Obtaining an investment-grade rating will keep the county's

Hi lakshya14,

The first option makes obtaining the subject of the sentence. It is not in any way part of the series of items that the and joins.

Obtaining an investment-grade rating will (a) keep the county's future borrowing costs low, (b) protect its already-tattered image, and (c) increase its ability to buy bond insurance.

(A) Obtaining an investment-grade rating will keep the county's future borrowing costs low, protect - Correct

(B) To obtain an investment-grade rating will keep the county's future borrowing costs low, and protect - Wrong: 1) Parallelism 2) Structure

(C) Having obtained an investment-grade rating will, in keeping the county's future borrowing costs low, protect - Wrong: 1) Parallelism 2) Meaning

(D) To obtain an investment-grade rating would keep the county's future borrowing costs low, protecting - Wrong: 1) Parallelism 2) Meaning

(E) Obtaining an investment-grade rating, keeping the county's borrowing costs low, would be protecting - Wrong: 1) Parallelism 2) Meaning

(A) Obtaining an investment-grade rating will keep the county's future borrowing costs low, protect

The correct sentence should convey the meaning as follows: Obtaining X will result in W,Y and Z. This is exactly what (A) portrays. So, (A) is the correct answer.

(B) To obtain an investment-grade rating will keep the county's future borrowing costs low, and protect

In B, the generalized structure is: To obtain X will keep W,Y and Z - such a structure has no logical meaning. Hence, it is incorrect in the context of this question. Besides, To obtain X will keep W,Y and Z - this literally makes no sense at all. So, eliminate B

(C) Having obtained an investment-grade rating will, in keeping the county's future borrowing costs low, protect.

In C, the first part of a sentence is actually intended to modify a subject. So, what follows this -ing modifier clause must be the subject that this clause tries to modify. However, we do not have a subject after this clause. Hence, C is incorrect.

(D) To obtain an investment-grade rating would keep the county's future borrowing costs low, protecting

Eliminate D for the same reasons as B

(E) Obtaining an investment-grade rating, keeping the county's borrowing costs low, would be protecting.

The correct sentence should convey the meaning as follows: Obtaining X will result in W,Y and Z. But here in (E), we have two -ing modifiers that are stacked on top of each other without any subject succeeding them. Hence, (E) is incorrect.

Why is B not the correct answer?

Is it because of the extra "AND" before protect?

To obtain........., and protect

Hi sood1596,

The ",and" is not correct in the choice. In addition, you will find that a sentence with an infinitive (to+base form of the verb - to sing/to dance/to obtain) as the subject is usually awkward - atleast GMAT seems to think so. So, to begin with, choice B is awkward on stylistic grounds. (Reference: Manhattan 6th edition)


Also, I feel that this "awkward" style falls short of conveying the meaning clearly. Ignore the "and" error for the moment please, and consider the basic structure of this choice.

To obtain (x) will :

(1) keep...
(2) and protect...
(3) ...and increase...

In other words, "something" will do 3 things, right? So, why not make a clear connection between that "something" and the 3 things it will do?

Perhaps I can make you understand my discomfort with Choice B by giving you relatively simpler sentences.

So, please consider the following example sentences:

1. Buying a house will give you a false sense of security.

2. To buy a house will give you a false sense of security.

Which one of the two sentences above do you think makes more sense? What will give a false sense of security?

Did I just ramble because I am sleepy and can't seem to get away from GC or do you see where I am going with it?


Cheers!

NS

Why is B wrong? Is my analysis remotely correct? Is there anything else I'm missing?

(1) "To obtain an investment-grade rating" seems to be the subject. Is there no problem here?
(2) ", and" [before the protect] seems really off. What's really the problem with it though? Does it break the parallelism?

This question is based on Parallelism.

The sentence states three things that obtaining an investment-grade rating will do – keep…, protect…., and increase…. All the verbs are parallel in Option A so, this is the best of all the options.

The infinitive “To obtain” conveys a purpose, which changes the meaning of the sentence. The conjunction ‘and’ is redundant in the sentence since there is already a conjunction just before the last verb in the series. So, Option B can be eliminated.

The perfect participle form ‘Having obtained” changes the time frame and implies that investment-grade rating has already been obtained. This option further changes the meaning by converting the first thing in the list into a modifier. So, Option C can also be eliminated.

Option D also contains the infinitive, which changes the meaning just as it does in Option B. This option also lacks parallelism. The verb ‘would keep’ further changes the meaning by implying probability instead of certainty. So, Option D can also be eliminated.

The construction of Option E is awkward because it contains two participle phrases in the place of the subject. There is also a lack of parallelism between ‘would be protecting’ and ‘increase’. So, Option E can be eliminated.

Therefore, A is the most appropriate option.

Jayanthi Kumar.

The problem with B is "and" before "protect".

A) keep ..., protect ..., and increase (CORRECT)
B) keep ..., and protect ..., and increase ... (WRONG)

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