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According to some analysts, the gains in the stock market reflect grow

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Dinesh654

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24 Jul 2022, 06:50

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AjiteshArun

lakshya14

Is the use of "had" in (A) correct with the phrase "earlier in the year", making it redundant?

Hi lakshya14,

To add to DanTe02 's points, the had feared could easily stand on its own. That is, we could take the earlier in the year out if we wanted to. However, think about about had feared does. It gives us some reason to think that, at some point in the past, "many had feared {something}". Now, what does earlier in the year do? It makes that time a little more specific. Not as specific as something like "back in March", but it does add information that the had feared itself does not provide us. So we should not really consider earlier in the year redundant. Instead, look at it as something that adds to the meaning of the sentence.

AjiteshArun
Can we accept "had" in choice a based on a noun phrase "earlier in this year", so far I thought "had" requires a past verb to express the timeline effectively. The original sentence only mentions- present and future tense. past perfect is ok in choice A?

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24 Jul 2022, 20:38

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Dinesh654

Hi Dinesh654,

There's no simple answer to this, but generally speaking, the past perfect is used to indicate that something happened before some other (later) time. That time reference, however, may or may not be explicitly included in the sentence, and, even if it is included, we may or may not see a verb in the past tense.

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16 Aug 2022, 06:49

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EMPOWERgmatVerbal

guhancr7

EMPOWERgmatVerbal
(A) that the economy will avoid the recession that many had feared earlier in the year and instead come = PARALLEL
(B) in the economy to avoid the recession, what many feared earlier in the year, rather to come = NOT PARALLEL
(C) in the economy's ability to avoid the recession, something earlier in the year many had feared , and instead to come = NOT PARALLEL
(D) in the economy to avoid the recession many were fearing earlier in the year, and rather to come = NOT PARALLEL
(E) that the economy will avoid the recession that was feared earlier this year by many, with it instead coming = NOT PARALLEL

in the economy to avoid the recession many were fearing earlier in the year, and rather to come
isn't this parallel?

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25 Nov 2022, 09:33

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Can you please guide me in understanding whether any difference in meaning is created when we "that" vs when we don't in this sentence

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29 Nov 2022, 20:09

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Jayshah1997

Can you please guide me in understanding whether any difference in meaning is created when we "that" vs when we don't in this sentence

This post might help: https://gmatclub.com/forum/according-to ... l#p2414835. If you still have questions after reading through it, let us know!

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26 Jan 2023, 03:55

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I'm not sure why in A we can use 'will', I thought it should be 'would' as they were giving this prediction in the past. Could you clarify?

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Piotrek

I'm not sure why in A we can use 'will', I thought it should be 'would' as they were giving this prediction in the past. Could you clarify?

Take another look. The sentence is about what analysts are asserting in the present about "growing confidence" that exists in the present about something that "will" occur in the future.

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26 Jan 2024, 01:57

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bdumpala

According to some analysts, the gains in the stock market reflect growing confidence that the economy will avoid the recession that many had feared earlier in the year and instead come in for a 'soft landing', followed by a gradual increase in the business activity.

(A) that the economy will avoid the recession that many had feared earlier in the year and instead come

(B) in the economy to avoid the recession, what many feared earlier in the year, rather to come

(C) in the economy's ability to avoid the recession, something earlier in the year many had feared, and instead to come

(D) in the economy to avoid the recession many were fearing earlier in the year, and rather to come

(E) that the economy will avoid the recession that was feared earlier this year by many, with it instead coming

KarishmaB, MartyMurray
Can you please help me with this one?
Able to eliminate B and D- because we need 'and' as the gain reflect 2 things. Eliminate C because of the meaning error 'something earlier in the year' modifies recession rather than fear.
1. What is wrong with option D?
2. What is the unidiomatic usage of rather and instead that is being used to eliminate options?
3. Had a doubt regarding- growing confidence in economy v/s gains reflect that economy will- I was not sure sure how to navigate with this split- I think both phrases are right?

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27 Jan 2024, 02:50

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Hello KarishmaB GMATNinja MartyTargetTestPrep egmat EMPOWERgmatVerbal AjiteshArun,

After reading the whole thread, I'm still confused about the use of past perfect "had feared". "According to some analysts, the gains in the stock market reflect growing confidence", with the use of present tense of the verb "reflect", seems to suggest that Analysts say something in the present. So I understood that a simple past of "fear" (i.e. feared) would be more logic.

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27 Jan 2024, 22:06

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MinhChau789

Hi MinhChau789,

That's understandable, as most test prep resources (incorrectly) imply that the past perfect can never be used without some other past time marker. Here's an example of the past perfect being used alone:

1a. Although I had decided to take the GMAT, I now think that the GRE is the better option. ← There are three (complete) verbs in this sentence: had decided (past perfect), think (simple present), and is (simple present).

This sentence tells us (with emphasis) that a certain situation/state existed in the past, and that situation/state has now changed. Using the past tense just wouldn't have the same impact.

1b. Although I decided to take the GMAT, I now think that the GRE is the better option. ← There are three (complete) verbs in this sentence: decided (simple past), think (simple present), and is (simple present).

Here's how I ask my students to approach the past perfect/simple past call (starts at around the 35 min mark):

The short version: It's a relatively safe call, but not an absolute. That is, we should look for other entry points if we want to be sure. For example, in this question, there are other (reliable) reasons to remove option B.