Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
eyunni wrote:
Faced with an estimated $2 billion budget gap, the city’s mayor proposed a nearly 17 percent reduction in the amount allocated the previous year to maintain the city’s major cultural institutions and to subsidize hundreds of local arts groups.
(A) proposed a nearly 17 percent reduction in the amount allocated the previous year to maintain the city’s major cultural institutions and to subsidize
(B) proposed a reduction from the previous year of nearly 17 percent in the amount it was allocating to maintain the city’s major cultural institutions and for subsidizing
(C) proposed to reduce, by nearly 17 percent, the amount from the previous year that was allocated for the maintenance of the city’s major cultural institutions and to subsidize
(D) has proposed a reduction from the previous year of nearly 17 percent of the amount it was allocating for maintaining the city’s major cultural institutions, and to subsidize
(E) was proposing that the amount they were allocating be reduced by nearly 17 percent from the previous year for maintaining the city’s major cultural institutions and for the subsidization
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that the mayor proposed that the amount of money allocated the previous year for the purpose of maintaining the city’s major cultural institutions and subsidizing hundreds of local arts groups be reduced by nearly 17 percent.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Pronouns + Tenses + Parallelism + Verb Forms + Awkwardness/Redundancy• The simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past.
• The simple past continuous tense is used to refer to actions that were ongoing over a period of time in the past.
• For referring to the purpose/intent of an action, the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb") is the preferred construction.
• Any elements linked by a conjunction ("and" in this sentence) must be parallel.
A: Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase "to maintain...and to subsidize", conveying the intended meaning - that the mayor proposed reducing the amount of money allocated the previous year for the purpose of maintaining the city’s major cultural institutions
and for the purpose of subsidizing hundreds of local arts groups. Further, Option A avoids the pronoun error seen in Option E, as it uses no pronouns. Moreover, Option A correctly uses the simple past tense verb "proposed" and the past participle "allocated" to refer to actions that concluded in the past. Additionally, Option A maintains parallelism between "to maintain" and "to subsidize". Besides, Option A uses the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb" - "to + maintain" and "to + subsidize" in this sentence) to refer to the purpose of the action "allocated". Option A is also free of any awkwardness or redundancy.
B: This answer choice incorrectly uses the simple past continuous tense verb "was allocating" to refer to an action that concluded in the past; remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past, and the simple past continuous tense is used to refer to actions that were ongoing over a period of time in the past. Further, Option B uses the present participle ("verb+ing") phrase "for subsidizing" to refer to the purpose of the action "allocating"; remember, for referring to the purpose/intent of an action, the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb") is preferred over the present participle ("verb+ing" - "subsidizing" in this sentence). Additionally, Option B uses the needlessly indirect phrase "proposed a reduction...in the amount", leading to awkwardness.
C: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "proposed to reduce...and to subsidize"; the parallelism between "to reduce" and "to subsidize" incorrectly implies that the mayor proposed reducing the amount of money allocated the previous year for the purpose of maintaining the city’s major cultural institutions
and proposed subsidizing hundreds of local arts groups; the intended meaning is that the mayor proposed reducing the amount of money allocated the previous year for the purpose of maintaining the city’s major cultural institutions
and for the purpose of subsidizing hundreds of local arts groups. Further, Option C uses the phrase "for the maintenance of" to refer to the purpose of the action "allocated"; remember, for referring to the purpose/intent of an action, the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb") is the preferred construction. Additionally, Option C uses the passive construction "the amount from the previous year that was allocated", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.
D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "proposed a reduction...and to subsidize"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the mayor proposed reducing the amount of money allocated the previous year for the purpose of maintaining the city’s major cultural institutions
and proposed subsidizing hundreds of local arts groups; the intended meaning is that the mayor proposed reducing the amount of money allocated the previous year for the purpose of maintaining the city’s major cultural institutions
and for the purpose of subsidizing hundreds of local arts groups. Further, Option D incorrectly uses the simple past continuous tense verb "was allocating" to refer to an action that concluded in the past; remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past, and the simple past continuous tense is used to refer to actions that were ongoing over a period of time in the past. Additionally, Option D fails to maintain parallelism between "a reduction" and "to subsidize"; remember, any elements linked by a conjunction ("and" in this sentence) must be parallel. Besides, Option D uses the present participle ("verb+ing") phrase "for maintaining" to refer to the purpose of the action "allocating"; remember, for referring to the purpose/intent of an action, the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb") is preferred over the present participle ("verb+ing" - "maintaining" in this sentence).
E: This answer choice suffers from a pronoun error, as the pronoun "they" has no logical and clear referent. Further, Option E incorrectly uses the simple past continuous tense verbs "was proposing" and "were allocating" to refer to actions that concluded in the past; remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past, and the simple past continuous tense is used to refer to actions that were ongoing over a period of time in the past. Additionally, Option E fails to maintain parallelism between "for maintaining" and "for the subsidization"; remember, any elements linked by a conjunction ("and" in this sentence) must be parallel. Besides, Option E uses the phrases "for maintaining" and "for the subsidization" to refer to the purposes of the action "allocating"; remember, for referring to the purpose/intent of an action, the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb") is the preferred construction.
Hence, A is the best answer choice.To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):
To understand the concept of "Simple Continuous Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
To understand the concept of "Infinitive" vs "Present Participle" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
_________________