Last visit was: 18 Nov 2025, 20:11 It is currently 18 Nov 2025, 20:11
Home
GMAT
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Rewards
Chat
My Profile
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
   1   2 
555-605 Level|   Modifiers|         
avatar
Jezza
avatar
Joined: 11 Jan 2022
Last visit: 01 Sep 2022
Posts: 27
Own Kudos:
3
Given Kudos: 17
Posts: 27
Kudos: 3
There is speculation that increasing cold weather was what may have be 25 May 2022, 02:59
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
KarishmaB
raghavs
There is speculation that increasing cold weather was what may have been responsible for the Anasazi move from Mesa Verde to sites in other canyons.

(A) that increasing cold weather was what may have been

(B) whether increasing cold weather was what was

(C) that increasingly cold weather was what had been

(D) whether increasingly cold weather may have been what was

(E) that increasingly cold weather may have been

First decision point is increasing/increasingly.
"Increase" modifies the adjective "cold" (it was getting colder) so we will use the adverb form here - increasingly. Eliminate (A) and (B).

In (C), you do not need the pronoun 'what'. Also, the use of 'had been' (past perfect) is incorrect. We don't have two events in the past. We just want to say that "A was responsible for B in the past".
In (D) too, the use of pronoun 'what' is circuitous.
(E) is direct and clean.
Show more

Hi Karishma, In fact we do have 2 events in the past. Notice that a lot of times the use of past perfect is justfied even if the sentence doesn't clearly indicates a time frame, as long as the logic clealy tell us that one event happened in the past of another event. In option C, the Anasazi move is the event in the past that happened after the weather change, I don't think this is open to debate.

The divorce of Tim's parents had been responsible for his move from Boston to LA. --- I think this is perfectly logical.

I agree with you that the use of "what" is somehow wordy, but wordy is usually not a decisive factor.

In Option E, the use of "may" is redundant right? speculation .... may, they do the same thing.
User avatar
ExpertsGlobal5
User avatar
Experts' Global Representative
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,193
Own Kudos:
4,759
 [1]
Given Kudos: 43
Location: India
GMAT Date: 11-01-2019
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 5,193
Kudos: 4,759
 [1]
There is speculation that increasing cold weather was what may have be 26 May 2022, 06:00
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Jezza
KarishmaB
raghavs
There is speculation that increasing cold weather was what may have been responsible for the Anasazi move from Mesa Verde to sites in other canyons.

(A) that increasing cold weather was what may have been

(B) whether increasing cold weather was what was

(C) that increasingly cold weather was what had been

(D) whether increasingly cold weather may have been what was

(E) that increasingly cold weather may have been

First decision point is increasing/increasingly.
"Increase" modifies the adjective "cold" (it was getting colder) so we will use the adverb form here - increasingly. Eliminate (A) and (B).

In (C), you do not need the pronoun 'what'. Also, the use of 'had been' (past perfect) is incorrect. We don't have two events in the past. We just want to say that "A was responsible for B in the past".
In (D) too, the use of pronoun 'what' is circuitous.
(E) is direct and clean.

Hi Karishma, In fact we do have 2 events in the past. Notice that a lot of times the use of past perfect is justfied even if the sentence doesn't clearly indicates a time frame, as long as the logic clealy tell us that one event happened in the past of another event. In option C, the Anasazi move is the event in the past that happened after the weather change, I don't think this is open to debate.

The divorce of Tim's parents had been responsible for his move from Boston to LA. --- I think this is perfectly logical.

I agree with you that the use of "what" is somehow wordy, but wordy is usually not a decisive factor.

In Option E, the use of "may" is redundant right? speculation .... may, they do the same thing.
Show more

Hello Jezza,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, in this sentence, there is actually only one action that takes place in the past -- "may have been responsible"; "There is speculation" is an action that takes place in the present, and "the Anasazi move" is actually a noun.

Remember, the past perfect tense is used when there are multiple actions that concluded in the past.

