Last visit was: 01 May 2026, 15:08

It is currently 01 May 2026, 15:08

Toolkit

Practice Tests

Sentence Correction (SC - EA only)

GMAT Club Daily Prep

Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.

Go to My Error Log Learn more

Request Expert Reply

Confirm Cancel

Back to Forum

Create Topic

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

1 2 3

ng2

Joined: 03 Jul 2017

Last visit: 28 Sep 2017

Posts: 23

Own Kudos:

[1]

Given Kudos: 13

Location: India

Concentration: Operations, Leadership

Schools: AIM Manila '20 Booth '20 Carey '20 ISB'22

GMAT 1: 700 Q48 V42 Verified score

GPA: 3.85

WE:Operations (Consumer Electronics)

Schools: AIM Manila '20 Booth '20 Carey '20 ISB'22

GMAT 1: 700 Q48 V42 Verified score

Posts: 23

Kudos: 13

[1]

28 Sep 2017, 07:27

Kudos

Bookmarks

santro789

I thought the higher interest rate is the subject here. Can someone explain why 'higher interest rate' is not considered as subject ?

Lets look at this sentence in this way

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

so now we need to ask the question what does 'that' refer to?

'That' will only refer to its nearest noun, which in this case will be factors. Hence the subject is factors and not 'A higher interest rate'
Hope that helps.

~~~~~~ consider giving Kudos if you like the post ~~~~~~

Balkrishna

Joined: 17 Aug 2018

Last visit: 13 May 2022

Posts: 48

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 308

Status:Chartered Accountant

Location: India

WE:Accounting (Consulting)

Posts: 48

Kudos: 50

12 Dec 2019, 23:08

Kudos

Bookmarks

SaraiGMAT

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.

Why it is necessary for keep to modify factors and not one of the factors?

Comparison is also clear as it has been used in the later part of the sentence. Following is the comparison.
Interest rate (one of the factors) keeps the housing market from spiraling out of control, as interest rate did earlier in the decade.

Why can't singular verb be used for one of the factors?

EducationAisle

Joined: 27 Mar 2010

Last visit: 30 Apr 2026

Posts: 3,908

Own Kudos:

3,586

[1]

Given Kudos: 159

Location: India

Schools: ISB

GPA: 3.31

Expert

Expert reply

Schools: ISB

Posts: 3,908

Kudos: 3,586

[1]

13 Dec 2019, 00:59

Kudos

Bookmarks

Balkrishna

Why it is necessary for keep to modify factors and not one of the factors?

Hi Balkrishna, this is an extremely common pattern tested on GMAT and hence, it might be a good idea to make yourself comfortable with it.

The way to interpret this sentence is:

- there are many factors that keep the housing market from spiraling out of control.

- a higher interest rate is one of those factors.

You might also want to read my related post on a variation of this kind of construct.

Balkrishna

Joined: 17 Aug 2018

Last visit: 13 May 2022

Posts: 48

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 308

Status:Chartered Accountant

Location: India

WE:Accounting (Consulting)

Posts: 48

Kudos: 50

14 Dec 2019, 04:18

Kudos

Bookmarks

EducationAisle

Balkrishna

Why it is necessary for keep to modify factors and not one of the factors?

Hi EducationAisle,

Thank you for your response.

I understood your point. If we consider factors, then following comparison emerges.
factors keep the housing market from spiraling out of control, as it did earlier in the decade.

Is the above comparison logical? Here, comparison is between the action of keeping the housing market from spiraling out of control. Both the entity in if and then clause must be the same.

Am I making any error in understanding the comparison?

EducationAisle

Joined: 27 Mar 2010

Last visit: 30 Apr 2026

Posts: 3,908

Own Kudos:

3,586

[1]

Given Kudos: 159

Location: India

Schools: ISB

GPA: 3.31

Expert

Expert reply

Schools: ISB

Posts: 3,908

Kudos: 3,586

[1]

14 Dec 2019, 07:04

Kudos

Bookmarks

it refers to a higher interest rate.

aarushisingla

Joined: 23 May 2019

Last visit: 12 Sep 2022

Posts: 39

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 58

Posts: 39

Kudos: 16

16 Dec 2019, 00:22

Kudos

Bookmarks

It is mentioned only one of the factors and therefore, we should you "keeps" instead of "keep" and i guess "that" modifies interest rate. Please tell me where am I wrong ?

EducationAisle

Joined: 27 Mar 2010

Last visit: 30 Apr 2026

Posts: 3,908

Own Kudos:

3,586

Given Kudos: 159

Location: India

Schools: ISB

GPA: 3.31

Expert

Expert reply

Schools: ISB

Posts: 3,908

Kudos: 3,586

16 Dec 2019, 00:46

Kudos

Bookmarks

aarushisingla

It is mentioned only one of the factors and therefore, we should you "keeps" instead of "keep"

