As the Federal government's deficit grows, analysts project that the

Question

As the Federal government's deficit grows, analysts project that  the extra cost to the Treasury Department in higher interest rates is well over 50 basis points per year .

A. the extra cost to the Treasury Department in higher interest rates is well over 50 basis points per year

B. the extra cost to the Treasury Department, incurred in higher interest rates, is going to be well over an extra 50 basis points per year

C. the Treasury Department will face higher interest rates, well over an extra 50 basis points per year

D. higher interest rates will cost the Treasury Department well over an extra 50 basis points per year

E. well over an extra 50 basis points per year will be the cost that is going to be borne by the Treasury Department

MichaelS · Answer

This is a very interesting question. One of the easiest splits among the answer choices to spot is that each choice has a different verb, "is"/"is going to be"/"will cost" etc. Verb tense isn't my favorite place to start, because the rules for tense admit so many exceptions, but the other differences among the answer choices don't offer any firmer ground, so let's start here.

Consider the structure  As X, Y , where  X  and  Y  represent noun clauses, and "as" means "at the same time as." Here are two examples: 
 Example 1  As Academy members and invited guests leave their seats, they will be replaced by hired seat-fillers. 
 Example 2  As Academy members and invited guests leave their seats, they are replaced by hired seat-fillers.

Each of these is correct for a different circumstance.  Example 1 , which uses simple present tense in the X portion and a simple future tense in the Y portion is the more common. It shows the combination of tenses appropriate for writing about a specific future action or event, say next year's Oscar ceremony.
 Example 2 , which uses simple present tense in both portions is appropriate for writing about a general rule, say the a rule for all Oscar ceremonies.

Example 1  is appropriate here. So eliminate answers A and B. I won't say much about E here, since it has no partisans, so let's focus on C and D. One problem with C is that the phrase "well over an extra 50 basis points per year" seems to be an appositive, and so more or less synonymous with the phrase "interest rates." This is wrong, the interest rates are not "well over an extra 50 basis points a year", the  increase  in the interest rates is "well over an extra 50 basis points a year." That leaves D.

I think that D sounds horrible, by the way, but if this were an actual GMAT questions, I'd choose D even so.

viks4gmat · Answer

i chose D too, thanks for clarifying the answer Michael. Can you elucidate on why D sounds horrible... i dint quite catch an error in D... so it would help pick your brain on this....

MichaelS · Answer

Sorry to take a while to respond. For the foreseeable future I'll spend just a couple of hours a week here, so I may not get right back to you on a question. I hope that that changes at some point; I'd love to spend more time here.

Now, about your question,  Can you elucidate on why D sounds horrible?

Well, I don't want to make to much of this, because D is clearly the best answer, but I find the expression  well over an extra 50 basis points per year  a bit clumsy. It has quite a few modifiers before and after the noun, and the noun gets lost in there. But OK, sometimes the correct answers to real GMAT SC questions aren't any too lovely.

I also don't like the word  extra , as it seems redundant. But we shouldn't even consider concision and clarity of expression until we've sorted out other issues, so we never have to wrestle with them here. All things considered, D is well within the bounds of GMAT style for correct answers.

This question makes the case that a sound process, working from the differences among the answers, is much better than direct appeal to what sounds best, even if you have a very good ear.

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

There are three issues in this sentence.

(1) The sentence is not concise.

(2) The sentence unnecessarily uses passive voice and should use active voice.

(3) The sentence unnecessarily inserts space between the subject and verb, which makes understanding the sentence more difficult.

A. the sentence could be made more direct by saying  X will cost Treasury Y  instead of saying  the extra cost to Treasury in X is Y

B. the phrase  is going to be well over  is wordy as  going  and  to be  convey the same idea

C. the phrase  well over an extra 50 basis points per year  awkwardly modifies the higher interest rates and breaks the flow of the sentence

D. the sentence is concise and uses active voice

E. the sentence unnecessarily uses passive voice

VerbalBot · Answer

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As the Federal government's deficit grows, analysts project that the

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As the Federal government's deficit grows, analysts project that the

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