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31 Jul 2020, 09:33
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Hello Everyone!
Let's tackle this question, one thing at a time, and narrow down our options quickly so we know how to answer questions like this when they pop up on the GMAT! To begin, let's take a quick look at the question and highlight any major differences between the options in orange and purple:
Even with the proposed budget cuts and new taxes and fees, the city's projected deficit for the next budget year is getting worse: administration officials announced that they believe the gap will be $3.7 billion, a billion dollars over what it was predicted just two months ago.
A) over what it was predicted
B) over the prediction from
C) more than it was predicted
D) more than they had predicted
E) more than they predicted it
After a quick glance over the options, we have a couple differences we can focus on:
1. over vs. more than (Idioms)
2. Their endings that are highlighted in purple (Meaning & Pronouns)
Let’s start with #1 on our list, which is an idioms issue. When dealing with numbers, the GMAT prefers that you use “more than” instead of “over.” While saying “over” isn’t necessarily grammatically incorrect, it’s not the preferred option for formal or business writing. Since the GMAT focuses on more formal/business writing, we need to avoid informal idiom usage. So let’s eliminate any that don’t follow the idiom:
A) over what it was predicted
B) over the prediction from
C) more than it was predicted
D) more than they had predicted
E) more than they predicted it
We can eliminate options A & B because they don’t follow the more formal idiom “more than.” Now that we have it narrowed down a bit, let’s tackle #2 on our list. We need to make sure that any pronouns have clear antecedents, the verb tenses make sense, and that the overall meaning is clear to readers:
C) more than it was predicted
This is INCORRECT for a couple reasons. First, because the pronoun “it” doesn’t have a clear antecedent. “It” could be referring back to “the gap” or one of the dollar amounts mentioned earlier. Second, the verb “was predicted” isn’t the best choice here. We’re talking about two actions done by the administration: the announcement that the gap will be $3.7 billion, and the prediction they made two months prior that it would only be $2.7 billion. Since the prediction came first, it should have a past perfect verb tense to go with it!
D) more than they had predicted
This is CORRECT! This option doesn’t have any unclear pronouns (“they” is clearly referring back to the administration). It also uses past perfect tense for “had predicted,” which more clearly shows the order of events.
E) more than they predicted it
This is INCORRECT because “it” is a vague pronoun with no clear antecedent. The past tense “predicted” is also not as good of a verb choice as the past perfect “had predicted.”
There you have it - option D is our winner!
Don’t study for the GMAT. Train for it.
Let's tackle this question, one thing at a time, and narrow down our options quickly so we know how to answer questions like this when they pop up on the GMAT! To begin, let's take a quick look at the question and highlight any major differences between the options in orange and purple:
Even with the proposed budget cuts and new taxes and fees, the city's projected deficit for the next budget year is getting worse: administration officials announced that they believe the gap will be $3.7 billion, a billion dollars over what it was predicted just two months ago.
A) over what it was predicted
B) over the prediction from
C) more than it was predicted
D) more than they had predicted
E) more than they predicted it
After a quick glance over the options, we have a couple differences we can focus on:
1. over vs. more than (Idioms)
2. Their endings that are highlighted in purple (Meaning & Pronouns)
Let’s start with #1 on our list, which is an idioms issue. When dealing with numbers, the GMAT prefers that you use “more than” instead of “over.” While saying “over” isn’t necessarily grammatically incorrect, it’s not the preferred option for formal or business writing. Since the GMAT focuses on more formal/business writing, we need to avoid informal idiom usage. So let’s eliminate any that don’t follow the idiom:
A) over what it was predicted
B) over the prediction from
C) more than it was predicted
D) more than they had predicted
E) more than they predicted it
We can eliminate options A & B because they don’t follow the more formal idiom “more than.” Now that we have it narrowed down a bit, let’s tackle #2 on our list. We need to make sure that any pronouns have clear antecedents, the verb tenses make sense, and that the overall meaning is clear to readers:
C) more than it was predicted
This is INCORRECT for a couple reasons. First, because the pronoun “it” doesn’t have a clear antecedent. “It” could be referring back to “the gap” or one of the dollar amounts mentioned earlier. Second, the verb “was predicted” isn’t the best choice here. We’re talking about two actions done by the administration: the announcement that the gap will be $3.7 billion, and the prediction they made two months prior that it would only be $2.7 billion. Since the prediction came first, it should have a past perfect verb tense to go with it!
D) more than they had predicted
This is CORRECT! This option doesn’t have any unclear pronouns (“they” is clearly referring back to the administration). It also uses past perfect tense for “had predicted,” which more clearly shows the order of events.
E) more than they predicted it
This is INCORRECT because “it” is a vague pronoun with no clear antecedent. The past tense “predicted” is also not as good of a verb choice as the past perfect “had predicted.”
There you have it - option D is our winner!
Don’t study for the GMAT. Train for it.
14 Aug 2020, 17:25
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PRONOUNS, COMPARISONS
Even with the proposed budget cuts and new taxes and fees, the city's projected deficit for the next budget year is getting worse: administration officials announced that they believe the gap will be $3.7 billion, a billion dollars over what it was predicted just two months ago.
A) over what it was predicted ---- WRONG USE OF "IT"... THE GMAT dislikes the use of "it" as an idiom (not pronoun). Besides, "over" is not as good as "more" (this is a slight preference though).
B) over the prediction from ------ WRONG COMPARISON. The gap should not be "over the prediction", but over "the number predicted". . Besides, "over" is not as good as "more" (this is a slight preference though).
C) more than it was predicted -------- WRONG USE OF "IT", as there's no reference.
D) more than they had predicted -------- CORRECT
E) more than they predicted it -------- WRONG USE OF "IT", as there's no reference.
Even with the proposed budget cuts and new taxes and fees, the city's projected deficit for the next budget year is getting worse: administration officials announced that they believe the gap will be $3.7 billion, a billion dollars over what it was predicted just two months ago.
A) over what it was predicted ---- WRONG USE OF "IT"... THE GMAT dislikes the use of "it" as an idiom (not pronoun). Besides, "over" is not as good as "more" (this is a slight preference though).
B) over the prediction from ------ WRONG COMPARISON. The gap should not be "over the prediction", but over "the number predicted". . Besides, "over" is not as good as "more" (this is a slight preference though).
C) more than it was predicted -------- WRONG USE OF "IT", as there's no reference.
D) more than they had predicted -------- CORRECT
E) more than they predicted it -------- WRONG USE OF "IT", as there's no reference.
22 Oct 2020, 08:22
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Quote:
There's nothing omitted here. Consider the following:
- Tim picked up one child from day care, one fewer than he should have picked up.
Here, "one fewer" is providing information about the verb phrase "should have picked up." It might FEEL a little funky because we're accustomed to following "picked up" with a noun, but this construction is fine -- there's nothing missing.
Same deal in (D):
Quote:
Now "a billion dollars more" is providing information about what "they had predicted." They predicted a gap of $2.7 billion dollars. The actual gap was $3.7 billion, or a billion dollars more than they'd predicted. Not a terribly accurate prediction, but a perfectly logical sentence.
I hope that helps!
