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14 Jun 2020, 00:00
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E
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
25%
(medium)
Question Stats:
69% (01:07) correct
31%
(01:21)
wrong
based on 421
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
While small banks are still passing some of their loans off to larger institutions, it is now the big banks that are most active in what is known as the loan sub-participation market.
A) it is now the big banks that are most active in what is known as the loan sub-participation market
B) what is known as the loan sub-participation market counts the big banks among its most active participants
C) the greatest activity in what is known as the loan sub-participation market comes from the big banks
D) the loan sub-participation market draws its greatest activity from big banks
E) big banks are most active in what is known as the loan sub-participation market
The official explanation is here.
14 Jun 2020, 00:14
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OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
THE PROMPT
The sentence presents a contrast between two types of institutions: small banks and big banks.
The first clause describes small banks. The second clause describes big banks.
To maintain balance and clarity in the contrast, the two clauses should have roughly parallel constructions.
The first clauses begins with while + small banks.
The second clause should begin with big banks in order to form the basic construction
While small banks are X, big banks are Y.
• The first part of the sentence contains Big Hints.
While small banks are still passing some of their loans off . . .
The three underlined words reveal context.
"Still passing" means that the small banks have been passing loans off for awhile. That is, small banks have already been in the loan sub-participation market.
Small banks continue to be part of that market ("are still")—though they participate less now than they did before.
While" (meaning although[/]) coupled with "[i]some of their loans" emphasizes that small banks do not sell very many of their loans now (compared to what small banks did before now).
While: small banks are . . . Contrast!
While small banks are X, _________.
What goes in the blank?
This part is hard: we do have to understand that "to pass loans off to other institutions" (large or not) is to take part in "the loan sub-participation market."
Meaning? Although small banks do participate in the loan sub-participation market (by selling some of their loans to big institutions), big banks are the most active banks in that market.
• That basic structure is While small banks are X, big banks are Y
• seems to compare small banks with it is now
• the words it is now ... that are unnecessary. We already know from the first clause that small banks used to be more active in this market but are now passing off only a few loans. Remove just those words (and "the"). You end up with option E.
• see Notes, below, about it is
Eliminate A
• contrasts small banks and what is known as the loan sub-participation market. We want to know about big banks.
Eliminate B
• contrasts small banks with the greatest activity [in what is known as the loan sub-participation market]
Eliminate C
• contrasts small banks with the loan sub-participation market
Eliminate D
• Contrasts small banks with big banks. That pairing is correct
The best answer is E.
Notes
sambitspm , four people can certainly all get the wrong answer.
Just the other day, almost everyone wrote that insist was a "subjunctive" verb.
My reply in my explanation, condensed: no, not always, and not in that question, which you can find here.
People got lucky in that question. The correct answer certainly was not "command subjunctive," but it looked to them as if it were.
I've seen threads in which six or seven people all give the same wrong answer until a brave soul comes along . . . or not.
Part of what happens on these forums is that people whose answers are different from what seems to be the reigning wisdom feel afraid to post—but as the stats stand now, 63% of people chose (E). You four were not among that group, and that fact is perfectly okay.
I frequently give kudos to people whose answers are incorrect but whose reasoning is good.
Why? Because I want everyone to make their mistakes here and now rather than on the test.
In fact, I'm not too sure how people intend to learn without making mistakes.
You four are talented and hardworking, as are many on this site.
Almost always, you all write good posts.
• The "It is" construction in option A
First, GMAC generally does not like it is and there is.
I can think of only half a dozen official questions in which the correct answer includes it is.
In English, we use such structures because the original sentence is awkward or we want to put emphasis on whatever comes after it is.
Second, even when the "it is" structure is acceptable to GMAC, as far as I can tell from a few hours' of research to confirm my memory, a true "dummy" IT is not acceptable on the GMAT.
IT must have a delayed antecedent, and that antecedent is a noun. Typically that noun is in the form of a noun clause (also called a "substantive clause") or an infinitive phrase.
-- in other words, JonShukhrat is correct that GMAC does not accept expletive it clauses unless it contains a delayed antecedent that comes in the form of a that-clause, a whether-clause, or an infinitive phrase. He explains the way that "it" works on the GMAT in his post, which is here.
Two other places this issue is discussed are here and here. GMAC's position may change.
Third, I would not spend much time on this issue. Questions of this type are rare. I would think of most "it is" constructions as unnecessarily wordy and simultaneously look for a grammatical and logical option that does not use the "it is" construction. And I would read the posts to which I and JonShukhrat linked.
Two of those posts contain official examples in which the correct answer includes it is.
Fourth and finally, I do not see any meaning issues.
I don't think that options A and E have radically or slightly different meanings.
Even if option E does differ radically in meaning from A (a proposition with which I do not agree!), so what?
Is E logical? Yep.
Option A does not determine intended meaning.
Kritisood , as I wrote above, the words while, still, and some in the first clause give us the contrast information that we need.
In other words, you are correct that we want to establish contrast. Most of that contrast is already set up in the first clause. Because the details about small banks are forceful (albeit understated), a simple contrast in the second clause works just fine.
Taulark1 , I think your analysis is headed in the right direction.
I will shift gears for you just a little bit: focus on small banks and the big banks will follow.
The first part of the sentence tells us that small banks were more active than they are now.
So some other institutions stepped into small banks' place. Which ones? Big banks.
We do not need the word "now." Its meaning is tacit in the non-underlined portion of the sentence.
COMMENTS
Taulark1 , welcome to SC Butler.
JonShukhrat , your analysis is spot on.
I am bumping you to Best Community Reply.
Also, people -- please, be brave enough to post your question on the thread?
I am not a fan of backdooring.
Everyone: you seem to have thought hard about the question.
It doesn't matter that some of you have the wrong answer. Your reasoning is good. You just missed a few details.
Kudos to all.
THE PROMPT
Quote:
The sentence presents a contrast between two types of institutions: small banks and big banks.
The first clause describes small banks. The second clause describes big banks.
To maintain balance and clarity in the contrast, the two clauses should have roughly parallel constructions.
The first clauses begins with while + small banks.
The second clause should begin with big banks in order to form the basic construction
While small banks are X, big banks are Y.
• The first part of the sentence contains Big Hints.
While small banks are still passing some of their loans off . . .
The three underlined words reveal context.
"Still passing" means that the small banks have been passing loans off for awhile. That is, small banks have already been in the loan sub-participation market.
Small banks continue to be part of that market ("are still")—though they participate less now than they did before.
While" (meaning although[/]) coupled with "[i]some of their loans" emphasizes that small banks do not sell very many of their loans now (compared to what small banks did before now).
While: small banks are . . . Contrast!
While small banks are X, _________.
What goes in the blank?
This part is hard: we do have to understand that "to pass loans off to other institutions" (large or not) is to take part in "the loan sub-participation market."
Meaning? Although small banks do participate in the loan sub-participation market (by selling some of their loans to big institutions), big banks are the most active banks in that market.
Quote:
• Does not follow the basic contrast structure in which similar items are compared and contrasted.
• That basic structure is While small banks are X, big banks are Y
• seems to compare small banks with it is now
• the words it is now ... that are unnecessary. We already know from the first clause that small banks used to be more active in this market but are now passing off only a few loans. Remove just those words (and "the"). You end up with option E.
• see Notes, below, about it is
Eliminate A
Quote:
• Does not follow the basic contrast structure in which similar items are compared and contrasted.
• contrasts small banks and what is known as the loan sub-participation market. We want to know about big banks.
