After gradual declension down to about 39 hours in 1970, the

Question

After gradual declension down  to about 39 hours in 1970, the workweek in the United States has steadily increased to the point that the average worker now puts in an estimated 164 extra hours of paid labor a year.

(A) After gradual declension down

(B) Following a gradual declension down

(C) After gradual declining down

(D) After gradually declining

(E) Following gradually declining

amitdgr · Accepted Answer

First, we can eliminate options A,B and C declining down/ declension down is redundant usage. decline means down. Following gradually declining in option E is wrong usage. So that leaves us with D. ------------------------------------------------ gradual declining is wrong .. because "gradual" is an adjective and it cannot modify verb "declining". "gradually" is the adverb and it can correctly modify the verb "declining". Hope this helps

FatRiverPuff · Answer

Declension and decline are not the same thing.

I'm going with D.

GODSPEED · Answer

After gradual declension down  to about 39 hours in 1970, the workweek in the United States has steadily increased to the point that the average worker now puts in an estimated 164 extra hours of paid labor a year.

(A) After gradual  declension down  - Redundant 
(B) Following a gradual  declension down  - Redundant 
(C) After gradual  declining down - Redundant 
(D) After gradually declining - IMO D 
(E)  Following  gradually declining - doesnt fit into the original sentence, which says:"......has steadily increased to the point...." doesn't go with following

lys8207 · Answer

After gradual declension down  to about 39 hours in 1970, the workweek in the United States has steadily increased to the point that the average worker now puts in an estimated 164 extra hours of paid labor a year.

(A) After gradual declension down
(B) Following a gradual declension down
(C) After gradual declining down
(D) After gradually declining
(E) Following gradually declining

in og 11th, the explanation for E says "phrase must be introduced by a preposition(after), not a participle (following)"

can anyone explain in detail about choice E compared to D? I do not even understand what the answer choice intends.

mikeCoolBoy · Answer

following is a participle that modifies the workweek in the United states. This seems to indicate that the workweek followed sth.

temp33 · Answer

this is pretty clearly D... you have a similar question in OG11

sridhar · Answer

D.. Declining down is wordy.. that leaves us with D and E. and D is a way better choice than E..

psychomath · Answer

It should be D . 
Declining itself converys the meaning so no need of another word down there!

scheol79 · Answer

(A) After gradual declension down
(B) Following a gradual declension down
(C) After gradual declining down
(D) After gradually declining
(E) Following gradually declining

You can rule out A, B & C for redundant expression. Both declension and declining don't need directional word down.

E would have been better if it was written, 'following a gradual declension', but 'Following gradually declining to about 39 hours in 1970' sounds very awkward.

D is the best choice.

BKimball · Answer

Sirrock-

Just a quick note about your comment below:

"gradual declining seems to be best for me but not exist in the answer sheet."

A common error on SC is looking for your ideal answer. The GMAT will rarely give you your ideal answer as a choice. As a result, we need to focus on figuring out why four answer choices are wrong rather than searching for our correct answer. If you understand the other comments about why the other answers are wrong, you're in great shape. If you don't, go ahead and reply and we'll work through them together.

Brett

282552 · Answer

I understand D is correct , but I could not understand what is wrong in E
 Following   in E ,I believe is working as a preposition in this sentence.

Anybody

Thanks

paidlukkha · Answer

mikeCoolBoy

declension down redundant 
ABC out

(D) After gradually declining
(E) Following gradually declining

Can I choose D saying, After is preferred to Following?
Both mean the same no??

Konstantin1983 · Answer

What is the OA? Is it really E? For me E sound awkward. I think that gerund can't be after adverb). Looks like D is correct

Abhishek009 · Answer

UPdated OA , correct answer is indeed (D), here is more discussion on the topic - after-gradual-declension-down-to-about-39-hours-in-1970-the-72013.html

imnareshk · Answer

After gradual declension down to about 39 hours in 1970, the workweek in the United States has steadily increased to the point that the average worker now puts in an estimated 164 extra hours of paid labor a year.

(A) After gradual declension down
-Redundunt - Declension means decline, which means moving down.

(B) Following a gradual declension down
- Same as A

(C) After gradual declining down
Same as A & B

(D) After gradually declining
Gradually- Adverb, declining- Verb, adverb modifies verb - Correct

(E) Following gradually declining
Following used as Noun ing.

sameeruce08 · Answer

what role declining plays here 
is it gerund or participle
after is preposition/conjuction/adverb

please help

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

This question tests  redundancy  and choice of words.

We can  eliminate   Options A, B and C  for the error of redundancy. 
We need not use ‘decline’ and ‘down’ together.

Option E  is awkward – it uses ‘following’ without a noun after. 
Plus, when substituted back into the sentence, it alters the meaning.

Eliminate   Option E.

Option D  is the best choice.

Hope this helps!

satireQ · Answer

A) After gradual declension down
Declension & Down are the same thing. This is redundant. Hence, this option is incorrect.

(B) Following a gradual declension down
We still have redundancy error with declension and down.

(C) After gradual declining down
declining down - redundancy error.

(D) After gradually declining
Seems okay. Down is now removed, hence rectifying redundant error.

(E) Following gradually declining
Redundancy is resolved by removing down here. But, we have an error with "following"

Following  can be used in 3 different ways

as a preposition (followed by a noun): Following months of uncertainty, the government has finally announced its decision.
as an adjective (only before a noun): She arrived the following day.
as a pronoun: Please read the following carefully.

In this sentence,  Following  is used as a preposition. Following X, Y happened. 
Gradually is modifying declining (this is adjective). Entire gradually declining is acting as an adjective modifying the noun - worksheet. As mentioned above, we should have a noun after "following'. For this reason, this option is incorrect.

Ahmed9955 · Answer

Hi , Thanks for your valueabe input , however I would like to correct your reasoning for option D & E. Declining is not a verb here because it is not preceded by any auxiliary verb (is, was, are etc.) rather declining acts as a gerund here ,and gradually modifies declining as it tells how the decline is happening. Thanks

Happy learning .

After gradual declension down to about 39 hours in 1970, the

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

After gradual declension down to about 39 hours in 1970, the

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards