Oil traders have profited handsomely from the recent rise

prabsahi,

Could you please explain why 'rise of' is wrong here? Whether its usage is wrong or it's not preferred in GMAT? I tried do google it out but couldn't find satisfactory answers. Thanks in advance!

Cheers!

Explanation is not clear, can someone explain it please

Hi Chand567,

Can you please share your specific query doubt?

Thanks

Can anyone explain why C and not B?

MsInvBanker hazelnut DmitryFarber aragonn

Both option B and C appear to be correct.

Can you explain why C is to be preferred over B?

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Please explain , why B is wrong here ?
Both B and C sound right.

Excerpt from The Gaurdian
The global economy could be damaged if oil prices return to $100 (??76) a barrel, experts have warned, after crude prices hit a four-year high of $82.16.

First off, this isn't really one of our questions. Someone took an example sentence from our SC guide and decided to add answer choices to it, so there's no official answer. However, C mirrors the version we used in our guide.

If "price" were the subject of the sentence, B would be objectively wrong. We can see that easily by removing the adjective "oil":


The prices have gone down.
Prices have gone down.
The price has gone down.
Price has gone down.

In this way, "price" isn't much different from any other noun. For instance, we can say "Dogs are running," but not "Dog is running."

However, in this sentence, "price" is part of a modifier ("in price"), and it's fairly normal to say things like "A drop in price would entice more buyers." So can we say "an increase in oil price"? I wouldn't, but people do. I can't say definitively whether the GMAT would accept this. However, given the choice between B and C, C is safer.

That's just a fundamental rule of English. Any noun that refers to a singular object or entity but is not a name needs an article (a/an/the). Without the article, it's not clear what we mean by a singular noun.

I love dogs: I love all dogs
I love the dogs: I love a specific set of dogs that we are discussing
I love the dog: I love one specific dog that we are discussing
I love dog: ??? (I love a certain dog? I love dog-related things? I love to eat dog meat? It just doesn't work.)

Similarly, I can't say "I was stopped by police officer" or "Store is closed today." Notice that we can say "College is very challenging," because we aren't referring to one particular college. We cannot say "College is closed today."

A. in its price :'Its' is ambiguous
B. in oil price : meaning error
C. in the price of oil : CORRECT
D. of oil price : WRONG USE of 'OF' ; UNIDIOMATIC
E. of the oil price[/quote] : WRONG USE of 'OF' ; UNIDIOMATIC

Oil traders have profited by rise in price , not rise in oil (SUMMARY)

Hi DmitryFarber!
As per the Manhattan SC guide a noun modified by a prepositional phrase can be turned into a noun adjective and put in front of the first noun. Isn't this the case here with B & C?

Regards,
PSP

I'm still confused between options B and C. I mean I do agree option C might be slightly better than option B, but not significantly so, certainly not by enough to make option C incorrect.

jarlgrey

See my post above about "the." We simply can't refer to something specific like the price of a commodity without an article (a, the). This is actually a significant rule, and violating it is instant death for an answer. If we're not referring to one specific number, the article stays out: "I will reimburse you for fuel costs."

Anyone please explain any specific reason why "C" over "B". It is still quite confusing..
Thanks in advance

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