Sentence Correction

The United States petroleum industry's cost to meet environmental regulations is projected at ten percent of the price per barrel of refined petroleum by the end of the decade.

a. The United States petroleum industry's cost to meet environmental regulations is projected at ten percent of the price per barrel of refined petroleum by the end of the decade.

b. The United States petroleum industry's cost by the end of the decade to meet environmental regulations is estimated at ten percent of the price per barrel of refined petroleum.

c. By the end of the decade, the United States petroleum industry's cost of meeting environmental regulations is projected at ten percent of the price per barrel of refined petroleum.

d. To meet environmental regulations, the cost to the United States petroleum industry is estimated at ten percent of the price per barrel of refined petroleum by the end of the decade.

e. It is estimated that by the end of the decade the cost to the United States petroleum industry of meeting environmental regulations will be ten percent of the price per barrel of refined petroleum.


It can be solved with knowledge of IDIOMS or the bigger picture i.e meaning conveyed . With IDIOM it can be jotted down within few seconds .

C > E ... as E changes the meaning.

IMO E

Estimated To / TO be is the correct idiom

Estimated At is incorrect...

Project At is incorrect

I think Projected TO is the correct idiom

whts the role of possessive pronoun here?
is it correct to use the way it is in C?
i would prefer E just for the sake it doesnt use possessive. though not sure why.
somehow feel the possessive used is not correct.
anyone?

rohu27 wrote:whts the role of possessive pronoun here?
is it correct to use the way it is in C?
i would prefer E just for the sake it doesnt use possessive. though not sure why.
somehow feel the possessive used is not correct.
anyone?

okay naswering my own question, it is perfectly fine the way it is written in C.
so now im not sure why E over C then (OA is E)

@Rohu

Some tips and analysis for the use of possessives:

A) The faculty in a Knewton video stated that Possessive following a gerund and Possessive following a gerund plus "OF" are almost always wrong. Reason Given:-- Awkward

My Analysis:-

1)Possessive following a gerund --> Wrong

I didn't find this application correct

2)Possessive following a gerund plus "OF" ---> Wrong

I find this information useful (based on experience with questions)

B) Some where i read that Possessives should be used in personal context.

For Ex:-- Jack's Car ---> correct

So according to this principle, in this question, all the options using possessive are wrong.

I believe, this rule is not correct, but yes one thing i must say, in general formal writing i believe we use possessive following this same rule.

Lastly, as u see, none of these rules are full proof (stated in any book), u can only remember these and add to your experience book so in some worst case in exam,when u are not able to figure out the correct ans, at least u can make a smart guess.

Final Word: in this question, "The United States petroleum industry's cost", this looks awkward to me.

Thanks

thanks for that Atul,

Hi all,

I have a small doubt here.....Original A) says it " Projects a 10 % price per barrel"

E) says "will be ten percent of the price per barrel "


Does it not changing from probability prediction to deterministic?????
Does this change of meaning what author intended is allowed????

AIM GMAT wrote:The United States petroleum industry's cost to meet environmental regulations is projected at ten percent of the price per barrel of refined petroleum by the end of the decade.

a. The United States petroleum industry's cost to meet environmental regulations is projected at ten percent of the price per barrel of refined petroleum by the end of the decade.

b. The United States petroleum industry's cost by the end of the decade to meet environmental regulations is estimated at ten percent of the price per barrel of refined petroleum.

c. By the end of the decade, the United States petroleum industry's cost of meeting environmental regulations is projected at ten percent of the price per barrel of refined petroleum.

d. To meet environmental regulations, the cost to the United States petroleum industry is estimated at ten percent of the price per barrel of refined petroleum by the end of the decade.

e. It is estimated that by the end of the decade the cost to the United States petroleum industry of meeting environmental regulations will be ten percent of the price per barrel of refined petroleum.


It can be solved with knowledge of IDIOMS or the bigger picture i.e meaning conveyed . With IDIOM it can be jotted down within few seconds .

In A, B and C, the meaning of the United States petroleum industry's cost is not immediately clear. Is the intention to discuss the cost to the industry or the cost of the industry? Eliminate A, B and C.

