SC: The results of the company's cost-cutting measures are

[jnelson0612]

vijay, check out Ron's explanation for why the answer should start with "which" rather than "with".

Please explain why E is wrong . i chose E.

is it wrong because there is no parallel structure on both sides of after
or it is worng because of use of 'with'

in general, "COMMA + prep phrase modifier" is an adverbial modifier, meaning that it modifies the entirety of the preceding clause.
in this sentence, we don't want an adverbial modifier, since it doesn't make any sense for this modifier to apply to the entire preceding clause.
rather, we want a modifier that will only modify the noun at the end of the preceding clause (i.e., "profits"). since this is the exact function of a "which" modifier, that's the modifier we want here.

[violetwind]

Hi Ron,

OG 12 also have this SC problem and the explanation saying that the sentence needs to clarify the sequence by presenting different verb tence.
In this sentence, "falling the last two years" should happen before "making a first 3-month profit",So if we don't use "falling" ,instead we want a complete clause, what tense should we use, simple past ?

Is "falling" here is a participle or a gerund? if it is a participle, then its tense should apply what's the clause's tense is, which is present perfect, but it's not right,huh? it's not possible that "fall" and "increase" are in the same tense as they happened one after another. will "after having fallen" make more sense here?

P.S. I don't get the implication of "having fallen" here.(in choice E)

I'm confused here.... Could you help to clarify it?

Thank you!

[violetwind]

Hi my question seems being missed.... any instructor can help?

Thank you!

[RonPurewal]

Hi Ron,

OG 12 also have this SC problem and the explanation saying that the sentence needs to clarify the sequence by presenting different verb tence.
In this sentence, "falling the last two years" should happen before "making a first 3-month profit",So if we don't use "falling" ,instead we want a complete clause, what tense should we use, simple past ?

first -- in general, you shouldn't try to do this.
don't try to fix sentences!
even though this section of the test is called, ironically, "sentence correction", you do not need to be able to fix the sentences; you only need to be able to select the correct answer choice from the choices given.
trying to fix the sentences is an irrelevant skill set; if you do too much of this, it will distract you from the skill set that you actually need. moreover, most users' attempts to fix sentences create numerous other errors, many of which are outside the scope of what is tested on the gmat.

--

i don't see an easy way to replace "falling" with a complete clause here. (the reasons are not tested on this exam.)

--

Is "falling" here is a participle or a gerund?

it's not a modifier, so it must be a gerund.

will "after having fallen" make more sense here?

"after having VERBed" is, in general, a redundant construction -- the word "after" is already there, so "having" doesn't contribute anything.
if you see this construction, you should generally be able to replace it with "after VERBing". it's possible that there are exceptions, but i can't think of any at this time.

[RonPurewal]

Hi my question seems being missed.... any instructor can help?

Thank you!

don't do this -- i.e., don't post a message that says "please answer my question".
this is called "bumping" the thread; it brings the thread up to the most recent position in the folder.

the problem is that we answer the posts strictly in order from oldest to newest. therefore, if you post a message, with no content, that says "please answer this post", then you are moving the thread to the LAST place in the queue.

please be patient -- we will get to all of the threads. if you make posts like this one, you're just making yourself wait longer.

thanks.

[skumar94]

either "increased" or "have increased" would make sense, depending on context. if the sentence is written immediately at the end of the third month of the year, then "have increased" is right. if it's written later, then "increased" makes more sense.

Hi Ron,

I agree with C as the correct answer here,and that the use of "it" for a plural subject is the make or break issue here. However, the question which is bothering me is in reference to Pg 110 of the 8th Edition Mgmat strategy guide.The book mentions that if there is a time indicator which clarifies that one event occurs before the other then a perfect tense may not be required. However, if I look for the explanation for option A in the OG12 Pg 728 it mentions that" the verb tense do not distinguish between the times at which these indicators occured".Is "after" not doing that job of distinguishing between the time of the two events?
Thank You!

[RonPurewal]

either "increased" or "have increased" would make sense, depending on context. if the sentence is written immediately at the end of the third month of the year, then "have increased" is right. if it's written later, then "increased" makes more sense.

Hi Ron,

I agree with C as the correct answer here,and that the use of "it" for a plural subject is the make or break issue here. However, the question which is bothering me is in reference to Pg 110 of the 8th Edition Mgmat strategy guide.The book mentions that if there is a time indicator which clarifies that one event occurs before the other then a perfect tense may not be required. However, if I look for the explanation for option A in the OG12 Pg 728 it mentions that" the verb tense do not distinguish between the times at which these indicators occured".Is "after" not doing that job of distinguishing between the time of the two events?
Thank You!

ya, the tenses in that choice are fine.

there are certain places in which the OG answer explanations are inaccurate; that's one of them.

