Forum Home > GMAT > Quantitative > Problem Solving (PS)
Events & Promotions
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Aug 2211:00 AM EDT
-11:59 PM EDT
More and more TTP students are earning impressive scores on the GMAT. Now is the perfect time to join the many GMAT students who made the switch to TTP and surpassed their wildest expectations on test day.
Aug 2910:00 PM IST
-11:30 PM IST
With brand new features like:AI-driven Planner tool, 850+ data Insights practice questions and GMAT Focus Edition Adaptive mock tests with ESR+ analysis and personal mentor support, our course is the most comprehensive course for GMAT Focus Edition.
Aug 3112:00 PM EDT
-03:00 PM EDT
Save 20% on Target Test Prep and Score in the 100th Percentile in GMAT Verbal! Our course uses techniques such as topical study and spaced repetition to maximize knowledge retention and make studying simple and fun.
Aug 3103:00 PM EDT
-11:59 PM EDT
For a limited time use code FALL20 to save on prep. Valid on Complete Course, Advanced Course, Bootcamp Course, Tutoring, and the Executive Assessment Course. This discount ends September 16th.
Sep 0212:01 AM PDT
-11:59 PM PDT
On Monday the 2nd, GMAT Club Tests will be Absolutely Free! Including all the Quizzes, Questions, and Tests. 12 AM - 11:59 PM PST- Sep 07
11:00 AM IST
-01:00 PM IST
Attend this session to learn how to Deconstruct arguments, Pre-Think Author’s Assumptions, and apply Negation Test.
Growing economic woes and competition could be pushing accountants to
[#permalink]
06 Nov 2020, 00:04
06 Nov 2020, 00:04
2
Kudos
7
Bookmarks
Expert Reply
Show timer
00:00
A
B
C
D
E
Difficulty:
25%
(medium)
Question Stats:
73% (01:10) correct
27%
(01:22)
wrong
based on 304
sessions
Growing economic woes and competition could be pushing accountants to finagle their clients’ records; accountants can, for example, help their frustrated clients write off certain luxurious purchases and justify them as business expenses.
A) clients’ records; accountants can, for example, help
B) clients’ records, as an example, they can help
C) clients’ records, like they can help
D) clients' records; which might include that they
E) clients’ records, such as to be helping
Growing economic woes and competition could be pushing accountants to
[#permalink]
06 Nov 2020, 00:14
06 Nov 2020, 00:14
3
Kudos
Expert Reply
OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
THE PROMPT
• Issues tested?
Independent clauses
Comma splices
Usage of the semicolon
Pronoun and antecedent ("which)
THE OPTIONS
• I do not see any errors
→ a semicolon is used correctly to join two independent and related clauses
KEEP
• Comma splice error
→ we cannot join two independent clauses with nothing more than a comma.
When two full sentences are adjacent, we must connect them with: (1) [comma + conjunction (and, but, or)] or (2) a semicolon (and no coordinating conjunction)
Wrong: Maya's boss is ruthless, yesterday, he announced that no employee could wear a mask in the office.
Correct: Maya's boss is ruthless, and yesterday she quit when he announced that no employee could wear a mask in the office.
Correct: Maya's boss is ruthless; yesterday, for example, he announced that no employee could wear a mask in the office.
ELIMINATE B
• this option, too, presents a comma splice (two full clauses "stuck" together improperly by nothing more than a comma)
• like is misused
→ the word like should be used to compare two nouns
→ nouns are not being compared in this sentence
→ such as is preferred to like when introducing examples
ELIMINATE C
• a semicolon must join independent clauses, and in this sentence we do not have two independent clauses
(IC's contain a subject and working verb and can stand on their own.)
→ which might include that the accounts ("they") _____ what?
This material is verbatim; I think the authors forgot to insert a verb.
→ which has no antecedent
which must stand for a noun; which cannot stand in for a preceding clause or the unstated idea of that previous clause
This which refers to the fact that accountants might be finagling their clients' records
But the words the fact that do not exist in this sentence.
ELIMINATE D
• such as to be helping is a hot mess (in the OG, this phrase would be called "wordy" or "awkward" or both)
→ correct: such as helping their clients . . .
→ correct: such as to help their frustrated clients
ELIMINATE E
The correct answer is A.
COMMENTS
SantoshSukumaran , welcome to SC Butler.
Good question.
No, they in options B, C, and E would not constitute pronoun ambiguity:
(1) their in the non-underlined portion clearly refers to accountants
(2) the third person plural pronoun is now "used up." Any pronoun such as they must refer to accountants.
