In an unusual move for a Republican, the president's directive establi

Question

In an unusual move for a Republican,  the president's directive established price controls .

(A) the president's directive established price controls

(B) the president's directive was to establish price controls

(C) the president was successful in the establishment of controls on prices

(D) the president had instituted controls on prices

(E) the president established price controls

alexkozhura · Answer

The president is a Republican, not his directive. Therefore, we can eliminate  A  and  B .

C  changes the meaning. It says the Republican are usually unsuccessful at establishing price controls.

D  incorrectly uses Past Perfect.

E  is the only good option.

Abhishek009 · Answer

The highlighted part must modify what comes after it, Correct Answer must be (E), for the errors in other options marked in Red.

Bunuel · Answer

KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION:

E.

What should an introductory phrase followed by a comma prompt you to do? Check to see if the phrase correctly modifies what follows it. You can’t say that a directive is making “an unusual move for a Republican.” No, it’s a person, the president, that’s making the move. (E) says what the author of the sentence wants to say, clearly and simply. That’s preferable on the GMAT.

PaddyRoy · Answer

This question can be answered on the basis of three principles :

1. Identifying the subject :  'the President's directive' seems to be the subject.

2. Parallel Construction :  Now, if we look at the non-underlined part, we can see that 'the Republican' is an entity which is similar to the subject. Since the error can only be pointed out in the underlined part, we need to find a subject which can be similar to 'the Republican' (which represents a community of people). Clearly, 'the President's directive' is no where similar to the 'the Republican'. 
So, out of all the options, A and B can be easily eliminated. That leaves us with C,D & E, all having 'the president' as the subject.

3. Simple and complex sentences with a similar meaning. :  Now, the last three options have similar meaning but E is the simplest of them all. Hence, E is correct.

VerbalBot · Answer

Automated notice from GMAT Club VerbalBot: 

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

 This post was generated automatically.

In an unusual move for a Republican, the president's directive establi

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

In an unusual move for a Republican, the president's directive establi

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards