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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britai 31 Mar 2019, 11:44
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ChrisLele

Can you please explain what does the term "the economies of X,y and z" mean?

Does it mean that each X , y and z has multiple economies or does it mean that the economy of X, the economy of y and the economy of z ?

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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britai 31 Mar 2019, 19:14
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ChrisLele

Can you please explain what does the term "the economies of X,y and z" mean?

Does it mean that each X , y and z has multiple economies or does it mean that the economy of X, the economy of y and the economy of z ?
Show more
You're right that there is ambiguity in those constructions. It's "understood" (like many things in English!) that "the economies of x, y, and z" can mean "the economy of x, the economy of y, and the economy of z". It's a little like saying "we got into our cars". That's also understood to mean that each person got into his or her own car, and not that each person somehow managed to get into multiple cars. :)
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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britai 07 Dec 2019, 09:07
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Hey Experts,

I know official answer is E, but I have a small doubt.

What's wrong with D. Singular to singular comparision.

Please explain someone..why D is wrong ??
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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britai 07 Dec 2019, 10:54
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Skywalker18
For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britain, France, or Germany, with the unemployment rate having remained well below that of the other three countries.

A)Britain, France, or Germany, with the unemployment rate having remained - comparison issue
B)have those of Britain, France, or Germany, and the unemployment rate remaining - and verb after and for subject rate
C)have Britain, France, and Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained - comparison issue
D)the economy of Britain, France, and Germany, with the unemployment rate that has remained - it suggests that Britain, France, and Germany share one economy
E)the economies of Britain, France, and Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained- Correct

Answer E
Show more

hi , here in D , britain , france and germany are parallel , so if we read them with the initial stem .
the ......economy ....than economy of britain , the...than economy of france ...and similarly for germany. As when elements are parallel . we read them with stem separately to check for meaning . but for (E) , if we use same method , it would mean each country has more than one economy , and wouldn't that be illogical
please correct me if i am thinking wrong
thanks in advance
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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britai 08 Dec 2019, 05:17
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I have a doubt over D and E.

1. The economies of X, Y and Z. If I consider the parallelism concept, I can rephrase this as the economies of x, the economies of y and economies of Z. The economies can go along with all. Or I can say that I have taken "the economies" common.

2. We are comparing economy of A to economy of x, economy of y and economy of Z.
Here we can see that a singular noun is compared with singular noun. And I see parallelism too. That makes sense.

I understand that we can also compare singular noun with plural noun.
The dress of X is better than the dresses of Y.

In my opinion, D is better than E. Could you explain at which logic I am wrong?

Skywalker18
For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britain, France, or Germany, with the unemployment rate having remained well below that of the other three countries.

A)Britain, France, or Germany, with the unemployment rate having remained - comparison issue
B)have those of Britain, France, or Germany, and the unemployment rate remaining - and verb after and for subject rate
C)have Britain, France, and Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained - comparison issue
D)the economy of Britain, France, and Germany, with the unemployment rate that has remained - it suggests that Britain, France, and Germany share one economy
E)the economies of Britain, France, and Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained- Correct

Answer E
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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britai 08 Dec 2019, 05:19
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siddharth19
hi , here in D , britain , france and germany are parallel , so if we read them with the initial stem .
the ......economy ....than economy of britain , the...than economy of france ...and similarly for germany. As when elements are parallel . we read them with stem separately to check for meaning . but for (E) , if we use same method , it would mean each country has more than one economy ,iand wouldn't that be illogical
please correct me if i am thinking wrong
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Hi Siddharth, rather than looking at it as a pure Grammar issue, we need to show a bit flexibility in terms of the intended meaning.

This argument could cut both ways. For example:

I was invited to the house of Siddharth and his wife.

This would most probably mean that Siddharth and his wife live in one house, to which I was invited.

But continuing with this logic, the following sentence would not make sense:

I was invited to the house of President and the Vice President.

This could again be interpreted that President and the Vice President live in one house, to which I was invited. Most probably, this is not the intended meaning.

