Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy several measures

Question

Project SC Butler: Day 129 Sentence Correction (SC1) 
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Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, several measures have been proposed by the government that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

(A) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, several measures have been proposed by the government that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

(B) With the flagging economy used as a pretext, several measures have been proposed by the government, which threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

(C) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, the government has proposed several measures that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

(D) The government has used the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, proposing several measures that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

(E) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, several measures have been proposed by the government, threatening to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

generis · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION VERBATIM

I almost never use the OE given. Not even that in the Official Guide. 
This one is reproduced verbatim.
The man writes good questions and good explanations.

THE ANSWER IS C.

(A) The sentence starts with a modifying phrase so what follows should be the government. Also,  that  should be closer to  measures .

(B) The sentence starts with a modifying phrase so what follows should be  the government . The use of  which  is incorrect.

(C) The correct answer.

(D) The part before the comma is incomplete as the government must have used the pretext to do something but this clause never clarifies  .  Proposing  needs to be used as a verb as this is the action that the government took.

(E) The sentence starts with a modifying phrase so what follows should be  the government.

The answer is C.

COMMENTS

Good to see a lot of posters and many very good answers. Kudos!

Lampard42 · Answer

(A) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, several measures have been proposed by the government that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.
(E) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, several measures have been proposed by the government, threatening to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

(B) With the flagging economy used as a pretext, several measures have been proposed by the government, which threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

(C) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, the government has proposed several measures that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

(D) The government has used the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, proposing several measures that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

(E) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, several measures have been proposed by the government, threatening to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. It is like the act of proposing is threatening ( ,+verb-ing modifier modifies the entire clause or the verb not the noun

Unsure whether present perfect or Present perfect progressive tense is correct. Looks like both are correct?

XyLan · Answer

Sentence Structure  
 Subject  -  Verb : 
 Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy,  
 the government   has proposed  several measures 
  that(  several measures  )   threaten  to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

Issues:  
 Who's using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy?
 several measures  OR  the government 
several measures CANNOT use the pretext of reviving the flagging economy ------->  the government 
  A, B and E    - Modifier issue

Government  - a collective noun( singular entity) - does  NOT  match with its plural verb(  threaten ).
  A and B   - SV - disagreement

Answer choice analysis:  
   (A)   Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy,  several measures  have been proposed by the  government that threaten  to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. 
   - Modifier issue  
  - SV - disagreement

(B)   With the flagging economy used as a pretext, several measures have been proposed by the  government, which threaten  to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. 
   - Modifier issue  
  - SV - disagreement

(C)   Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy,  the government  has proposed  several measures that threaten  to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. 
   Nice and easy.  C  is the champ!

(D)   The government has used the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, proposing several measures that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. 
   Grammatically correct. However, because of  the shift in focus ,  D  changes the meaning.  
 the shift in focus  - 
Intended focus:
 Several measures,  which threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999 , have been proposed. 
Option D's focus:
 The government has used the pretext of reviving the flagging economy.

(E)   Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy,  several measures  have been proposed by the government, threatening to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.
   - Modifier issue

TakeAway:  
 The ability to decide  efficiently  between two  grammatically-correct-sentences  is something which will propel your GMAT-score in SC.

shridhar786 · Answer

(A)  Using  the pretext of reviving the flagging economy,  several measures  have been proposed by the government that  threaten  to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. 
using is incorrectly modifying several measures.............subject verb error( government that threatens is correct)

(B)  With the flagging economy used as a pretext , several measures have been proposed by the government, which threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. 
trying to convey the meaning that several measures have been proposed by the government with the flagging economy ....so wrong

(C)  Using  the pretext of reviving the flagging economy,  the government  has proposed  several measures that threaten  to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. 
using is correctly modifying the government.....................correct subject verb  (correct)

(D) The government has used the pretext of reviving the flagging economy,  proposing  several measures that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

(comma) +v-ing modifies the preceding clause
,V-ing modifier modifies the preceding clause and should make sense with the subject of the preceding clause
let's see does it make sense or not 
The government has used the pretext of reviving the flagging economy(and how did the government used that?),proposing several measures
no this doesn't make sense 
so the use of a v-ing modifier is wrong here

(E)  Using  the pretext of reviving the flagging economy,  several measures  have been proposed by the government, threatening to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999

using is incorrectly modifiying several measures

LUCIFER1703 · Answer

Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, several measures have been proposed by the government that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

(A) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, several measures have been proposed by the government that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.
(E) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, several measures have been proposed by the government, threatening to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

(B) With the flagging economy used as a pretext, several measures have been proposed by the government, which threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

(C) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, the government has proposed several measures that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. Correct Choice.

(D) The government has used the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, proposing several measures that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

(E) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, several measures have been proposed by the government, threatening to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. same as A, Incorrect

zhanbo · Answer

I chose  C  after spending 51 seconds eliminating other options.

When the whole sentence is underlined, we have to pay attention to total rewrite which might be the best option.

Issue with (A): I immediately noticed the classic modifier error: "Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy" takes the subject of the sentence as its logical subject. Therefore, the subject of the sentence should be "the government" instead of "several measures".

If we then scan (B) through (E), we shall see that (C) is the only option with the expected subject. That will be really quick. But, to be safe, we have to check other options.

Issue with (B): (1) “Several measure" cannot  use  the flagging economy as a pretext, so the issue with (A) is not fixed. (2) "which" modifies the government, so ”threaten" should be "threatens".

