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Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be

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generis
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Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be [#permalink] New post   Updated on: 02 Jun 2021, 00:51
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Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be no less challenging than the previous one had been for the company's C.E.O.

(A) the coming year to be no less challenging than the previous one had been

(B) the coming year to be no less challenging compared to the previous one

(C) that the coming year would be no less challenging compared to the previous one

(D) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one had been

(E) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one


SC03050.02
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E

Originally posted by generis on 20 Apr 2020, 22:33.
Last edited by Bunuel on 02 Jun 2021, 00:51, edited 1 time in total.
Edited the question.
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Re: Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be [#permalink] New post   27 Jul 2020, 14:34
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Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question, one thing at a time, and narrow down our options quickly so we know how to answer questions like this when they pop up on the GMAT! To begin, let's take a quick look at the question and highlight any major differences between the options in orange:

Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be no less challenging than the previous one had been for the company's C.E.O.

(A) the coming year to be no less challenging than the previous one had been

(B) the coming year to be no less challenging compared to the previous one

(C) that the coming year would be no less challenging compared to the previous one

(D) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one had been

(E) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one

After a quick glance over the options, there are a few key differences we can focus on:

1. that the coming year / the coming year (Idioms)
2. to be / would be / will be (Verb Tense)
3. than / compared to (Comparisons/Meaning)
4. the previous one / the previous one had been (Verb Tense)

Since #1 on our list is an “either/or” split, let’s start there. No matter which direction we go in, we’ll eliminate 2-3 options rather quickly. This is an idiom issue. The idiom we’re focusing on is “predict that X.” We need to eliminate any options that don’t follow this idiom structure:

(A) the coming year to be no less challenging than the previous one had been

(B) the coming year to be no less challenging compared to the previous one

(C) that the coming year would be no less challenging compared to the previous one

(D) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one had been

(E) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one

We can eliminate options A & B because “predict the coming year” is not idiomatic. Now that we have it narrowed down to 3 options, let’s look at the next “either/or” split on our list: would be vs. will be. “Would be” is a hypothetical verb tense, whereas “will be” is a future tense. Since the sentence is focusing on a real future, not a hypothetical one, let’s eliminate any options that use the hypothetical tense:

(C) that the coming year would be no less challenging compared to the previous one

(D) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one had been

(E) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one

We can eliminate option C because we’re not discussing a hypothetical event here - we’re discussing a real future event. Now that we have it narrowed down to only 2 options, let’s take a closer look at the other major differences and see if we can find any problems:

(D) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one had been
This is INCORRECT because the past perfect “had been” isn’t necessary here. We only use the past perfect tense when discussing 2 past events, and need to determine which one came first.

(E) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one
This is CORRECT! There aren’t any issues with idioms or verb tenses here!

There you have it - option E is our winner! By focusing on quick “either/or” splits, we were able to narrow down our options quickly, giving us more time to tackle more complicated questions!


Don’t study for the GMAT. Train for it.
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Re: Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be [#permalink] New post   02 May 2020, 05:02
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Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be no less challenging than the previous one had been for the company's C.E.O.

A) the coming year to be no less challenging than the previous one had been –
Predict Always follow that. So, it should be -> predict that
Had been (Past Perfect) is used when there is already a past tense in the sentence and past perfect tense is used to mention something that happened even before the event mentioned in past tense.

B) the coming year to be no less challenging compared to the previous one
Predict Always follow that. So, it should be -> predict that
While comparisons using less/more, it is mandatory to use than - > Less than/more than.

C) that the coming year would be no less challenging compared to the previous one
Would is incorrect here as Would is only used for
• Hypothetical case
• Discussing about future in the past.
While comparisons using less/more, it is mandatory to use than - > Less than/more than.

D) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one had been
Had been (Past Perfect) is used when there is already a past tense in the sentence and past perfect tense is used to mention something that happened even before the event mentioned in past tense.


E) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one
Best of all options
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Re: Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be [#permalink] New post   02 May 2020, 02:56
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generis wrote:
Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be no less challenging than the previous one had been for the company's C.E.O.

A) the coming year to be no less challenging than the previous one had been

B) the coming year to be no less challenging compared to the previous one

C) that the coming year would be no less challenging compared to the previous one

D) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one had been

E) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one


SC03050.02


A & B are wrong since predict + that is required in this case.
C the usage of would in present time frame is incorrect
D though D corrects the issue in C it has new issue. COMPARISION: logically coming year- (should be compared with)- previous one. Not with the difficulty of previous one.
Eliminating all we have E the best choice eliminating all errors above.

