Option E

The 1990s

So option E will be the correct one

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C

A. As fast as the 1990s is wrong
B. I'm not sure " fast "can be used for " rate of increase"
C. Removes the ambiguity. " Of " refers to the annual rate of increase in the average salary in the 1990s
D. Worst
E. Than reference is incorrect

I'm confused between B and C. I prefer C to B

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Consider the rate of increase .
"rate" either gets bigger or larger but not faster. "increase" gets faster. (lexical matter)
So here the use of "fast"/"faster" with the "rate of increase" is wrong. Hence eliminate option A, B and D.
E wrongly compares the rate of increase with the year 1990s.
Correct answer is C.

In the 2000s, the annual rate of increase in the average salary of a software engineer was nearly twice as fast as the 1990s.

A twice as fast as
B twice as fast as it was in
C twice that of
D two times faster than that of
E two times greater than

Can anyone please confirm if my explanation is correct :


You are comparing rate of increase of avg salary of 2000 with 1990 . The rate of increase is a value .

Rate of increase of average salary for 2000 = avg salary of 2000 - avg salary 0f 1990/ avg salary 0f 1990 x 100 = 20% (Assumption)

When you are comparing values 1 & values 2

Say Value 2 = value 1 x 2 (Which means Value 2 is twice the value of Value 1 )

The value 2 cannot be 2x fast as as / greater than . It has be some percent of Value 1

I picked B because:
Parallelism is maintained in this answer choice. In 2000s, the annual rate of increase...............................it was in the 1990s. Correct me if I am wrong.
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In the 2000s, the annual rate of increase in the average salary of a software engineer was nearly twice as fast as the 1990s.


A twice as fast as
B twice as fast as it was in
C twice that of
D two times faster than that of
E two times greater than

1. We are not comparing the decades. Hence, A and E are out.
2. Unless we can call the increases as one time, two times, the phrase 'two times' is not useful. You cannot describe a quantum in countable times. Therefore, D is out.
3. The rate of increase does not have speed. We can say-- Tom grows faster than Dick. However, we cannot say Tom's growth rate is faster than Dick's. Therefore, B is out.
C is the answer avoiding the above-said pitfalls. '
Generally, 'two times' is used more in informal daily conversations than 'twice' used in formal writing.
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daagh sir

I have one doubt. Wouldn't option C lead to a wrong comparison?

If we substitute option C into the original sentence then:

In the 2000s, the annual rate of increase in the average salary of a software engineer was nearly twice that of the 1990s.

Wouldn't it mean that we are comparing average salary of software engineer with 1990s?? in other words we are comparing average salary with a number

Hi Prateek,

Whenever you have that of and those of in comparison, look for possible singular and plural antecedent respectively.

Here that refers to - - > look for possible singular antecedent - - - >annual rate

Secondly look for comparison---> of.... Of

In the 2000s, the annual rate of increase in the average salary of a software engineer was nearly twice that(annual rate) of the 1990s




Thank you = Kudos

Increase in rates are no described in terms of speed, so A B and D are out.

E compares the rate of increase in the 2000s to the decade of the 1990s. Incorrect.



C is the right answer.

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