With adjustments for inflation, the relative cost of welfare benefits

Question

With adjustments for inflation, the relative cost of welfare benefits has been dropping since 1973,  resulting in the welfare program now costing about 3 billion real dollars less to implement than  in 1973

(A) resulting in the welfare program now costing about 3 billion real dollars less to implement than
(B) resulting in the welfare program now costing about 3 billion real dollars less to implement as
(C) resulting in the welfare program now costing about 3 billion real dollars less to implement than it did
(D) and as a result the welfare program now costs about 3 billion real dollars less to implement than it did
(E) and the welfare program now costs about 3 billion real dollars less as a result to implement than

popov · Accepted Answer

This sentence requires comparison of cost of the program now and in 1973. Since "less" is used here for comparison, the correct sentence must have "less .. than" structure. So B is out.
Now, it is the cost in 1973 that is being compared with the cost now, we should have "it did" before "in 1973". So A and E are out.

Now between C and D:
 (c)resulting in the welfare program now costing about 3 billion real dollars less to implement than it did

C has two errrors
i) sentence implies that the "drop in cost of welfare benefits resulted  in the welfare program ". The drop did not result in the program itself, rather resulted in lower cost of the program. Here "now costing about..." is essentially modifying the noun "the welfare program". The word "costing" is not acting as a verb, rather as a -ing modifier. Hence the option C reads more like "the drop resulted in the welfare program", which has some other cost related features.
ii) Ideally "did" at the end represents past particle of the verb "cost". However, all we have is the -ing modifier "costing", which can not be considered as both modifier and verb in the same sentence.

In choice D, it is clear that "as a result it is the welfare program that now  costs  xyz than it did (cost) in 1973". since cost is used here as a verb next to "the welfare program", we can again use it as a verb as a replacement of "did".

daagh · Answer

Notwithstanding that the OA is D, I have my reasons to rebut it. After all, both C and D use  ‘it ’; they also use ' than it did’ ; the difference lies in D being a compound sentence and C being a simple sentence with a participial modifier

The use of a participle modifier is legal and appropriate in order to modify the theme of the dropping cost, which is causing the reduction in costs now. A participle can modify either the noun or the idea lying before it. 
The question is whether you will use a simple sentence or a more verbose compound sentence to express a phenomenon. I reckon a simple sentence is to be logically preferred over the compound sentence. Hence, I prefer C.

However, please appreciate that both ' resulting ' and ' costing ' are participles and not gerunds. Again, we cannot use resulting without the comma before that since that will mean wrongly that  resulting  modifies 1973, giving an absurd meaning.

HIMALAYA · Answer

D. "it: in C is not correct. it should be they. also need "than" after less to make the comparision logical.

HKD1710 · Answer

Option "C" vs "D" -

Cause ->adjustments for inflation
Effect-1 -> relative cost of welfare benefits dropping
Effect-2 (Final Effect) -> welfare program now cost less

The final effect should always refer to the main cause not the previous effect (intermediate cause).

option "C" -  Resulting  would refer back to  the relative cost  (final effect refers to previous effect -  wrong  )
option "D" -  and as a result  clearly mean that  welfare program now cost less  because of  adjustments for inflation  (final effect refers to main cause -  correct )

jjsverbal · Answer

V~ing phrase following a sentence with a comma mainly serves two grammatical functions:
1) it can refer back to the subject of the main clause, which in this case is "the cost"
2) it can also refer to the "whole thought" of the sentence: that the cost has been dropping since 1973. 
 A per this question, I think the second rule seems more appropriate since it's the event that resulted what came after. In other words, the cost by itself couldn't have resulted the second event.

I chose D as the correct answer not because the "resulting ~ phase" violated any rules, but because I thought its usage was not particularly stellar. 
The sentence wants to express "an action". That is, it wants to say the welfare program now COSTS such and such: it want to express a full action. 
However, in C and D, it is used as a modifier, nested in another modifier. For concision, it would have been much better if choice D had been condensed to form something like C and D.

goforgmat · Answer

the only reason i picked D over c is because of the awkward phrasing in C.
Resulting in the welfare program now costing vs . welfare program now costs.
Experts your thoughts please.
 chetan2u  ?

Nick90 · Answer

my question in C is "usage of NOW before costing" ?? is it correctly used ??

sayantanc2k · Answer

I do not see any problem with the placement of "now". The problem with C is that a present participle "costing" is compared with a verb "did".

SHALLIKA · Answer

Hi,
As you have mentioned Verb+ing modifier without comma modifies nearest noun and with comma modifies the clause.
So in case of C,is it not required to modify the clause rather than the noun relative cost?
Please correct me if I'm wrong

sayantanc2k · Answer

You are right. The present participle "resulting" modifies the entire previous clause. However option C is wrong because of some other reason: Parallelism is not maintained between " program now costing" and "it did". You may find some more details on verb-ing modifiers here: verb-ed-modifiers-vs-verb-ing-modifiers-125611-60.html#p1712612

KalyanChamarthi · Answer

The comparison is : how much the welfare program  cost now  to how much it  did in 1973

we need  it did , which is only on Answer choices  C and D .

Hence A, B and E :  wrong comparison , hence wrong.

Between C and D,

In C we got  Costing  , - the continuous form is incorrect. 
we need simple present tense :  costs  - Hence the correct  answer choice is D .

raphael95959 · Answer

A quick doubt,

The current option (C) is - " resulting in the welfare program now costing about 3 billion real dollars less to implement than it did "

If the option was modified to - " resulting in the welfare program now to cost about 3 billion real dollars less to implement than it did ", will this option be correct?

If not, then why ?

KalyanChamarthi · Answer

No, option C, would still be wrong. 
Because  resulting....  would incorrectly modify the noun  1973  - giving rise to  modifier error.

raphael95959 · Answer

But resulting is present after a  ","  so wont it be modifying the full modifying clause that is -  "the relative cost of welfare benefits has been dropping since 1973"  , the action of the relative cost dropping.

VerbalBot · Answer

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With adjustments for inflation, the relative cost of welfare benefits

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With adjustments for inflation, the relative cost of welfare benefits

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