word or breaks the parallel structure between either . . . or.
The word that is impermissibly "once outside and once inside" the structure Either X or Y.
ELIMINATE B
→ there is no such thing as more as compared with (ouch)
• parallelism
You can check parallelism in few ways.
The X and Y elements are not parallel.
(1) Look at the words after each constituent.
Either is followed by the dollar sign. ← ← NOUN
Or is followed by writing out everything in words. ←← PARTICIPIAL PHRASE (verbING phrase)
A noun and a participle phrase are not similar parts of speech and hence not parallel.
(2) Look at the words before and after the constituents.
In this sentence, we have using either and or writing out.
Wrong. [Participle EITHER] is not parallel to [OR participle].
We should have either using and or writing out. In this corrected case, both either and or are followed by participle phrases.
• using and writing? Those things aren't verbs. They are adjectives that describe menus.
Present participles (verbING words) can be used as adjectives that modify nouns.
The words using and writing out come from "reduced" relative clauses.
This is a relative clause: that either use
This is a reduced relative clause: either using
If you want to know more about reduced relative clauses with present participle phrases (verbINGs), look at the last example given in this very good short article, here.
You can also search my posts, in which I discuss reduced relative clauses a fair bit.
ELIMINATE C
→ menus encourage is the correct subject-verb pairing
→ more is correctly followed by than
→ the word that lies correctly once outside the construction Either X or Y.
Because the word that is outside the construction, that distributes to both the X and Y elements and keeps them parallel.
KEEP
→ same problem as that in option A
• in a comparison, more requires than
→ in comparisons, do not pair more with as. Pair more with than.
We need more than.
ELIMINATE E
The answer is D.
COMMENTS
Color me gratified.
The quality of these answers is outstanding.
I'd have to bump almost all of you.
Big hint: future aspirants, read the thread.
That three to five minutes of your life will show you different ways of framing the issues that plague these sentences.
Very nicely done, everyone.
Project SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC1)
THE PROMPT
Quote:
• Meaning and structure?
Meaning: A study found that restaurant menus in which prices are written a certain way encourage customers to spend more money than menus in which prices are written in two other ways.
Structure?
Subject: menus, plural
→ the that clause that follows menus is an essential modifier of menus and has nothing to do with the verb that should match menus
At times, a that clause does influence the verb, such as when we have one of the Xs.
Sometimes that construction takes a singular verb. Sometimes that construction takes a plural verb.
If you would like to know how that construction works, read my post, here.
→ Verb? Should be encourage, plural.
• Parallelism
We are dealing with the correlative conjunction Either X or Y.
Let's call Either X or Y a "structure."
The idiomatic structure has boundaries, this way: || Either X or Y. ||
The idiomatic structure's beginning signal is the word either.
To maintain parallelism, the word that
(1) must be placed once outside that structure, this way:
THAT || either X or Y ||
or
(2) must be placed twice inside that structure, this way:
|| Either that X or that Y ||
If the word that is placed once outside and once inside, or only once inside, we lose parallelism.
Wrong, once outside, once inside: THAT || either X or that Y ||
→ Native speakers, be careful with this one. You are likely to hear it as unproblematic.
Wrong, once inside: || either that X or Y ||
Wrong, once inside: || either X or that Y ||
• Comparison MORE
→ If you see a comparison with the word more in it, start looking for a than.
Unless the comparative object is absolutely clear without than, in a comparison, the word more must be paired with than.
THE OPTIONS
Quote:
• subject/verb disagreement
→ The plural subject menus should be paired with the plural verb encourage, not with the singular encourages.
• parallelism error - Either X or Y
X = use the dollar sign
Y = write out everything in words
→ The word that ruins parallelism because it comes once outside the construction ("that either use") and once inside the construction ("or that write out")
→ Essentially, the use of the word that after the word or breaks the parallelism.
The word that is already placed once "outside" (before) the construction, Either X or Y.
If that is outside a correlative construction, the word "that" distributes to each element, X, and Y.
Now, oddly enough, if the word that is inside a correlative construction (most likely after either and before the X element), the word that does not distribute to the Y element and parallelism is lost.
In correlative conjunctions and other word pairings, whatever comes after the parallelism marker (in this case, EITHER) and applies to the X element does not carry over to the Y element.
Look at the placement of the word that. These two are not parallel:
that either use [before "either"]
or that write out [after "or"]
ELIMINATE A
Quote:
• parallelism
→ we have exactly the same parallelism problem as that in option A.
The use of that after the word or breaks the parallel structure between either . . . or.
The word that is impermissibly "once outside and once inside" the structure Either X or Y.
ELIMINATE B
Quote:
• in a comparison, the word more must be paired with the word than
→ there is no such thing as more as compared with (ouch)
• parallelism
You can check parallelism in few ways.
The X and Y elements are not parallel.
(1) Look at the words after each constituent.
Either is followed by the dollar sign. ← ← NOUN
Or is followed by writing out everything in words. ←← PARTICIPIAL PHRASE (verbING phrase)
A noun and a participle phrase are not similar parts of speech and hence not parallel.
(2) Look at the words before and after the constituents.
In this sentence, we have using either and or writing out.
Wrong. [Participle EITHER] is not parallel to [OR participle].
We should have either using and or writing out. In this corrected case, both either and or are followed by participle phrases.
• using and writing? Those things aren't verbs. They are adjectives that describe menus.
Present participles (verbING words) can be used as adjectives that modify nouns.
The words using and writing out come from "reduced" relative clauses.
This is a relative clause: that either use
This is a reduced relative clause: either using
If you want to know more about reduced relative clauses with present participle phrases (verbINGs), look at the last example given in this very good short article, here.
You can also search my posts, in which I discuss reduced relative clauses a fair bit.
ELIMINATE C
Quote:
• I do not see any errors
→ menus encourage is the correct subject-verb pairing
→ more is correctly followed by than
→ the word that lies correctly once outside the construction Either X or Y.
Because the word that is outside the construction, that distributes to both the X and Y elements and keeps them parallel.
KEEP
Quote:
• subject/verb disagreement
→ same problem as that in option A
• in a comparison, more requires than
→ in comparisons, do not pair more with as. Pair more with than.
We need more than.
ELIMINATE E
The answer is D.
COMMENTS
Color me gratified.
The quality of these answers is outstanding.
I'd have to bump almost all of you.
Big hint: future aspirants, read the thread.
That three to five minutes of your life will show you different ways of framing the issues that plague these sentences.
Very nicely done, everyone.
General Discussion
10 Jun 2021, 23:59
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A) SV error -Subject (Restaurant menus ) require Plural verb i.e encourage
Parallelism error (Either use.... or write out .. presence of "that", after or, creates an issue with parallelism .
B) Parallelism issue as explained in A above
C) With comparative words such as More "than" is needed also rather than continuous verb form, present tense is desirable as we are presenting facts
D) Correct choice
E) Same issue as explained in C
D is the right answer IMO
Parallelism error (Either use.... or write out .. presence of "that", after or, creates an issue with parallelism .
B) Parallelism issue as explained in A above
C) With comparative words such as More "than" is needed also rather than continuous verb form, present tense is desirable as we are presenting facts
D) Correct choice
E) Same issue as explained in C
D is the right answer IMO
