Despite that they were able to calculate faster than ever

Question

Despite that they were able to calculate faster than ever before possible , the earliest computers, built with tubes instead of transistors, were too bulky, expensive, and unreliable to be useful to businesses.

A. Despite that they were able to calculate faster than ever before possible
B. Even though it could calculate faster than previously possible
C. Although faster in its calculating than ever before possible
D. Despite their calculations being faster than ever before possible
E. Despite their unprecedented speed of calculation

Aj85 · Answer

The non-underlined portion indicates that subject is plural (computers), so b and c are wrong. than ever before possible is wrong construction' . Than 'WAS ever before possible' could be right but without verb was // gets distorted. A and D are wrong for using wrong comparisons. Also unprecedented conveys the same meaning as ever before possible. So E is best.

dimri10 · Answer

Despite that they were able to calculate faster than ever before possible, the earliest computers, built with tubes instead of transistors, were too bulky, expensive, and unreliable to be useful to businesses.

A Despite that they were able to calculate faster than ever before possible DESPITE IS NOT APPROPRIATE. IT SED BEFORE A NOUN I.E- DESPITE THEIR "FASTER CALCULATION ABILITY"(NOUN) 
B Even though it could calculate faster than previously possible COMPUTER  S   CAN NOT TAKE IT
C Although faster in its calculating than ever before possible COMPUTER  S   CAN NOT TAKE ITS
D Despite their calculations being faster than ever before possible TOO WORDY-'CALCULATIONS BEING FASTER", THE SHORT TERM IN E S BETTER THAN : FASTER THAN EVER BEFORE POSSIBLE"
E Despite their unprecedented speed of calculation USE DESPITE CORRECTLY ("SPEED OF CALCULATION"=NOUN), USE THERIR TO COMPUTERS, IT'S SHORT AND PRECISE.

crick20002002 · Answer

+1 for E.

An easy question.

Crick

metallicafan · Answer

+1 E

"it" doesn't have antecedent.
E is more concise.

avohden · Answer

This question showed up as a Kaplan question of the day. The OA is E and the explanation given by Kaplan is as follows:

This question presents problems of idiom. "Despite that" in (A) is unidiomatic, and "than ever before possible" in (A), (C), and (D) is awkward. Choice (B) has a clear pronoun reference problem: the singular "it" is used to refer to the plural "computers."

In addition to the errors mentioned above, I believe there are also subject/verb disagreements within the answer choices.

AliciaSierra · Answer

Hi,

I was able to narrow down to option E. But i could not understand why "than ever before possible" is awkward . Could any one of you please help.

I eliminated options on following reasons.

A Despite that they were able to calculate faster than ever before possible --   Despite that they   is wrong.   Despite   should be followed by possessive pronoun.
B Even though it could calculate faster than previously possible--  It   does not agree with   the earliest computers  .  It  is singular and  the earliest computers  is plural.
C Although faster in its calculating than ever before possible. -- Same as C.  Its  is wrong here.
D Despite their calculations being faster than ever before possible -- wordy than Option E .  Being  is avoidable in gmat.
E Despite their unprecedented speed of calculation--   despite their   is perfectly used here.  Their  is plural and goes well with  the earliest computers . Sentence is concise.

Thanks,
Ammu

gmat1393 · Answer

KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Read the Original Sentence Carefully, Looking for Errors:
This sentence contains an idiom error. "Despite" must be followed by a noun, not the word "that." Eliminate (A).

Scan and Group the Answer Choices:

All the choices begin with connectors, and all the connectors are appropriate contrast connectors that set up the logical contrast in the original sentence between the strength and weakness of the earliest computers. The next significant difference among the choices is the pronoun: (B) and (C) use "it" or "its," while (D) and (E) use "their."

Eliminate Wrong Answer Choices:

Eliminate (B) and (C). The noun "computers" must have a plural, not singular, pronoun.

Eliminate (D). It begins correctly, but is unnecessarily longer than (E). Note that (D) uses a weak "being" construction, which is almost always wrong on GMAT Sentence Correction. Also, "faster than ever before possible" is redundant; simply faster than ever would get the job done.

(E) is the correct answer. It follows "despite" with a noun ("speed"), uses the appropriate pronoun, and is clear and concise.

TAKEAWAY: If you encounter an unfamiliar idiom, make a note of it and use it in a sentence about a person or event that is important to you. This kind of practice will help make idiomatic usage second nature.

siddharthkapoor · Answer

Error Analysis:

1. "Despite that they were able to calculate faster than ever before possible" is an awkward construction.

Process of Elimination:

A. Wrong. As explained above.
B. Wrong. singular word "it" is incorrectly used to describe plural word "computers".
C. Wrong. Same error as in B. Also, "Although faster in its calculating than ever before possible" is an awkward construction. 
D. "being" is incorrectly used as a modifier here.
E. Correct. This option is error free and concise.

bansalgaurav · Answer

One of the imp. rule which no one has talked about, is the  usage of "THAN" 
 "Than" compares two nouns. In Qs. containing "than" we need to check the parallel construction. 
Here in (A) Ability (-that they were able to calculate faster) is being compared to a timeline (-ever before), which in my opinion is a wrong comparison.

Besides as an add-on, it helps to  replace the sentence containing "Despite" with "In spite of" and check the construction .

leiluh · Answer

I put D. I really wanted E but didnt know we could use alternate words. Unprecedented wasn't in the original statement.

bansalgaurav · Answer

yupp. In fact, that's a great part about this question.

Despite that they were able to calculate faster than ever

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Despite that they were able to calculate faster than ever

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

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