Palladium prices have soared, with Russia restricting exports and

Question

Palladium prices have soared, with Russia restricting exports and because automakers have started using  it to make the huge engines in sport utility vehicles and other light trucks.

(A) Palladium prices have soared, with Russia restricting exports and because automakers have started using
 
(B) Palladium prices have soared, with Russia restricting exports, in addition to automakers that have started to use
 
(C) Prices for palladium have soared as Russia has restricted exports and automakers have started using
 
(D) Prices for palladium have soared as Russia has been restricting exports, in addition to automakers starting to use
 
(E) Prices for palladium have soared because Russia is restricting exports, as well as automakers that have started using

SC04198

https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/22/business/honda-to-use-exhaust-device-that-it-says-will-cut-costs.html

Palladium prices have soared  as  Russia   has restricted  exports and   as   automakers  have started  trying to make the huge engines in sport utility vehicles and other light trucks pollute as little as cars, usually by fitting them with much bigger catalytic converters. Palladium prices briefly approached $1,100 in early February during an interruption of Russian shipments, which drew speculators into the market.

aragonn · Accepted Answer

(C) Prices for palladium have soared as Russia has restricted exports and automakers have started using --- correct parallellism and meaning.

(D) Prices for palladium have soared as Russia has been restricting exports, in addition to automakers starting to use --- So Russia was restricting from quiet long. and Russia restricted export to automakers --- very bad construction.

(E) Prices for palladium have soared because Russia is restricting exports, as well as automakers that have started using ---- we need a verb after as well as.

With + noun+ verb-ing --- bad construction A, b done.

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem: 
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this question is that Palladium prices have soared because Russia has restricted exports and because automakers have started using it to make the huge engines of sport utility vehicles and other light trucks.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Parallelism + Verb Forms + Grammatical Construction

• Any elements linked by a conjunction ("and" in this sentence) must be parallel. 
• Information vital to the core meaning of the sentence cannot be placed between commas. 
• Present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present. 
• The present perfect continuous tense (marked by "has/have been") is the correct tense to refer to actions that started in past and continue into the present.
• The simple present continuous tense is used to refer to actions that are currently ongoing and continuous in nature.

A:  This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism between "with Russia restricting exports" and "because automakers have started using it...light trucks"; remember, any elements linked by a conjunction ("and" in this sentence) must be parallel.

B:  This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "in addition to automakers"; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that Russia has started to restrict exports and   has started to restrict automakers   that have started using palladium to make the huge engines in sport utility vehicles and other light trucks; the intended meaning is that Russia has started to restrict exports, and   as a separate action automakers have started   using palladium to make the huge engines in sport utility vehicles and other light trucks. Further, Option B incorrectly places information that is vital to the core meaning of the sentence - the fact that Russia is restricting exports - between commas; remember, information vital to the core meaning of the sentence cannot be placed between commas.

C:   Correct.  This answer choice uses the phrase "and automakers have started using", conveying the intended meaning - that Russia has started to restrict exports, and   as a separate action automakers have started   using palladium to make the huge engines in sport utility vehicles and other light trucks. Further, Option C correctly uses the present perfect tense verbs "has restricted" and "have started" to refer to actions that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present. Additionally, Option C avoids the grammatical construction error seen in Option B as it places no information between commas. Besides, Option C maintains parallelism between "Russia has restricted exports" and "automakers have started using...light trucks".

D:  This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "in addition to automakers"; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that Russia has started to restrict exports and   has started to restrict automakers   that have started using palladium to make the huge engines in sport utility vehicles and other light trucks; the intended meaning is that Russia has started to restrict exports, and   as a separate action automakers have started   using palladium to make the huge engines in sport utility vehicles and other light trucks. Further, Option D incorrectly uses the present perfect continuous tense verb "has been restricting" to refer to an action that concluded in the past but continues to affect the present; please remember, present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present, and the present perfect continuous tense (marked by "has/have been") is the correct tense to refer to actions that started in past and continue into the present. Additionally, Option D incorrectly uses the present participle ("verb+ing" - "starting" in this sentence) to refer to an action that concluded in the past but continues to affect the present; please remember, present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.

E:  This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "as well as automakers automakers"; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that Russia has started to restrict exports and   has started to restrict automakers   that have started using palladium to make the huge engines in sport utility vehicles and other light trucks; the intended meaning is that Russia has started to restrict exports, and   as a separate action automakers have started   using palladium to make the huge engines in sport utility vehicles and other light trucks. Further, Option E incorrectly uses the simple present continuous tense verb "is restricting" to refer to an action that concluded in the past but continues to affect the present; please remember, present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present, and the simple present continuous tense is used to refer to actions that are currently ongoing and continuous in nature.

Hence, C is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Present Perfect Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNmT9obXukI

To understand the concept of "Present Perfect Continuous Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKe3KPhWAKw

To understand the concept of "simple COntinuous Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fndw1N0nWXw

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

GyMrAT · Answer

The "it" in the non underlined portion should logically refer to "Palladium".

In A & B, "it" refers to "Russia", as it is the only singular noun, hence is not correct.

C makes more sense, as 'it" can now refer to "Palladium". The parallelism looks correct too. C is correct.

D & E have tense issues.

Answer C.

Thanks,
GyM

arun6765 · Answer

hazelnut Pls advise whether OA is correct or there is some different concept tested over here experts GMATNinja , daagh , chetan2u pls enlighten.

BillyZ · Answer

Sorry. I have edited the OA. Refer the excerpt from  New York Times .

https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/22/business/honda-to-use-exhaust-device-that-it-says-will-cut-costs.html

Palladium prices have soared  as  Russia   has restricted  exports and   as   automakers  have started  trying to make the huge engines in sport utility vehicles and other light trucks pollute as little as cars, usually by fitting them with much bigger catalytic converters. Palladium prices briefly approached $1,100 in early February during an interruption of Russian shipments, which drew speculators into the market.

chetan2u · Answer

Hi Arun
It is clearly C for parallelism between russians and automakers and their respective activities..
AS is also correctly used

C should be the answer and E is way too wrong

shinichikudo · Answer

Damn, GMAT is using a cut-phrase from an NY Times article ...

Mansi89 · Answer

It refers to prices of p, isn’t it wrong?

Posted from my mobile device

daagh · Answer

It cannot refer to prices becos of S-V number problem. It cannot also refer to Russia logically. The only other eligible noun is Palladium.

saurabh9gupta · Answer

Palladium prices have soared, with Russia restricting exports and because automakers have started using  it to make the huge engines in sport utility vehicles and other light trucks.
 
(A) Palladium prices have soared, with Russia restricting exports and because automakers have started using
(B) Palladium prices have soared, with Russia restricting exports, in addition to automakers that have started to use
(C) Prices for palladium have soared as Russia has restricted exports and automakers have started using
(D) Prices for palladium have soared as Russia has been restricting exports, in addition to automakers starting to use
(E) Prices for palladium have soared because Russia is restricting exports, as well as automakers that have started using

So it in the non-underlined part refers to Palladium but palladium in A and B is used as an adjective. "it" is a pronoun which can only refer to a noun. A and B are out.

how to eliminate DE ?
 daagh

Karmesh · Answer

Should't there be an "as" between and & automakers for correct parallelism ?

(C) Prices for palladium have soared  as  Russia has restricted exports  and automakers  have started using

AjiteshArun · Answer

The second  as  is understood. It is for the same reason that we don't need to add another  for  or  his  in the following sentence:

He is known for his X and Y.

Karmesh · Answer

Hi  AjiteshArun  , Thanks for your reply. I'm a bit confused here.
So, to my understanding, we don't' repeat a word if it correlates to the same person or thing, eg in "He is known for his X and Y." X & Y both go back to the same person. Whereas, in option 
C) Prices for palladium have soared as Russia has restricted exports and automakers have started using
Russia and automakers are different and we need to repeat as. (although they are russian automakers, but still different)
At least that's how i understand things.

Would be great if you could correct me and help understand better. 
TIA

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi  Karmesh ,

You're on the right track. It's just that we should look at it more as a preference (repeating a word may help make the sentence clearer in  some  cases) than as an absolute rule. That is, a second  as  is not  necessary . This is not related to whether it is the same person or thing. For example (from  here ):

... tourists had raised the humidity within them to such levels that (a) salt from the stone was crystallizing and (b) fungus was growing on the walls.

If we tried to add another  that  before  fungus , we'd actually end up with an inferior option.

Sidmehra · Answer

Hi

daagh

Can B, D and E be eliminated due to incorrect use of in addition to and as well as which represent subjects doing same action (which is not the case with Russians and automakers)

On what grounds can we eliminate A ? Is it due to incorrect parallelism between Russians and automakers ?

Posted from my mobile device

daagh · Answer

Sid wrote

1. The subject is prices and not Palladium, which is just an adjective here. A pronoun cannot refer to an adjective. Therefore, the pronoun is out of reference.

2. One cannot join a DC with an IC with "and. It is out rightly unparallel.

I agree. In addition to or as well as warps the meaning that the prices and the automakers have soared

mrzeynalli · Answer

What made me confused is that within the part "as Russia has restricted exports and automakers have started using" a comma should be added before "and automakers" because there are consecutive two sentences, each with a subject and verb. Can anybody please justify the correctness of the absence of comma there?

Thanks in advance.

Thanks in advance.

nisthagupta28 · Answer

(A) Palladium prices have soared, (main clause)
With (more information about - have soared) Russia restricting (ing mod. Of exports) exports (pp modifier)
and because automakers have started using it (it - pall) (clause? - a have started - DC because)
to make the huge engines in sport utility vehicles and other light trucks. (have started)

Error - it should be - prices soared - with x & y? And is a parallel marker - with x and because y - incorrect

(B) Palladium prices have soared, (clause) 
with Russia restricting exports, (non-essential) 
 in addition to automakers that have started to use (in addition to what?) (that modifies automakers) 
Meaning issue

(C) Prices for palladium have soared (mc) 
- as Russia has restricted exports (has res) (have started) (present perfect verb - something that is completed now or the effects are still)
- and automakers have started using (As Xc & Yc)

(D) Prices for palladium have soared (MC)
- as Russia has been restricting exports, (present continuous - meaning the action of restriction is still happening - ok)
- in addition to automakers starting to use (restriction is happening in addition to starting) (starting is not a verb) in correct

(E) Prices for palladium have soared (Main clause)
 - because (marker of dependent clause) Russia is restricting exports, (DC - is restricting - present continuous tense- i.e. restriction is still happening)
 - as well as automakers that have started using
Because x as well as y - parallel - PC & present perfect

thangvietnam · Answer

"in addition to" and " as well as" is used to equal 2 nouns, to say that two nouns do the same thing. if we want to say 2 ideas in parallel, we use "and" and two clauses.

I learn french in addition to english. 
I learn french as well as english

Palladium prices have soared, with Russia restricting exports and

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Palladium prices have soared, with Russia restricting exports and

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