A surge in new home sales and a drop in weekly unemployment claims

Hello everyone,

Need help in understanding how does the first part underlined not have a main verb? My understanding is that "surge" and "drop" are verbs.

A surge in new home sales and a drop in weekly unemployment claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as some analysts previously thought

"Surge" and "drop" *can* be verbs, but like many words, they can have more than usage. Any time you see a word preceded by an article (a/an/the), it is either a noun or a modifier preceding a noun: "a kick in the gut," "the signing of the Declaration of Independence," "the last blow to my self-esteem," etc.
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A word is preceded by "a" or "an" or "the" it is either a noun or modifier to a noun. Is it a universal rule and true for every single case? Please confirm

I'm always nervous about declaring anything a universal rule, since there are often odd little exceptions, but no exceptions come to mind on this one. I think you're safe to apply this universally. The whole point of articles is to introduce nouns. In some languages (such as Swedish), the article is actually part of the noun itself!
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Hello Everyone!

Let's take a look at this sentence, one issue at a time, to determine which option is the right answer! First, here's the original question, with the major differences between options highlighted in orange:

A surge in new home sales and a drop in weekly unemployment claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as some analysts previously thought.


(A) claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as some analysts previously thought
(B) claims suggests that the economy might not be so weak as some analysts have previously thought
(C) claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as have been previously thought by some analysts
(D) claims, suggesting about the economy that it might not be so weak as previously thought by some analysts
(E) claims, suggesting the economy might not be as weak as previously thought to be by some analysts

A quick glance over the options tells us we have 2 major issues to deal with:

1. Verb Tense: suggest / suggests / suggesting
2. Active vs. Passive Voice: some analysts previously thought / previously thought by some analysts

Let's start with #1 on our list: verb tense. We need to make sure that the verb agrees with the subject, and that we're not creating an accidental sentence fragment:

(A) claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as some analysts previously thought

This is OKAY because it uses a plural verb for a plural subject (A surge in new home sales and a drop in weekly unemployment claims).

(B) claims suggests that the economy might not be so weak as some analysts have previously thought

This is INCORRECT because it uses a singular verb for a plural subject, which doesn't agree in number!

(C) claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as have been previously thought by some analysts

This is OKAY because it uses a plural verb for a plural subject (A surge in new home sales and a drop in weekly unemployment claims).

(D) claims, suggesting about the economy that it might not be so weak as previously thought by some analysts

This is INCORRECT because by changing "suggest" to the gerund "suggesting," it eliminates the verb from the sentence - making this a sentence fragment!

(E) claims, suggesting the economy might not be as weak as previously thought to be by some analysts

This is INCORRECT because by changing "suggest" to the gerund "suggesting," it eliminates the verb from the sentence - making this a sentence fragment!

We can eliminate options B, D, and E because they don't use the right verb tense/form to agree with the subject.

Now that we're left with 2 options, let's take a look at #2 on our list: active vs. passive voice. Whenever possible, we MUST use active voice over passive voice. Active voice is clearer, less wordy, and always preferred on the GMAT.

(A) claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as some analysts previously thought

This is CORRECT! It uses the correct verb tense (suggest) and uses active voice!

(C) claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as have been previously thought by some analysts

This is INCORRECT because it uses passive voice instead of active voice, which is a major no-no on the GMAT!

There you go - option A was the correct choice all along!


Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
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EMPOWERgmatVerbal

Could you explain to me whether the answer C will be correct if it is changed to this
claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as HAS (instead of have) been previously thought by some analysts
Thank you so much

Hello icandoit1995!

Thank you for your question!

Unfortunately, changing have to has won't fix option C. The problem with option C isn't the verb - it's that the phrase "have been previously thought by some analysts" is written in passive voice. The GMAT prefers active voice, so option A is our best option.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to tag me at EMPOWERgmatVerbal and I'll be happy to help!
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Dear GMATGuruNY AjiteshArun MartyTargetTestPrep VeritasPrepHailey IanStewart GMATNinja GMATRockstar EducationAisle,

Q1. I reject choice C. because of incorrect tense usage.
(C) claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as have been previously thought by some analysts

"previously" indicates that the tense should be past tense (WAS previously thought), not present perfect tense as is currently written here (HAVE BEEN previously thought)

Is my reasoning correct?

***Q2. SO weak as in choice B. and D. is not wrong, right?
Can the explanation in this link https://gmatclub.com/forum/so-many-as-m ... 16032.html apply here in this question?

varotkorn

Q1. Yes, the present perfect is wrong, and if we did want to use it, we'd have to say "as has been thought." The verb is referring to the previous concept (the weakness of the economy), and this concept can't be plural.

Q2. "So weak . . . as thought" doesn't work. However, the proposed rule in the link you provide isn't the only valid way to use "so (adverb or adjective) as." One fairly normal usage is to say "so X as to Y." For instance, we might say "this beetle is so rare as to be practically unknown" or "we tried not to visit so often as to arouse suspicion."
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[quote="DevilDoggNC"]A surge in new home sales and a drop in weekly unemployment claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as some analysts previously thought.


(A) claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as some analysts previously thought

(B) claims suggests that the economy might not be so weak as some analysts have previously thought

(C) claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as have been previously thought by some analysts

(D) claims, suggesting about the economy that it might not be so weak as previously thought by some analysts

(E) claims, suggesting the economy might not be as weak as previously thought to be by some analysts

This question is based on Subject-Verb agreement and Construction.

The subject of the sentence is not ‘claims’ or ‘surge’ as the first look at it might suggest. The subject is “A surge in new home sales and a drop in weekly unemployment claims”. Since there are two noun phrases joined by the conjunction ‘and’, the subject is plural and must be followed by a verb also in the plural – suggest.

When we do a vertical scan of the options, we se that Options A and C contain the verb ‘suggest’. However, Option C has the bulky, awkward phrase “have been thought to be”. Option A is more straightforward and has the correct comparison – “as weak as some analysts previously thought”. So, Option C can be eliminated. Option A is grammatically and logically appropriate.

Option B contains the singular from of the verb – suggests – which causes subject-verb disagreement. It also contains the wrong tense – have thought. The present perfect tense is not required in this sentence. So, Option B can be eliminated.

Options D and E are both sentence fragments; the latter half of the sentence – “suggesting about the economy……” – is a participle phrase, which might modify the first part of the sentence but does not complete the sentence. Both the options are lacking a verb for the subject. Furthermore, the modifier in D is wordy and awkward. So, Options D and E can also be eliminated.

Therefore, Option A is the most appropriate option.

Jayanthi Kumar.

Hello experts,

What is the meaning of "so x as Y"? And is the usage correct here?

Thank you!

VeritasKarishma GMATNinja generis AndrewN

The correct idiom, one that occurs quite often, is "as [adjective] as" not "so [adjective] as".

The use of the former properly invokes a comparison. In this case, the comparison is between two things: the strength of the economy as suggested by the surge in home sales and the strength of the economy that analysts previously thought about.
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Thanks for your reply.

Do you know what so as means?

Hello, ashmit99. There is at least one case in which so or as can work: so/as much as. However, the two expressions convey different meanings, as explained in this post. Could you swap out the word much for weak to get so weak as? If you find yourself uncomfortable with the idiom but are unsure of it, then count it as a doubt, but do not eliminate the answer right away. Rely on other features of the answer choice if you can to make a more informed decision. It is rare that a GMAT™ SC question will come down to nothing more than one idiom, particularly in more modern questions.

- Andrew
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KarishmaB

(C) claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as have been previously thought by some analysts

Why C is incorrect?
Please help to understand the sentence structure.

Thanks!

Hello Sneha2021,

Happy to help.

The problem with option C isn't the verb - it's that the phrase "have been previously thought by some analysts" is written in passive voice. The GMAT prefers active voice, so option A is our best option.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to tag me at EMPOWERgmatVerbal and I'll be happy to help!
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This is the structure of option (C): X and Y suggest that the economy might not be as weak as have been previously thought by some analysts.

Is the use of 'have' correct here? No, we need the singular 'has'.

What has been previously thought? That the economy is very weak. (It's a single thought)
but now, X and Y suggest that it may not be as weak as previously thought.

Even with the use of 'has' in option (C), option (A) is better because it is direct and active.
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Yes, the problem is definitely with "have." Passive voice is very often used correctly on the GMAT, and in many cases it's actually needed. I'd only eliminate a passive construction if it ruined the meaning or structure of the sentence.
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Hello Sneha2021,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the primary error in Option C is that it incorrectly refers to the singular noun "economy" with the plural noun "have been...thought".

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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