Generally, by + TIME serves as an ADVERB.
By the end of this year, John will have finished college.
Here, the portion in blue is an adverb serving to modify will have finished -- the following verb -- expressing WHEN John WILL HAVE FINISHED.
D: The cost...is estimated...by the end of the decade.
Here, the modifier in red seems to be an adverb modifying the preceding verb in blue.
Whereas the verb in blue refers to the PRESENT, the modifier in red refers to the FUTURE.
The result is a nonsensical meaning.
Eliminate D.

The correct answer is E.

atulmangal wrote:@Rohu

Some tips and analysis for the use of possessives:

A) The faculty in a Knewton video stated that Possessive following a gerund and Possessive following a gerund plus "OF" are almost always wrong. Reason Given:-- Awkward

My Analysis:-

1)Possessive following a gerund --> Wrong

I didn't find this application correct

2)Possessive following a gerund plus "OF" ---> Wrong

I find this information useful (based on experience with questions)

B) Some where i read that Possessives should be used in personal context.

For Ex:-- Jack's Car ---> correct

So according to this principle, in this question, all the options using possessive are wrong.

I believe, this rule is not correct, but yes one thing i must say, in general formal writing i believe we use possessive following this same rule.

Lastly, as u see, none of these rules are full proof (stated in any book), u can only remember these and add to your experience book so in some worst case in exam,when u are not able to figure out the correct ans, at least u can make a smart guess.

Final Word: in this question, "The United States petroleum industry's cost", this looks awkward to me.

Thanks

Do U have the Link to the Video

@mundasingh123

Sorry bro don't have the link

GMATGuruNY wrote:

AIM GMAT wrote:The United States petroleum industry's cost to meet environmental regulations is projected at ten percent of the price per barrel of refined petroleum by the end of the decade.

a. The United States petroleum industry's cost to meet environmental regulations is projected at ten percent of the price per barrel of refined petroleum by the end of the decade.

b. The United States petroleum industry's cost by the end of the decade to meet environmental regulations is estimated at ten percent of the price per barrel of refined petroleum.

c. By the end of the decade, the United States petroleum industry's cost of meeting environmental regulations is projected at ten percent of the price per barrel of refined petroleum.

d. To meet environmental regulations, the cost to the United States petroleum industry is estimated at ten percent of the price per barrel of refined petroleum by the end of the decade.

e. It is estimated that by the end of the decade the cost to the United States petroleum industry of meeting environmental regulations will be ten percent of the price per barrel of refined petroleum.


It can be solved with knowledge of IDIOMS or the bigger picture i.e meaning conveyed . With IDIOM it can be jotted down within few seconds .

In A, B and C, the meaning of the United States petroleum industry's cost is not immediately clear. Is the intention to discuss the cost to the industry or the cost of the industry? Eliminate A, B and C.

In D, estimated at is not idiomatic. The correct idiom would be the cost is estimated to be ten percent. Eliminate D.

The correct answer is E.

Dear Mitch

I hope you can help me with belwo questions as it confusing.

1- In Choice B, Is the 'estimated at 10 %' considered idiomatic usage?

2- in choice E, Is the construction of "cost to the United States petroleum industry of meeting environmental regulations". I quoted the following example of MGMAT book
'The COST OF pollution TO us is billions IN increased medical bills.'. It was considered under 'SUSPECT'. What do you think?

Thanks in advance for your help

Mo2men wrote:1- In Choice B, Is the 'estimated at 10 %' considered idiomatic usage?

An OA in GMATPrep:
With surface temperatures estimated at minus 230 degrees Fahrenheit, Jupiter's moon Europa has long been considered far too cold to support life.
The phrase in blue appears in the non-underlined portion.
Given this usage, we should consider estimated at an acceptable idiom.

2- in choice E, Is the construction of "cost to the United States petroleum industry of meeting environmental regulations". I quoted the following example of MGMAT book
'The COST OF pollution TO us is billions IN increased medical bills.'. It was considered under 'SUSPECT'. What do you think?

Thanks in advance for your help

The results of a Google search for the cost to the United States of:
https://www.google.com/search?q=%22the+ ... 86&bih=421.
The many results seem to imply that this phrasing is acceptable.