SC OG 2018 Question no. 772

Question

Heating-oil prices are expected to be higher this year than last because refiners are paying about $5 a barrel more for crude oil than they were  last year.

(A) Heating-oil prices are expected to be higher this year than last because refiners are paying about $5 a barrel more for crude oil than they were

(B) Heating-oil prices are expected to rise higher this year over last because refiners pay about $5 a barrel for crude oil more than they did

(C) Expectations are for heating-oil prices to be higher this year than last year's because refiners are paying about $5 a barrel for crude oil more than they did

(D) It is the expectation that heating-oil prices will be higher this year over last because refiners are paying about $5 a barrel more for crude oil now than what they were

(E) It is expected that heating-oil prices will rise higher this year than last year's because refiners pay about $5 a barrel for crude oil more than they did

Hi there Team,

This is another question that tripped me while I thought I was correctly using the rules of Ellipses.

So according to the rule of Ellipses when the verb tense changes from the first to the second half of the sentence, then the verb must not be omitted in the second half.  Correct?

In this above question because we are comparing “ the heating-oil prices of this year ” to “ the heating-oil prices of last year ” Don’t we require a verb in the second half of the sentence in option  A  (official answer) according to the rule of Ellipses?

Following this rule, I eliminated option  A  (official answer), B, and D.
Dablu

arun@crackverbal · Answer

You seem to have a valid point - so this question seems to go away from the conventionally accepted rule.

I will take this up with the course curriculum expert and try to update the explanation.

Thanks for pointing it out.

gurudabl · Answer

arun@crackverbal  Sorry for tagging again. I revisited the module but I am still not settled; am I missing something major here that I can't see...?

You said, .

By two parts", do you mean two entities or things compared? If that's so then shouldn't this be as follows?

(A) Heating-oil prices are expected to be higher this year than last because refiners are paying about $5 a barrel more for crude oil than they were

or

(A) Heating-oil prices are expected to be higher this year than last because refiners are paying about $5 a barrel more for crude oil than they were

Dablu

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

Hi Dablu,

Option A – “Heating-oil prices are expected to be  higher this year than last  because refiners are paying about $5 a barrel more for crude oil than they were”

Here,  the comparison is made between prices this year and prices last year.  What it logically means is that ‘prices are expected to be higher this year than last year’s prices’. The ellipsis is at work here as ‘last’ stands in for ‘last year’s prices’. The comparison is therefore logical.

In the Course Module, the example given is as follows (assuming that this is what you were referring to):

Monsoons in Kerala will be heavier this year than  last year.

Here we are comparing  rainfall  to  last year , which is an illogical comparison; whereas what we intend to compare is the rainfall in each year.

So, we must rephrase it as – Monsoons in Kerala will be heavier this year than monsoons in Kerala last year.

This, when elided with ellipsis, will be – Monsoons in Kerala will be  heavier this year than last     OR  Monsoons in Kerala will be  heavier this year than they were last year.

Hope this clears things up!

gurudabl · Answer

Akurian Thank you for replying.

Could we use a possessive as well? Such as, Monsoons in Kerala will be heavier this year than last year's . Dablu

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

Hi Dablu,

We can’t use the possessive here for the same reason as the other answer. It’s illogical. If what went before had the possessive—in this case ‘this year’s monsoons’—only then would it be parallel with ‘last year’s.’

Hope this helps.

Posted from my mobile device

gurudabl · Answer

Thank you Akurian . That resolved my doubt!

Bunuel · Answer

This question is discussed here: https://gmatclub.com/forum/heating-oil- ... 95234.html Hope it helps.

SC OG 2018 Question no. 772

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