HOPE this helps.
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Re: Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be [#permalink] New post   20 May 2020, 01:31
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Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be no less challenging than the previous one had been for the company's C.E.O.

A) the coming year to be no lesschallenging than the previous one had been -- Simple future tense is preferable to show a prediction for future.

B) the coming year to be no less challenging compared to the previous one -- same as A

C) that the coming year would be no less challenging compared to the previous one -- Since the prediction is in present, "would" verb is wrong usage

D) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one had been -- We don't have a simple past to qualify preceding "had been". Also, elliptical comparison with verb elimination still makes sense logically.

E) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one -- CORRECT as explained in D

So, answer is E
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Re: Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be [#permalink] New post   23 May 2020, 12:13
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Debo1988 wrote:
Can you please help decode the comparison used in the correct option E?

E) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one

Is there ellipsis at play or is the comparison purely between the 2 nouns - previous year and coming year?

I don't believe there is ellipsis at play.

We can eliminate (A) and (B) for not using "that." predict that is an idiom.

We can eliminate (C) and (D) simply due to incorrect verb tenses/forms.

(C) incorrectly uses "would be"

(D) incorrectly uses Past Perfect "had been"

Scroll up, sarphant123 provided a great explanation for C and D.

(E) is correct for using simple past tense

Imagine if we modified the sentence to just read: "the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one."

This comparison logically makes perfect sense. "one" refers to 'year', so you can substitute if you'd like.
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Re: Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be [#permalink] New post   23 May 2020, 21:50
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Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be no less challenging than the previous one had been for the company's C.E.O.

A) the coming year to be no less challenging than the previous one had been - here, 'one' is being used to refer to 'year'. So, the usage of past perfect 'had been' tells us that the situation in the previous year was challenging for some duration but no longer valid after a certain time frame in the past. In other words, the challenge (in the previous year) ceased to exist. if this is true, then you cannot compare something to an event that does not exist anymore. Moreover, the correct idiom structure for 'predict' is 'predict that' (this structure is missing in A ). Hence, eliminate (A).

B) the coming year to be no less challenging compared to the previous one - incorrect idiom structure. Hence, eliminate (B).

C) that the coming year would be no less challenging compared to the previous one - a comparison using 'less/more' must have 'than' somewhere in the sentence. Here, we do not have 'than'. hence, eliminate (C)

D) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one had been - same error (involving past perfect tense) as in (A). Hence, eliminate (D).

E) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one - uses the right idiomatic structure for 'predict' (predict that...). Additionally, the right comparison structure (less than) is used here. hence, (E) is the right answer.
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Re: Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be [#permalink] New post   27 Jul 2020, 16:48
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EMPOWERgmatVerbal wrote:
Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question, one thing at a time, and narrow down our options quickly so we know how to answer questions like this when they pop up on the GMAT! To begin, let's take a quick look at the question and highlight any major differences between the options in orange:

Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be no less challenging than the previous one had been for the company's C.E.O.

(A) the coming year to be no less challenging than the previous one had been

(B) the coming year to be no less challenging compared to the previous one

(C) that the coming year would be no less challenging compared to the previous one

(D) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one had been

(E) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one

After a quick glance over the options, there are a few key differences we can focus on:

1. that the coming year / the coming year (Idioms)
2. to be / would be / will be (Verb Tense)
3. than / compared to (Comparisons/Meaning)
4. the previous one / the previous one had been (Verb Tense)

Since #1 on our list is an “either/or” split, let’s start there. No matter which direction we go in, we’ll eliminate 2-3 options rather quickly. This is an idiom issue. The idiom we’re focusing on is “predict that X.” We need to eliminate any options that don’t follow this idiom structure:

(A) the coming year to be no less challenging than the previous one had been

(B) the coming year to be no less challenging compared to the previous one

(C) that the coming year would be no less challenging compared to the previous one

(D) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one had been

(E) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one

We can eliminate options A & B because “predict the coming year” is not idiomatic. Now that we have it narrowed down to 3 options, let’s look at the next “either/or” split on our list: would be vs. will be. “Would be” is a hypothetical verb tense, whereas “will be” is a future tense. Since the sentence is focusing on a real future, not a hypothetical one, let’s eliminate any options that use the hypothetical tense:

(C) that the coming year would be no less challenging compared to the previous one

(D) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one had been

(E) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one

We can eliminate option C because we’re not discussing a hypothetical event here - we’re discussing a real future event. Now that we have it narrowed down to only 2 options, let’s take a closer look at the other major differences and see if we can find any problems:

(D) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one had been
This is INCORRECT because the past perfect “had been” isn’t necessary here. We only use the past perfect tense when discussing 2 past events, and need to determine which one came first.

(E) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one
This is CORRECT! There aren’t any issues with idioms or verb tenses here!

There you have it - option E is our winner! By focusing on quick “either/or” splits, we were able to narrow down our options quickly, giving us more time to tackle more complicated questions!


Don’t study for the GMAT. Train for it.


Rich,

Thanks for the detailed analysis. Couple of questions:
a) is the option D incorrect only because it adds unnecessary “had been”? In other words, is it grammatically correct?
b) if not, would the following sentence be correct?
“ .... no less challenging than the previous one was ....”
c) in option E, what verb form after the comparison is understood?

Thanks!

Posted from my mobile device
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Re: Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be [#permalink] New post   27 Jul 2020, 19:56
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EMPOWERgmatVerbal: There aren’t any issues with idioms or verb tenses here!


is it not necessary to use some verb to make it clear that previous is meant to be in past ?

If i don't use tense then it may appear like:
(E) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one (will be) - without using past tense

please suggest EMPOWERgmatVerbal
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Re: Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be [#permalink] New post   27 Jul 2020, 22:59
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Comparing two years "Coming years" and "previous years"

"had been " not required

Hence E
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Re: Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be [#permalink] New post   28 Jul 2020, 16:24
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lemonmelon wrote:
EMPOWERgmatVerbal wrote:
Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question, one thing at a time, and narrow down our options quickly so we know how to answer questions like this when they pop up on the GMAT! To begin, let's take a quick look at the question and highlight any major differences between the options in orange:

Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be no less challenging than the previous one had been for the company's C.E.O.

(A) the coming year to be no less challenging than the previous one had been

(B) the coming year to be no less challenging compared to the previous one

(C) that the coming year would be no less challenging compared to the previous one

(D) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one had been

(E) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one

After a quick glance over the options, there are a few key differences we can focus on:

1. that the coming year / the coming year (Idioms)
2. to be / would be / will be (Verb Tense)
3. than / compared to (Comparisons/Meaning)
4. the previous one / the previous one had been (Verb Tense)

Since #1 on our list is an “either/or” split, let’s start there. No matter which direction we go in, we’ll eliminate 2-3 options rather quickly. This is an idiom issue. The idiom we’re focusing on is “predict that X.” We need to eliminate any options that don’t follow this idiom structure:

(A) the coming year to be no less challenging than the previous one had been

(B) the coming year to be no less challenging compared to the previous one

(C) that the coming year would be no less challenging compared to the previous one

(D) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one had been

(E) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one

We can eliminate options A & B because “predict the coming year” is not idiomatic. Now that we have it narrowed down to 3 options, let’s look at the next “either/or” split on our list: would be vs. will be. “Would be” is a hypothetical verb tense, whereas “will be” is a future tense. Since the sentence is focusing on a real future, not a hypothetical one, let’s eliminate any options that use the hypothetical tense:

(C) that the coming year would be no less challenging compared to the previous one

(D) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one had been

(E) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one

We can eliminate option C because we’re not discussing a hypothetical event here - we’re discussing a real future event. Now that we have it narrowed down to only 2 options, let’s take a closer look at the other major differences and see if we can find any problems:

(D) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one had been
This is INCORRECT because the past perfect “had been” isn’t necessary here. We only use the past perfect tense when discussing 2 past events, and need to determine which one came first.

(E) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one
This is CORRECT! There aren’t any issues with idioms or verb tenses here!

There you have it - option E is our winner! By focusing on quick “either/or” splits, we were able to narrow down our options quickly, giving us more time to tackle more complicated questions!


Don’t study for the GMAT. Train for it.


Rich,

Thanks for the detailed analysis. Couple of questions:
a) is the option D incorrect only because it adds unnecessary “had been”? In other words, is it grammatically correct?
b) if not, would the following sentence be correct?
“ .... no less challenging than the previous one was ....”
c) in option E, what verb form after the comparison is understood?

Thanks!

Posted from my mobile device


Thanks for the questions, lemonmelon! Let's go through them one by one:

a) Yes, the only problem with option D is the use of "had been." It's the only difference between option D and the correct answer!
b) Yes, I suppose you could add "was" at the end of D and it would be correct. However, you don't need it - as we can see from the correct answer, option E.
c) Yes, the verb is implied in some comparisons. Again, you could put it if you wanted to - but you don't need to.

I hope that clears things up! Make sure to tag us at EMPOWERgmatVerbal if you have any other questions!
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Re: Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be [#permalink] New post   28 Jul 2020, 16:30
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imSKR wrote:
Quote:
EMPOWERgmatVerbal: There aren’t any issues with idioms or verb tenses here!


is it not necessary to use some verb to make it clear that previous is meant to be in past ?

If i don't use tense then it may appear like:
(E) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one (will be) - without using past tense

please suggest EMPOWERgmatVerbal


Thanks for your question imSKR!

No, using a verb at the end of the comparison is required all the time. Since the sentence says "the previous one," that already implies a past tense.

However, if you REALLY want to add a verb there, you have to add a past tense verb - not "will be." "Had been" doesn't work because you can only use it if 2 past events happen in the same sentence (hence why option D is wrong). If you add in "was," it would be correct. It's not 100% necessary, and since the GMAT prefers concise language, leaving it out doesn't hurt anything.

I hope that helps! Make sure to tag us at EMPOWERgmatVerbal if you have any other questions!
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Re: Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be [#permalink] New post   28 Jul 2020, 20:56
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A and B are out as idiom is "predict that"

Next, mgmat says with reporting sentences the usual sequences are EITHER Present + Future OR Past + Conditional.

Right: The scientist BELIEVES that the machine WILL BE wonderful. (Present + Future)
Right: The scientist BELIEVED that the machine WOULD BE wonderful. (Past + Conditional)
Wrong: The scientist BELIEVES that the machine WOULD BE wonderful. (Present + Conditional)
Wrong: The scientist BELIEVED that the machine WILL BE wonderful. (Past + Future)

eliminate C for this reason.

D unnecessarily uses past perfect.

E is the answer.
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Re: Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be [#permalink] New post   09 Aug 2020, 10:46
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Hi ,
Isn't the usage of "would" signify something which is not certain in future while "will" is certain. I chose C because the prediction may or may not be certain hence usage of "would" felt apt here.

AjiteshArun GMATNinja and other experts please throw light upon this.

Thanks,
Ankush
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Re: Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be [#permalink] New post   09 Aug 2020, 11:21
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nkshmalik1 wrote:
Hi ,
Isn't the usage of "would" signify something which is not certain in future while "will" is certain. I chose C because the prediction may or may not be certain hence usage of "would" felt apt here.

AjiteshArun GMATNinja and other experts please throw light upon this.

Thanks,
Ankush

Hi nkshmalik1,

You may be thinking about the conditional would (if X...), but there is no condition here. This will is just a way to say something about the future. The coming year is definitely expected to be in the future relative to the present tense analysts and media executives predict.

1. They predict that X will happen.
2. They predicted that X would happen.

The would in (2) does not show any kind of uncertainty. The people making the prediction are absolutely sure about what they are saying in both cases. The would in (2) is just the past tense of will.
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Re: Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be [#permalink] New post   25 Aug 2020, 10:08
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Hi AjiteshArun daagh GMATNinja generis BillyZ

In the forum, I read that "had been" always requires two pasts.

But in the below OG example had does not have a previous past :-

The spraying of pesticides can be carefully planned, but accidents, weather conditions that could not be foreseen, and pilot errors often cause much larger deposits of spray than they had anticipated.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-spraying ... 28649.html

Can you please elaborate why D is wrong?

Thanks!
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Re: Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be [#permalink] New post   25 Sep 2020, 14:40
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KeepMovingForward wrote:
Hi AjiteshArun daagh GMATNinja generis BillyZ

In the forum, I read that "had been" always requires two pasts.

But in the below OG example had does not have a previous past :-

The spraying of pesticides can be carefully planned, but accidents, weather conditions that could not be foreseen, and pilot errors often cause much larger deposits of spray than they had anticipated.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-spraying ... 28649.html

Can you please elaborate why D is wrong?

Thanks!

Your understanding of how "had" works is correct - the OG sentence you quoted is one of the incorrect options, and one of the reasons it's wrong is that it uses "had" for an action that doesn't occur before something else in the past. (It also has a "they" with no antecedent.)

So you can eliminate (D) for the same reason: there's nothing in the past for "had been" to come before, so it's wrong.

The takeaway: make sure that when you use OG questions to understand how a certain construction works, you don't mistakenly try to justify one of the incorrect options! :)
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Re: Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be [#permalink] New post   01 Jun 2021, 22:07
generis wrote:
Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be no less challenging than the previous one had been for the company's C.E.O.

(A) the coming year to be no less challenging than the previous one had been

(B) the coming year to be no less challenging compared to the previous one

(C) that the coming year would be no less challenging compared to the previous one

(D) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one had been

(E) that the coming year will be no less challenging than the previous one


SC03050.02



Hi VeritasKarishma GMATNinja AjiteshArun EducationAisle

I am not sure what exactly 'that' is doing in the sentence above, and whether it can be used to eliminate A and B. In below exampl usage of that is optional. Based on my understanding "that" can be optional if we have a seperate subject present inside the clause in below case "Irving" is that subject

1. The baboon Irving was feeding had an angry look about it

2. The baboon that Irving was feeding had an angry look about it

Coming back to the question isnt "the coming year" also the subject as "Irving" is in my example? if yes then isnt "that" optional and not the decision point to eliminate A and B. Appreciate your time on this.
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Re: Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be [#permalink] New post   01 Jun 2021, 22:37
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RohitSaluja wrote:
Hi VeritasKarishma GMATNinja AjiteshArun EducationAisle

I am not sure what exactly 'that' is doing in the sentence above, and whether it can be used to eliminate A and B. In below exampl usage of that is optional. Based on my understanding "that" can be optional if we have a seperate subject present inside the clause in below case "Irving" is that subject

1. The baboon Irving was feeding had an angry look about it

2. The baboon that Irving was feeding had an angry look about it

Coming back to the question isnt "the coming year" also the subject as "Irving" is in my example? if yes then isnt "that" optional and not the decision point to eliminate A and B. Appreciate your time on this.

Hi RohitSaluja,

This is more an idiomatic issue than something to do with that. Let's look at some of the ways we can use the verb predict:
1. predict + noun: They predicted the second wave.

2. predict + that-clause: They predicted that a second wave would occur. ← We could have dropped the that and gone with They predicted a second wave would occur.

We can use (2) in a passive construction as well:

3. It was predicted that a second wave would occur.

We can even use an infinitive in the passive:

4. A second wave was predicted to occur.

But we can't use predict + noun + infinitive:

5. They predicted the second wave to occur.
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Re: Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be [#permalink] New post   02 Jun 2021, 00:07
AjiteshArun wrote:
RohitSaluja wrote:
Hi VeritasKarishma GMATNinja AjiteshArun EducationAisle

I am not sure what exactly 'that' is doing in the sentence above, and whether it can be used to eliminate A and B. In below exampl usage of that is optional. Based on my understanding "that" can be optional if we have a seperate subject present inside the clause in below case "Irving" is that subject

1. The baboon Irving was feeding had an angry look about it

2. The baboon that Irving was feeding had an angry look about it

Coming back to the question isnt "the coming year" also the subject as "Irving" is in my example? if yes then isnt "that" optional and not the decision point to eliminate A and B. Appreciate your time on this.

Hi RohitSaluja,

This is more an idiomatic issue than something to do with that. Let's look at some of the ways we can use the verb predict:
1. predict + noun: They predicted the second wave.

2. predict + that-clause: They predicted that a second wave would occur. ← We could have dropped the that and gone with They predicted a second wave would occur.

We can use (2) in a passive construction as well:

3. It was predicted that a second wave would occur.

We can even use an infinitive in the passive:

4. A second wave was predicted to occur.

But we can't use predict + noun + infinitive:

5. They predicted the second wave to occur.


Hi AjiteshArun thanks for your response, as you mentioned sentence can be written as both "They predicted that a second wave would occur" and "They predicted a second wave would occur", so we cant really eliminate option A and B(as done by EmpowerGmat in its explanation to this question) just because they do not contain that. Is this correct ?

Rather A can be eliminated for using past perfect and B can be eliminated for missing "than" as correct idiom is "less... than"
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Re: Analysts and media executives predict the coming year to be [#permalink]
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