Further, although Option E does feature redundancy in its use of "may" alongside "speculation", Option E is still the best answer choice; remember, redundancy/awkwardness is a demerit but not a deal-breaker.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
User avatar
krndatta
User avatar
Joined: 09 Feb 2020
Last visit: 17 Oct 2024
Posts: 383
Own Kudos:
44
Given Kudos: 433
Location: India
Posts: 383
Kudos: 44
There is speculation that increasing cold weather was what may have be 12 Oct 2022, 22:24
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
KarishmaB Ma'am,
Why do we need an adverb(increasingly) over adjective(increasing) over here?
Please clarify.
User avatar
KarishmaB
User avatar
Joined: 16 Oct 2010
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 16,265
Own Kudos:
76,983
 [1]
Given Kudos: 482
Location: Pune, India
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 16,265
Kudos: 76,983
 [1]
There is speculation that increasing cold weather was what may have be 12 Oct 2022, 23:14
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
krndatta
KarishmaB Ma'am,
Why do we need an adverb(increasingly) over adjective(increasing) over here?
Please clarify.
Show more

Check:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/there-is-spe ... ml#p711051
https://gmatclub.com/forum/there-is-spe ... l#p2796441
User avatar
ARSarkar
User avatar
Joined: 26 Nov 2022
Last visit: 08 Aug 2023
Posts: 31
Own Kudos:
29
Given Kudos: 42
Location: India
GMAT 1: 700 Q49 V36
GMAT 1: 700 Q49 V36
Posts: 31
Kudos: 29
There is speculation that increasing cold weather was what may have be 30 Nov 2022, 22:06
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Can increasing modify the cold weather? How to say that the span of cold weather is increasing?
Regards,
Ratan
User avatar
egmat
User avatar
e-GMAT Representative
Joined: 02 Nov 2011
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,108
Own Kudos:
32,884
 [1]
Given Kudos: 700
GMAT Date: 08-19-2020
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 5,108
Kudos: 32,884
 [1]
There is speculation that increasing cold weather was what may have be 01 Dec 2022, 03:19
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
ARSarkar
Can increasing modify the cold weather? How to say that the span of cold weather is increasing?
Regards,
Ratan
Show more

ARSarkar

Hey Ratan,

Happy to help you with this.


Let's start with a closer look at the phrase "increasing cold weather". The word "increasing" would have to modify either 'cold' or 'weather', neither of which make logical sense.

a. (increasing cold) weather
"Cold" is an adjective/modifier describing "weather". And "increasing" is a verb-ing modifier. The only problem is "increasing" cannot modify "cold". "Increasing cold" makes no sense. For this phrase to make sense, we'd have to convert "increasing" to "increasingly". "Increasingly cold" means "more and more cold". This is why the correct answer choice has "increasingly cold".

b. increasing (cold weather)
If we take "increasing" to be the modifier of "cold weather", it means "increasing" has to be the modifier of "weather". Now, even this makes no sense. Ask yourself "what is the meaning of 'increasing weather'?" Can weather increase? No, it cannot.

So, one way to fix this is to use the phrase "increasingly cold weather".


Coming to your second question: How to say that the span of cold weather is increasing?

Well, that's one way to say it. That the span is increasing. Or, we could use the expression "longer winters". So, the other plausible idea the author could have conveyed was "longer winters may have been why the Anasazi moved".


I hope this answers your questions satisfactorily.

Happy Learning!

Abhishek
User avatar
akt715
User avatar
Joined: 12 May 2021
Last visit: 06 Aug 2023
Posts: 67
Own Kudos:
7
Given Kudos: 126
Posts: 67
Kudos: 7
There is speculation that increasing cold weather was what may have be 14 Jan 2023, 07:28
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
I understand that the usage of increasing is incorrect , but I would like to know if the usage past tense (was what) is correct in the sentence?
User avatar
KarishmaB
User avatar
Joined: 16 Oct 2010
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 16,265
Own Kudos:
76,983
Given Kudos: 482
Location: Pune, India
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 16,265
Kudos: 76,983
There is speculation that increasing cold weather was what may have be 15 Jan 2023, 04:31
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
akt715
I understand that the usage of increasing is incorrect , but I would like to know if the usage past tense (was what) is correct in the sentence?
Show more

Yes, we could have used past tense since we are talking about an event in the past.
There is speculation that A was responsible for B (talking about an event B that happened in the past)

That said, 'was what may have been' is an indirect way of saying 'may have been' and hence is less preferable.
User avatar
ARSarkar
User avatar
Joined: 26 Nov 2022
Last visit: 08 Aug 2023
Posts: 31
Own Kudos:
29
 [1]
Given Kudos: 42
Location: India
GMAT 1: 700 Q49 V36
GMAT 1: 700 Q49 V36
Posts: 31
Kudos: 29
 [1]
There is speculation that increasing cold weather was what may have be 17 Jan 2023, 20:38
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
egmat
ARSarkar
Can increasing modify the cold weather? How to say that the span of cold weather is increasing?
Regards,
Ratan



Hey Ratan,

Happy to help you with this.