Hi Aarushi, the way to read this is:

....only one of the factors that keep...

So, there are many factors; a higher interest rate is only one of those factors.

On the other hand, the following sentence would justify keeps:

A higher interest rate is the only one among the various economic factors that keeps the housing market from spiraling out of control.

Here it is very clear that there is only one factor that keeps the housing market from spiraling out of control: a higher interest rate.

DJ101

Joined: 04 Jan 2020

Last visit: 25 Nov 2020

Posts: 3

Given Kudos: 9

Posts: 3

Kudos: 0

30 May 2020, 05:00

Kudos

Bookmarks

Hello All,

I am a bit confused here...I chose option 3 thinking one is singular and therefore keeps is correct but the solution says since factors is plural it should be keep..is there any way to decide between options like these

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.

1.keeps the housing market from spiraling out of control, like it did

2.keep the housing market from spiraling out of control, as it did ---> correct choice

3.keeps the housing market from spiraling out of control, as it did

4.keep the housing market from spiraling out of control, like

5.keep the housing market from spiraling out of control, like it did

AndrewN

Volunteer Expert

Joined: 16 May 2019

Last visit: 29 Mar 2025

Posts: 3,490

Own Kudos:

7,672

[2]

Given Kudos: 500

Expert

Expert reply

Posts: 3,490

Kudos: 7,672

[2]

30 May 2020, 10:00

Kudos

Bookmarks

DJ101

Hello, DJ101. This question is discussed in a separate thread, here, and there are a few pages of dialogue on it, so I hope you can find a post that resonates with you there. I will say, to be brief, that proper agreement of these prepositional phrases is dictated by the article, a/the, that precedes the subject of the sentence. In this case, the subject is a higher interest rate, not the higher interest rate, so a plural verb agreement, one that agrees with the object of the preposition, factors, is appropriate:

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

As for like versus as, I will leave that discussion to the thread whose link I provided above. I hope it helps.

Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew

EducationAisle

Joined: 27 Mar 2010

Last visit: 30 Apr 2026

Posts: 3,908

Own Kudos:

3,586

Given Kudos: 159

Location: India

Schools: ISB

GPA: 3.31

Expert

Expert reply

Schools: ISB

Posts: 3,908

Kudos: 3,586

31 May 2020, 03:54

Kudos

Bookmarks

DJ101

Hi DJ101, the way to interpret such sentences is:

There are many factors that keep the housing market from spiraling out of control; a higher interest rate is one of those factors.

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

Induvr09

Joined: 24 Mar 2019

Last visit: 06 Sep 2022

Posts: 6

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 17

Posts: 6

Kudos: 2

05 Jul 2022, 15:06

Kudos

Bookmarks

Why isn't "E" the correct option ? Not sure, about the correct usage of "Like" and "As" though. When to use which one?
Also, if option E was : "keep the housing market from spiraling out of control, like it did", would it still be incorrect?

EducationAisle

Joined: 27 Mar 2010

Last visit: 30 Apr 2026

Posts: 3,908

Own Kudos:

3,586

[1]

Given Kudos: 159

Location: India

Schools: ISB

GPA: 3.31

Expert

Expert reply

Schools: ISB

Posts: 3,908

Kudos: 3,586

[1]

06 Jul 2022, 04:40

Kudos

Bookmarks

Induvr09

Indeed, the usage of like is a big red flag in E.

Like can never be followed by a "clause"; basically the portion of the sentence using like cannot have a verb.

In E like is followed by a clause "it did" (did is a verb). This is a no-go.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses the topic of as vs like, its application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.

nivivacious

Joined: 10 Mar 2015

Last visit: 18 Aug 2024

Posts: 238

Own Kudos:

313

Given Kudos: 175

Location: India

Concentration: Strategy, Marketing

GPA: 3.5

WE:Advertising (Advertising and PR)

Posts: 238

Kudos: 313

22 Aug 2023, 20:58

Kudos

Bookmarks

x2suresh

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 earlier

E) keep the housing market from spiraling out of control, like it did earlier

I felt one of the key things to look out for was not to select something because it 'sounds' correct.
LIKE here is wrong, as it cannot compare phrases. It needs to be AS. So eliminate: A, D and E
that here is the relative pronoun for FACTORS and thus needs the plural verb ie KEEP
It is not about "is only one of". For context.. Something is only one of the Many that keep
Refrain from choosing C even though it 'sounds' better.