Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
greenka wrote:
Rising inventories, when unaccompanied correspondingly by increases in sales, can lead to production cutbacks that would hamper economic growth.
(A) when unaccompanied correspondingly by increases in sales, can lead
(B) when not accompanied by corresponding increases in sales, possibly leads
(C) when they were unaccompanied by corresponding sales increases, can lead
(D) if not accompanied by correspondingly increased sales, possibly leads
(E) if not accompanied by corresponding increases in sales, can lead
Concepts tested here: Subject-Verb Agreement + Tenses + Idioms + Awkwardness/Redundancy• “if” is used to refer to phrases that lead to a “then” clause and “whether" is used for showing alternatives; "whether" generally wins over "if" on GMAT.
• “when” is only used to refer to a point in time.
• Information that is permanent in nature is best conveyed through the simple present tense.
• The simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past.
A: This answer choice incorrectly uses "when" to refer to a phrase that leads to a "then" clause; please remember, “if” is used to refer to phrases that lead to a “then” clause, and "when" is only used to refer to a point in time. Further, Option A uses the needlessly indirect phrase "unaccompanied correspondingly by increases in sales", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.
B: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun "inventories" with the singular verb "leads". Further, Option B incorrectly uses "when" to refer to a phrase that leads to a "then" clause; please remember, “if” is used to refer to phrases that lead to a “then” clause, and "when" is only used to refer to a point in time.
C: This answer choice incorrectly uses the simple past tense verb phrase "were unaccompanied" to refer to information that is permanent in nature; please remember, information that is permanent in nature is best conveyed through the simple present tense, and the simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past.
D: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun "inventories" with the singular verb "leads". Further, Option D uses the needlessly indirect phrase "correspondingly increased sales", leading to awkwardness.
E: Correct. This answer choice correctly refers to the plural noun "inventories" with the plural verb "lead". Further, Option E correctly uses "if" to refer to a phrase that leads to a "then" clause. Additionally, Option E avoids the tense error seen in Option C, as it uses the past participle phrase "not accompanied" rather than an active verb, such as "were unaccompanied" in Option C. Besides, Option C is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.
Hence, E is the best answer choice.To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team