Sentence Correction

Declining values for farm equipment and land, the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season, is going to force many lenders to tighten or deny credit this spring.
(A) the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season, is
(B) which farmers use as collateral to borrow against to get through the harvest season, is
(C) the collateral which is borrowed against by farmers to get through the harvest season, is
(D) which farmers use as collateral to borrow against to get through the harvest season, are
(E) the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season, are

Problem from Modifiers : Confused bwt D and E please explain

SmarpanGamt wrote:Declining values for farm equipment and land, the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season, is going to force many lenders to tighten or deny credit this spring.
(A) the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season, is
(B) which farmers use as collateral to borrow against to get through the harvest season, is
(C) the collateral which is borrowed against by farmers to get through the harvest season, is
(D) which farmers use as collateral to borrow against to get through the harvest season, are
(E) the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season, are

Problem from Modifiers : Confused bwt D and E please explain

position of "against" - in D it modifies illogically 'borrow' while in E correctly "collateral" - IMO E

SmarpanGamt wrote:Confused bwt D and E please explain

Check this post: https://www.beatthegmat.com/og-10th-edit ... html#48131

SmarpanGamt wrote:Declining values for farm equipment and land, the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season, is going to force many lenders to tighten or deny credit this spring.

(D) which farmers use as collateral to borrow against to get through the harvest season, are
(E) the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season, are

Problem from Modifiers : Confused bwt D and E please explain

A preposition should be as close as possible to the noun that it's modifying:

Wrong: This is the table I placed the book on.

I placed the book on the table, so the preposition on and the noun table should be closer.

Correct: This is the table on which I placed the book.

The pronoun which is standing in for the table, so on which = on the table.

Using this reasoning, we can see in the SC above that answer choice E is better than answer choice D:

(D) which farmers use as collateral to borrow against

The farmers borrow against the collateral, so the preposition against and the noun collateral should be closer.

(E) the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season

The pronoun which is standing in for the collateral, so against which = against the collateral.

Since (E) places the preposition against closer to the noun that it's modifying (the collateral), answer choice E is correct.

Nicely explained. Thanks Mitch.

GMATGuruNY wrote:

SmarpanGamt wrote:Declining values for farm equipment and land, the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season, is going to force many lenders to tighten or deny credit this spring.

(D) which farmers use as collateral to borrow against to get through the harvest season, are
(E) the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season, are

Problem from Modifiers : Confused bwt D and E please explain

A preposition should be as close as possible to the noun that it's modifying:

Wrong: This is the table I placed the book on.

I placed the book on the table, so the preposition on and the noun table should be closer.

Correct: This is the table on which I placed the book.

The pronoun which is standing in for the table, so on which = on the table.

Using this reasoning, we can see in the SC above that answer choice E is better than answer choice D:

(D) which farmers use as collateral to borrow against

The farmers borrow against the collateral, so the preposition against and the noun collateral should be closer.

(E) the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season

The pronoun which is standing in for the collateral, so against which = against the collateral.

Since (E) places the preposition against closer to the noun that it's modifying (the collateral), answer choice E is correct.

Thank you Mitch. Very Helpful explaination

Declining values for farm equipment and land, the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season, is going to force many lenders to tighten or deny credit this spring.


(A) the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season, is ---->should be are ( values is plural )
(B) which farmers use as collateral to borrow against to get through the harvest season, is ---->should be are ( values is plural )
(C) the collateral which is borrowed against by farmers to get through the harvest season, is ---->should be are ( values is plural )

(D) which farmers use as collateral to borrow against to get through the harvest season, are --> i am thinking that which is modifying the whole phrase "declining values for farm equipment and land......" thats wrong......
(E) the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season, are --> cream of the crap..

Thanks for the preposition tip, Mitch.

I have a question about what is being modified...
To me, E sounds like 'declining values for farm equipment and land' are the collateral, but isn't that nonsensical, as how can declining values be used as collateral?
Hence why I went for D, as i thought the 'which' restricts the phrase to the preceding nouns 'farm and land'.

