SC-1000 (SC#511)

[closeup]

More than ever, paper is expected to be recycled this year, due to new mandatory recycling laws in municipalities across the nation.
(A) More than ever, paper is expected to be recycled this year
(B) It is expected that more paper than ever will be recycled this year than previously and that is
(C) The paper expected to be recycled this year is more than ever
(D) The amount of paper that will be recycled this year is expected to be greater than ever
(E) A great increase in the amount of paper that will be recycled this year is


How to decide between D and E?

[Guest]

I think that E changes the original meaning....
"A great increase" is not the same as "greater than ever".
Just my thought...

[RonPurewal]

There's definitely a change in meaning. In particular, choice E has completely left out the idea of 'expected' - indeed, it doesn't contain any words that even give a semblance of the idea of expectation! Instead, the sentence takes it for granted that there WILL be a 'great increase' in the amount of paper recycled, treating this increase as an established fact even though it hasn't happened yet, which is absurd.

Also, the wording is a bit dicey: it looks like 'the amount of paper expected to be recycled this year' is what's increasing. But that doesn't make any sense: this year's amount is a one-shot deal. By the time it could 'increase', it'll be next year's amount.

[closeup]

Thanks everyone. I picked D at the first place. Now I am even more confident about eliminating E.

OA is D

[GK]

I think I'm getting concepts very mixed up :(

Can an 'amount' be 'greater'? Is amount countable? 1 amount, 2 amount ... ?

I eliminated D because i) I thought amount is not countable and ii) 'greater' cannot refer to 'amount' which is not countable. 'amount' requires using 'more'.

Can you please clarify. Thanks.

[RonPurewal]

Backwards: You can ONLY use 'greater' to refer to things that are NOT countable. Greater amount, greater intensity, greater number, greater concentration, etc.: all uncountable.

For instance, if I have 4 pancakes and my brother has 3 pancakes, I cannot say that my pancakes are greater than my brother's pancakes. If you're going to use 'greater' in this context, you have to say that I have a greater NUMBER of pancakes - and 'number' itself is NOT countable. Don't get confused here: Number is used for numbers OF countable things, but number, AS USED HERE**, is not countable.

**'Number' can be countable in other circumstances - like 'this lottery card has 4 numbers on it' - but that's a different usage altogether from what's discussed above.

[sid090188]

But answer choice d doesn't sound good if due to is replaced by caused by.So I think there is something wrong with all the choices given.

[jlucero]

I agree. Which is why studying from OG & GMAT Prep sources will always be the best place to learn SC.