The computer company registered a $16 million net loss for

Question

The computer company registered a $16 million net loss for the year, largely because it was profitable only overseas,  where much of their profits were used for paying higher taxes, while continuing  to lose money in North America.

(A) where much of their profits were used for paying higher taxes, while continuing

(B) where much of their profit went to pay higher taxes, as they continued

(C) where much of its profit went to pay higher taxes, while it continued

(D) with much of their profits going to pay higher taxes, while continuing

(E) with much of the profit used for paying higher taxes, as it continued

GMATNinja · Accepted Answer

A question from our sentence correction "ask me anything" thread:

gmat1393

Hello GMATNinja

Can you please help in explaining this Question

How is E better than C?

Thanks

(C) is better than (E), as it turns out.

Here it is again, with everything besides (C) and (E) removed:

Quote:

The computer company registered a $16 million net loss for the year, largely because it was profitable only overseas, where much of their profits were used for paying higher taxes, while continuing to lose money in North America.

(C) where much of its profit went to pay higher taxes, while it continued

(E) with much of the profit used for paying higher taxes, as it continued

This is a pretty unsatisfying question, unfortunately.

First, let’s talk about the non-issues. We could argue about the idiom (“went to pay” vs. “used for paying”), but I’m not convinced that one is better than the other. I think that “while” does a nicer job of indicating that these actions were simultaneous, but I'm not sure that “as” is WRONG here, exactly.

The bigger issue is where vs. with: “where much of its profit went to pay higher taxes” very clearly and succinctly modifies “overseas.” But it’s hard to make sense of “with” here. Check out this post for more on “with”, but the short version is that in a construction that uses “clause + with”, “with” generally modifies the preceding verb. For example, in the phrase "I ate dosas with a smart guy named Daagh", the part in red gives us more information about what I did while I ate dosas. Fair enough.

And that just doesn’t seem to work in the original sentence: “it was profitable overseas, with much of the profit used for paying higher taxes” – huh? How does "with much of the profit used for paying higher taxes" modify "was", or even the fact that the company was profitable overseas? It doesn't make sense.

We could also argue that in (C) “much of its profit went to pay higher taxes”, is a nice, clear, active clause, since the word “went” operates as a verb. However, the phrase “with much of the profit used for paying higher taxes” is more passive – “used” is basically functioning as a modifier, not a verb. Is that a terrible crime? No! This isn’t a major issue, but I’d prefer the active and clearer option, since it’s available to us in (C).

But the “where” vs. “with” thing is a pretty big deal, even if it isn’t the easiest thing to explain.

I hope this helps!

dwivedys · Answer

In C - profit went to pay higher taxes is awkward.

I think E is the right answer.

goalsnr · Answer

Incorrect pronoun uage(they, their) A,B,D are eliminated

Between C and E, C brings out the clarity in thought.
The business made profit overseas but it was paying higher taxes there and hence nullified the profits while losses in North America effectively brought losses to the company

msingh · Answer

C
why C ??
- "Its" correctly refers to company i.e singular
- "profit" correctly is singular - original has "profits"

wudy · Answer

The computer company registered a $16 million net loss for the year, largely because it was profitable only overseas,  where much of their profits were used for paying higher taxes, while continuing  to lose money money in North America. 

a) where much of  their  profits were used for paying higher taxes, while continuing

b) where much of  their  profit went to pay higher taxes, as they continued

c) where much of its profit went to pay higher taxes, while it continued-- Correct 

d)  with much of their profits going to pay higher taxes,  while continuing-- Modifier 

e)  with much of the profit used for paying higher taxes , as it continued

mona_reddy78 · Answer

The computer company registered a $16 million net loss for the year, largely because it was profitable only overseas, where much of their profits were used for paying higher taxes, while continuing to lose money money in North America.

==Parallel construction ===
a) where much of their profits were used for paying higher taxes, while continuing 
== company/their don't agree ==

b) where much of their profit went to pay higher taxes, as they continued
== company/their don't agree ==

c) where much of its profit went to pay higher taxes, while it continued
== Correct ==

d) with much of their profits going to pay higher taxes, while continuing
== company/their don't agree ==

e) with much of the profit used for paying higher taxes, as it continued
== awkward construction ==

techjanson · Answer

A B and D are out for use of 'their'
C seems wrong as 'went to pay' is unidiomatic
E seems best

ywilfred · Answer

A,B,D -> 'their' points to overseas. Incorrect since the overseas sites did not pay higher taxes

Between C and E, we need 'while' to emphasize that the loss of money was constant.

