According to The Stock Trader's Almanac, the performance of stocks in

Question

Project SC Butler: Day 150: Sentence Correction (SC2) 
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According to The Stock Trader's Almanac, the performance of stocks in January foretells  how the market performs throughout the year , but statistics experts warn that causation is impossible to prove.

A) how the market performs throughout the year

B) the market's performing throughout the year

C) the performance of the year's market

D) what the market will perform like in the year

E) how the market will perform during the year

generis · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION • HIGHLIGHTS The key word in this prompt is foretells in the non-underlined portion of the sentence. To foretell is to predict. By definition, to predict something is to talk about the future . The correct answer will include a verb in the future tense. THE PROMPT THE OPTIONS • the verb performs is in the present tense. We need future tense. Eliminate A • the market's performing is not idiomatic • compare to (E) and recall that GMAC usually prefers the noun form of a word, in this case, performance. Eliminate B • what, exactly IS "the performance of the market"? -- Can a prediction foretell a performance? The whole thing? The thing itself? -- or can a prediction foretell the way in which or how the market will perform? (This one.) -- the difference is subtle. (E) is better. • the performance of the year's market is unidiomatic and a train wreck -- the performance of the market gets obscured by the construction -- although "year's" can absolutely be used in that possessive sense, the construction does not work well in this option. Examples that are better: -- the year's average annual temperature -- The year's cotton crop • this phrasing is not as good as that in E Eliminate C • what the market will perform like is dreadful. -- What the market will perform: stunts? Cartwheels? An opera? -- OR ...perform like ? As in a something that performs like something else? -- what the market will perform like makes it sound as if the market were a circus bear • HOW the market will perform (in option E) heads off the inanity (look it up) created by what . . . like • IN is not standard to refer to the duration of a time period. The preposition throughout or during is preferred Eliminate D • Option E correctly uses how to describe the manner in which the market will perform • correctly uses future tense, and • correctly uses during The answer is E. COMMENTS GMAC tests future tense. One example is here. . If I were a Tarot card reader and were to see a happy event in my client's future six months from now, would I say: During the coming year, you are happy. or During the coming year, you will be happy. I would say #2. I speak in the present about the future and I am not hypothesizing (at least in my mystic's opinion

). I would say, "During the coming year, in about six months, you will be happy." The future hasn't arrived yet. Same deal with this question. This situation is not a general truth, so present tense doesn't work. As a very general rule, predictions take will . (And hypotheticals, which are not at issue here, take would .) Finally, comparison is a smart way to go with answers that are off but explaining why is difficult. Use comparison. Options B, C, and D are not as effective as option E. Keby1nja , welcome to SC Butler.

I will award kudos to all explanations that were posted before 9:39 PDT. (I checked.) If your answer is incorrect but your reasoning is good, you get kudos. Happy kudos.

Annet1524 · Answer

According to The Stock Trader's Almanac, the performance of stocks in January foretells how the market performs throughout the year, but statistics experts warn that causation is impossible to prove.

A) how the market performs throughout the year -  strange structure

B) the market's performing throughout the year - correct answer

C) the performance  of the year's market  - wrong meaning

D) what the market will perform  like  in the year - wrong use of like, changed the meaning

E) how the market will perform during the year strange structure

XyLan · Answer

Sentence Structure  
 Subject  -  Verb 
  According to The Stock Trader's Almanac,  
 the performance of stocks in January   foretells  
  how the market will perform during the year  , but  statistics experts   warn  
 that  causation   is  impossible to prove.

Issues:  
   B and C     Possessiveness of inanimate things distorts the coherent meaning

The keyword in this prompt is foretells in the non-underlined portion of the sentence.
To foretell is To Predict.
By definition, to predict something is to talk about the  future .
The correct answer will include a verb in the  future-tense . - Picked the pertinent info from generis.

Answer choice analysis:   
A) how the market performs throughout the year
   Tense error.

B) the  market's performing  throughout the year
   Possessiveness of inanimate things distorts the coherent meaning

C) the performance of the  year's market 
   Possessiveness of inanimate things distorts the coherent meaning

D) what the market will perform  like  in the year
   Colloquial usage. Higly non-GMAT structure. OUT

E) how the market  will  perform  during  the year
   During + will is a proper pairing  in this context  of the future-action relating to the future-event. 
Ex: 
 I will visit Venice during the last month of the year. - Correct.
The visit(  future-action ) is coined with the upcoming event - last month of the year(  Future-time )

J2S2019 · Answer

IMO correct option is A

According to The Stock Trader's Almanac, the performance of stocks in January foretells how the market performs throughout the year, but statistics experts warn that causation is impossible to prove.

A) how the market performs throughout the year -  simple present tense is justified to be used for a generalized fact, by generalized fact here, i mean the conception of "The Stock Trader's Almanac" - Correct

B) the market's performing throughout the year -  Possessive usage is incorrect

C) the performance of the year's market -  same as B

D) what the market will perform like in the year -  "perform like" is awkward usage. - Incorrect

E) how the market will perform during the year -  will perform is not the correct tense used here.

Keby1nja · Answer

According to The Stock Trader's Almanac, the performance of stocks in January foretells how the market performs throughout the year, but statistics experts warn that causation is impossible to prove.

A) how the market  performs  throughout the year - INCORRECT

AS THE PROMPT "FORETELLS", THE CORRECT TENSE TO BE USED IS FUTURE TENSE (I.E. WILL...)

B) the market's  performing  throughout the year - INCORRECT

THE USE OF A GERUND HERE IS WRONG WHEN THERE'S A BETTER NOUN TO REPRESENT IT (I.E. "PERFORMANCE")

C) the  performance of the year's market  - INCORRECT

INDIRECT AND WORDY.

D) what the market will perform  like  in the year - INCORRECT

LIKE SHOULD ONLY BE USED FOR COMPARING TWO COMPARABLE THINGS

E) how the market  will perform  during the year - CORRECT

USES "WILL PERFORM" TO INDICATE A FUTURE FORECAST
 
   Posted from my mobile device

Abhishek009 · Answer

With (E) for the same reasons as described in (E).

Xin Cho · Answer

I was quite torn between A and E. For that reason, I will firstly describe my reasoning for eliminating the other options.

I was not entirely sure whether "market's performing" is acting as possessive or as "is performing". Correct me if I am wrong but I believe GMAT does not use contractions and thus it is acting as possessive.  Wrong

All seems to be well until we get to "year's market". As if there was a market where one could buy "years".  Wrong

Firstly, we definitively want to use "how will the market perform". The structure "what the XXX will perform" seems to indicate that the market will put on a show (think theater performance). Secondly, "perform like" is an another suspect. Especially when it is used in conjunction with time duration. We cannot substitute "like" for "throughout" or "during".  Wrong

Between A and E, I decided to go with E. I wish I had a profound reason why but I really don't. The answer A reminds me of zero conditional that is used for something that is always correct. For instance, if you mix blue and yellow, you get green. Notice, that it does not use "you will get green". Even though this case is not a conditional, the "foretells" seems to signal future. Thus, future simple tense seems to be the best choice.

ccheryn · Answer

According to The Stock Trader's Almanac, the performance of stocks in January foretells how the market performs throughout the year, but statistics experts warn that causation is impossible to prove.

A) how the market performs throughout the year  ( they are expecting for the coming up year so, future tense is apt as compared to E option, so wrong)

B) the market's performing throughout the year  ( foretells the performing, its a meaning error)

C) the performance of the year's market  (its ugly and wordy, so it causes the meaning error hence. wrong)

D) what the market will perform like in the year  ( usage of like is wrong)

E) how the market will perform during the year  (right, properly uses the futuretense against present tense in opiton A, as these are very close options. i go with E)

generis · Answer

I have posted the official explanation  HERE

According to The Stock Trader's Almanac, the performance of stocks in

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According to The Stock Trader's Almanac, the performance of stocks in

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