Eliminate B
Quote:
• Does not follow the basic contrast structure
• contrasts small banks with the greatest activity [in what is known as the loan sub-participation market]
Eliminate C
Quote:
• Does not follow the basic contrast structure
• contrasts small banks with the loan sub-participation market
Eliminate D
Quote:
• Follows basic contrast structure, While small banks are X, big banks are Y
• Contrasts small banks with big banks. That pairing is correct
The best answer is E.
Notes
sambitspm , four people can certainly all get the wrong answer.
Just the other day, almost everyone wrote that insist was a "subjunctive" verb.
My reply in my explanation, condensed: no, not always, and not in that question, which you can find here.
People got lucky in that question. The correct answer certainly was not "command subjunctive," but it looked to them as if it were.
I've seen threads in which six or seven people all give the same wrong answer until a brave soul comes along . . . or not.
Part of what happens on these forums is that people whose answers are different from what seems to be the reigning wisdom feel afraid to post—but as the stats stand now, 63% of people chose (E). You four were not among that group, and that fact is perfectly okay.
I frequently give kudos to people whose answers are incorrect but whose reasoning is good.
Why? Because I want everyone to make their mistakes here and now rather than on the test.
In fact, I'm not too sure how people intend to learn without making mistakes.
You four are talented and hardworking, as are many on this site.
Almost always, you all write good posts.
• The "It is" construction in option A
First, GMAC generally does not like it is and there is.
I can think of only half a dozen official questions in which the correct answer includes it is.
In English, we use such structures because the original sentence is awkward or we want to put emphasis on whatever comes after it is.
Second, even when the "it is" structure is acceptable to GMAC, as far as I can tell from a few hours' of research to confirm my memory, a true "dummy" IT is not acceptable on the GMAT.
IT must have a delayed antecedent, and that antecedent is a noun. Typically that noun is in the form of a noun clause (also called a "substantive clause") or an infinitive phrase.
-- in other words, JonShukhrat is correct that GMAC does not accept expletive it clauses unless it contains a delayed antecedent that comes in the form of a that-clause, a whether-clause, or an infinitive phrase. He explains the way that "it" works on the GMAT in his post, which is here.
Two other places this issue is discussed are here and here. GMAC's position may change.
Third, I would not spend much time on this issue. Questions of this type are rare. I would think of most "it is" constructions as unnecessarily wordy and simultaneously look for a grammatical and logical option that does not use the "it is" construction. And I would read the posts to which I and JonShukhrat linked.
Two of those posts contain official examples in which the correct answer includes it is.
Fourth and finally, I do not see any meaning issues.
I don't think that options A and E have radically or slightly different meanings.
Even if option E does differ radically in meaning from A (a proposition with which I do not agree!), so what?
Is E logical? Yep.
Option A does not determine intended meaning.
Kritisood , as I wrote above, the words while, still, and some in the first clause give us the contrast information that we need.
In other words, you are correct that we want to establish contrast. Most of that contrast is already set up in the first clause. Because the details about small banks are forceful (albeit understated), a simple contrast in the second clause works just fine.
Taulark1 , I think your analysis is headed in the right direction.
I will shift gears for you just a little bit: focus on small banks and the big banks will follow.
The first part of the sentence tells us that small banks were more active than they are now.
So some other institutions stepped into small banks' place. Which ones? Big banks.
We do not need the word "now." Its meaning is tacit in the non-underlined portion of the sentence.
COMMENTS
Taulark1 , welcome to SC Butler.
JonShukhrat , your analysis is spot on.
I am bumping you to Best Community Reply.
Also, people -- please, be brave enough to post your question on the thread?
I am not a fan of backdooring.
Everyone: you seem to have thought hard about the question.
It doesn't matter that some of you have the wrong answer. Your reasoning is good. You just missed a few details.
Kudos to all.
15 Jun 2020, 09:56
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi, sambitspm
I just wanted to share my thoughts before generis announces the final verdict.
The red clause is a dependent clause. The blue clause is an independent clause. An independent clause must be able to stand alone as a sentence and form a complete thought. However, the blue clause at hand cannot do so because “it” has no referent. On the GMAT, “it” must have a crystal clear referent. The referent either precedes or follows “it”.