mohnish104 · Answer

much of its profit "went to pay", isn't it awkward???

dominicraj · Answer

Hi,

A straight C in under a minute.

a) where much of their profits were used for paying higher taxes, while continuing- "their" is wrong for the comany which is singular.Incorrect.

b) where much of their profit went to pay higher taxes, as they continued- "their" is wrong for the comany which is singular.Incorrect.

c) where much of its profit went to pay higher taxes, while it continued -Correct

d) with much of their profits going to pay higher taxes, while continuing- "their" is wrong for the comany which is singular.Incorrect.

e) with much of the profit used for paying higher taxes, as it continued- "where was much of the profit used?" also "as" suggests a reason whereas we need a contrast-incorrect.

AdityaHongunti · Answer

daagh   chetan2u  could you guys please explain the construction of C?

Went to pay higher taxes? Profits went to pay? I mean is it right? It's like we are verbally converting Hindi phrase into an English

Posted from my mobile device

Radheya · Answer

Hello dear  GMATNinja ,

Could you help us with this query? The construction in option C looks awkward. Please just compare options C and E for us.

Thanks

adkikani · Answer

aalekhoza gmat1393

I see your confusion between C and E.

In E with is incorrectly used in place of where, which correctly refers to overseas.
We discussed usage of with in detail here.

Happy study prep.

rahul6019 · Answer

Option C is very poorly constructed and " profit went to pay " doesn't seem right at all. Is this question correct? All other options are incorrect too but option C is even more

.

ballest127 · Answer

Hi  GMATNinja ,

Thank you for your very kind explanation.

However, I have a question.

In the sentence, "The computer company registered a $16 million net loss for the year, largely because it was profitable only  overseas ,  where  ....... " , it looks like that  where  modifies  overseas , right?

My question is:

"overseas" play which of the following part of speech here:
1. noun
2. adverb

If "overseas" here is "adverb", can the relative pronoun "where" modifies adverb (overseas) ?

Please explain.

Thank you.

thangvietnam · Answer

wh-clause can work as noun or adverb. as a noun, I know where you work. as an adverb, I know where you work.

"oversea, where.. " is the case, in which where-clause works as an adverb modifying other adverb, "oversea". 
circumstantial adverbs are sometimes modified by other adverbs of the same type. this is a textbook case in grammar books

GMATNinja · Answer

It might feel a little counterintuitive, but "overseas" is an adverb that functions like a prepositional phrase.

Here's a simple example: "Tim went overseas to find himself, but he ended up getting cholera instead." (You can't just drink the tap water everywhere, Tim!) In that sentence, "overseas" describes where Tim "went." If the previous sentence had said "Tim went  to Spain  to find himself..." the role of "to Spain" would have been identical to "overseas." Even though Spain is itself a noun, the phrase "to Spain" does the same thing an adverb does - it describes an action.

So we could write, "Tim went to Spain, where the food is awesome," and we could also write, "Tim went overseas, where the food is awesome." I wouldn't spend time worrying about whether "where" is officially an adverb or a noun. In a way, it's both - a noun that gives information about an action. What we REALLY care about is whether it's 1) referring to an actual place and 2) logical. That's the beauty of SC - no terminology is required.

I hope that helps!

thangvietnam · Answer

in choice C, "where clause" refer to overseas, an adverb. is this reference correct? pls,help explain.

thangvietnam · Answer

The computer company registered a $16 million net loss for the year, largely because it was profitable only overseas, where much of their profits were used for paying higher taxes, while continuing to lose money in North America.

a) where much of their profits were used for paying higher taxes, while continuing

b) where much of their profit went to pay higher taxes, as they continued

c) where much of its profit went to pay higher taxes, while it continued

d) with much of their profits going to pay higher taxes, while continuing

e) with much of the profit used for paying higher taxes, as it continued

I read some pages in grammar books to explain "where-clause" in choice C.

where-clause can work as a noun/subject.
where you live is a point
works as adjective/attributive
the place where you live is nice
works as adverb, modifying a verb/process.
I eat where you eat
work as adverb modifying another adverb.
I live there, where you study. this case is our choice C.

just remember, dependent clause such as where-clause, can be any function above.

I will meet you tomorow, when my parent are absent
it was profitable overseas where much of the profit went to pay higher tax

in the first, when-clause modifies adverbial "tomorow". similarly, in the second "where- clause" modifies adverb "overseas.

if I find something more interesting, I will come back here to edit this posting.

The computer company registered a $16 million net loss for

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

The computer company registered a $16 million net loss for

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards