Because of the sharp increases in the price of gold and silver, the

Question

Because of the sharp increases in the price of gold and silver, the value of Monica Taylor's portfolio rose  as her daughter-in-law's dropped .

(A) as her daughter-in-law's dropped

(B) while her daughter-in-law's has dropped

(C) as there was a drop in her daughter-in-law's

(D) while that of her daughter-in-law's dropped

(E) as it dropped for her daughter-in-law's

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Nikhil · Accepted Answer

Because of the sharp increases in the price of gold and silver, the value of Monica Taylor's portfolio rose as her daughter-in-law's dropped.

A) as her daughter-in-law's dropped

Incorrectly implies the portfolio of her daughter-in-law's dropped. It should convey that the value of her her daughter-in-law's portfolio dropped.  INCORRECT

B) while her daughter-in-law's has dropped

Same error as in option A  INCORRECT

C) as there was a drop in her daughter-in-law's

Same error as in option A  INCORRECT

D) while  that  of her daughter-in-law's dropped

"that" refers to value and "daughter-in-law's" implies portfolio. So it conveys the intended meaning that value of daughter-in-law's portfolio dropped.  CORRECT

E)  as  it dropped for her daughter-in-law's

Use of "because" and "as" is redundant. Same error as in option A  INCORRECT

Hence option D

vineethk929 · Answer

Imo D... that of refers to value ..and daughter' refers to portfolio....n moreover those are simultaneous actions...so while has to be used..

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shrikant1512 · Answer

Correct ans D
A. Wrong comparison between value of Monica Taylor's portfolio and her daughter-in-law's portfolio.
B. Same as A as well as parallelism error of tenses. 
C. There was drop is wrong. Comparison error exists.
E. It refers to value. Value for portfolio is wrong. 
Since both actions are happening simultaneously so As or while both will work.
D conveys meaning in an appropriate way.

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vasuca10 · Answer

Because of the sharp increases in the price of gold and silver, the value of Monica Taylor's portfolio rose as her daughter-in-law's dropped.

A. as her daughter-in-law's dropped -  INCORRECT usage of as and because in the same sentence is redundant
 
B. while her daughter-in-law's has dropped -  INCORRECT as meaning error. It is the value of Portfolio that has dropped and not the portfolio itself is dropped

C. as there was a drop in her daughter-in-law's  INCORRECT usage of as and because in the same sentence is redundant

D. while that of her daughter-in-law's dropped -  CORRECT. This answer choice is correctly saying that Value of Monica Taylor's portfolio rose while the value of portfolio of her daughter in law dropped. Perfect Comparison

E. as it dropped for her daughter-in-law's  INCORRECT usage of as and because in the same sentence is redundant

RamSep · Answer

Notice that comparing entities are "value of one's portfolio" and "value of the other one's portfolio", so D is correct.

dcummins · Answer

Split 1 - Unclear referants/ comparisons
 A. as her  daughter-in-law's  dropped

--> Should be "as the value of her daughter in-law's dropped"

B. while her  daughter-in-law's  has dropped

C.  as  there was a drop in her  daughter-in-law's

-->as expresses simultaneity whereas we just want to show contrast between the rise and drop in values.

D. while  that   (value)  of her  daughter-in-law's   (portfolio)  dropped

E.  as   it  dropped for her  daughter-in-law's

MSIMBA · Answer

D is only explanatory choice
That of her explains about "Portfolio"

mba757 · Answer

Can an expert please explain E?

(E) as it dropped for her daughter-in-law's
Does "it" not refer to "value" properly? Or does it and there is a lack of parallelism?

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

In (E), "the value" does not stand alone. Rather, what's mentioned is a particular value, the value of Monica Taylor's portfolio.

Thus, "it" must refer to the entire noun phrase "the value of Monica Taylor's portfolio."

Therefore, the meaning conveyed is that the value of Monica Taylor's portfolio rose as the value of Monica Taylor's portfolio dropped for her daughter-in-law's.

That meaning is, of course, nonsensical.

mba757 · Answer

Thank you  MartyTargetTestPrep !

I think I still have some doubt.. Why does "it" have to refer back to the entire noun phrase - "the value of Monica Taylor's portfolio." Why can't "it" refer just to "the value?" Do all personal pronouns have to refer back to the entire noun phrase?

