The treasury market dropped in response to a decrease in the value of the dollar and to continued concern that the economy might be growing as fast as to accelerate inflation and drive interest rates higher.

(A) that the economy might be growing as fast as
(B) that the economy might be growing fast enough
(C) with the economy’s possibly growing so fast as
(D) with the possibility of the economy growing fast enough so as
(E) with the possibility of the economy possibly growing fast enough
_________________

The treasury market dropped in response to a decrease in the value of the dollar and to continued concern that the economy might be growing as fast as to accelerate inflation and drive interest rates higher.
A. that the economy might be growing as fast as
- "AS FAST AS" is used to show comparison/similarities between two items and not to show PURPOSE or DEMAND. Hence Incorrect
B. that the economy might be growing fast enough
- Correct
C. with the economy’s possibly growing so fast as
- Use of SO FAST is incorrect.
D. with the possibility of the economy growing fast enough so as
"With the Possibility of" is redundant. Hence Incorrect
E. with the possibility of the economy possibly growing fast enough
"With the Possibility of" is redundant. Hence Incorrect
_________________

The treasury market dropped in response to a decrease in the value of the dollar and to continued concern that the economy might be growing as fast as to accelerate inflation and drive interest rates higher.

A. that the economy might be growing as fast as -- it indicates that the economy is growing to accelerate inflation which is not the intended meaning
B. that the economy might be growing fast enough -- concise and proper. correct
C. with the economy’s possibly growing so fast as --- economy's is wrong
D. with the possibility of the economy growing fast enough so as ---- it gives the intention that the economy is growing fast to accelerate inflation which is wrong.
E. with the possibility of the economy possibly growing fast enough-- redundant

Hi,

In option D, the sentence meaning is distorted. There is no error with 'with the possibility of'
In option E, 'with the possibility of' and 'possibly' is redundant. Hence it is incorrectly used here.

Meaning: The treasury market dropped in response to 2 things:
1. to a decrease in the value of the dollar
2. to continued concern that the economy might be growing as fast as to accelerate inflation and drive interest rates higher.
There is parallelism between 1 and 2.

The meaning of the sentence in the underlined portion no where intents comparison, hence as fast as isn't required.
Rather it further presents two results of the economy to grow fast enough:
1. accelerate inflation
2. drive interest rates higher

Error Analysis:
1. as fast as denotes comparison
Incorrect because of the reason mentioned above.
fast enough is grammatically correct when no comparison is made here. Let's keep B.
concern with in this context is doesn't make me fall in love with it, and there are other errors as well in the sentences to kick them out of the league.
so fast as to accelerate...... shows the intention of the economy to do so. Not the intended meaning, also economy can't have any intention.
Also the possessive makes this sentence incorrect.
so as, same as C
Redundancy with the possibility of the economy possibly . Hence incorrect.
Leaving us with B as the best option.
_________________

Hello Everyone!

First off, thanks to sj24 for bringing this question to our attention! Let's dive in by taking a quick look at the options and highlighting any major differences in orange:

The treasury market dropped in response to a decrease in the value of the dollar and to continued concern that the economy might be growing as fast as to accelerate inflation and drive interest rates higher.

(A) that the economy might be growing as fast as
(B) that the economy might be growing fast enough
(C) with the economy’s possibly growing so fast as
(D) with the possibility of the economy growing fast enough so as
(E) with the possibility of the economy possibly growing fast enough

After a quick glance over the options, we have 2 areas we can focus on:

1. that the economy might be / with the economy's possibly / with the possibility of the economy / with the possibility of the economy possibly (Meaning & Conciseness)
2. as fast as / fast enough / so fast as / fast enough so as (Meaning)

Let's start with #1 on our list, which has to do with meaning and concise language. We need to make sure that each option conveys the intended meaning in the most concise way possible:

(A) that the economy might be growing as fast as --> Seems okay for now. It's short and to the point.
(B) that the economy might be growing fast enough --> Seems okay for now. It's short and to the point.
(C) with the economy’s possibly growing so fast as --> This is saying that the economy owns a possibility?? That doesn't make sense!
(D) with the possibility of the economy growing fast enough so as --> This sounds clunky and overly wordy. "With the possibility of" can be shortened down to "might."
(E) with the possibility of the economy possibly growing fast enough --> This one is even more clunky and wordy! Why say possibility and possibly in the same phrase? You don't need it!

We can eliminate options C, D, & E because they are either misleading or overly wordy. Now, let's move on to #2 on our list, which also has to do with meaning:

(A) that the economy might be growing as fast as
This is INCORRECT because it changes the intended meaning! The phrase "as fast as" should only be used to COMPARE two things - not to show cause/effect! It also creates a problem when it continues on to say "as fast as to accelerate..." because it suggests that the economy is growing specifically to create this effect, rather than it just being a possible outcome.

(B) that the economy might be growing fast enough
This is CORRECT! It is concise and doesn't confuse or change the intended meaning. Saying "fast enough to accelerate..." shows the right kind of cause/effect relationship between the two things without making it sound like a comparison.


There you have it - option B is the correct choice!


Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
_________________