During the Great Depression

Question

During the Great Depression, industrial output fell by nearly fifty percent from its peak in 1929 down to its nadir in 1933.

(A) During the Great Depression, industrial output fell by nearly fifty percent from its peak in 1929 down to its nadir in 1933.
(B) During the Great Depression, industrial output fell by nearly fifty percent from its peak in 1929 to its nadir in 1933.
(C) At the time of the Great Depression, industrial output fell by almost fifty percent from its 1929 peak down to its 1933 nadir.
(D) At the time of the Great Depression, industrial output fell from its peak in 1929, by nearly fifty percent, to it nadir in 1933.
(E) During the Great Depression, industrial output fell from its peak in 1929 to its nadir in 1933 by nearly fifty percent.

What is wrong with option A?

OA B

GMATGuruNY · Answer

lheiannie07 wrote:What is wrong with option A?

to fall down = to collapse from an upright position onto the floor.
A: Output fell...from its peak...down to its nadir
Here, the usage of fell down implies that the output was in an upright position and collapsed onto the floor.
Not the intended meaning.
Eliminate A.

Ali Tariq · Answer

lheiannie07 wrote:During the Great Depression, industrial output fell by nearly fifty percent from its peak in 1929 down to its nadir in 1933.

(A) During the Great Depression, industrial output fell by nearly fifty percent from its peak in 1929 down to its nadir in 1933.
(B) During the Great Depression, industrial output fell by nearly fifty percent from its peak in 1929 to its nadir in 1933.
What is wrong with option A?

Redundancy and incorrect idiomatic usage.

down is redundant with fell.

from X to Y, or to Y from X, is the correct idiom (where X and Y are parallel).
from X down to Y is an incorrect idiom ( just as both X and also Y is an incorrect idiom).

A) Industrial output fell by nearly fifty percent from its peak in 1929 down to its nadir in 1933.
B) Industrial output fell by nearly fifty percent from its peak in 1929 to its nadir in 1933.

Omit other modifiers for further clarity-
A)Output fell by fifty percent from its peak down to its nadir.
B)Output fell by fifty percent from its peak to its nadir.

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HannahFurr · Answer

GMATGuruNY wrote:lheiannie07 wrote:What is wrong with option A? to fall down = to collapse from an upright position onto the floor. A: Output fell...from its peak...down to its nadir Here, the usage of fell down implies that the output was in an upright position and collapsed onto the floor. Not the intended meaning. Eliminate A. Sir. Can you explain why industrial output fell by nearly fifty percent from its peak in 1929 down to its nadir in 1933. is right here? nearly is an adv, Does it modify fell by or fifty percent?

GMATGuruNY · Answer

HannahFurr wrote:Sir. Can you explain why industrial output fell by nearly fifty percent from its peak in 1929 down to its nadir in 1933. is right here?

nearly is an adv, Does it modify fell by or fifty percent?

OA: Industrial output fell by nearly fifty percent
Here, nearly is an adverb serving to modify by fifty percent.
I recommend that you classify words such as nearly, only, and almost as LIMITERS.
A limiter is a modifier that serves to LIMIT the scope of another word.
Generally, a limiter should immediately precede whatever it is intended to limit.
Here, nearly serves to limit the PERCENT by which the output fell.
For this reason, nearly is positioned immediately before fifty percent.

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During the Great Depression

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