To avoid, this meaning interpretation, one way to articulate the sentence will be:

I was invited to the houses of President and the Vice President.
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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britai 02 Jul 2020, 20:38
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Dear GMATGuruNY AnthonyRitz AjiteshArun DmitryFarber IanStewart GMATRockstar GMATNinja VeritasPrepHailey MartyTargetTestPrep EducationAisle RonPurewal,

According to https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/foru ... t6655.html, Ron mentioned that:
Quote:

1) "the economy of Britain, France, and Germany"
--> illogically implies that these three countries share only one economy. (note that the correct answer correctly uses the plural "economies" to refer to the existence of three different economies.)

2) "with the unemployment rate that has remained"
--> implies, without justification, that the dutch economy is the ONLY economy with an unemployment rate that has satisfied this criterion.
Show more

OA : For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than the economies of Britain, France, and Germany, and THE unemployment rate has remained well below THAT of the other three countries.

If his reasoning is valid, then:

Q1. why OA uses "THAT", which is singular pronoun? Doesn't that mean the other 3 countries share only ONE unemployment rate? Shouldn't we use rateS instead?

Q2. why OA still contains "THE unemployment rate"?

Q3. Shouldn't the "unemployment rate" be a modifier modifying HOW "the Dutch economy has grown"?
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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britai Updated on: 02 Jul 2020, 21:38
Originally posted by AnthonyRitz on 02 Jul 2020, 20:50.
Last edited by AnthonyRitz on 02 Jul 2020, 21:38, edited 1 time in total.
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varotkorn
Dear GMATGuruNY AnthonyRitz AjiteshArun DmitryFarber IanStewart GMATRockstar GMATNinja VeritasPrepHailey MartyTargetTestPrep EducationAisle RonPurewal,

According to https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/foru ... t6655.html, Ron mentioned that:
Quote:

1) "the economy of Britain, France, and Germany"
--> illogically implies that these three countries share only one economy. (note that the correct answer correctly uses the plural "economies" to refer to the existence of three different economies.)

2) "with the unemployment rate that has remained"
--> implies, without justification, that the dutch economy is the ONLY economy with an unemployment rate that has satisfied this criterion.

OA : For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than the economies of Britain, France, and Germany, and THE unemployment rate has remained well below THAT of the other three countries.

If his reasoning is valid, then:

Q1. why OA uses "THAT", which is singular pronoun? Doesn't that mean the other 3 countries share only ONE unemployment rate? Shouldn't we use rateS instead?

Q2. why OA still contains "THE unemployment rate"?

Q3. Shouldn't the "unemployment rate" be a modifier modifying HOW "the Dutch economy has grown"?
Show more

An economy is an economy, but an unemployment rate is a number. The countries' economies cannot logically be the same economy, but it is quite possible for their unemployment rate(s) to be the same number. So the logic explains why our standards are not the same in each case. And yes, the sentence suggests that these countries have the same unemployment rate. We cannot argue with that, because it us not underlined.

All answers say "the unemployment rate." We may infer that it must refer to the Dutch unemployment rate, both because there are no plausible alternatives and because, without any split among the answer choices, this is not a valid decision point and should be ignored.

The unemployment rate does not need to be a modifier describing how the Dutch economy has grown; economies do not grow through unemployment, nor is unemployment rate necessarily a characteristic of economic growth.
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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britai 02 Jul 2020, 21:14
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varotkorn
OA : For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than the economies of Britain, France, and Germany, and THE unemployment rate has remained well below THAT of the other three countries.

If his reasoning is valid, then:

Q1. why OA uses "THAT", which is singular pronoun? Doesn't that mean the other 3 countries share only ONE unemployment rate? Shouldn't we use rateS instead?
Show more
"That" is not really correct, though I guess, theoretically "that" could refer the the average of the unemployment rates of the three countries.

What's most likely going on with "that" is that the writer left a minor error in the OA. Had the writer used "the rates" or something else better than "that," the OA would have been pretty obviously correct.

Quote:
Q2. why OA still contains "THE unemployment rate"?

Q3. Shouldn't the "unemployment rate" be a modifier modifying HOW "the Dutch economy has grown"?
Show more
That part of the sentence is not a modifier; it's a new clause. That said "the unemployment rate" does not clearly connect "the unemployment rate" to the Dutch economy, though it doesn't have to in order for the sentence to be basically OK.
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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britai 02 Jul 2020, 21:22
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Dear AnthonyRitz MartyTargetTestPrep,

When solving this question, I thought the non-underlined portion gives us a hint:
marine
For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britain, France, or Germany, with THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE having remained well below THAT of the other three countries.

