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A semi-colon question.

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amit.trivedi@ymail.com GMAT Destroyer!
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A semi-colon question. Post Wed Apr 04, 2012 11:44 pm
Elapsed Time: 00:00
  • Lap #[LAPCOUNT] ([LAPTIME])
    In the 1980s advertising revenues accounted for approximately 40% of operating profits of a typical local newspaper ; in the 1990s this proportion increased to 57%.


    A] newspaper; in the 1990s this proportion increased to 57%.

    B] newspaper; in the 1990s they increased by 57%.

    C] newspaper, in the 1990s they increased to 57%.

    D] newspaper; increasing to 57% in the 1990s.

    E] newspaper, which increased to 57% in the 1990s.






    The OA is the sentence itself i.e A.




    Option B: 'they' a pronoun is ambigious as it is unknown that 'they' refers to what, advertising revenues or the operating profits...

    Option C: same as option B...

    Option D: semicolon not required as in the second clause as mentioned in the option, the overall clause cannot stand on its own. There is no subject or the clear verb. Moreover, it seems to be a modifier and so a comma should be placed and not a semi-colon.

    Option E: The use of a comma and then a which, modifies the word newspaper meaning that the newspaper increased to 57% in the 1990's and not the ratio. It changes the meaning of the sentence.


    Hope this helps...

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    killer1387 GMAT Destroyer! Default Avatar
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    Post Wed Apr 04, 2012 11:51 pm
    A is correct.

    GmatKiss GMAT Titan Default Avatar
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    Post Thu Apr 05, 2012 2:16 am
    In the 1980s advertising revenues accounted for approximately 40% of operating profits of a typical local newspaper ; in the 1990s this proportion increased to 57%.


    A] newspaper; in the 1990s this proportion increased to 57%.

    B] newspaper; in the 1990s they increased by 57%.

    C] newspaper, in the 1990s they increased to 57%.

    D] newspaper; increasing to 57% in the 1990s.

    E] newspaper, which increased to 57% in the 1990s.

    IMO: A

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    Bill@VeritasPrep GMAT Instructor
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    Post Thu Apr 05, 2012 8:03 am
    A] Semicolon used correctly, two independent clauses. Works pretty well.

    B] "increased by" changes the meaning

    C] cannot use a comma to link two independent clauses

    D] need an independent clause after the semicolon

    E] modifier error: it's not the newspaper that increased

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    vikram4689 GMAT Titan
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    Post Thu Apr 19, 2012 7:34 am
    Bill@VeritasPrep wrote:
    C] cannot use a comma to link two independent clauses
    Bill if we use a semi-colon in C then would it be correct. I think it wouldn;t
    In the 1980s advertising revenues accounted for approximately 40% of operating profits of a typical local newspaper ; in the 1990s they increased to 57%

    advertising revenues CANNOT increase to some % (57%) AND i do not see any parallelism going on here which can imply underlined part in italics - advertising revenues increased to 57% of operating profits

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    vikram4689 GMAT Titan
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    Post Sat Apr 21, 2012 11:16 am
    Experts please help me resolve this

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    vikram4689 GMAT Titan
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    Post Tue Apr 24, 2012 9:32 am
    It isn't so difficult that no one can reply Smile

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    vikram4689 GMAT Titan
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    Post Mon Apr 30, 2012 11:24 am
    Come on friends Smile

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    chris@magoosh GMAT Instructor
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    Post Mon Apr 30, 2012 3:16 pm
    @vikram4689

    Modified (C): In the 1980s advertising revenues accounted for approximately 40% of operating profits of a typical local newspaper ; in the 1990s they increased to 57%

    This sentence is fine from a semi-colon perspective: two independent clauses are being joined together.

    From a meaning standpoint, you are correct: it is not the % that is increasing, rather a % of operating profits. Therefore, 'they' is incorrect.

    Hope that helps resolve any confusion Smile.

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