GMAT PREP

[Guest]

Each year companies in the United States could save as much as $58 billion annually by preventing
illness among employees and gain as much as $200 billion through improving performance of
workers if they simply provided offices with cleaner air.

(A) annually by preventing illness among employees and gain as much as $200 billion through
improving performance of workers if they simply provided
(B) annually if they prevented employee illness and gain as much as $200 billion through worker
performance improved by simply providing
(C) annually in employee illness prevention and gain as much as $200 billion through worker
performance improved by simply providing
(D) in employee illness prevention and gain as much as $200 billion through improving performance
of workers if they simply provided
(E) by preventing illness among employees and gain as much as $200 billion through improved
worker performance if they simply provided

Ans:E

what difference about use "improving performance" and " improved performance " to express setence of meaning ??

[Peeps]

Eliminate A, B and C because they all use the word annually which is redundant cause the sentence starts with Each yr....

We are let with D and E

D- In employee illness prevention is very clumsy

Hence E :P

[charlie]

Thank a lot , but I want to know the participle what mean..

[JonathanSchneider]

The question is not just about "improved" vs. "improving," but about the context of these words. Each is preceded by the word "through." We cannot say "through improving," but rather "through the improved performance." We need a noun to follow "through." "Through" is a preposition - what is to be the object of this preposition unless a noun of some sort? The word "improving" is incorrect here.

[ayushrastogi82]

The question is not just about "improved" vs. "improving," but about the context of these words. Each is preceded by the word "through." We cannot say "through improving," but rather "through the improved performance." We need a noun to follow "through." "Through" is a preposition - what is to be the object of this preposition unless a noun of some sort? The word "improving" is incorrect here.

Isn't 'improving performance of workers' in D is a gerund?

[RonPurewal]

The question is not just about "improved" vs. "improving," but about the context of these words. Each is preceded by the word "through." We cannot say "through improving," but rather "through the improved performance." We need a noun to follow "through." "Through" is a preposition - what is to be the object of this preposition unless a noun of some sort? The word "improving" is incorrect here.

Isn't 'improving performance of workers' in D is a gerund?

even so, you would still need "the" before "performance".

[agha79]

I was under the impression that "among" is used to compare 3 or more things. in right answer choice what are teh 3 things being compared?

thanx

[RonPurewal]

I was under the impression that "among" is used to compare 3 or more things. in right answer choice what are teh 3 things being compared?

thanx

it's not just for comparison. you can also use it in just about any situation in which you would use "between".

for instance:
competition between two brothers
competition among three brothers
no comparison here, but this is definitely correct.

in fact, for most comparisons, you would not want "among"; you'd want "of".
for instance:
the tallest among the three brothers --> not idiomatic
the tallest of the three brothers --> correct

[Viswanathan.harsha]

Please underline the part that needs correction. It makes it very difficult at times to see what needs to be changed. Thanks.

[RonPurewal]

Please underline the part that needs correction. It makes it very difficult at times to see what needs to be changed. Thanks.

fixed. thanks.

[tuftsv]

The question is not just about "improved" vs. "improving," but about the context of these words. Each is preceded by the word "through." We cannot say "through improving," but rather "through the improved performance." We need a noun to follow "through." "Through" is a preposition - what is to be the object of this preposition unless a noun of some sort? The word "improving" is incorrect here.

I am confused a little bit about the rule --preposition should be followed by a noun. I understand that "through" should be followed by "improved worker performance"(which can be seen a noun phrase), but how about another preposition "by" in the former sentence written as "by preventing illness"? Is it a participial to show a action here? If so, why not can we think "through" to be followed by "improving worker performance" to show the action in participial here?
Thanks in advance.

[samarpan.bschool]

Nice point raised by tuftsv.

I am also curious to know whether do we have different rules for 'by' and 'through'..

@Ron - As per the Manhattan guide, if an 'ing' form of verb is preceded by 'the' and followed by a preposition, it becomes a 'complex gerund phrase'. My question is - Why cant we use a simple gerund here?

Can you please clarify?

[mschwrtz]

If "improving" were unambiguously a gerund in D, then D would not run afoul of the cited rule. But "improving" looks like a verb in D, not least because it seems parallel with "preventing." D suggests that "improving performance" is among the means by which companies could save all that money.

This, samarpan.bschool, is why we can't use a simple gerund here, because it wouldn't be obvious that it was a gerund.


Here's my favorite use of "through" with a gerund, courtesy of Woody Allen, "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying."

[li.xi811]

The question is not just about "improved" vs. "improving," but about the context of these words. Each is preceded by the word "through." We cannot say "through improving," but rather "through the improved performance." We need a noun to follow "through." "Through" is a preposition - what is to be the object of this preposition unless a noun of some sort? The word "improving" is incorrect here.

Isn't 'improving performance of workers' in D is a gerund?

even so, you would still need "the" before "performance".

Hi Ron,

Would it be correct to say "through the improving performance of workers" in this sentence? Is it different from "through improved worker performance" in meaning?

"improved worker performance" sounds more reasonable to me, because it is a completed action that helps companies gain as much as $200 billion. However, "the improving performance of workers" sounds more like a process. Is my understanding correct?

Thanks in advance.

[RonPurewal]

Your understanding of __ed/__ing is perfect.

In context, though, it would be weird to use __ing, even if the workers are still getting better.
The point is that the company has already realized cost savings (or increased efficiency, or whatever the sentence said)"”because of improvements that have already been achieved.

In other words, the cost savings are not really tied to the improving performance. They're tied to the fact that performance has improved.