1. When the referent precedes “it”:
- While the most expensive fruit is an apple in country A, it is a grape in country B.
Here, “it” has a clear referent such as “the most expensive fruit”. So, if we replace “it” with its referent and write the blue clause alone, we get a valid independent clause: The most expensive fruit is a grape in country B. Hence, the sentence above is correct.
However, in choice A the red clause lacks any singular noun to which “it” could refer.
2. When the referent follows “it”:
- While an apple is added virtually to every food in country A, it is strange that people in country B consider this fruit inedible.
Here, the blue clause will work alone even if “it” refers to nothing in the red clause. The reason is that now “it” is used as an expletive (dummy) pronoun that refers to the following that-clause, which serves as a noun (that people in country B consider this fruit inedible). Since “it” refers to the that-clause, we can replace “it” with this that-clause, and the meaning will remain the same:
- It is strange that people in country B consider this fruit inedible. (works alone)
- That people in country B consider this fruit inedible is strange. (works alone)
Note that “it” can refer to the following that-clause only if this that-clause serves as a noun. Such noun clauses must have both a verb and a subject. In the example above, that-clause has the verb “consider” and the subject “people”, so it can serve as a noun. Hence, “it” has a referent and is correctly used.
However, in A the that-clause following “it” serves NOT as a noun, BUT as an adjective that modifies “the big banks”. You can see that this that-clause (that are most active in what is known as the loan sub-participation market) misses a subject. Such that-clauses can serve only as an adjective to which “it” CANNOT refer. Therefore, “it” has no referent.
In a nutshell, A is wrong because it lacks an independent clause, and because “it” refers to nothing.
- Read more about “adjective vs. noun clauses” here .
- Read more about the correct usage of “it” here .
I just wanted to share my thoughts before generis announces the final verdict.
Quote:
The red clause is a dependent clause. The blue clause is an independent clause. An independent clause must be able to stand alone as a sentence and form a complete thought. However, the blue clause at hand cannot do so because “it” has no referent. On the GMAT, “it” must have a crystal clear referent. The referent either precedes or follows “it”.
1. When the referent precedes “it”:
- While the most expensive fruit is an apple in country A, it is a grape in country B.
Here, “it” has a clear referent such as “the most expensive fruit”. So, if we replace “it” with its referent and write the blue clause alone, we get a valid independent clause: The most expensive fruit is a grape in country B. Hence, the sentence above is correct.
However, in choice A the red clause lacks any singular noun to which “it” could refer.
2. When the referent follows “it”:
- While an apple is added virtually to every food in country A, it is strange that people in country B consider this fruit inedible.
Here, the blue clause will work alone even if “it” refers to nothing in the red clause. The reason is that now “it” is used as an expletive (dummy) pronoun that refers to the following that-clause, which serves as a noun (that people in country B consider this fruit inedible). Since “it” refers to the that-clause, we can replace “it” with this that-clause, and the meaning will remain the same:
- It is strange that people in country B consider this fruit inedible. (works alone)
- That people in country B consider this fruit inedible is strange. (works alone)
Note that “it” can refer to the following that-clause only if this that-clause serves as a noun. Such noun clauses must have both a verb and a subject. In the example above, that-clause has the verb “consider” and the subject “people”, so it can serve as a noun. Hence, “it” has a referent and is correctly used.
However, in A the that-clause following “it” serves NOT as a noun, BUT as an adjective that modifies “the big banks”. You can see that this that-clause (that are most active in what is known as the loan sub-participation market) misses a subject. Such that-clauses can serve only as an adjective to which “it” CANNOT refer. Therefore, “it” has no referent.
In a nutshell, A is wrong because it lacks an independent clause, and because “it” refers to nothing.
- Read more about “adjective vs. noun clauses” here .
- Read more about the correct usage of “it” here .
