Although the fear last year that the trade zone might break apart had

Question

Although the fear last year that the trade zone might break apart  had receded, the risk now could be prolonged stagnation of the kind that has plagued Argentina for the past two decades .

(A) had receded, the risk now could be prolonged stagnation of the kind that has plagued Argentina for the past two decades

(B) had receded, the risk now could be prolonged stagnation as it has plagued Argentina for the past two decades

(C) receded, the risk now could be prolonged stagnation, just as it has plagued Argentina for the past two decades

(D) has receded, the risk now could be prolonged stagnation, like it has plagued Argentina for the past two decades

(E) has receded, the risk now could be prolonged stagnation, like that which has plagued Argentina for the past two decades

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/business/global/03iht-euro03.html

For now, at least, the bank remains unwilling or unable to wield the more powerful weapons that many economists say are needed to jolt the Continent out of recession. Although the big fear last year that the euro zone might break apart  has receded, the danger now could be prolonged stagnation like that which has plagued Japan for most of the last two decades .

daagh · Accepted Answer

“like that which has plagued Argentina for the past two decades” is not a clause. It is a noun phrase; ‘that’ is the noun and what follows after the noun is a relative clause modifying the noun ‘that’ Of course, in D ‘like’ is followed by a clause. So E is the best.

LaxAvenger · Answer

A vs E

Ladies and Gentlemen...let's get ready to rumbleeeeeeeeeeeee

A:  
had receded here indicates that an event took place before another event in the past; but no other event of the past is being introduced, --> "the risk NOW", which indicates the present.

E:  
has receded clearly links an event that has started in the past to the present "the risk now.." where it is being replaced by another risk.

--> E wins.

The other parts of these two options show no difference that would lead to an error in either one, in my opinion.

Helium · Answer

The easiest decision point on this question relates to the tense. The past perfect “had receded” is illogical in (A) and (B). There is nothing before which the fear receded!

It could either have been completed at some point in the past (using the simple past receded), or more likely given the context of this sentence, be ongoing with the present perfect (has receded).

In (C) and (D) the “it” is problematic as it creates a reference error – the pronoun seems to be referring back to the risk, when the goal is to compare the current stagnation with that in Argentina.

Only (E), uses the logical tense “has receded” and uses “like” to make it clear that the comparison is between the possible prolonged stagnation in this cases, with the stagnation that took place in Argentina for the past two decades.

Answer is (E).

saicharantej99 · Answer

E is correct because

1) Had cannot be used as there were no two actions happening in the past
2) "Stagnation of the kind" is incorrect - 'of the kind' suggests that this stagnation is a smaller category of a bigger set of stagnations that plagued Argentina. But here we are comparing two exactly similar situations that happened in two different countries. Hence, the usage of "like that" in option E is better.

PiyushK · Answer

in (E) construction ' like that which' is quite awkward which introduces nonrestrictive clause always; even comma is missing;

jlgdr · Answer

A versus E anyone? Would like a back to back celebrity deathmatch between both answer choices Cheers J

PiyushK · Answer

I searched "like that which" on google and it presented "About 3,04,00,000 results". I think E is correct.

perpetualplayer · Answer

@ jlgdr,

My 2 cent thought

"A" is out because "had receded" in my opinion makes little sense with the presence of word "now". Whatever was the first event that occurred in past, has its effect and "has receded" fits that logic completely.
Although I dont know why "E" is correct. I picked up "D"

E&OE

bb61 · Answer

I chose C, because I know for sure that like+ phrase 
but in D and E we have clause after like!!

A and B are out because of Had receded.

kanigmat011 · Answer

Hi Experts,

Like when used for comparison should always be followed by noun
But here its followed by that (relative pronoun)
Is this construction valid in GMAT 
Please advice

daagh · Answer

'Like' when used for comparison can be followed by a noun, or a pronoun or a noun+ noun modifier. It does not matter even if a relative clause that has a verb follows and modifies the noun as the clause is after all a modifier in the context

narendran1990 · Answer

daagh : I was able to rule out option A & B, because past perfect is not needed. In option D, like is followed by a clause instead of a noun. Found option C to be 'precise'. In option E, the sentence construction is awkward, 'that' is an essential modifier and when which is preceded by a comma, it becomes a non essential modifier and I presume 'which' can also be used as an essential modifier. Why in this particular option both the modifiers are necessary.?

abhimahna · Answer

Just as should always be followed by so. So, I ruled out C as there was no 'so' in it.

As we know like should NEVER be followed by a clause. So, D is out.

I know in E like that which is a weird construction but GMAC says always go for the BEST option.

So, E is the BEST option .

Also, in E we have like that and then something that modifies this 'that' which is the phrase starting with 'which'. hence E is the Best .

AnotherGmater · Answer

Can someone please explain why not C? Is there any wrong in using simple past tense just "receded" since it happened in the last year?

sayantanc2k · Answer

The problem in C is the incorrect use of pronoun "it". One may argue that "stagnation" is the antecedent of "it", but the "prolonged stagnation" that is expected was not the one that plagued Argentina - it was a different stagnation. For such usages the pronoun "that" is used - "that" creates a  new copy  of the antecedent.

The car I have is identical to  that  standing outside.... correct.
I have a car just as it is standing outside.... wrong.

AbhinavBankhwal · Answer

mikemcgarry

Hi Mike,

I have stumbled upon this question couple of times now, and every time I have marked the wrong answer.

Could you please provide an elaborate explanation as to how 'had receded' and has receded' make a difference. I not being able to resolve the tense properly.

Maybe this is because I an being able to clearly comprehend the meaning of the phrase 'Although the fear last year that the trade zone might break apart'

Two questions - 
1) Did the fear persist last year and it receded last year itself? In this case 'had receded'
2) Did the fear persist last year but it recede now? In this case 'has receded'

Hope I am thinking in the right direction. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear AbhinavBankhwal , I'm happy to respond. :-)

This is a fantastic question, as many Veritas questions are. Here's a relevant blog article: GMAT Verb Tenses: The Perfect Tenses I suspect you don't understand how the perfect tenses work. The past perfect, " had receded ," has a relatively limited use. It is only used when we want to show that one past action came before another past action. That is the only use of the past perfect. After the comma, everything is in the present & future, so the past perfect is 100% incorrect. The present perfect is tricky. It is certainly used when an action began in the past and is still going on in the present. The Earth has been revolving around the Sun for more than 4/5 billion years . The present perfect is also used when the action is in the past, but somehow the effects or influence of the action are still at work in the present. It provides a contrast to the simple past, which implies no continuing effect. a) I read Moby Dick . b) I have read Moby Dick . Both are 100% grammatically correct. They have different implications. Version (a) has the implication of " Been there, done that !" Version (a) implies that the entire experience of this novel is in the past for me and that I have moved on. By contrast, version (b), which is what I actually would say, implies that the book somehow has an ongoing affect in my life, even though the action of reading it was in the past. In this sentence, the fear " has receded "--the action of receding is in the past, but somehow, it's not forgotten. The threat of economic trouble has morphed from one form to another. My friend, you need to learn much more about the prefect tenses. I am going to recommend Magoosh. We have a large library of SC lesson videos covering all the grammar you need to know. Here's a sample SC question: The publication of Joyce's Ulysses When you submit your answer, you will see a full explanation video and related lessons. The immediate feedback on individual question combined with the extensive lesson library will give you the SC background you need. Does this make sense? Mike :-)

Shiv2016 · Answer

Hello  mikemcgarry ,  GMATNinja , and other experts

I searched a lot about that+which used together and this is what I have understood. Please let me know if this makes sense.

Although the fear last year that the trade zone might break apart had receded, the risk now could be prolonged stagnation of the kind that has plagued Argentina for the past two decades.

Correct option: has receded, the risk now could be prolonged stagnation, like that which has plagued Argentina for the past two decades

1) Although shows a contrast................and is a dependent clause. (Dependent clause,Independent clause)
Although+noun (fear)...............comma noun (that must be parallel to fear).
2) Subject verb pairs:
a) fear......................has receded
b) that (modifies last year)...................might break
c) risk....................could be
d) that (stagnation) ............has plagued

"that which has plagued....." is a dependent clause.

Can we also say: like the one that has plagued..........

examples:
The Northern states were hit by an ice age, like the one that hit the states centuries ago. 
The Northern states were hit by an ice age, like that which hit the states centuries ago.

What are some ways to use "that which " construction?

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear Shiv2016 , I'm happy to respond.

I will remind you, my friend, that it is impossible to arrive at SC mastery simply by learning rules. There inevitably will be parts of the language you don't understand purely through a rule-based approach. My short answer to your question is: you need to read . You need to develop a habit of reading, an hour a day, above and beyond any GMAT-specific preparations you are doing. You need to push yourself to read high-level sophisticated material, so that you develop intuition for such structures. It's through this intuition, in addition to knowing the rules, that mastery will come. The word " that " has several different roles. See: GMAT Sentence Correction: The Many Uses of ‘That’ In this structure, we are using " that " as a demonstrative pronoun . The pronoun " that " is often used in comparisons in this way: Canada has a modest and small capital, like that of Australia. The first symphony of Johannes Brahms was an unqualified success throughout Europe, unlike that of any other composer. Because the pronoun " that " refers to an element that is similar to, but not identical to, something the first part of the sentence, the word needs clarifying modification. In the two sentences above, a prepositional phrase was enough, but sometimes, we need a full clause to clarify the identify of the target of the pronoun. In this case, we use the " that which " structure. 1) Although the fear last year that the trade zone might break apart has receded, the risk now could be prolonged stagnation, like that which has plagued Argentina for the past two decades . 2) Although the fear last year that the trade zone might break apart has receded, the risk now could be prolonged stagnation, of the kind that has plagued Argentina for the past two decades . 3) Although the fear last year that the trade zone might break apart has receded, the risk now could be prolonged stagnation, like the one that has plagued Argentina for the past two decades . Here, #1 is perfectly correct, elegant, and exactly as a well-spoken person would phrase it. Versions #2 and #3 are casual and inferior: one would hear these embarrassing forms in colloquial American conversation, especially among people who are not well-spoken, but these are far too informal and casual ever to appear on the GMAT. Does all this make sense? Mike

Although the fear last year that the trade zone might break apart had

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Although the fear last year that the trade zone might break apart had

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