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GMATT73
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Record sales in the United States fell 4.3% in 2003, a drop 06 Dec 2005, 07:35
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Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

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100% (00:50) correct 0% (00:00) wrong based on 2 sessions

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Record sales in the United States fell 4.3% in 2003, a drop which is 2.5% less than the previous year and has been attributed to the prevalence of peer-to-peer file sharing programs.


(A) a drop which is 2.5% less than the previous year and has been attributed to
(B) which is 2.5% less than the drop in the previous year and has been attributed to
(C) which is 2.5% less than the drop in the previous year and was attributed in
(D) a drop that is 2.5% less than the previous year and is attributed to
(E) a drop that is 2.5% less than that of the previous year and has been attributed to



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Record sales in the United States fell 4.3% in 2003, a drop 06 Dec 2005, 08:09
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E)..."which" incorrectly refers to "2003" ! idiom is "attribute to x" ! E) makes the right comparison to "that (drop) of the previous year" !
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Record sales in the United States fell 4.3% in 2003, a drop 06 Dec 2005, 09:04
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My answer is E

"That" is needed to introduce a restrictive clause....so A, B, C are out.

E is correct in that it uses "that of the previous year" to denote record sales of the previous year
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Record sales in the United States fell 4.3% in 2003, a drop 06 Dec 2005, 09:58
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E is the best

A and D make a wrong comparaison between a drop and the previous year. C is wrong because "attributed in" is unidiomatic. In B "which" refers to the action of falling. This is incorrect. "Which" must refers to a previous noun. Only E is correct. "drop" is introduced in order to modify the main clause and "that", which refers clearly to "drop", helps to make properly the comparaison. In addition it uses the correct idiom "attributed to".
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Record sales in the United States fell 4.3% in 2003, a drop 06 Dec 2005, 11:50
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we need restrictive pronoun here, so we need to use that. and E uses the comparison correctly.

so E is the answer.
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Record sales in the United States fell 4.3% in 2003, a drop 07 Dec 2005, 06:39
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Excellent!

OA is E.

OE:

Spot the Error:
Descriptive phrases set off at the beginning or end of the sentence indicates a modifier being tested.

Rule and Fix:
A Modifier must be as close as possible to the thing it describes.

POE:
Since the modifier is valid as given keep A and eliminate any choice that improperly alters that modifying phrase. (Eliminate B and C)


Chunk and Compare:
Compare A to C.
Choice A uses which instead of that.

Rule: Use which as part of a phrase that is set off by commas and can be removed from the sentence without changing the meaning.

Which is not used properly in this case so eliminate A.

Compare the remaining choices or look for another error.


Alarm: Comparisons
Rule: Items compared must be logically and structurally parallel

Compare D to E.
Choice D incorrectly compares a drop vs. year and choice E correctly compares drop vs. drop, since the statement that of refers to the drop in that year.
Reread your choice:
Choose E
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Record sales in the United States fell 4.3% in 2003, a drop 26 Jun 2007, 14:34
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bmwhype2
GMATT73
Record sales in the United States fell 4.3% in 2003, a drop which is 2.5% less than the previous year and has been attributed to the prevalence of peer-to-peer file sharing programs.


Why doesnt a drop modify 2003?
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b/c "in 2003" is a preposition. If the modifying phrase started with "which," it would modify 2003. Modifiers with "which," must touch the thing they modify.
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Record sales in the United States fell 4.3% in 2003, a drop 27 Jun 2007, 07:26
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baer
bmwhype2
GMATT73
Record sales in the United States fell 4.3% in 2003, a drop which is 2.5% less than the previous year and has been attributed to the prevalence of peer-to-peer file sharing programs.


Why doesnt a drop modify 2003?

b/c "in 2003" is a preposition. If the modifying phrase started with "which," it would modify 2003. Modifiers with "which," must touch the thing they modify.
Show more


Why does it matter that is it a preposition? A drop can only modify the subject / noun in the independent clause? (sorry, just trying to fully understand it)



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