Financial analysts said they were surprised that despite higher inflat

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that investors continued to pour money into the stock market because they believed that the American economy was nicely balanced, with little inflation.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Tenses + Verb Forms + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• The simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past.
• The simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature.
• The infinitive verb form (“to + base form of verb") is preferred over the present participle ("verb+ing”) for referring to the purpose or intent of an action.

A: This answer choice incorrectly uses the simple present tense verb "continue" to refer to an action that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past, and the simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature. Further, Option A uses the present participle ("verb+ing" - "pouring" in this sentence) to refer to the purpose of the action "continue"; please remember, the infinitive verb form (“to + base form of verb") is preferred over the present participle ("verb+ing" - "pouring" in this sentence) for referring to the purpose or intent of an action.

B: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "believing in the American economy as"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that investors continued to pour money into the stock market because they believed that the American economy was nicely balanced, with little inflation. Further, Option B incorrectly uses the simple present tense verb "continue" to refer to an action that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past, and the simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature. Additionally, Option B uses the present participle ("verb+ing" - "pouring" in this sentence) to refer to the purpose of the action "continue"; please remember, the infinitive verb form (“to + base form of verb") is preferred over the present participle ("verb+ing" - "pouring" in this sentence) for referring to the purpose or intent of an action.

C: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "in the belief that the American economy as"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that investors continued to pour money into the stock market because they believed that the American economy was nicely balanced, with little inflation. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the simple present tense verb "continue" to refer to an action that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past, and the simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature. Additionally, Option C uses the present participle ("verb+ing" - "pouring" in this sentence) to refer to the purpose of the action "continue"; please remember, the infinitive verb form (“to + base form of verb") is preferred over the present participle ("verb+ing" - "pouring" in this sentence) for referring to the purpose or intent of an action. Besides, Option C uses the redundant phrase "still continue", leading to awkwardness and redundancy; this usage is redundant because "still" can be deleted without a loss of clarity.

D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "believing in the American economy as"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that investors continued to pour money into the stock market because they believed that the American economy was nicely balanced, with little inflation. Further, Option D uses the redundant phrase "still continue", leading to awkwardness and redundancy; this usage is redundant because "still" can be deleted without a loss of clarity.

E: Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase "in the belief that the American economy was", conveying the intended meaning - that investors continued to pour money into the stock market because they believed that the American economy was nicely balanced, with little inflation. Further, Option E correctly uses the simple past tense verb "continued" to refer to an event that concluded in the past. Additionally, Option E uses the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb" - "to + pour" to refer to the purpose of the action "continued". Besides, Option E is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Infinitive" vs "Present Participle", you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses", you may want to watch the following video (~x1 minute):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team

Hi daagh, I am confused with the usage of infinitive and gerund. I chose A in this question. Please help. Thanks!

Hi,
Continued is the VERB and to pour is Infinitive..
infinitive can come after a verb..

also since the analysts are talking of an earlier time when they were surprised, continued is correct..
the problem is not between 'to pour' and 'pouring' as much it has to do with the VERB 'was'..

another Point about the Q-- you are not likely to see a 3-2 split in terms of AS vs WAS..

inakihernandez, could you please share the source.. and please mention SOURCE next time onwards, so that students know which Qs to spend time on..

What is the OE for this question? I got it wrong in the test, hence asking..

Financial analyst said they were surprised that despite higher inflation and shrinking profits margins, investors continued to pour money into the stock market in the belief that the american economy was nicely balanced, with little inflation.

Is this idiomatic? Can you specify a couple of examples for this usage

A relative clause "that American economy...." is used to refer to (modify) a noun "belief", a very common usage.

Moreover "in the belief" is also not very uncommon phrase. Search on the internet "in the belief that phrase" - you will have plenty of authentic examples.

The sentence must continue in the past tense-> He said.....Continued. STILL and continue points redundancy.

Does the use of different tense- continue and continued in option A and E respectively also contribute to error analysis or usage of either is correct?

Yes, the difference in tense in one major "split" that can be used to eliminate answer(s).

Since this verb (continue) occurs within a statement that occured in past (said), simple present is applicable ONLY when the statement is an universal truth (e.g., sun rises in the east). However this statement is not a universal truth and therefore use of simple present is wrong.

chetan2u & sayantanc2k would you please explain why E was chosen over D? Is there anything wrong with the D?

The main problem is with the usage of believing in something as.....
Believing something to be nicely... should be OK..

Secondly, there is no requirement of 'still' here...

So you are saying usage of as after believing is the problem? "believing in the American economy as"
And correct idiom or usage should be "believing in the American economy to be"

Believe X to be Y is correct, but believe in X to be Y does not make sense. "Believe in" means "to have faith in" - with "believe in", "to be ..." does not go.

Note that Chetan has not put "in" after "believing" in his example.

In short "believe in as" and "believe in to be" both are wrong.

"believing in the economy as balanced" and "belief in the economy as balanced" ate incorrect. Words such as "think", "claim" and "belief" must almost always be followed by a clause, that is, a noun and a verb.

E.g. I believe that X is true.
In a sentence such as "I believe in X as Y" it is not clear whether the subject (I) or X is equated to Y.

Note that in A, the subject of "believing" -- financial analysts or investors -- is unclear. Another reason to eliminate A.

IMO, there are three decision points: 1. Verb Tense 2. Logic 3. Redundancy 4. Idiom

I) As the root sentence is written in simple past, the entire time frame of the sentence should be in simple past, unless certain structures require a change. However, as there are no indications for a time change, the verb in the underlined portion should be in simple past.
Ask yourself, why should it be in present tense? It is not a universal through but rather an event that occurred in the past at some point and was reported by financial analysts.

II) Logic/Meaning Modifier: We have to options ", believing ... " which modifies the investors and " in the belief " which modifies the verb " to pour money into the stock market "
Well, so what is more logical to modify? Investors who believe that the economy was nicely balanced or " continue to pour money into the stock market in the belief"?
Here it is important to think about the function of the modifier. The modifier in this case should not describe the investors but rather give the reason for the investors' action!

III) Redundancy: still + continue is redundant, as continue inherently implies ongoing action

IV) Its not idiomatic to say " to believe X as Y ", and correct idiom is " to continue to + infinitive "

A) Verb Tense; Modifier
B) Verb Tense, Modifier; Idiom
C) Verb Tense; Redundancy; Modifier; Idiom
D) Redundancy; Modifier; Idiom
E) correct

Can someone throw some light on despite also in this example
is it possible to eliminate options with just despite and not going deep in verb form

P.S i am super weak when it comes to verb forms

'Despite' is not underlined and is relevant to all the five choices. Hence, we cannot take it as a split factor.
However, in D, the crux is the word 'still'. Still means even now - into the present. The use of the past tense 'continued' with even today is incongruous.
One mistake in the original transcription is that it says 'analyst' rather than analysts. I think it is a typo.
In D, the use of 'continue' rather than 'continued' also seems to be a typo.