OFFICIAL EXPLANATIONProject SC Butler: Day 171: Sentence Correction (SC1)
generis wrote:
Faced with the double challenge of inflation and recession, many governments are choosing to focus on inflation, which is the more immediate threat and using high interest rates, plus other restrictive monetary and fiscal policies, for controlling it.
A) inflation, which is the more immediate threat , and using high interest rates, plus other restrictive monetary and fiscal policies, for controlling it
B) inflation as the more immediate threat and using high interest rates, along with other restrictive monetary and fiscal policies, to control it
C) inflation because it is the the most immediate threat, with high interest rates and other restrictive monetary and fiscal policies used to control it
-- used is a passive descriptor.
-- The with-clause is off. It doesn't establish the logical linkage necessary.
D) inflation, the most immediate threat, and high interest rates, along with other restrictive monetary and fiscal policies, which are used to control it
-- are the governments also focusing on high interest rates? The word AND sounds as if they are
-- which is dicey here, especially compared with similar language in B.
E) inflation as the most immediate threat, high interest rates and other restrictive monetary and fiscal policies having been used to control it
• Meaning?Inflation and
recession present a double challenge to governments.
Because inflation is
the more immediate threat of the two problems, governments are using high interest rates and restrictive fiscal policy to combat inflation.
• Split #1: MORE vs MOSTIf we have two problems, then one is
more immediate than the other, NOT "the most" immediate.
In fact, "the more immediate problem" is a common way to describe an item in comparison.
Correct: She was the shorter of the two sisters.
Wrong: She was the shortest of the two sisters.-- If we compare
two things, we use the comparative form. (Usually adjective + ER)
-- If we compare three or more things, we use the superlative form. (Usually adjective + EST)
The non-underlined portion says that
two problems exist.
We must use the comparative form: inflation is
the more immediate threat
Eliminate C, D, and E
• Split #2 - Construction: idiom, "plus"(A) Faced with the double challenge of inflation and recession, many governments are choosing to focus on
inflation, which is the more immediate threat and using high interest rates, plus other restrictive monetary and fiscal policies, for controlling it.
• Compare options A and B. Option B is far superior.
(1)
Plus: Do not choose
plus on the GMAT when the sentence means "as well as." (Plus is not used as a quasi-conjunction.)
(2) using high interest rates . . .
for controlling it is not idiomatic. "To control it" is standard in this context.
(3) Option A distorts the meaning.
There is no comma after "which is the more immediate threat," and
there should be.No, you are not tested outright on comma placement, but you do need to be able to recognize that "which" signals "nonessential!" and that nonessential modifiers in the middle of the sentence should be
enclosed by commas.
Which refers to
inflation.
Without a proper comma, the
which clause is
. . .
which is the more immediate threat and using high interest rates . . .
Inflation is using high interest rates?
No.
Eliminate A
The answer is B
B)
Faced with the double challenge of
---inflation
---and
---recession,
many governments
-------
are choosing to focus on inflation
--------------------------------as the more immediate threat
-------
and -------[governments
are] using high interest rates, along with other restrictive monetary and fiscal policies, to control iit.
Option B
-- uses
along with rather than
plus-- uses the idiomatic "to control it" and
--- the phrases
choosing to focus and
using high interest rates are parallel
The answer is BCOMMENTSdevangpandey007 ,
Shivan21 , and
kapil1 welcome to SC Butler.
The explanations are good. If you explained but a faulty assumption took you to the wrong choice, you still get a kudos..