Issue with (D): No sensible author will choose to write in this awkward way because it is so much better to write: The government has used the pretext of reviving the flagging economy  to propose  several measures that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

Issue with (E): Same issue in (A) is not fixed.

Annet1524 · Answer

(A) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, several measures have been proposed by the government that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.
(E) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, several measures have been proposed by the government, threatening to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

(B) With the flagging economy used as a pretext, several measures have been proposed by the government, which threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

(C) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy,  the government    has proposed several measures that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.  -correct

(D) The government has used  the pretext of reviving the flagging economy , proposing several measures that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. - changed meaning

(E) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy,  several measures    have been proposed by the government, threatening to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.-the same as A

Doer01 · Answer

Hi,
 A participle modifier in the beginning of the sentence always modifies the entity that comes right after the comma, Doer of the action. 
So in the given options A & E, Several measures seem to be the doer which is incorrect. Its the government that has taken several measures using the pretext.

which  after comma modifies  government  and changes the meaning. Its the several measures taken by the government that has threaten not the government itself.
 
Correct. the government after participle phrase followed by a comma is clearly the doer of the action.
 
Reverse order of action changes the meaning. In original sentence,  proposing several measures... .. is the main action but in Option E, it is the result of the action taken by the government.

Ashokshiva · Answer

IMO C

Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, several measures have been proposed by the government that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

(A) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy,  several measures  have been proposed by the government that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.
 modifier error - ''using the....'' modifies several measures but it should modify ''The government''

(B) With the flagging economy used as a pretext,  several measures  have been proposed by the government, which threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. 
 modifier error - ''using the....'' modifies several measures but it should modify ''The government''

(C) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy,  the government  has proposed several measures that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. 
 Looks OK

(D) The government  has used the pretext  of reviving the flagging economy,  proposing several measures  that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. 
 Incorrect modifier - the main action of the government was proposing several measures but this sentence conveys as if the main action taken by the government was using the pretext

(E) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy,  several measures  have been proposed by the government, threatening to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. 
 modifier error - ''using the....'' modifies several measures but it should modify ''The government''

prashanths · Answer

(A) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, several measures have been proposed by the government that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. 
Modifier "Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy" should modify the noun government

(B) With the flagging economy used as a pretext, several measures have been proposed by the government, which threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. 
Modifier "With the flagging economy used as a pretext" should modify the noun government. Also the modifier itself doesnt sound quite right

(C) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, the government has proposed several measures that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. 
Correct

(D) The government has used the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, proposing several measures that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. 
using the pretext of..... should be a modifier while "proposing severeal measures..." should be the main clause.

(E) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, several measures have been proposed by the government, threatening to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.
Same modifier issue

The answer should be C.

J2S2019 · Answer

Correct answer is C;

Option A has meaning issue though the verb+ing modifier correctly modifies the next clause; It is not the Govt., but the measures.

Option B; "which" modifies the noun/noun phrase just before it, hence it is modifying the Govt., not the measures, same as Option A;

Option C is correct, modifier error is rectified here.

Again Option D & E is having the modifier error as Verb+ing modifying the entire preceding clause, intended meaning is lost here.

baru · Answer

Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, several measures have been proposed by the government that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

Error Analysis :
Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy,  several measures  have been proposed by the government that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. 
The above sentence has a modifier error 
Using the pretext …, (who) ?
Using X will usually take a person/living thing as a modifier . So here Government is the expected modifier as per intended meaning.

(A) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy,  several measures have  been proposed by the government that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. -Incorrect
modifier should be government 
(B) With the flagging economy used as a pretext,  several measures  have been proposed by the government, which threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.-Incorrect 
even though the sentence structure is changed same Modifier error exists here .

(C)  Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, the government has proposed several measures that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.-correct 
Corrects the Modifier error and uses correct verb has 
 
(D) The government has used the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, proposing several measures that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999. -incorrect 
Meaning change , Government has used pretext of reviving the economy 'to propose' . use of proposing is inpropriate.

(E) Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy,  several measures  have been proposed by the government, threatening to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999-Incorrect
Same error as in option A , Modifier error.

amitanshumaity · Answer

Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy, several measures have been proposed by the government that threatens to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999.

Okay, so first things first. Whenever you start reading a sentence it should strike that  Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy  is a modifier. So, when you read whats ahead your job must be to check if the modifier modifies the correct entity.

In our case, it is a definite NO.

Ask --> Who used the pretext of the flagging economy? Several measures Vs The government.
Definitely the government.

So, the sentence structure must be somewhat like --> The government proposed something that will bring back the harsh taxes.

Note: It helps tremendously when you understand what the sentence seeks. You can go through POE very swiftly.

Answer choice C corrects the modifier error and communicates the meaning effectively.
IMHO C

Shrinidhi · Answer

The only option which has got all the parts- S-V agreement,modifier Placement,verb-ing modifier right is option  C .
Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy,--- this is the Verb-ing modifier phrase that should modify the the government.
the government has proposed several measures that threaten to bring back some of the harsh tax provisions abolished in 1999--this is kind of fact so it should be in present tense and the subject here is the government with correct verb as proposed, with "that" correctly used to refer to measures.

All in all Option C is correct.

generis · Answer

I posted the official explanation  HERE .

Kinshook · Answer

Only in choice (C), the use of modifier "Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy" or "With the flagging economy used as a pretext" is correctly used with noun "the government". Choice D has tense/meaning error.
Therefore C is correct.

IMO C

Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy several measures

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Using the pretext of reviving the flagging economy several measures

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