Option D is a text error. (I've checked three places. The sentence is incomplete.)
I like the different approaches that I see.
These answers range from very good to excellent.
You get a smiley face if you kinda explained, and kudos if you explained well.
Nice work!
Project SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC2)
THE PROMPT
Quote:
Growing economic woes and competition could be pushing accountants to finagle their clients’ records; accountants can, for example, help their frustrated clients write off certain luxurious purchases and justify them as business expenses.
• Issues tested?
Independent clauses
Comma splices
Usage of the semicolon
Pronoun and antecedent ("which)
THE OPTIONS
Quote:
A) Growing economic woes and competition could be pushing accountants to finagle their clients’ records; accountants can, for example, help their frustrated clients write off certain luxurious purchases and justify them as business expenses.
• I do not see any errors
→ a semicolon is used correctly to join two independent and related clauses
KEEP
Quote:
B) Growing economic woes and competition could be pushing accountants to finagle their clients’ records, as an example, they can help their frustrated clients write off certain luxurious purchases and justify them as business expenses.
• Comma splice error
→ we cannot join two independent clauses with nothing more than a comma.
When two full sentences are adjacent, we must connect them with: (1) [comma + conjunction (and, but, or)] or (2) a semicolon (and no coordinating conjunction)
Wrong: Maya's boss is ruthless, yesterday, he announced that no employee could wear a mask in the office.
Correct: Maya's boss is ruthless, and yesterday she quit when he announced that no employee could wear a mask in the office.
Correct: Maya's boss is ruthless; yesterday, for example, he announced that no employee could wear a mask in the office.
ELIMINATE B
Quote:
C) Growing economic woes and competition could be pushing accountants to finagle their clients’ records, like they can help their frustrated clients write off certain luxurious purchases and justify them as business expenses.
• this option, too, presents a comma splice (two full clauses "stuck" together improperly by nothing more than a comma)
• like is misused
→ the word like should be used to compare two nouns
→ nouns are not being compared in this sentence
→ such as is preferred to like when introducing examples
ELIMINATE C
Quote:
D) Growing economic woes and competition could be pushing accountants to finagle their clients' records; which might include that they their frustrated clients write off certain luxurious purchases and justify them as business expenses.
• a semicolon must join independent clauses, and in this sentence we do not have two independent clauses
(IC's contain a subject and working verb and can stand on their own.)
→ which might include that the accounts ("they") _____ what?
This material is verbatim; I think the authors forgot to insert a verb.
→ which has no antecedent
which must stand for a noun; which cannot stand in for a preceding clause or the unstated idea of that previous clause
This which refers to the fact that accountants might be finagling their clients' records
But the words the fact that do not exist in this sentence.
ELIMINATE D
Quote:
E) Growing economic woes and competition could be pushing accountants to finagle their clients’ records, such as to be helping their frustrated clients write off certain luxurious purchases and justify them as business expenses.
• such as to be helping is a hot mess (in the OG, this phrase would be called "wordy" or "awkward" or both)
→ correct: such as helping their clients . . .
→ correct: such as to help their frustrated clients
ELIMINATE E
The correct answer is A.
COMMENTS
SantoshSukumaran , welcome to SC Butler.
Good question.
No, they in options B, C, and E would not constitute pronoun ambiguity:
(1) their in the non-underlined portion clearly refers to accountants
(2) the third person plural pronoun is now "used up." Any pronoun such as they must refer to accountants.
Option D is a text error. (I've checked three places. The sentence is incomplete.)
I like the different approaches that I see.
These answers range from very good to excellent.
You get a smiley face if you kinda explained, and kudos if you explained well.
Nice work!
Re: Growing economic woes and competition could be pushing accountants to
[#permalink]
06 Nov 2020, 01:01
06 Nov 2020, 01:01
2
Kudos
My answer is (A). It took me 41 seconds.
(B) Comma splice.
(C) "like" cannot be used to introduce a clause.
(D) After semi-comma follows an independent clause. Here, which can only introduce a subordinate clause.
(E) "to be helping" does not make much sense. "to help" can convey the meaning better with fewer words.
(B) Comma splice.
(C) "like" cannot be used to introduce a clause.
(D) After semi-comma follows an independent clause. Here, which can only introduce a subordinate clause.
(E) "to be helping" does not make much sense. "to help" can convey the meaning better with fewer words.
