Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
nightwing79 wrote:
Soaring television costs accounted for more than half the spending in the presidential campaign of 1992, a greater proportion than it was in any previous election.
(A) a greater proportion than it was
(B) a greater proportion than
(C) a greater proportion than they have been
(D) which is greater than was so
(E) which is greater than it has been
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that soaring television costs accounted for more than half the spending in the presidential campaign of 1992, and this was a greater proportion spent on television costs than in any previous election.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers + Pronouns + Tenses• "who/whose/whom/which/where", when preceded by a comma, refer to the noun just before the comma.
• The simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past.
The present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.
A: Trap. This answer choice suffers from a pronoun error, as the pronoun "it" lacks a clear and logical referent.
B: Correct. This answer choice avoids the pronoun error seen in Options A, C, and E, as it uses no pronouns. Further, Option B correctly modifies "half the spending in the presidential campaign of 1992" with "a greater proportion than", conveying the intended meaning - that soaring television costs accounted for more than half the spending in the presidential campaign of 1992, and this was a
greater proportion spent on television costs than in any previous election. Additionally, Option B avoids the tense error seen in Options C and E, as it uses the prepositional phrase "than in any previous election" rather than an active verb phrase.
C: This answer choice suffers from a pronoun error, as the pronoun "they" lacks a clear and logical referent. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the present perfect tense verb "have been" to refer to an event that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past, and the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.
D: This answer choice incorrectly modifies "half the spending in the presidential campaign of 1992" with "which is greater than was so"; the construction of the latter phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that soaring television costs accounted for more than half the spending in the presidential campaign of 1992, and this was a greater proportion spent on television costs than in any previous election; remember, "who/whose/whom/which/where", when preceded by a comma, refer to the noun just before the comma.
E: This answer choice suffers from a pronoun error, as the pronoun "it" lacks a clear and logical referent. Further, Option E incorrectly modifies "half the spending in the presidential campaign of 1992" with "which is greater than it has been", illogically implying that half the spending in the presidential campaign of 1992 is greater than the
same amount of money was in any previous election; the intended meaning is that soaring television costs accounted for more than half the spending in the presidential campaign of 1992, and this was a
greater proportion spent on television costs than in any previous election; remember, "who/whose/whom/which/where", when preceded by a comma, refer to the noun just before the comma. Additionally, Option E incorrectly uses the present perfect tense verb "has been" to refer to an event that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past, and the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.
Hence, B is the best answer choice.To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
To understand the concept of "Present Perfect Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):
To understand the concept of "Which/Who/Whose/Where" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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