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14 Mar 2020, 23:55
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E
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
65%
(hard)
Question Stats:
56% (01:48) correct
44%
(02:02)
wrong
based on 677
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Federal judges are sentencing white-collar criminals to prison with more and more frequency and the sentencing, even though still shorter than the average for crimes such as armed robbery, have increased in length.
A) more and more frequency and the sentencing, even though still shorter than the average for crimes such as armed robbery, have increased
B) more and more frequency and the sentencing, though still shorter than the average for such crimes as armed robbery, has increased
C) higher frequency and the sentences, even though still shorter than the average fro cirmes such as armed robbery, are increased
D) greater frequency and the sentencing, although still shorter than the average for such crimes as armed robbery, has been increasing
E) greater frequency and the sentences, though still shorter than the average for such crimes as armed robbery, have increased
14 Mar 2020, 23:59
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OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
This question reminds us to be mindful of the difference between a dedicated noun such as "a sentence" and a verb-like noun (a gerund, a verbING) such as "sentencing."
Meaning? Judges are imposing longer sentences on white-collar criminals, although those sentences are still shorter than the average length of sentences for crimes such as armed robbery.
SPLITS
• SPLIT #1: Which has increased in length, the sentence or the sentencing?
BASIC IDEA:
The judges' acts of sentencing have not increased in length!
(What, the judges are sitting there for days, thinking, announcing prison terms, and banging their gavels?)
The sentences (length of time the robber will spend in prison) have increased.
ANALYSIS:
In this question, the word sentence is a dedicated noun.
A sentence means "the time that a prisoner serves as punishment."
Sentencing, on the other hand, is a gerund (a verbING).
Sentencing is the ___ING form of the verb to sentence.
Sentencing is a noun derived from a verb, a fact that makes them action nouns similar to laughing, running, crying, and imagining.
Gerunds (verbINGs) are nouns that mean performing the action of the verb (laughing means doing the action of the verb to laugh).
The verb to sentence means to "declare the punishment decided for (an offender)," here
When the judges are sentencing, they are performing the action of the verb to sentence.
They are announcing how much time the robber will spend in prison.
The judicial sentencing of white-collar criminals -- the act itself -- has not increased.
The judges are sending white-collar criminals away for a longer period of time.
The judges are giving out longer sentences.
From the prompt and context, we know that
The time that robbers spend in prison -- the sentences -- have increased.
Options A, B, and D erroneously suggest that the time that judges spend sentencing has increased rather than that the sentences themselves have increased.
Eliminate A, D, and E
• Split # 2: increased vs. are increased
Option C pairs sentences with are increased.
Although the construction is not grammatically incorrect, it is strained and not as good as have increased in option E.
Are increased is in a passive voice and does not connote a sense of having started in the (recent) past and having continued until now.
HAS/HAVE + verbED is called "past perfect."
We use it to bridge the past and present.
If something started before now and continues, we want to use have increased to reflect this timing.
At some time before now, judges started cracking down on white-collar criminals,
and as a result [past → present] sentences have increased in length.
Option E is better than option C.
Eliminate option C
The best answer is E.
COMMENTS
prakhar992 , welcome to SC Butler.
If you read my official explanation here and the question still does not make sense to you, please try to frame specific questions.
itoyj and hero_with_1000_faces , good to "see" you, as always.
This question is not easy.
The sentence is long, the choices are fairly close to one another,
and it can be very hard to remember that ___ING words are verb-like nouns.
The judges are doing something.
How do you "increase the length" of an action?
(In this context, even that question sounds bizarre.)
Kudos or smiley faces to aspirants who participated.
Project SC Butler: Day 223: Sentence Correction (SC2)
Quote:
I've got a few white-collar criminals I'd like to send to these judges before those very criminals replace the judges. Just sayin'.
This question reminds us to be mindful of the difference between a dedicated noun such as "a sentence" and a verb-like noun (a gerund, a verbING) such as "sentencing."
Meaning? Judges are imposing longer sentences on white-collar criminals, although those sentences are still shorter than the average length of sentences for crimes such as armed robbery.
SPLITS
• SPLIT #1: Which has increased in length, the sentence or the sentencing?
BASIC IDEA:
The judges' acts of sentencing have not increased in length!
(What, the judges are sitting there for days, thinking, announcing prison terms, and banging their gavels?)
The sentences (length of time the robber will spend in prison) have increased.
ANALYSIS:
In this question, the word sentence is a dedicated noun.
A sentence means "the time that a prisoner serves as punishment."
Sentencing, on the other hand, is a gerund (a verbING).
Sentencing is the ___ING form of the verb to sentence.
Sentencing is a noun derived from a verb, a fact that makes them action nouns similar to laughing, running, crying, and imagining.
Gerunds (verbINGs) are nouns that mean performing the action of the verb (laughing means doing the action of the verb to laugh).
The verb to sentence means to "declare the punishment decided for (an offender)," here
When the judges are sentencing, they are performing the action of the verb to sentence.
They are announcing how much time the robber will spend in prison.
The judicial sentencing of white-collar criminals -- the act itself -- has not increased.
The judges are sending white-collar criminals away for a longer period of time.
The judges are giving out longer sentences.
From the prompt and context, we know that
The time that robbers spend in prison -- the sentences -- have increased.
Options A, B, and D erroneously suggest that the time that judges spend sentencing has increased rather than that the sentences themselves have increased.
Eliminate A, D, and E
• Split # 2: increased vs. are increased
Option C pairs sentences with are increased.
Although the construction is not grammatically incorrect, it is strained and not as good as have increased in option E.
Are increased is in a passive voice and does not connote a sense of having started in the (recent) past and having continued until now.
HAS/HAVE + verbED is called "past perfect."
We use it to bridge the past and present.
If something started before now and continues, we want to use have increased to reflect this timing.
At some time before now, judges started cracking down on white-collar criminals,
and as a result [past → present] sentences have increased in length.
Option E is better than option C.
Eliminate option C
The best answer is E.
COMMENTS
prakhar992 , welcome to SC Butler.
If you read my official explanation here and the question still does not make sense to you, please try to frame specific questions.
itoyj and hero_with_1000_faces , good to "see" you, as always.
This question is not easy.
The sentence is long, the choices are fairly close to one another,
and it can be very hard to remember that ___ING words are verb-like nouns.
The judges are doing something.
How do you "increase the length" of an action?
(In this context, even that question sounds bizarre.)
Kudos or smiley faces to aspirants who participated.
General Discussion
