Last visit was: 29 Apr 2026, 03:58 It is currently 29 Apr 2026, 03:58
Home
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
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
User avatar
Retail sales rose 0.8 of 1 percent in August,intensifying: OG 13 ,Q 20 06 Aug 2015, 21:23
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi There ,

I have certain doubt regarding the meaning implied comparison stated in this question


Retail sales rose 0.8 of 1 percent in August,intensifying expectations that personal spending in the July–September quarter more than doubled that of the 1.4 percent growth rate in personal spending for the previous quarter.


(A) that personal spending in the July–September quarter more than doubled that of
(B) that personal spending in the July–September quarter would more than double
(C) of personal spending in the July–September quarter, that it more than doubled
(D) of personal spending in the July–September quarter more than doubling that of
(E) of personal spending in the July–September quarter, that it would more than double that of


My Doubt in error analysis:
1.Here , According to meaning which i could infer that a comparison is stated between:- personal spending in the july september quarter is compared to 1.4 percent growth rate in personal spending for the previous quarter. This i found is illogical comparison .

Now how can the actual personal spending be compared with the rate of personal spending.?

Since growth rate in previous qtr is NOT part of underline portion ,comparison as per meaning should be grwth rate of july-sept qtr and grwth of previous qtr. But i could not figure out how you can interpret this from E-gmat explanation.

2. Clause starting with ''that of'' has sub-''that'' but no verb. Hence SV error

But E-gmat explanation says ''that of'' usage refers to noun in the same sentence. So doesn't the SV must exist in ''that'' clause apply for this usage of ''that of''.?

MY tussel was between opt (B) and (E) ,i eliminated(E) on the basis of SV error for That clause

Pls throw some light on these queries

Archived Topic
Hi there,
This topic has been closed and archived due to inactivity or violation of community quality standards. No more replies are possible here.
Where to now? Join ongoing discussions on thousands of quality questions in our Verbal Questions Forum
Still interested in this question? Check out the "Best Topics" block below for a better discussion on this exact question, as well as several more related questions.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!
User avatar
egmat
User avatar
e-GMAT Representative
Joined: 02 Nov 2011
Last visit: 27 Apr 2026
Posts: 5,632
Own Kudos:
33,438
Given Kudos: 707
GMAT Date: 08-19-2020
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 5,632
Kudos: 33,438
Retail sales rose 0.8 of 1 percent in August,intensifying: OG 13 ,Q 20 07 Aug 2015, 12:32
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
gameboy11887
Hi There ,

I have certain doubt regarding the meaning implied comparison stated in this question


Retail sales rose 0.8 of 1 percent in August,

intensifying expectations that personal spending in



the July–September quarter more than doubled that

of the 1.4 percent growth rate in personal spending

for the previous quarter.


(A) that personal spending in the July–September

quarter more than doubled that of


(B) that personal spending in the July–September

quarter would more than double


(C) of personal spending in the July–September

quarter, that it more than doubled


(D) of personal spending in the July–September

quarter more than doubling that of


(E) of personal spending in the July–September

quarter, that it would more than double that of


My Doubt in error analysis:
1.Here , According to meaning which i could infer that a comparison is stated between:- personal spending in the july september quarter is compared to 1.4 percent growth rate in personal spending for the previous quarter. This i found is illogical comparison .

Now how can the actual personal spending be compared with the rate of personal spending.?

Since growth rate in previous qtr is NOT part of underline portion ,comparison as per meaning should be grwth rate of july-sept qtr and grwth of previous qtr. But i could not figure out how you can interpret this from E-gmat explanation.

2. Clause starting with ''that of'' has sub-''that'' but no verb. Hence SV error
But E-gmat explanation says ''that of'' usage refers to noun in the same sentence. So doesn't the SV must exist in ''that'' clause apply for this usage of ''that of''.?

MY tussel was between opt (B) and (E) ,i eliminated(E) on the basis of SV error for That clause

Pls throw some light on these queries
Show more

Hi gameboy11887,

Thanks for posting your doubt here. :-)

Let us first understand what the sentence is trying to convey. I don;t think you are interpreting the intended meaning correctly.

The sentence begins by saying that that retail sales increased 0.8 of 1% in August. This increase led to heightened expectations that the personal spending in the July-September quarter increased more than twice the 1.4 percent growth rate in personal spending for the last quarter. This means if the personal spending in the last quarter was x, in the July-September quarter, it was expected to be more than 2x. So, in essence the intended comparison is between the personal spending of two quarters with the mention of the growth rate in same in the previous quarter.

Now, let's come to your second question. The "that" in the phrase "that of" is NOT a relative pronoun that it will start a clause and hence, must have a verb. This "that" is a pronoun used in place of a noun. But because Choice A clearly mentions "the 1.4 percent growth rate in personal spending", use of this pronoun is incorrect as it has no noun to refer to.

Let's take an example of the usage of this "that" in a simple sentence:

The bite of a rattlesnake can be more poisonous than that (bite) of a cobra. --> In this sentence, the comparison is between the bites of two snakes. The pronoun "that" stands for the noun "bite".

Hope this helps. :-)
Thanks.
SJ
User avatar
Retail sales rose 0.8 of 1 percent in August,intensifying: OG 13 ,Q 20 09 Aug 2015, 05:17
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi SJ

My Dbt is clear
But Regarding dbt 1 , my understanding as far as comparison of personal spending is correct which u mentioned, however i couldn't understand what you meant by
""So, in essence the intended comparison is between the personal spending of two quarters with the mention of the growth rate in same in the previous quarter.""

Archived Topic
Hi there,
This topic has been closed and archived due to inactivity or violation of community quality standards. No more replies are possible here.
Where to now? Join ongoing discussions on thousands of quality questions in our Verbal Questions Forum
Still interested in this question? Check out the "Best Topics" block above for a better discussion on this exact question, as well as several more related questions.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!
Moderators:
AbhishekP220108
509 posts
bhanu29
363 posts