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

There is just one value mentioned, the value of Monica Taylor's portfolio. It does not make sense to break out part of the phrase that names that value and decide that "it" refers to "the value." "The value" is not mentioned in the sentence.

Personal pronouns do not always have to refer back to entire noun phrases, but when a noun phrase is about a specific noun, a pronoun can't refer back to a different noun.

Think about it.

For instance, if the phrase "John's house" is used, "it" in the same sentence cannot refer to just "house," because houses in general were not mentioned, only one specific house was, "John's house."

This topic is discussed in the Comparisons chapter of the TTP SC course.

MHIKER · Answer

The comparison should be between the value of the portfolios not between portfolios. A, B, and C are eliminated. E has "as" as and because of has the same meaning so using those two in sentences is redundant. D is the answer with the perfect comparison.

Maldonado · Answer

I wonder whether below would be correct

"while her daughter-in-law's dropped"

Furthermore, I believe this question should be marked as 650+ difficulty (if not Low-700) as it tests the subtle generalization that "that of" should not be used in the presence of a possessive...

Thx

CEdward · Answer

This is a good question. What you are suggesting is an ellipsis, in that case I wonder bout whether it is saying 'while her daughter-in-law's VALUE dropped'...to me that seems nonsensical. Or is it really saying 'while her daughter-in-law's portfolio value dropped'

I too wonder about the use of demonstrative pronouns. Does the demonstrative pronoun always stand in for the noun AND its modifiers? In this example there was a bit of a cheat because "daughter-in-law's" stands for portfolio, but what about any other sentence where we have 'that of'/'those of' in which we don't have this 'cheat'

e.g. "value of Monica Taylor's portfolio" or just "value"

GMATNinja   generis

GKomoku · Answer

hello  Nikhil , how are you?

I have a little doubt, could you please help me to clarify it, related to "as" and "because" is redundant in the same sentence.
In original sentence to me according to the meaning conveyed "as" is used to show two simultaneous actions and can be replaced by "while" or "during" hence it's not redundant as long as it conveys the intended meaning correctly, right?
If "as" used to show reason here then it can be replaced with "because" and will be indeed redundant.

thank you for reply!

sanjeevsinha082 · Answer

Because of the sharp increases in the price of gold and silver, the value of Monica Taylor's portfolio rose as her daughter-in-law's dropped.

(A) as her daughter-in-law's dropped

(B) while her daughter-in-law's has dropped

(C) as there was a drop in her daughter-in-law's

(D) while that of her daughter-in-law's dropped

(E) as it dropped for her daughter-in-law's

While can be used to provide addition information, As can be used to compare. Here we are providing additional information. Hence use while. A,C,E Out . in B it is not clear what has dropped Value or Portfolio ?

D is correct Ans

thangvietnam · Answer

Because of the sharp increases in the price of gold and silver, the value of Monica Taylor's portfolio rose  as her daughter-in-law's dropped .

(A) as her daughter-in-law's dropped

(B) while her daughter-in-law's has dropped

(C) as there was a drop in her daughter-in-law's

(D) while that of her daughter-in-law's dropped

(E) as it dropped for her daughter-in-law

the point is that if we keep possessive such as "daughter in law's " , only the noun following preceding possessive is implied. this mean in choice A, the interpretation is

" as her daughter in law's portforlio.

this make absurd meaning

choice B, C and E are similar and so, all of them are gone.

I name this POSSESSIVE ELLIPSIS

kadamhari825 · Answer

Hello  MartyTargetTestPrep   sayantanc2k

i have couple of queries.
1. I understood why 'it' can not refer back to only 'the value' but then how 'that' can refer back to 'the value' ONLY instead of 'the value of Monica taylor's portfolio in option D?
2. Can we drop option A,C AND E because they are using  as  to show kind of simultaneous actions?

Thanks.

Vatsal7794 · Answer

Hi Experts

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how 'that' can refer back to 'the value' instead of 'the value of Monica taylor's portfolio'?

As in option e it is referring to "the value of Monica taylor's portfolio"

Can you please clear this doubt?

MartyTargetTestPrep

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