The modernization program for the steel mill will cost approximately

Here is my analysis of this question:

The entire sentence is underlined so we will likely see different sentence structures in the options. This is what it tells us:

The modernization program will cost 51 million dollars and it can hopefully be completed in the late 1980’s (and not later).

‘Modernizing the steel mill’ gives more information than ‘modernization program for the steel mill.’ It tells us what exactly is getting modernized and from the context it certainly looks like the mill is getting modernized. So, we would prefer ‘modernizing the steel mill’ but will not eliminate anything.


(A) The modernization program for the steel mill will cost approximately 51 million dollars, which it is hoped can be completed in the late 1980’s.
The relative pronoun ‘which’ modifies the program but is very close to the ’51 million dollars’ and seems to modify it.
Also, the adverb ‘hopefully’ serves the purpose better than the modifying clause ‘it is hoped.’ If we do use this clause, we should use it as a non-essential modifier surrounded by commas.

(B) The modernization program for the steel mill, hopefully completed in the late 1980’s, will cost approximately 51 million dollars.
‘completed’ has been used as a modifying past participle, not as a verb (To be used as a verb, it needed a helping verb because it has passive meaning – ‘the program will be completed,’ not ‘the program completed’)
So, it seems to say that the program was completed in the past, but we are discussing a future program (which will cost 51 million dollars). Hence, this option is incorrect.

(C) Modernizing the steel mill, hopefully to be completed in the late 1980’s, will cost approximately 51 million dollars.
The meaning has changed here. ‘…to be completed in the late 1980’s’ means that the intent is to complete it in the late 1980’s, not before. Then, the use of ‘hopefully’ doesn’t make sense. The intent is to say that it will hopefully be done by then. The adverb ‘hopefully’ needs a verb so we need to say ‘hopefully will/can be completed …’
Hence, this option is incorrect.

(D) The program for modernizing the steel mill, which can, it is hoped, be completed in the late 1980’s and cost approximately 51 million dollars.
This is a fragment. We don’t have a main clause! Often, when the sentence involves complete restructuring, we have one or two options which are missing the main clause. Our work simplifies a whole lot when that happens.
The structure here is ‘the program …, which can be completed… and cost …’
The ‘which’ clause is erroneous too. ‘and’ joins ‘can be completed…’ with ‘cost …’ so the two should be parallel. But we need a verb with cost such as ‘will cost…’
Hence, this option is incorrect.


(E) Modernizing the steel mill, a program that can, it is hoped, be completed in the late 1980’s, will cost approximately 51 million dollars.
Here, the main clause is ‘Modernizing the steel mill will cost approximately 51 million dollars.’
‘a program that can be completed in the late 1980’s’ is a noun modifier with the structure ‘noun + that clause (modifier).’ It correctly modifies ‘modernizing the steel mill.’
‘it is hoped’ is a non-essential modifier within this noun modifier.
Everything is correct here.
Answer (E)

B & C are rejected, hopefully is never right in GMAT.
Which is always used when there is a doubt...
So using which and hoped together is not right...
A & D are out....

IMO E

Thanks for the explanation.

I still dont understand why C is wrong.
Modernizing the steel plant, hopefully to be completed in the late 1980’s, will cost approximately 51 million dollars.
Bold part here is set off by commas, so there are no issues in "Modernizing the steel plant will cost approximately 51 million dollars".
What is wrong with modifying clause "hopefully to be completed in the late 1980's".
Is there any rule why hopefully is mostly wrong on GMAT?

please explain

Hey gsothee,

As I said, we need to be modifying the program, not the act of "modernizing the steel mill". You can't say "Modernizing, hopefully to be completed soon, is good." You'd have to say something like "The modernization may be completed soon."

As for the second part, it's just total gibberish. I can't say "My book, hopefully to be completed tomorrow..." You'd say "My book, which I"ll hopefully complete tomorrow..." or something like that.

Make more sense?

-t

Official Explanation:

Choice A can be faulted because which grammatically refers to 5l million dollars, the nearest noun phrase. At any rate, it is not clear in choices A, B, C, or D whether the modernization program or the steel mill is supposed to be completed in the late 1980's. In B and C, the use of hopefully for it is hoped still meets with strong and widespread objection from many editors, lexicographers, and authors of usage handbooks. Aside from having an ambiguous which, D contains no independent clause and so cannot stand as a sentence. Choice E is the best answer.

The modernization program for the steel mill will cost approximately 51 million dollars, which it is hoped can be completed in the late 1980’s.

(A) The modernization program for the steel mill will cost approximately 51 million dollars, which it is hoped can be completed in the late 1980’s. - which illogically modifies 51 million dollars

(B) The modernization program for the steel mill, hopefully completed in the late 1980’s, will cost approximately 51 million dollars. - Tense issue - program will be completed at some point in the future. So, "hopefully completed in the late 1980’s" is illogical

(C) Modernizing the steel mill, hopefully to be completed in the late 1980’s, will cost approximately 51 million dollars. - what will be completed in late 1980's - modernizing or the steel mill - is unclear

(D) The program for modernizing the steel mill, which can, it is hoped, be completed in the late 1980’s and cost approximately 51 million dollars. -- No independent clause

(E) Modernizing the steel mill, a program that can, it is hoped, be completed in the late 1980’s, will cost approximately 51 million dollars.

Please enlighten on options C-E and explain the role of the phrase "it is hoped" in option D and E. In my opinion, "it is hoped" seems like an independent clause within an independent clause.

In E,
Modernizing the steel mill will cost approximately 51 million dollars. - Independent clause

a program that can be completed in the late 1980’s - an appositive that modifies the "Modernizing the steel mill".
Does "it is hoped" acts as an adverb for the appositive phrase here?


AjiteshArun , GMATNinja , MagooshExpert , GMATGuruNY , VeritasPrepBrian , MartyMurray , ChiranjeevSingh , ccooley, other experts - please enlighten

Hi Skywalker18!

Here, "it is hoped" is being used in the same way as "hopefully". If we replace "it is hoped" with "hopefully", then it is clear that it is acting as an adverb, modifying the phrase "can be completed by the late 1980's".

Hope that helps!
-Carolyn

Is c. Not wrong because of dangling modifier?

Posted from my mobile device

In C, modernizing is used as a gerund (a noun form) rather than a present participle (a modifier).

Since modernizing is not used as a modifier, there is obviously no dangling modifier issue here.

Structure of C is like this:

Preparing for GMAT requires hard work.

Again, preparing is used as a gerund and not as a modifier.

hi, i dont understand why e is correct. there is no antecedent for the word 'it',

Hi rnn, this is one of those cases where the pronoun (it) is used before the antecedent.

The sentence basically is:

It is hoped (that) modernizing the steel mill, a program that can be completed in the late 1980’s, will cost approximately 51 million dollars.

So, it stands for (that) modernizing the steel mill will cost approximately 51 million dollars.

Essentially, the sentence is conveying:

(that) modernizing the steel mill will cost approximately 51 million dollars is hoped.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses these cases of Pronoun usage before the antecedent, its application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.

GMATNinja daagh

Can you please comment on whether my understanding of the sentence structure in (E) is correct.

I believe that (E) has nested sentences, as in :

(E) Modernizing the steel mill, a program that can, it is hoped, be completed in the late 1980’s, will cost approximately 51 million dollars.

Main sentence is "Modernizing the steel mill will cost approximately 51 million dollars.", and the nested sentence is " a program that can be completed in the late 1980’s". The nested sentence is being explained/modified by 'it is hoped'.

Thanks in advance.

Hi altairahmad,

Very well done. There is just one small change that we need to make there. The it is hoped is for the modifier describing a program, and not for a program itself.

That is, that portion of the sentence can be read as (1), but not as (2):

1. a program that (it is hoped) can be completed in the late 1980s
2. (it is hoped) a program that can be completed in the late 1980s

Also, the whole a program that... is an appositive (a noun), not a complete clause or sentence.

I don't understand why option B "completed" is wrong. Completed is a past participle, but I thought past participle is to indicate passive form? I.E the program can't be completed by itself, needs to be completed by others, thus using "completed" and not "completing".

Hello frankqxq,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your question, the past participle is not used to indicate passive form; it conveys that an action concluded in the past; "be + past participle" is an active verb construction that is used to indicate passive form.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

Hi frankqxq,

Participles don't carry tense, so it's up to the reader to understand what the author is trying to say. For example:

1. the exam taken by thousands of people every year ← This is meant to be read as "the exam that is taken by thousands of people every year".
2. the exam taken by him last year ← This is meant to be read as "the exam that was taken by him last year".

This is quite easy to do when we have only a be-form (is/was) to deal with, but it may not be as easy (or even possible) if we add other helping verbs.

3. Cars manufactured after 2030 will be more efficient. ← I would read the subject as "cars that are manufactured after 2030", not as "cars that will be manufactured after 2030" or "cars that can be manufactured after 2030".

This is why it's so hard to read "hopefully completed" as "which can/will, hopefully, be completed". It'd be great to see more opinions on this though.

Of course, there are other reasons to take B out: (a) hopefully (this post, this post, and this post) and (b) ambiguity (does "the modernization program for the steel mill, hopefully completed" mean that the program will be completed or that the steel mill will be completed?).

Thanks for the explanation. That's what I thought. Past participle can be used in present and future tenses, hence the earlier explanations by various members were troublesome for me. They said that because "completed" is a past participle, thus it can not be happening in the future, thus the answer choices are wrong...