Let's start with a closer look at the phrase "increasing cold weather". The word "increasing" would have to modify either 'cold' or 'weather', neither of which make logical sense.

a. (increasing cold) weather
"Cold" is an adjective/modifier describing "weather". And "increasing" is a verb-ing modifier. The only problem is "increasing" cannot modify "cold". "Increasing cold" makes no sense. For this phrase to make sense, we'd have to convert "increasing" to "increasingly". "Increasingly cold" means "more and more cold". This is why the correct answer choice has "increasingly cold".

b. increasing (cold weather)
If we take "increasing" to be the modifier of "cold weather", it means "increasing" has to be the modifier of "weather". Now, even this makes no sense. Ask yourself "what is the meaning of 'increasing weather'?" Can weather increase? No, it cannot.

So, one way to fix this is to use the phrase "increasingly cold weather".


Coming to your second question: How to say that the span of cold weather is increasing?

Well, that's one way to say it. That the span is increasing. Or, we could use the expression "longer winters". So, the other plausible idea the author could have conveyed was "longer winters may have been why the Anasazi moved".


I hope this answers your questions satisfactorily.

Happy Learning!

Abhishek
Show more

Thank you e-gmat Abhishek. yes it does.
User avatar
NDTTT
User avatar
Joined: 11 Sep 2020
Last visit: 14 Nov 2025
Posts: 49
Own Kudos:
8
Given Kudos: 1,147
Location: India
Posts: 49
Kudos: 8
There is speculation that increasing cold weather was what may have be 02 Mar 2023, 10:28
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
GMATRockstar Can you please explain the strategy to solve this question?
User avatar
Simbamalik
User avatar
Joined: 24 Aug 2022
Last visit: 04 Apr 2024
Posts: 10
Own Kudos:
1
Given Kudos: 32
Location: India
GMAT 1: 680 Q46 V38
Products:
My Reviews
GMAT 1: 680 Q46 V38
Posts: 10
Kudos: 1
There is speculation that increasing cold weather was what may have be 31 Jul 2023, 22:48
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
KarishmaB
raghavs
There is speculation that increasing cold weather was what may have been responsible for the Anasazi move from Mesa Verde to sites in other canyons.

(A) that increasing cold weather was what may have been

(B) whether increasing cold weather was what was

(C) that increasingly cold weather was what had been

(D) whether increasingly cold weather may have been what was

(E) that increasingly cold weather may have been

First decision point is increasing/increasingly.
"Increase" modifies the adjective "cold" (it was getting colder) so we will use the adverb form here - increasingly. Eliminate (A) and (B).

In (C), you do not need the pronoun 'what'. Also, the use of 'had been' (past perfect) is incorrect. We don't have two events in the past. We just want to say that "A was responsible for B in the past".
In (D) too, the use of pronoun 'what' is circuitous.
(E) is direct and clean.
Show more

KarishmaB Is it correct to use "speculation" and "may" together?
User avatar
KarishmaB
User avatar
Joined: 16 Oct 2010
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 16,265
Own Kudos:
76,983
 [1]
Given Kudos: 482
Location: Pune, India
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 16,265
Kudos: 76,983
 [1]
There is speculation that increasing cold weather was what may have be 31 Jul 2023, 23:21
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Simbamalik
KarishmaB
raghavs
There is speculation that increasing cold weather was what may have been responsible for the Anasazi move from Mesa Verde to sites in other canyons.

(A) that increasing cold weather was what may have been

(B) whether increasing cold weather was what was

(C) that increasingly cold weather was what had been

(D) whether increasingly cold weather may have been what was

(E) that increasingly cold weather may have been

First decision point is increasing/increasingly.
"Increase" modifies the adjective "cold" (it was getting colder) so we will use the adverb form here - increasingly. Eliminate (A) and (B).

In (C), you do not need the pronoun 'what'. Also, the use of 'had been' (past perfect) is incorrect. We don't have two events in the past. We just want to say that "A was responsible for B in the past".
In (D) too, the use of pronoun 'what' is circuitous.
(E) is direct and clean.

KarishmaB Is it correct to use "speculation" and "may" together?
Show more

Use of 'may' along with 'speculation/possibility' creates redundancy. But redundancy is a style issue and take a backseat when grammar issues are involved. First we eliminate all options with grammar issues and after that focus on style.
   1   2 
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7445 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
234 posts
miag
188 posts