Where am I going wrong?

Yes Stuart, i have the same confusion. Even i chose the D for the same reason

i have the same confusion of modifier i choose D.

GMATGuruNY wrote:

SmarpanGamt wrote:Declining values for farm equipment and land, the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season, is going to force many lenders to tighten or deny credit this spring.

(D) which farmers use as collateral to borrow against to get through the harvest season, are
(E) the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season, are

Problem from Modifiers : Confused bwt D and E please explain

A preposition should be as close as possible to the noun that it's modifying:

Wrong: This is the table I placed the book on.

I placed the book on the table, so the preposition on and the noun table should be closer.

Correct: This is the table on which I placed the book.

The pronoun which is standing in for the table, so on which = on the table.

Using this reasoning, we can see in the SC above that answer choice E is better than answer choice D:

(D) which farmers use as collateral to borrow against

The farmers borrow against the collateral, so the preposition against and the noun collateral should be closer.

(E) the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season

The pronoun which is standing in for the collateral, so against which = against the collateral.

Since (E) places the preposition against closer to the noun that it's modifying (the collateral), answer choice E is correct.

But Mitch , isn't the meaning conveyed by E nonsensical ?
E seems to say say that the equipment and land are the collateral . This seems to mean that the primary role played by equipment and land is that of a collateral. Equipment and land are something that a farmer uses to cultivate crops.
However they could be used by farmers as collateral in case they need to borrow money.


D says that equipment and land could be used as a collateral.



You also said that the preposition needs to be close to the noun that it modifies
But this does not apply in the following sentence
On the couch,the cat took a nap.

The opening phrase modifies the cat
The preposition is placed away from the noun ie:the cat

StuartM wrote:Thanks for the preposition tip, Mitch.

I have a question about what is being modified...
To me, E sounds like 'declining values for farm equipment and land' are the collateral, but isn't that nonsensical, as how can declining values be used as collateral?
Hence why I went for D, as i thought the 'which' restricts the phrase to the preceding nouns 'farm and land'.

Where am I going wrong?

Both D and E include which. In each answer choice, which refers to farm equipment and land, the closest preceding nouns. There is no grammatical or semantic reason to think that which would refer to declining values.

But Mitch , isn't the meaning conveyed by E nonsensical ?
E seems to say say that the equipment and land are the collateral . This seems to mean that the primary role played by equipment and land is that of a collateral. Equipment and land are something that a farmer uses to cultivate crops.
However they could be used by farmers as collateral in case they need to borrow money.


D says that equipment and land could be used as a collateral.

E does not say or imply that the PRIMARY purpose of the farm equipment and land is to serve as collateral.

You also said that the preposition needs to be close to the noun that it modifies
But this does not apply in the following sentence
On the couch,the cat took a nap.

The opening phrase modifies the cat
The preposition is placed away from the noun ie:the cat

Let me clarify. Here is the issue in D:

The object of a preposition should directly follow the preposition.

Wrong: This is the couch that the cat took a nap on. (The preposition on is not followed by its object, the couch).
Correct: The cat took a nap on this couch. (The preposition on is followed directly by its object, the couch).

In D, the preposition against is not followed by its object, which. Thus, we should eliminate D and choose E.

Thanks for clarifying the point that prepositions must be followed by the object of the preposition .

Mitch i wonder why many books considered authorities on GMAT SC fail to mention this so very important point .
Thanks
However i am still unclear about the meaning that E conveys .

(E) the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season, are
Doesnt the appositive "the collateral ... " here serve as a definition of land ?

mundasingh123 wrote:Thanks for clarifying the point that prepositions must be followed by the object of the preposition .

Mitch i wonder why many books considered authorities on GMAT SC fail to mention this so very important point .
Thanks
However i am still unclear about the meaning that E conveys .

(E) the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season, are
Doesnt the appositive "the collateral ... " here serve as a definition of land ?

An appositive explains or identifies the noun to which it refers. An appositive does not necessarily offer the sole defining aspect of the noun to which it refers.

GMATGuruNY How do we eliminate A .