Bunuel wrote:
Due to countries in a monetary union having to issue debt in a joint currency over which they lack full control, therefore investors become nervous about the financial health of a country, that nation may not be able to finance its debt at the same rate enjoyed by its neighbors and thus will experience the liquidity crisis that investors fear.
A. Due to countries in a monetary union having to issue debt in a joint currency over which they lack full control, therefore
B. It is because countries in a monetary union have to issue debt in a joint currency they do not fully control, as
C. Because countries in a monetary union must issue debt in a joint currency over which they lack full control, if
D. Countries that are in a monetary union have to issue debt in a joint currency over which they lack full control, causing
E. In a monetary union, countries have to issue debt in a joint currency over which they fully lack control, so
KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
(C)
Step 1: Read the Original Sentence Carefully, Looking for ErrorsThe main clause in this sentence starts after the second comma. Therefore, the preceding clauses must be subordinate, and their subordinating conjunctions must make them relate in a logical way to the rest of the sentence. The underlined clause before the comma starts with “[d]ue to,” attributing causality to the condition of having to issue debt in a joint currency. The “therefore” at the end of the underlined portion is unnecessary. Also, “therefore” is an adverb, not a conjunction, and fails to connect the clause about the nervous investors to the rest of the sentence. (A) is incorrect.
Step 2: Scan and Group the Answer ChoicesEach choice begins and ends with a different word, and there is no pattern by which you can group the choices. Therefore, evaluate each one, keeping in mind the need to connect the clauses in a logical way.
Step 3: Eliminate Choices Until Only One RemainsYou’ve already determined that (A) is incorrect. (B) begins with the weak “[i]t is,” which is not a fatal flaw, but then this choice uses “as” after the comma. This word can mean either “because” or “while,” but either way it fails to logically connect the clauses. (D) starts off with clear, direct prose. However, when you read it back into the sentence, you get “causing investors become nervous,” which would only be idiomatic if it were causing investors to become nervous. And then there is no connection between the first two clauses and the main clause at all. Eliminate (D). In (E), the “so” at the end is no improvement over the “therefore” in the original. This choice also changes the adjective “full,” which modifies “control,” to the adverb “fully,” which modifies “lack”; this choice changes the meaning of the sentence. Only (C), by introducing the conditional “if,” gives each clause a proper role in the sentence. Confirm that (C) is correct by reading it back into the sentence:
Because countries in a monetary union must issue debt in a joint currency over which they lack full control, if investors become nervous about the financial health of a country, that nation may not be able to finance its debt at the same rate enjoyed by its neighbors and thus will experience the liquidity crisis that investors fear.