Why is A wrong?

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catseye: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 22; Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2011 6:50 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 5 times

by catseye » Sun Apr 17, 2011 9:00 am

The rising of costs of data-processing operations at many financial institutions has created a growing opportunity for independent companies to provide these services more efficiently and at lower cost.

(A) The rising of costs
(B) Rising costs
(C) The rising cost
(D) Because the rising cost
(E) Because of rising costs

I can eliminate D and E:
Both D and E use "because clause", which makes the sentence fragment.

I can eliminate B because "costs" does not match with "has".

I am stuck between A and C. Why is A/C wrong?

Thanks.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Sun Apr 17, 2011 9:00 am

catseye: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 22; Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2011 6:50 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 5 times

by catseye » Sun Apr 17, 2011 6:14 pm

Would any one explain?
thanks.

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sanabk: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 174; Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 3:41 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 6 times

by sanabk » Sun Apr 17, 2011 9:11 pm

The rising of costs of data-processing operations at many financial institutions has created a growing opportunity for independent companies to provide these services more efficiently and at lower cost.

Please notice the Subject-Verb disagreement in the above sentence.

X(Singular) of Y + Verb(Singular)
X(Plural) of Y + Verb(Plural)

Here singular verb "has" is not underlined. So, the subject must be singular too i.e., "The rising cost."

Best!!!

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Geva@EconomistGMAT: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 905; Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2010 1:38 amFollowed by: 123 members; Thanked: 378 times; GMAT Score:760

by Geva@EconomistGMAT » