Sentence Correction

2001 proved to be the automaker's first losing year since 1992, when the company had lost $7.4 billion, which was primarily because of almost $7 billion in accounting charges.
(A) when the company had lost $7.4 billion, which was primarily because of
(B) when the company had lost $7.4 billion, primarily resulting from
(C) when the company lost $7.4 billion, primarily because of
(D) which is when the company lost $7.4 billion, and that was primarily because of
(E) which is when the company lost $7.4 billion, primarily resulting from

oa C

Key to getting this question right is refraining from getting too formulaic in one's assessment of the use of past tenses. Otherwise one might choose the original.

(A) The first issue in the original sentence is the tense in the modifier, when the company had lost $7.4 billion.

While one may initially feel that using had lost, the past perfect, makes sense there, because what happened in 1992 happened before 2001, the modifier is merely modifying 1992.

As it stands the modifier, using had lost, conveys that BEFORE 1992, the automaker had lost $7.4 billion. That not the intended meaning. The intended meaning is that in 1992 the company lost $7.4 billion.

So you need the following.

... first losing year since 1992, when the company lost $7.4 billion ...

The second issue is that which in the next modifier seems to refer to $7.4 billion, and so that modifier does not really work.

(B) This version repeats the incorrect use of the past perfect. Also, resulting from needs something to modify, and there is no such thing in the sentence.

(C) In this version the simple past, lost, is used correctly, and ... the company lost $7.4 billion, primarily because of ... makes sense.

(D) which is when is unnecessarily wordy.

Meanwhile, what that refers to is not clear, and actually it does not seem to refer to anything. So you are better off without that.

(E) This version repeats the which is when error of D and the primarily resulting from error of B.

The correct answer is C.

KSHITIJ205 wrote:2001 proved to be the automaker's first losing year since 1992, when the company had lost $7.4 billion, which was primarily because of almost $7 billion in accounting charges.
(A) when the company had lost $7.4 billion, which was primarily because of
(B) when the company had lost $7.4 billion, primarily resulting from
(C) when the company lost $7.4 billion, primarily because of
(D) which is when the company lost $7.4 billion, and that was primarily because of
(E) which is when the company lost $7.4 billion, primarily resulting from

oa C

2001 proved to be the automaker's first losing year since 1992, when the company had lost $7.4 billion, which was primarily because of almost $7 billion in accounting charges.

(A) when the company had lost $7.4 billion, which was primarily because of .....>another past event required,there is no past event(past tense) along with past event of past event(past perfect tense)
(B) when the company had lost $7.4 billion, primarily resulting from ......>another past event required,there is no past event(past tense) along with past event of past event(past perfect tense)
(C) when the company lost $7.4 billion, primarily because of ......>Correct.Answered the "why" with "Complete sentence,+because of......" construction and eliminated all errors arose
(D) which is when the company lost $7.4 billion, and that was primarily because of .....>"and that" indicated a parallel structure,but there is no parallelism here,and here "which" incorrectly used to refer $7.4 billion as a period of time.
(E) which is when the company lost $7.4 billion, primarily resulting from ........>Here "which" incorrectly used to refer $7.4 billion as a period of time.