According to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, federal revenues de

Question

According to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, federal revenues derived from taxation equaled nearly 21% of the GDP in 2000, significantly  more than they did  in 2010.

(A) more than they did

(B) more than it did

(C) more than they were

(D) higher than

(E) higher than they were

Source: optimusprep

mvictor · Accepted Answer

According to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, federal revenues derived from taxation equaled nearly 21% of the GDP in 2000, significantly more than they did in 2010.

(A)more than they did
(B)more than it did
(C)more than they were
(D)higher than
(E) higher than they were

if you compare 2 different things, you use A is Higher than B
On the following account, we can eliminate D and E.

Comparison is between FR in 2000 and FR in 2010. They correctly refers to the noun revenues. It is incorrect, since it is in singular form -> B eliminated. 
Between A and C, A is better because the comparing verb is "equaled" and not "were equaling". The latter one would have made C correct.

arhumsid · Answer

1) Plural subject ' federal revenues ', therefore ' They '
2) Verb is ' equaled ', which is parallel to ' did '

Hence A.

Can someone please elucidate the usage of More vs Higher ?

mmelendez · Answer

I will give official explanation shortly, as well as some information. On the same token, please continue discussing and answering.

I will also post new questions everyday, mostly 700 level ones.

Guilio · Answer

The question tests pronouns and parallelism.

The noun to be compared here is "revenues", which clearly is plural - cross off B. To use the correct parallelism, we should follow the verb tense from the first part of the sentence - answer A.

Regarding the question "more" vs. "higher". We could also use higher here, but then the sentence would need to be rephrased, i.e. federal revenues derived from taxation were higher in 2000 than   in 2010.

My 2 cents.

Best,
Jay

sytabish · Answer

Hi  mmelendez ,

If you some info on the usage of more vs higher, can u please explain ?

Thanks!

mmelendez · Answer

Here is the explanation

The best way to solve this sentence is through removing some of the additional information that it provides as a means to get to its core. Therefore, take out -nearly 21% of the GDP in 2000- when reading the possible responses. This will make it clear that we need to say, “federal revenues equaled more than they equaled” or “federal revenues equaled more than they did.”

(A) Correct.
(B) Singular pronoun “it” does not agree with the plural referent “revenues”
(C) “They were” implies “were equaling,” but since “equaling” is nowhere in the sentence it cannot be implied.
(D) “Higher” cannot be used to describe “equaled,” instead the adverb more should be used.

Parallelism: in order to maintain parallel structure, both sides of the comparison need to be written in the same way (see above). The correct answer needs to say “than they did”

(E) “Higher” cannot be used to describe “equaled,” instead the adverb more should be used.

“They were” implies “were equaling,” but since “equaling” is nowhere in the sentence it cannot be implied.

The correct answer is A

i hope this helps in clarifying any doubt

jurin · Answer

mmelendez, I disagree with your explanation on why option D is wrong. IMO, for economic quantities, it's perfectly OK to use  higher  for an increase.

D would have been correct if it reads:  Higher than they did

Can an expert comments on this?

Nightmare007 · Answer

Need did for equaled 
So answer is D.
Federal revenues - they .
Percentages can either be more than or higher than.

Prateek176 · Answer

hazelnut  ,  generis  ,  daagh

The OA provided seems incorrect. D seems perfectly fine. Any comments?

GittinGud · Answer

Can someone please explain why C is incorrect? I discarded A because it says: 'significantly more than federal revenues derived from taxation equaled in 2010' . This seems incorrect to me. Experts please help. Thanks!

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