Hello Everyone!

Let's take a look at this question, one problem at a time, to narrow it down to the right choice! First, here is the original question, with the major differences between the options highlighted in orange:

Retail sales rose 8/10 of 1 percent in August, intensifying expectations that personal spending in the July-September quarter more than doubled that of the 1.4 percent growth rate in personal spending for the previous quarter.

A. that personal spending in the July-September quarter more than doubled that of
B. that personal spending in the July-September quarter would more than double
C. of personal spending in the July-September quarter, that it more than doubled
D. of personal spending in the July-September quarter more than doubling that of
E. of personal spending in the July-September quarter, that it would more than double that of

After a quick glance over the options, couple key differences stand out:

1. Beginning with "that" vs. "of" (idiom / meaning)
2. How they end (verb tense / logic / punctuation)

While it's tempting to tackle #1 on our list because it seems simple, let's instead focus on #2: how they end. To narrow this down, let's focus on two main components:

1. Do all of the pronouns have clear antecedents?
2. Does it make logical sense in terms of time?

Let's take a closer look at each option, and rule out the ones that don't work. To make this easier to spot problems, I included the end of the sentence that's not underlined.

A. that personal spending in the July-September quarter more than doubled that of the 1.4 percent growth rate in personal spending for the previous quarter.

This is INCORRECT for two reasons. First, it states that personal spending in the July-September time frame already doubled - but we only have information about August so far. Therefore, this doesn't make logical sense in terms of time. Second, it uses the phrase "that of" without anything for it to refer back to. There are already two items being compared, and they both use the phrase "personal spending." This leaves us with a confusing phrase that isn't tied to anything else!

B. that personal spending in the July-September quarter would more than double the 1.4 percent growth rate in personal spending for the previous quarter.

This is OKAY for now! It uses the phrase "would more than double," which is clearly a prediction about what will happen in the rest of the quarter. There also don't seem to be any issues with pronouns here.

C. of personal spending in the July-September quarter, that it more than doubled the 1.4 percent growth rate in personal spending for the previous quarter.

This option is INCORRECT for a couple reasons. First, this option also assumes that the personal spending rate already doubled, instead of predicting the rate for the rest of the quarter. Second, the pronoun "it" doesn't have a clear antecedent to refer back to - WHO doubled the spending rate? The sentence doesn't actually name anyone, so this "it" pronoun doesn't make sense to use here.

D. of personal spending in the July-September quarter more than doubling that of the 1.4 percent growth rate in personal spending for the previous quarter.

This is INCORRECT for two reasons. First, by saying "more than doubling," the writer is now saying the spending rate has already doubled, which we don't know is going to be true or not. Second, the phrase "that of" isn't necessary - it's not referring back to anything. Both items being compared use the phrase "personal spending," so there's no need for any pronouns.

E. of personal spending in the July-September quarter, that it would more than double that of the 1.4 percent growth rate in personal spending for the previous quarter.

While this option uses the correct "would more than double" to show a prediction, it's still INCORRECT. The phrase "that of" has no clear antecedent. The sentence is comparing personal spending in July-September to personal spending in the previous quarter, and both use the phrase "personal spending," so the pronoun isn't necessary.

Well, there you go - option B is our correct choice! It clearly shows the writer making a prediction about future behavior, and doesn't include any unclear or unnecessary pronouns or phrases!


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