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Hii,

I am neither an expert nor a grammar professional but would like to throw some light on the subject at hand.

1. One of the biggest difficulties that are faced by our economy is high unemployment rate.
Shorten Form: One of the biggest difficulties faced by our economy is high unemployment rate.

This is the best both from modifier and meaning point of view.

2. One of the biggest difficulties that face our economy is high unemployment rate.
Shorten Form: One of the biggest difficulties facing our economy is high unemployment rate.

This sentence do no have any problem from modifier placement - from strict grammar rules. But the meaning of this construction is somewhat suspicious --- difficulties is facing the economy by its own. It is illogical.

I know that the setence:

One of the biggest difficulties facing our economy is high unemployment rate.

is grammatically correct.

But like you, I concern about its illogical meaning. However, if you search Google for terms such as:

problems facing our Earth

problems facing our society

the challenges facing the United State economy

You will see they are used quite often and even by some pretigious media such as BBC or WSJ. Thus, those terms must be logical in meaning. So, what do those terms really mean?

_________________
"There is nothing either good or bad - but thinking makes it so" - Shakespeare.

Just a thought.

A faces B ==> B faces A;
( http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1386040 )

One of the meaning of face(verb) - encounter;
http://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/face[verb]

One of the biggest difficulties facing/encountering our economy is high unemployment rate.

The meaning looks fine to me.

hi GmatVerbal,

A faces B - B faces A : this sequence correct when both A and B can perform the action.

I look at the mountain --- but can we say --- The mountain looked at me

One of the biggest difficulties faced by our economy is high unemployment rate.

One of the biggest difficulties facing our economy is high unemployment rate. - Dont you think here "difficulties" is doing the action by its own !!

Economy can face with difficulties - but logically -- how can
Difficulties can face with our economy.

Please correct me if I am wrong !!

The word "encounter" seems not work for me.

If we say:

One of the biggest difficulties encountering our economy is high unemployment rate.

In the above sentence, the phrase difficulties encountering our economy implies difficulties is the subject that act upon our economy. But how come? It sounds illogical.

IMO, our economy should be the subject and difficulties should be the object.

Our economy encounters difficulties.

Thus the sentence should be:

One of the biggest difficulties encountered by our economy is high unemployment rate.

Ironically, as I posted above, those terms: problems facing our Earth , problems facing our society , the challenges facing the United State economy are widely used and accepted.

_________________
"There is nothing either good or bad - but thinking makes it so" - Shakespeare.

I think the logical meaning of the challenges/difficulties that face our economy is same as the challenges faced by our economy. I believe this is one those constructs that shouldn't be taken literally.

I have seen one of the OG problems that said "the construction began..." - How can a construction begin by itself?

I am pretty sure in every language has these kind of common usages.

Avik,

I see your point, but I think face and look are different verbs; Particularly 'look' is a sensory verb.

I think 'look' can be used in a poetic sense they way you described. Say,

The am live in a lonely house surrounded by the mountains. When I go out those mountains look at my beauty like those hungry males.

I am facing the building. I am standing at the corner with the building is facing me. Both sentences are fine to me. May be I am used to it.