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Although the rise in the Producer Price Index was greater than expected, most analysts agreed that the index was unlikely to continue going up and that inflation remained essentially under control.

A. that the index was unlikely to continue going up and that inflation remained Parallel construction. “that x and that y.”

B. that it was unlikely for the index continuing to go up and for inflation to remain Not parallel

C. that the index was unlikely to continue to go up, with inflation to remain Not parallel

D. on the unlikelihood that the index would continue going up and that inflation remained Not parallel

E. on the unlikelihood that the index would continue to go up and for inflation to remain Not parallel

- Nitha
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Hey experts, Is there any grammatical error in option D apart from meaning error that both the 2 events were unlikely?
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Hey experts, Is there any grammatical error in option D apart from meaning error that both the 2 events were unlikely?

Hello waytowharton,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the only concrete error in Option D is the meaning one, however, the construction "on the unlikelihood that" is needlessly wordy and indirect, rendering it awkward and redundant.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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hi GMATNinja and other instructors
I would like to ask a question.
what does this interpretation in OG 2022 mean?
D. Compare agreed on the unlikelihood that the index would continue going up in this version with agreed that the index was unlikely to continue going up in the original, best version of the sentence. Note that with the former wording, unlike the latter wording, it is unclear whether it is meant to say that analysts agreed that the index was unlikely to continue to go up or that they agreed on whether the index was likely or whether it was unlikely to go up.

i don't see any ambiguity here.
why does OG said that it is unclear whether it is meant to say they agreed on whether the index was likely or whether it was unlikely to go up?

unlikelihood means " be unlikely that xxxx" ,so agreed on the unlikelihood that the index would continue going up should mean that they agreed on it was unlikely to go up

looking forward to you reply.
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Quote:
Although the rise in the Producer Price Index was greater than expected, most analysts agreed that the index was unlikely to continue going up and that inflation remained essentially under control.

A. that the index was unlikely to continue going up and that inflation remained
B. that it was unlikely for the index continuing to go up and for inflation to remain
C. that the index was unlikely to continue to go up, with inflation to remain
D. on the unlikelihood that the index would continue going up and that inflation remained
E. on the unlikelihood that the index would continue to go up and for inflation to remain
Hi Experts,
Can you explain why the correct choice did not consider the hypothetical 'would' though there is a past activities (agreed)?
Thanks__
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Quote:
Although the rise in the Producer Price Index was greater than expected, most analysts agreed that the index was unlikely to continue going up and that inflation remained essentially under control.

A. that the index was unlikely to continue going up and that inflation remained
B. that it was unlikely for the index continuing to go up and for inflation to remain
C. that the index was unlikely to continue to go up, with inflation to remain
D. on the unlikelihood that the index would continue going up and that inflation remained
E. on the unlikelihood that the index would continue to go up and for inflation to remain
Hi Experts,
Can we cross out choice D and E as these use few random words (most analysts agreed on the unlikelihood) that has no meaning?
Thanks__
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The Index and Inflation

(A) CORRECT
(B) Parallelism / Meaning; Idiom (unlikely for)
(C) Meaning / Modifier (X, with Y)
(D) Parallelism / Meaning
(E) Parallelism / Meaning; Idiom (unlikelihood for); Parallelism: X and Y

First glance
There is a split between agreed that and agreed on, indicating that this problem is testing Structure and Meaning.

Issues
(1) Parallelism / Meaning

The structure of the sentence provides hints about the intended meaning. The first clause describes a negative situation that has already happened, and the second clause makes a prediction of what is to come.

The contrast word although indicates that the prediction involves something positive. The prediction lists two good things that the analysts agree on: The index is unlikely to keep rising, and inflation will likely stay under control.

Regarding the 2nd sentence - The sentence must clearly label the first part as unlikely to occur (as that would be positive) and the second as likely to occur (As that would be positive also)

(A) agreed that the index was unlikely … and that inflation remained
(B) agreed that it was unlikely for the index … and for inflation to remain
(C) agreed that the index was unlikely … , with inflation to remain
(D) agreed on the unlikelihood that the index … and that inflation remained
(E) agreed on the unlikelihood that the index … and for inflation to remain

Answers (D) and (E) claim that analysts agreed on the unlikelihood … of the two things. This structure incorrectly implies that the inflation is unlikely to remain under control. Eliminate answers (D) and (E) for this meaning error.

Answer (B) changes the structure but still illogically labels both predictions as unlikely. The root phrase it was unlikely applies to the two parallel elements for the index… and for inflation … . Therefore both elements are illogically described as being unlikely to occur.. Eliminate choice (B) for this meaning error.

