Officials in Australia estimate that revenues from casinos and gamblin

In Option B


Hi guys,

Many people have been confused between the option B and C.

Well, Option C is better than Option B for it clarifies the entity that is being compared.

(B) an amount that is 30% higher than the previous year's.
That here stands for amount.
So, it is basically says, Amount is higher than the previous year's_something_

But,

(C) an amount that is 30% higher than the previous year's figure.
This says, Amount is higher than the previous year's figure (figure stands for amount here).

Option C is thus more precise in comparing Amount with Figure (signifies amount).

This is my first explanation on GC. I hope it helps.

GMATNinja
Could you explain why which-clause is not prefer in this situation?

Thanks

Posted from my mobile device

I can try.

The difference between the relative pronoun modifier which clause and the noun+noun modifier (or the appositive) an amount that is 30% higher than the previous year's figure lies in the modification that these two entities carry out in the sentence.

A noun+noun modifier can modify any entity in the preceding clause irrespective of its position. Whereas, generally speaking, our relative pronoun modifiers need to be placed closer to the noun entity they are supposed to modify. Saying that it won't be wrong if you see relative pronoun modifiers modifying a noun placed slightly far away noun. Eg. I killed the snake with scales, which lived in the burrow behind my house. But, this jump can happen only if the entity (between my relative pronoun modifier and the noun that it is supposed to modify), can not be placed elsewhere in the sentence without distorting the meaning of the sentence. If it can be placed elsewhere without distorting the meaning, then the intended modification can not happen.

In our case, 1995 is being modified by our relative pronoun modifier (which clause), which is a wrong modification. Reason: It is supposed to modify the 80 billion dollars, not the year 1995. And the jump can not happen because 1995 can be placed elsewhere without distorting the meaning of the sentence. A case in which, the jump can not happen. We can write: Officials in Australia estimate that, in 1995, revenues from casinos and gambling houses rose to 80 billion dollars, an amount that is 30% more than the previous year. Here, "in 1995" is placed slightly ahead in the sentence, yet it conveys the intended meaning without any ambiguity, hence, the jump can not happen in our given case, and thus, "which clause" can not modify the noun 80 billion dollars.

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