In 1914 a total of 469,000 cars and trucks were produced in

Question

In 1914 a total of 469,000 cars and trucks were produced in the United States, but in 1929 almost twice  the numbers of tucks alone  came off the assembly lines. 
A. the numbers of tucks alone 
B. that number of trucks alone 
C. the number of trucks by themselves 
D. as many trucks themselves 
E. as many trucks by themselves

Can some one explain the logic behind this??

gurpreetsingh · Answer

correct usage is ' twice the number' ,'twice the value'.

Twice the numbers is wrong.
Also twice as many as is wrong usage. It should be two times as many as.

siyer · Answer

I went for B

C is surely wrong.

I've doubts between A & B.

amitjash · Answer

Sorry i forgot to mention that i dont have OA... please guys apply logic for this question... thanks

prab · Answer

I think OA is B. Gurpeetsingh can you please explain why is 'Twice the number' is wrong? Thanks in advance

gurpreetsingh · Answer

Twice the number is not wrong....check my post again. I have said  twice the numbers  is wrong.

shrouded1 · Answer

I am not sure about the usage of "themselves" here ... I would have thought the answer is

gurpreetsingh · Answer

Even I m not 100% sure but 'twice that' is certainly wrong in B.

shrouded1 · Answer

Why is "twice that number" incorrect ? Does it not refer to 469,000 ?

gurpreetsingh · Answer

twice that number is not idiomatic.
Moreover 'total of 469,000 cars and trucks' is mentioned. Twice that number of truck is what number?
The author has not mentioned number of truck; its the total number of truck and cars.

shrouded1 · Answer

You are comparing a number to a number, so seems ok to me. 
"the number of X is twice that of Y" why is it unidiomatic ?

Also, by using "themselves" in C,D,E isnt it giving it a second meaning that the trucks took themselves off the assembly line ?

shrouded1 · Answer

A bit more of searching later ... I found this question cited in other places too

The OA is (b)

LogicGuru1 · Answer

In 1914 a total of 469,000 cars and trucks were produced in the United States, but in 1929 almost twice  the numbers of tucks alone  came off the assembly lines.

The correct idiom is "as many as"
D and E out

A) the numbers of trucks alone
 WRONG  :-  twice of what number  ?? we need a digit or a reference to a digit.

B) that number of trucks alone
CORRECT:-  twice that number of  truck alone ; twice of 4696000.

C) the number of trucks by themselves
WRONG:- " alone " , " by themselves " is redundant. Both means the same thing.

D)  as many  trucks themselves
WRONG IDIOM

E)  as many  trucks by themselves
WRONG IDIOM

In 1914 a total of 469,000 cars and trucks were produced in

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