(2) Meaning / Modifier: X, with Y

Answer choice (C) uses comma with to introduce the concept that inflation will remain steady.

The phrase with inflation to remain essentially stable appears to be describing the preceding clause, that the index was unlikely to continue to go up.

It’s not clear what that description actually means.

Does the stable inflation cause the index to stop rising?
OR
Does the index plateauing cause the inflation to stabilize?
Or
are they just two events that happen to occur at the same time?

It’s not clear. Eliminate answer choice (C) for this ambiguity of meaning.

(3) Parallelism: X and Y
Answer choice (E) breaks parallelism because the subordinate clause that the index is not parallel to the prepositional phrase for inflation. Eliminate choice (E) for this parallelism issue.

(4) Idiom: unlikely for / unlikelihood for
Answer choice (B) uses the phrase unlikely for, which is an incorrect idiom.
Answer choice (E) lists two things using the root phrase unlikelihood. The first listed item uses the correct idiom, unlikelihood that, but the second uses the incorrect idiom, unlikelihood for.

The Correct Answer
Correct answer (A) uses proper parallelism to clearly describes two predictions: that the index was unlikely to continue going up and that inflation remained essentially under control. It also uses the proper idiom unlikely to.
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RSYD
hi GMATNinja and other instructors
I would like to ask a question.
what does this interpretation in OG 2022 mean?
D. Compare agreed on the unlikelihood that the index would continue going up in this version with agreed that the index was unlikely to continue going up in the original, best version of the sentence. Note that with the former wording, unlike the latter wording, it is unclear whether it is meant to say that analysts agreed that the index was unlikely to continue to go up or that they agreed on whether the index was likely or whether it was unlikely to go up.

i don't see any ambiguity here.
why does OG said that it is unclear whether it is meant to say they agreed on whether the index was likely or whether it was unlikely to go up?

unlikelihood means " be unlikely that xxxx" ,so agreed on the unlikelihood that the index would continue going up should mean that they agreed on it was unlikely to go up

looking forward to you reply.
You want to take those OG explanations with a grain -- or many grains -- of salt. Sometimes they're decent. Other times? Not so much. The explanations aren't written by the same people who wrote the questions -- usually, the explanations are produced by random contractors hired by Wiley Publishing, and GMAC has nothing to do with those explanations at all.

Anyway, I agree with you here. The problem in (D) isn't that it's ambiguous. The problem is that's incoherent.

Take another look at the relevant clause:

Quote:
(D) Most analysts agreed on the unlikelihood that the index would continue going up and that inflation remained essentially under control.
First, it doesn't really make sense to agree on an "unlikelihood." You can agree that something will happen. You can agree on a compromise. But agreeing on an unlikelihood? That's illogical.

And even if you could agree on an "unlikelihood," the sentence as written seems to say that the two portions in red are unlikely. It's unlikely that the index will continue going up. That's fine. But it's also unlikely that inflation remained under control. The whole point of the sentence is that although the PPI was up, inflation remained under control! Answer (D) conveys the opposite.

So there's no ambiguity here. This sentence is clearly nonsense.

I hope that helps!
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GMATNinja
RSYD
hi and other instructors
I would like to ask a question.
what does this interpretation in OG 2022 mean?
D. Compare agreed on the unlikelihood that the index would continue going up in this version with agreed that the index was unlikely to continue going up in the original, best version of the sentence. Note that with the former wording, unlike the latter wording, it is unclear whether it is meant to say that analysts agreed that the index was unlikely to continue to go up or that they agreed on whether the index was likely or whether it was unlikely to go up.

i don't see any ambiguity here.
why does OG said that it is unclear whether it is meant to say they agreed on whether the index was likely or whether it was unlikely to go up?

unlikelihood means " be unlikely that xxxx" ,so agreed on the unlikelihood that the index would continue going up should mean that they agreed on it was unlikely to go up

looking forward to you reply.
You want to take those OG explanations with a grain -- or many grains -- of salt. Sometimes they're decent. Other times? Not so much. The explanations aren't written by the same people who wrote the questions -- usually, the explanations are produced by random contractors hired by Wiley Publishing, and GMAC has nothing to do with those explanations at all.

Anyway, I agree with you here. The problem in (D) isn't that it's ambiguous. The problem is that's incoherent.

Take another look at the relevant clause:

Quote:
(D) Most analysts agreed on the unlikelihood that the index would continue going up and that inflation remained essentially under control.
First, it doesn't really make sense to agree on an "unlikelihood." You can agree that something will happen. You can agree on a compromise. But agreeing on an unlikelihood? That's illogical.

And even if you could agree on an "unlikelihood," the sentence as written seems to say that the two portions in red are unlikely. It's unlikely that the index will continue going up. That's fine. But it's also unlikely that inflation remained under control. The whole point of the sentence is that although the PPI was up, inflation remained under control! Answer (D) conveys the opposite.

So there's no ambiguity here. This sentence is clearly nonsense.

I hope that helps!
Thanks a lot! Have a nice day!
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Is 'continue going up' in option A correct?
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surabhimohan12
Is 'continue going up' in option A correct?
Well, it's an official question and option A is the right answer. So, everything in option A is correct :).

What's your actual doubt Surabhi?
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EMPOWERgmatVerbal
Hello Everyone!

This is a great example of a GMAT question that focuses on PARALLELISM! Let's start off by doing a quick scan over the options and highlighting any major differences we see in orange:

Although the rise in the Producer Price Index was greater than expected, most analysts agreed that the index was unlikely to continue going up and that inflation remained essentially under control.

A. that the index was unlikely to continue going up and that inflation remained
B. that it was unlikely for the index continuing to go up and for inflation to remain
C. that the index was unlikely to continue to go up, with inflation to remain
D. on the unlikelihood that the index would continue going up and that inflation remained
E. on the unlikelihood that the index would continue to go up and for inflation to remain

After a quick scan over the options, a few key differences jump out:

1. that / on the unlikelihood that
2. continue / continuing / would continue
3. that / for / with
4. remained / to remain


If we look more carefully at the sentence, we can spot what type of question this is:

Although the rise in the Producer Price Index was greater than expected, most analysts agreed that the index was unlikely to continue going up and that inflation remained essentially under control.

When looking at the sentence as a whole, we see that the underlined portion contains the 2 things that analysts agree on - and those 2 things MUST be parallel! Any time you see a grouping of items, parallelism is a good place to start! Let's check each option to ensure the 2 items are parallel:

A. that the index was unlikely to continue going up and that inflation remained --> PARALLEL

B. that it was unlikely for the index continuing to go up and for inflation to remain --> NOT PARALLEL

C. that the index was unlikely to continue to go up, with inflation to remain --> NOT PARALLEL

D. on the unlikelihood that the index would continue going up and that inflation remained --> NOT PARALLEL

E. on the unlikelihood that the index would continue to go up and for inflation to remain --> NOT PARALLEL

There you have it - option A is the only one that uses parallel structure for both items! If you can identify what type of SC question you're dealing with, it is a lot easier to check for common mistakes (parallelism, modifiers, subject-verb agreement, etc.).


Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.

Hi. Could you please comment on the use of 'on the unlikelihood that'? I was confused and I felt it was wordy and yes, not parallel with 'that inflation remained'
Is 'on the unlikelihood that' idiomatically correct?
Also, would 'On the unlikelihood of the index going up' be correct?
Looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks!
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RenB
Is 'on the unlikelihood that' idiomatically correct?
Hi RenB,

Although it does lead to other issues, on the unlikelihood that is idiomatic.
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Although the rise in the Producer Price Index was greater than expected, most analysts agreed that the index was unlikely to continue going up and that inflation remained essentially under control.

A. that the index was unlikely to continue going up and that inflation remained
B. that it was unlikely for the index continuing to go up and for inflation to remain
C. that the index was unlikely to continue to go up, with inflation to remain
D. on the unlikelihood that the index would continue going up and that inflation remained
E. on the unlikelihood that the index would continue to go up and for inflation to remain


SC11850.01
OG2020 NEW QUESTION

GMATNinja, KarishmaB, I get why A is the correct answer but I was wondering what's wrong with C. How do i be sure that the analysts where indeed saying two things that the index will not go up and that inflation will remain under control and not just one thing that index will not go up, with the result that inflation will remain under contol .
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does 'agreed on the unlikelihood' in option D and E apply to 2nd part of parallelism as well and hence it creates an illogical meaning in both options and gets eliminated ?
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RohitSaluja
GMATNinja, KarishmaB, I get why A is the correct answer but I was wondering what's wrong with C. How do i be sure that the analysts where indeed saying two things that the index will not go up and that inflation will remain under control and not just one thing that index will not go up, with the result that inflation will remain under contol .

Yeah, (C) isn't terrible. We attempted to explain why (A) is better in this post: https://gmatclub.com/forum/although-the-rise-in-the-producer-price-index-was-greater-than-expecte-294387-20.html#p2619992. Check it out, and let us know if you still have questions!
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My doubt is that we have assumed the analysts to agree on the two topics, but what if they are linked, (option C that the index was unlikely to go up, with inflation to remain...). How is option C incorrect and what would the correct answer look like in that case.
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