The national debt per U.S. citizen rose sharply between 2004 and 2008

Question

The national debt per U.S. citizen rose sharply between 2004 and 2008, nearly  double as much as  the previous four years.

(A) double as much as
(B) double
(C) doubling the increase in
(D) twice that of
(E) doubling the increase of

Question GMAT Experts: 
Can the increase of in option E be compared to the verb rose in the original sentence?

Appreciate your explanation.

Heseraj · Answer

Hello 
My request is been mentioned on the question. I really appreciate if an expert helps me with the concept.

sayantanc2k · Answer

There is no comparison structure in option E. The part "doubling the increase of...." is a present participle modifier. You would probably have learnt that a present participle modifier separated by a comma refers to the whole preceding clause. Here this modifier "doubling the increase of...." refers to the whole clause "The national debt per U.S. citizen rose sharply between 2004 and 2008". The noun "increase" is not compoared to the verb "rose" as you mentioned.

Heseraj · Answer

Thank you very much.

Of course, tired eyes of mine and exhausted brain couldn't realize it.

Nightmare007 · Answer

Hi  sayantanc2k , Can you please tell me when to use increase of and when to use Increase in. 
Sorry, This might sound basic. 
Here, in the above question i chose C rather than choosing E.
Thank you.

DigitsnLetters · Answer

Has option C been ruled out because it's unidiomatic? Can you elaborate on 'increase in' vs 'increase of', and explain why 'increase of' is correct here? TIA.

umabharatigudipalli · Answer

Stuck between C and E. Would anyone please explain the difference between increase of and increase in? :roll:

leanhdung · Answer

Please explain why  the increase in  in C is wrong, but  the increase of  in E is right!

Many thanks!

sayantanc2k · Answer

Take a hypothetical case:
Value at year 1 beginning = 100
Increase in year 1 = 10
Value at year 2 beginning = 110
Increase in year 2 = 12
Value at year 3 beginning = 122
Increase in year 3 = 14
Value at year 4 beginning = 136
Increase in year 4 = 16
Value at year 5 (current) beginning = 152 
Increase in year 5 (current) = ??

Case I: Doubling the increase IN last 4 years ---> 
Meaning 1: The "increase" doubled IN last four years ("IN" is an adverb for the verb "double"). The increase was 10 four years ago. Thus this year the increase is 10 x 2 = 20. Thus value at year end 5 = 152 + 20 = 172.
Meaning 2: The "increase" IN last four years doubled ("IN last four years" is a prepositional phrase modifier for the noun "increase"). The increase IN last 4 years was = 10+12+14+16 = 52. Thus this year the increase is 52 x 2 = 104. Thus value at year end 5 = 152 + 104 = 256.
Thus there is an ambiguity in meaning if one uses "IN" (the increase could be 20 or 104 - not clear).

Case II: Doubling the increase OF last 4 years ---> The "increase" OF last four years doubled ("OF last four years" is a prepositional phrase modifier for the noun "increase"). The increase OF last four years is 10+12+14+16 = 52. Thus this year the increase is 52 x 2 = 104. Thus value at year end 5 = 152 + 104 = 256.
There is no ambuity in meaning. ("The increase doubled OF last four years" does not make sense.)

Hence OF is better than IN  in this case .

DigitsnLetters · Answer

I don't feel there is any ambiguity if we use 'doubling the increase in'.

Here's the statement: The national debt per U.S. citizen rose sharply between 2004 and 2008, nearly doubling the increase in the  previous four years .

The above statement clearly says that the increase in the previous four years has nearly doubled. Thus, national debt per U.S. citizen rose sharply between years 2004 and 2008, nearly doubling the increase in the past four years, i.e. if the increase in last four years, 2000-2004, was X (say), then the increase between 2004-2008 would be 2X!

Per your explanation, Case I: Doubling the increase IN last 4 years ---> 
Meaning 1: The "increase" doubled IN  last four years  ("IN" is an adverb for the verb "double"). The increase was  10 four years ago . Thus this year the increase is  10 x 2 = 20 . Thus value at year end 5 = 152 + 20 = 172.

I feel there is an error here. Why are we only considering one particular year? The prompt specifically mentions 'last four years' and not 'fourth last year'. Isn't is error-some to consider just 10 and not 52 instead? The meaning-2 is the only meaning that can be correctly inferred out of the given statement. Hence, 'doubling the increase in' should be correct.

Is my understanding correct? Or, am I missing some key point here?

rahimk7 · Answer

ANS D)

Replacing "double as much as" with Twice that of is more concise and grammatical.

Also Twice that of previous four year correctly compares the profit between 2004-2008 and profit four years before that.

Sent from my iPhone using GMAT Club Forum

Dh4035 · Answer

E is the only option that correctly refers to the increase that happened in the last four years.

tanmaywaghmare · Answer

Why D could not be the OA?

'Twice that of' makes complete sense. Please explain.

VerbalBot · Answer

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The national debt per U.S. citizen rose sharply between 2004 and 2008

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The national debt per U.S. citizen rose sharply between 2004 and 2008

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