(D) the economy of Britain, France, and Germany, with the unemployment rate that has remained

(E) the economies of Britain, France, and Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained
Show more

Since "THAT of the other 3 countries" stands for singular THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE, I just thought that "the economy of" the other 3 countries is correct as well.

I'm a bit surprised that GMAT tests nuance like this :(
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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britai 02 Jul 2020, 21:24
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varotkorn
Dear AnthonyRitz MartyTargetTestPrep,

When solving this question, I thought the non-underlined portion gives us a hint:
marine
For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britain, France, or Germany, with THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE having remained well below THAT of the other three countries.

(D) the economy of Britain, France, and Germany, with the unemployment rate that has remained

(E) the economies of Britain, France, and Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained

Since "THAT of the other 3 countries" stands for singular THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE, I just thought that "the economy of" the other 3 countries is correct as well.

I'm a bit surprised that GMAT tests nuance like this :(
Show more

I don't agree. I could parallel "the unemployment rate" with "those of the other three countries" if that's what the sentence said. The number isn't a clue. It's about logic, and the countries can have the same unemployment rate, but they cannot have the same economy.
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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britai 07 Sep 2020, 21:31
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Dears AjiteshArun AnthonyRitz MartyTargetTestPrep,

Can you please check whether following versions are correct . These sentences can help to clarify doubts between that and those ; economy and economies .:-


Quote:
(E) For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than the economies of Britain, France, and Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained well below that of the other three countries.
Show more

1. For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than the economies of Britain, France, and Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained well below THOSE of the other three countries.-CORRECT
2. For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than the economies of Britain, France, and Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained well below that of Britain, France, and Germany- WRONG
3. For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than the economies of Britain, France, and Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained well below THOSE of Britain, France, and Germany. -CORRECT
4. For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than the economies of Britain, France, and Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained well below THAT of Britain, France, OR Germany.-CORRECT
5. For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than the ECONOMY of Britain, France, OR Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained well below THAT of Britain, France, OR [/b]Germany.-CORRECT
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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britai 02 Dec 2020, 19:40
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Hi GMATGuruNY

Could you please help with this question?

marine
(D) the economy of Britain, France, and Germany, with the unemployment rate that has remained
Show more

Some in gmatclub say that "with the unemployment rate..." in (D) is wrong.

Yet, I think that "comma + with" is usually a component of the main event in the preceding clause, serving as "an absolute phrase". Likewise, in (D) "with the unemployment rate that has remained" can be a component of the main event and serve as "an absolute phrase".

How the Dutch economy has grown?
It has grown "with the unemployment rate that has remained".

Could you please explain whether the usage of "comma + with" in (D) is correct?

Thank you very much beforehand!
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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britai 03 Dec 2020, 00:23
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Dears AjiteshArun AnthonyRitz MartyTargetTestPrep,

Can you please check whether following versions are correct . These sentences can help to clarify doubts between that and those ; economy and economies .:-


Quote:
(E) For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than the economies of Britain, France, and Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained well below that of the other three countries.

1. For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than the economies of Britain, France, and Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained well below THOSE of the other three countries.-CORRECT
2. For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than the economies of Britain, France, and Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained well below that of Britain, France, and Germany- WRONG
3. For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than the economies of Britain, France, and Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained well below THOSE of Britain, France, and Germany. -CORRECT
4. For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than the economies of Britain, France, and Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained well below THAT of Britain, France, OR Germany.-CORRECT
5. For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than the ECONOMY of Britain, France, OR Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained well below THAT of Britain, France, OR [/b]Germany.-CORRECT
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GMATGuruNY CrackVerbal : Could you give your comments on the quoted post?
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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britai 03 Dec 2020, 05:02
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Ilhomjon98
Hi GMATGuruNY

Could you please help with this question?

marine
(D) the economy of Britain, France, and Germany, with the unemployment rate that has remained

Some in gmatclub say that "with the unemployment rate..." in (D) is wrong.

Yet, I think that "comma + with" is usually a component of the main event in the preceding clause, serving as "an absolute phrase". Likewise, in (D) "with the unemployment rate that has remained" can be a component of the main event and serve as "an absolute phrase".

How the Dutch economy has grown?
It has grown "with the unemployment rate that has remained".

Could you please explain whether the usage of "comma + with" in (D) is correct?

Thank you very much beforehand!
Show more

D implies the following comparison:
The Dutch economy has grown faster than the economy of Britain, France, and Germany [has grown], with the unemployment rate that has remained well below
Because the words in brackets are omitted but implied, a reader might construe that the with-modifier in red is intended to modify not the preceding green clause but the implied clause in blue.
Since E avoids this issue, eliminate D and choose E.
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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britai 11 Dec 2020, 07:48
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The parallelism in this this doesn't really work I think. If we look the stem before the article "the", it says "Dutch economy has grown faster than Britain, France.....". And if we add the second part of the parallelism, it says "Dutch economy has grown faster than the unemployment rate......." It doesn't matches up?
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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britai 16 Dec 2020, 08:34
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lakshya14
The parallelism in this this doesn't really work I think. If we look the stem before the article "the", it says "Dutch economy has grown faster than Britain, France.....". And if we add the second part of the parallelism, it says "Dutch economy has grown faster than the unemployment rate......." It doesn't matches up?
Show more

Hi Lakshya

Option (E) works perfectly well in terms of parallelism.

"The Dutch" is commonly applicable to both the items of the list which are:

i) "economy has grown..." and
ii) "unemployment rate has remained..."

Both of these are parallel logically and grammatically.
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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britai 07 Jan 2021, 08:24
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MartyTargetTestPrep
Happy New Year :-)

Could you elaborate, why the comparison "singular" economy with plural "economies" is correct?

There is other Of.question where comparison singular to plural was wrong
https://gmatclub.com/forum/as-opposed-t ... 21753.html

Thank you in advance.
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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britai 07 Jan 2021, 12:38
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MartyTargetTestPrep
Happy New Year :-)

Could you elaborate, why the comparison "singular" economy with plural "economies" is correct?

There is other Of.question where comparison singular to plural was wrong
https://gmatclub.com/forum/as-opposed-t ... 21753.html

Thank you in advance.
Show more
Happy New Year to you too!

There are three key things to be aware of here.

One is that comparing a singular item with multiple items is not strictly incorrect. For instance, the following is logical enough.

    Unlike the manager, the other employees do not have to compile daily reports.

We can tell that the manager is the only employee who has to compile daily reports. There's no ambiguity or illogic to what that sentence conveys.

That said, the second thing to be aware of here is that, in the case of this question, the point is moot, because what's really being compared in the correct version of the sentence is rates of growth.

Here's the credited version:

    For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than the economies of Britain, France, and Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained well below that of the other three countries.

To be honest, whether that sentence is meant to convey that the Dutch economy has grown faster than the economy of each of those countries or faster than the combination of the economies of all those countries is not clear. So, that sentence is not ideal. What would make sense is to say, "the economy of Britain, France, or Germany."

All the same, it is true that the Dutch economy could grow faster than those three economies combined. Right? The Dutch economy could grow, say 2 percent per year, while the combined economies of the other three countries could grow 1 percent per year. So, for the sake of choosing the best of the available choices, we can choose choice (E).

The third thing to be clear about here is that, in the question you linked to, the incorrect versions are not incorrect simply because a single item is compared with multiple items. The incorrect choices are incorrect because they are rather illogical in multiple ways.

For instance, the version created via the use of choice (C) conveys the nonsensical meaning that, unlike an adult, pound for pound, children breathe twice as much air. Twice as much as what? Also, multiple children breathe more air than one adult breathes? I would hope so. Furthermore, comparing multiple children "pound for pound" with one adult does not really make sense.

So, the question you referenced provides virtually no support for the idea that the GMAT would consider illogical a comparison of a single item with multiple items, because comparing a single item with multiple items is not really the issue in that question.
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geileiyaxia
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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britai 02 Apr 2021, 08:57
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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than Britain, France, or Germany, with the unemployment rate having remained well below that of the other three countries.

(A) Britain, France, or Germany, with the unemployment rate having remained

(B) have those of Britain, France, or Germany, and the unemployment rate remaining

(C) have Britain, France, and Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained

(D) the economy of Britain, France, and Germany, with the unemployment rate that has remained

(E) the economies of Britain, France, and Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained
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This question is stupid. How come the three counties cannot share the same economy BUT share the same unemployment rate??? If we use the economies here, we shall use "THOSE" of the other three countries.
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