[mcmebk]

Please explain why E is wrong . i chose E.

is it wrong because there is no parallel structure on both sides of after
or it is worng because of use of 'with'

in general, "COMMA + prep phrase modifier" is an adverbial modifier, meaning that it modifies the entirety of the preceding clause.
in this sentence, we don't want an adverbial modifier, since it doesn't make any sense for this modifier to apply to the entire preceding clause.
rather, we want a modifier that will only modify the noun at the end of the preceding clause (i.e., "profits"). since this is the exact function of a "which" modifier, that's the modifier we want here.

I know it may sound absurd, my first instinct always tells me to eliminate the choices with comma, prep phrase modifier, as most of them are a very complicated structure and thus make the sentence difficult to read, and plus, it is very difficult to understand it thorougly.

For example here: if this structure is an adverb modifier and modifier the preceding clause, in another word, it modifies the verb in the preceding clause "are", in that sense, it actually looks like that this structure makes sense to me, as it very well explains how the results ARE evident.

THank you Ron.

[RonPurewal]

For example here: if this structure is an adverb modifier and modifier the preceding clause, in another word, it modifies the verb in the preceding clause "are", in that sense, it actually looks like that this structure makes sense to me, as it very well explains how the results ARE evident.

THank you Ron.

the problem here is that you aren't thinking in sufficiently exact terms.
the subject and action of the preceding clause are "the success of the cost-cutting measures is evident" (or whatever it said, i'm not looking at the problem right now). it's impossible for the following modifier to refer to this subject+action, because the following modifier is phrased in terms of percentages. percentages of what? well, percentages of profits -- the preceding noun. therefore, we need something that modifies the preceding noun.

i know it's probably annoying to think so precisely, but that's the entire point of modifier usage.

[shankar245]

Hi Ron,



The results of the company's cost-cutting measures are evident in its profits, which have increased five percent during the first three months of this year after falling over the last two years.

As per you explanation in the previous posts the bold marked part is a modifier

I'm just trying to understand what it is modifying!
It clearly modifies profits.
profits being a noun, so is the modifier a noun modifier.?

I do understand that classifying makes no sense but it some how helps me to understand the bigger picture.

Thanks a lot!

[tim]

it modifies "increased". think about it: you can't talk about "profits ... after falling", but you can talk about how something "increased ... after falling"

[xyq121573]

in choice D:The results of the company's cost-cutting measures are evident in its profits, with a five percent increase during the first three months of this year after falling over the last two years. apart from the problem of with,becausefalling refers to a five percent increaseor the results ,so D is wrong.
Is my reasoning right?thx~

[RonPurewal]

in choice D:The results of the company's cost-cutting measures are evident in its profits, with a five percent increase during the first three months of this year after falling over the last two years. apart from the problem of with,becausefalling refers to a five percent increaseor the results ,so D is wrong.
Is my reasoning right?thx~

it's clear from context that the increase and the falling refer to the same thing. if the identity of that thing is unclear, the lack of clarity results from the "with" construction.

[thanghnvn]

The results of the company's cost-cutting measures are evident in its profits, which increased five percent during the first three months of this year after it fell over the last two years.

A. which increased five percent during the first three months of this year after it fell

B. which had increased five percent during the first three months of this year after it had fallen

C. which have increased five percent during the first three months of this year after falling over the last two years

D. with a five percent increase during the first three months of this year after falling

E. with a five percent increase during the first three months of this year after having fallen

Correct answer is C. I answered A. Is A wrong b/c the pronoun "it" could refer to either "results" or "profits?" Also, do we need the "have" before increased to indicate the profits are still increasing since the beginning part of the sentence is in the present tense?

C is oa.

in C the verbless clause stands behind the main clause.

but in C of question 17 og 13, verbless clause, which stands behind the main clause is considered wrong.

Pls, explain.

I already ask about question 17 og 13 in beathegmat forum and is advised that verbless clause should stands before the main clause. pls refer the beatthegmat forum . I think you can find the relevant question.

pls help

[RonPurewal]

in C the verbless clause stands behind the main clause.

i am not an expert on terminology, but, in my understanding, a "clause" is something that must contain a verb.

pls refer the beatthegmat forum . I think you can find the relevant question.

... excuse me?