GMAT Test Question (SC - comparisons)

by **Guest** Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:57 pm

Exceeding even the figures predicted by the most optimal financial analysts, the automobile company had earnings in the first quarter that more than doubled the previous quarter.

a) company had earnings in the first quarter that more than doubled
b) company earned more than double in the first quarter what they were in
c) company had first quarter earning that more than doubled those in
d) company's earnings in the first quarter were more than double
e) company's earnings in the first quarter were more than double those of

I was a bit confused between d) and e) because of the preposition 'of'. Hence I chose (d), which I guess has a faulty comparison.

I often get confused when there are prepositional phrases in the comparison elements, especially w.r.t. missing subjects in the second part
of the comparison.
Ron, if I understand this post correctly (http://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/com ... t1606.html), 'company's earnings
in the first quarter were two times more than in the second quarter' would also be correct.

thanks a lot for your help.

by **StaceyKoprince** Thu Jan 17, 2008 7:36 pm

Please remember to use the correct subject when posting: the first 5-8 words of the question itself.

Between D and E, the only difference is "those of" at the end of E (absent from D). So you ask yourself "what is being compared here?" The earnings in one quarter to the earnings in another quarter. The earnings to the earnings. So I have to mention both sets of earnings, even if I use some sort of pronoun or other referent the second time (which is what the test usually does).

D says the "earnings were more than double the quarter" - that's not the right comparison.
E says the "earnings were more than double the (other) earnings" - that's the right comparison.

In the other example you gave, you've got "earnings in X were two times more than in Y" - that one's okay because I've got something in the second part that refers to the first part: parallelism indicates earnings in X were more than (earnings) in Y.

You can't use the same reasoning for this problem. Try it: D would read the "earnings in the first quarter were more than double (earnings) the previous quarter. Where's the "in"?

by **rschunti** Thu Jan 24, 2008 4:15 pm

I am posting erros according to my undestanding. Pls check and see if I am correct:-a) company had earnings in the first quarter that more than doubled
a is wrong since that is referring to quarter and quarter can not be doubled?
b) company earned more than double in the first quarter what they were in
b is wrong because of subject verb agreement issue. They and were are referring to company which is singular

What are the errors in choice "c". Pls explain and what is the "oa"?
c) company had first quarter earning that more than doubled those in

by **StaceyKoprince** Fri Jan 25, 2008 2:23 am

In the nonunderlined portion, I'm assuming it's supposed to say "optimistic" not "optimal" - it doesn't mess us up here, but please be careful when transcribing. It's important to transcribe EXACTLY. I think there's another typo in C (see below).

A: yes, this says "doubled the previous quarter" - what doubled? The only noun in that half of the comparison is quarter, and the quarter itself doesn't double - that doesn't make sense.

B: Technically, were only needs to match they, so were is okay because they is plural. But they has to match company and it doesn't.

C: I assume that it's supposed to say "earnings" and "earning" is just a typo. But, if not, earning (without the s) is wrong. We have to match the opening part of the sentence (non-underlined portion). It says "exceeding even the figures predicted" - what would exceed some figures? Other figures? A company doesn't exceed figures - the company's earnings exceed figures. A, B, and C are all wrong for this reason.

You should note that, wherever they start and end the underline, you'll have at least one difference in the answer choices. So glance down there and see the 2-way split: company or company's. That's your clue to go look for whether you want the subject to be company or earnings... and in this case we want earnings.

by **cesar.rodriguez.blanco** Sun Aug 23, 2009 6:53 pm

Then, OA is E, isn't it?

by **rohit21384** Fri Sep 11, 2009 9:35 pm

Another problem with c

c) company had first quarter earnings that more than doubled those in

here those will refer to "first quarter earnings" n then sentence would be:

company had first quarter earnings that more than doubled "first quarter earning" in the previous quarter.

Instructors - waht you say on this? you cannot cherry pick "earnings" from "first quarter earnings". This problem is not in option E.

by **anoo.anand** Sat Oct 17, 2009 2:16 pm

answer shud be E for this. ... pls confirm.

by **RonPurewal** Sun Nov 22, 2009 9:29 am

rohit21384 Wrote:Another problem with c

c) company had first quarter earnings that more than doubled those in

here those will refer to "first quarter earnings" n then sentence would be:

company had first quarter earnings that more than doubled "first quarter earning" in the previous quarter.

Instructors - waht you say on this? you cannot cherry pick "earnings" from "first quarter earnings". This problem is not in option E.

well done.

by contrast, you CAN cherry-pick (e), because there are parallel structures:
noun/pronoun + preposition + quarter
(earnings + in + the first quarter)
(those + of + the previous quarter)

--

is this really a GMATPREP problem? i'm a bit surprised that a real, official problem wouldn't use "in" both times.

but yes, (e) is definitely the best answer here.

by **adiagr** Tue May 25, 2010 2:42 pm

Yes it is a GMAT prep question.

After correcting typos the question is as under:

Exceeding even the figures predicted by the most optimistic financial analysts, the automobile company had earnings in the first quarter that more than doubled the previous quarter.

a) company had earnings in the first quarter that more than doubled
b) company earned more than double in the first quarter what they were in
c) company had first quarter earnings that more than doubled those in
d) company's earnings in the first quarter were more than double
e) company's earnings in the first quarter were more than double those of

I have a doubt.

It is mentioned in one of the replies:

A company doesn't exceed figures - the company's earnings exceed figures. A, B, and C are all wrong for this reason.

I agree about A and B, but "C" does talk about earnings.

As such comparison of "company had first quarter earnings" with "those in the previous quarter" appears to be okay.

Is the problem in case of option C in "Those In".

(Highlight for OA) OA is E

by **adiagr** Tue May 25, 2010 2:54 pm

May pls help.

by **RonPurewal** Wed Jun 16, 2010 5:47 am

adiagr Wrote:Yes it is a GMAT prep question.

After correcting typos the question is as under:

Exceeding even the figures predicted by the most optimistic financial analysts, the automobile company had earnings in the first quarter that more than doubled the previous quarter.

a) company had earnings in the first quarter that more than doubled
b) company earned more than double in the first quarter what they were in
c) company had first quarter earnings that more than doubled those in
d) company's earnings in the first quarter were more than double
e) company's earnings in the first quarter were more than double those of

I have a doubt.

It is mentioned in one of the replies:

A company doesn't exceed figures - the company's earnings exceed figures. A, B, and C are all wrong for this reason.

I agree about A and B, but "C" does talk about earnings.

As such comparison of "company had first quarter earnings" with "those in the previous quarter" appears to be okay.

Is the problem in case of option C in "Those In".

(Highlight for OA) OA is E

yeah, that could have been explained a little more precisely.

more precisely:
this sentence starts with the modifier "Exceeding even the figures predicted by the most optimal financial analysts..."
this is an initial participial modifier, which automatically modifies the immediately following subject. therefore, the immediately following subject must be something that can actually "exceed figures".
therefore, if the following subject is just the company, that's wrong; the following subject has to be some other figure(s).
according to this consideration, the first three choices are all wrong.

also, we can eliminate choices (a) and (d) on the grounds that they end with "double(d) the previous quarter". if taken literally, these constructions don't make any sense; you can't double a quarter.

by **RonPurewal** Wed Jun 16, 2010 5:51 am

adiagr Wrote:May pls help.

was this post meant to contain another question?

it looks like an attempt to "bump" the thread (something that you shouldn't do, since we answer questions from oldest to newest -- "bumped" threads will actually be answered last!), but it doesn't seem reasonable that you would try to "bump" this thread only 12 minutes after your most recent post.

so, what question were you meaning to ask in this post?

by **alvin8139** Sun Jul 11, 2010 8:10 am

StaceyKoprince Wrote:Please remember to use the correct subject when posting: the first 5-8 words of the question itself.

Between D and E, the only difference is "those of" at the end of E (absent from D). So you ask yourself "what is being compared here?" The earnings in one quarter to the earnings in another quarter. The earnings to the earnings. So I have to mention both sets of earnings, even if I use some sort of pronoun or other referent the second time (which is what the test usually does).

D says the "earnings were more than double the quarter" - that's not the right comparison.
E says the "earnings were more than double the (other) earnings" - that's the right comparison.

In the other example you gave, you've got "earnings in X were two times more than in Y" - that one's okay because I've got something in the second part that refers to the first part: parallelism indicates earnings in X were more than (earnings) in Y.

You can't use the same reasoning for this problem. Try it: D would read the "earnings in the first quarter were more than double (earnings) the previous quarter. Where's the "in"?

If I change choice D to "company's earnings in the first quarter were more than double IN", will the choice be Correct then? (since "earnings" is understood in the previous quarter).

I especially find difficulties with Comparison regarding which parts are actually being compared. Sometimes it seems to me it's quite flexible for parallelism while other times it needs very technical parallelism. Any suggestions how to define which parts are actually being compared?

by **mschwrtz** Mon Jul 26, 2010 3:54 pm

No, still wrong.

Here's part of the sentence that results from D,

...the automobile company's earnings in the first quarter were more than double the previous quarter.

As you know, that's wrong because "earnings" is illogically compared to "the... quarter."

Here's part of the sentence that would result from your amended version of D,

...the automobile company's earnings in the first quarter were more than double in the previous quarter.

Insofar as that means anything, it means that the company's earning were twice as a great in the previous quarter. Insofar as it means anything....

Perhaps you were looking for something like,

...the automobile company's earnings in the first quarter were more than double than in the previous quarter.

That's awkward, or worse. Notice that the apparent parallel here is between "in the first quarter" and "in the previous quarter." This comparison suggests the very same earnings grew. It doesn't compare earning to earnings, but modifier to modifier.

by **supratim7** Sun Jul 08, 2012 8:58 am

Sorry for going back to this old thread.. Got a small query/doubt..

this sentence starts with the modifier "Exceeding even the figures predicted by the most optimal financial analysts..."
this is an initial participial modifier, which automatically modifies the immediately following subject. therefore, the immediately following subject must be something that can actually "exceed figures".
therefore, if the following subject is just the company, that's wrong; the following subject has to be some other figure(s).

Does this mean following construction is incorrect?

"Exceeding even the figures predicted by the most optimal financial analysts, the automobile company earned in the first quarter more than double that it earned in the previous quarter."

Dear tutors, pls help on this. Thank you.