In the 1980’s the rate of increase

[chenche8827]

dear instructor,I might ask a stupid question. does "what" here still equeal to "the thing that"? or it is anothor usage of "what".please give me a hand.

yes, basically the same thing.

Because if it means the former,then "what"and"it"in answer C means the same thing"the rate of increase of...."here.

not really --
consider the construction "the rate was X" (where X is a mathematical rate quantity).
in this case, the "what" corresponds most closely to the "X", while the "it" corresponds most closely to "the rate".

I am really confused about the usage of "what" .
Please help me .Thanks!

your confusion is understandable.
when you learn constructions like this, which are highly specific from language to language, your best bet is probably to just learn the constructions wholesale -- i.e., don't try to dissect them excessively, as long as you can understand how they work.

for instance, consider the following:
i see a man, but i don't know who he is.
do you understand this construction?
i don't really know how to break it down grammatically, but i do know that it functions in precisely the same way as ...what it is.
the "who" is playing the same role as the "what"; "he" is playing the same role as "it". no redundancy.

THANKS RON!~
wonderful explanation!
I think I got what you mean.
to me,"what it is"is a rreally difficult structure.
hah,English is really different from my mother language.
thanks you again.

[jnelson0612]

Great!

[supratim7]

Interesting questions and great replies.. Sorry the to open such an old post..

The OA "In the 1980’s the rate of increase of the minority population of the United States was nearly twice what it was in the 1970’s." is perfectly fine.

Just wondering whether following construction also be correct. Does it convey the same idea?

"In the 1980’s the rate of increase of the minority population of the United States was nearly twice what the case was in the 1970’s."

Many thanks | Supratim Choudhury

[jlucero]

Interesting questions and great replies.. Sorry the to open such an old post..

The OA "In the 1980’s the rate of increase of the minority population of the United States was nearly twice what it was in the 1970’s." is perfectly fine.

Just wondering whether following construction also be correct. Does it convey the same idea?

"In the 1980’s the rate of increase of the minority population of the United States was nearly twice what the case was in the 1970’s."

Many thanks | Supratim Choudhury

No because you're not referring to a case but rather the rate. Change this to rate and you'd be fine.

[sid090188]

Hi,

I have a doubt regarding the correct option C. Even if we consider the redundancy of fast in answer choice B,the 'it' is present in answer choice C which refers to 'the rate of increase of the minority population of the United States'.So C is still not gramatically correct .Right.

[RonPurewal]

Hi,

I have a doubt regarding the correct option C.

Even if we consider the redundancy of fast in answer choice B,the 'it' is present in answer choice C which refers to 'the rate of increase of the minority population of the United States'.So C is still not gramatically correct .Right.

"rate" is a noun, so "it" is perfectly well able to stand for it.

[NidhiJ234]

why cant 'E' be the correct choice for this question?

[NidhiJ234]

greater than compares the RATE. what's the error in E ?

[RonPurewal]

greater than compares the RATE. what's the error in E ?

"...greater than the 1970's"

the 1970's are not a rate, so, choice E is nonsense.

[aflaamM589]

ABD--> rate is fast, so incorrect--> rate cannot be fast just as height cannot be tall
E --> rate is greater--> similarly rate cannot be greater--> so incorrect
So, C, right Ron?

[RonPurewal]

correct about A, B, D.

but, a rate (= a number) can certainly be "greater than" another rate.

[aflaamM589]

thanks for your reply.
Please help me understand the underlying concept a bit more clearly:
one number can be greater than another number
Rate is a number, therefore
Rate A is greater than rate B--> legitimate construction

(another query,though not related to the problem in hand but relevant to the concept under discussion)
However, the following is incorrect:
Rate A is more than Rate B--> incorrect
one number cannot be more than another number; one number can be greater than another number but not more than.

Is my understanding correct?

Thanks alot
Have a nice day

[RonPurewal]

that is accurate.

[aflaamM589]

Thank you very much for your reply.

another quick query:
Is twice vs two times a valid split or red herring?
I find two times pretty much always incorrect in SC.
Kindly let us know your thoughts on it.

Thanks in anticipation
Have a nice day

[RonPurewal]

"twice" is better writing -- it's more compact and efficient -- so, you shouldn't see "two times" in a correct answer. (the correct answers don't contain bad writing.)

"two times" is not actually WRONG... but, remember, if you see a CLEAR case of better writing vs. worse writing, then you can safely use that distinction to eliminate.