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12 Jan 2021, 21:58
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Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
15%
(low)
Question Stats:
74% (01:08) correct
26%
(01:05)
wrong
based on 329
sessions
History
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Not Attempted Yet
Like the decline of a college graduate's wage, high school graduates' wages put pressure on social welfare systems and other public programs.
A) high school graduates' wages put pressure on
B) a high school graduate wage puts pressure on
C) that of high school graduates wages put pressure on
D) that of a high school graduate's wage puts pressure on
E) that of a high school graduates' wages is putting pressure on the
12 Jan 2021, 22:00
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OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
THE PROMPT
→ Obviously, the word like signals a comparison/
→ Perhaps less obviously, although the sentence describes an "action," because like is followed only by a noun phrase (i.e., the like phrase does not contain a verb), the use of like rather than as is correct.
→ What is being compared?
The deleterious effect of a decline of a college graduate's wage and the similar deleterious effect caused by a decline of a high school graduate's wage.
• Like X, Y
In comparisons, the X- and Y-elements must be parallel, i.e., similar parts of speech that play the same logical role in the sentence.
THE OPTIONS
→ we need to be comparing apples to apples. A decline and wages are not parallel.
→ high school graduates' wages by themselves do not put pressure on the social system. The decline of those wages puts pressure on the social system.
• Parallelism error #2: a college graduate's wage (singular, categorical) is not parallel to high school graduates' wages
→ we can talk about an entire general category with the use of the singular. (The tiger is endangered. A degree in law is difficult to earn.)
→ even if the word decline had been included, we want to compare a college graduate's wage and a high school graduate's wage
BTW, high school graduates' and high school graduate's are adjectives that modify the noun wages.
ELIMINATE A
→ decline is improperly compared to a wage
• college graduate's and high school graduate are not parallel
→ graduate's is a possessive adjective whereas graduate is a noun acting as an adjective.
ELIMINATE B
• subject/verb agreement: the singular that, referring to decline, does not agree with the plural verb put
• a college graduate's wage and high school graduates wages are not parallel
→ the first is singular whereas the second is plural
→ the word graduates is just flat wrong. In this case, graduates must be in the possessive form: graduates'
ELIMINATE C
• the modifiers of "decline" and "that" are structured similarly
KEEP D
• although is putting pressure on is grammatical, the shorter "puts" in option D is crisper and in an effectively active voice
ELIMINATE E
The answer is D.
COMMENTS
Well, I am glad to see a variety of posters: people whom I haven't seen in awhile, new-ish Butler posters, occasional posters, and veterans.
All of these answers are excellent. Nicely done.
Project SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC2)
THE PROMPT
Quote:
Like the decline of a college graduate's wage, high school graduates' wages put pressure on social welfare systems and other public programs.
• Big issue? We are dealing with a comparison.→ Obviously, the word like signals a comparison/
→ Perhaps less obviously, although the sentence describes an "action," because like is followed only by a noun phrase (i.e., the like phrase does not contain a verb), the use of like rather than as is correct.
→ What is being compared?
The deleterious effect of a decline of a college graduate's wage and the similar deleterious effect caused by a decline of a high school graduate's wage.
• Like X, Y
In comparisons, the X- and Y-elements must be parallel, i.e., similar parts of speech that play the same logical role in the sentence.
THE OPTIONS
Quote:
A) Like the decline of a college graduate's wage, high school graduates' wages put pressure on social welfare systems and other public programs.
• Parallelism error #1: the decline is compared to wages→ we need to be comparing apples to apples. A decline and wages are not parallel.
→ high school graduates' wages by themselves do not put pressure on the social system. The decline of those wages puts pressure on the social system.
• Parallelism error #2: a college graduate's wage (singular, categorical) is not parallel to high school graduates' wages
→ we can talk about an entire general category with the use of the singular. (The tiger is endangered. A degree in law is difficult to earn.)
→ even if the word decline had been included, we want to compare a college graduate's wage and a high school graduate's wage
BTW, high school graduates' and high school graduate's are adjectives that modify the noun wages.
ELIMINATE A
Quote:
B) Like the decline of a college graduate's wage, a high school graduate wage puts pressure on social welfare systems and other public programs.
• Just as is the case in option A, decline is missing from the second part of the comparison→ decline is improperly compared to a wage
• college graduate's and high school graduate are not parallel
→ graduate's is a possessive adjective whereas graduate is a noun acting as an adjective.
ELIMINATE B
Quote:
C) Like the decline of a college graduate's wage, that of high school graduates wages put pressure on social welfare systems and other public programs.
• that correctly refers to the decline [of high school graduates wages], but errors exist• subject/verb agreement: the singular that, referring to decline, does not agree with the plural verb put
• a college graduate's wage and high school graduates wages are not parallel
→ the first is singular whereas the second is plural
→ the word graduates is just flat wrong. In this case, graduates must be in the possessive form: graduates'
ELIMINATE C
Quote:
D) Like the decline of a college graduate's wage, that of a high school graduate's wage puts pressure on social welfare systems and other public programs.
• that correctly refers to decline: the sentence compares parallel items• the modifiers of "decline" and "that" are structured similarly
KEEP D
Quote:
E) Like the decline of a college graduate's wage, that of a high school graduates' wages is putting pressure on the social welfare systems and other public programs.
• graduates' is incorrect: to indicate possession of a singular noun, the apostrophe is placed before the "s," this way: graduate's• although is putting pressure on is grammatical, the shorter "puts" in option D is crisper and in an effectively active voice
ELIMINATE E
The answer is D.
COMMENTS
Well, I am glad to see a variety of posters: people whom I haven't seen in awhile, new-ish Butler posters, occasional posters, and veterans.
All of these answers are excellent. Nicely done.
General Discussion
12 Jan 2021, 22:29
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Like the decline of a college graduate's wage, high school graduates' wages put pressure on social welfare systems and other public programs.
A) high school graduates' wages put pressure on
-> Comparison Error: the decline of a college graduate's wage vs high school graduates' wages
-> A college graduate's wage vs high school graduates' wages (Singular vs Plural)
B) a high school graduate wage puts pressure on
-> Comparison Error: the decline of a college graduate's wage vs high school graduates' wages
C) that of high school graduates wages put pressure on
-> Comparison Error: the decline of a college graduate's wage vs the decline of high school graduates' wages
D) that of a high school graduate's wage puts pressure on
E) that of a high school graduates' wages is putting pressure on the
-> Possessive Pronoun Error: a high school graduates' wages is not a correct way to express. Rather, we should use a high school graduate's wage or high school graduates' wages.
A) high school graduates' wages put pressure on
-> Comparison Error: the decline of a college graduate's wage vs high school graduates' wages
-> A college graduate's wage vs high school graduates' wages (Singular vs Plural)
B) a high school graduate wage puts pressure on
-> Comparison Error: the decline of a college graduate's wage vs high school graduates' wages
C) that of high school graduates wages put pressure on
-> Comparison Error: the decline of a college graduate's wage vs the decline of high school graduates' wages
D) that of a high school graduate's wage puts pressure on
E) that of a high school graduates' wages is putting pressure on the
-> Possessive Pronoun Error: a high school graduates' wages is not a correct way to express. Rather, we should use a high school graduate's wage or high school graduates' wages.
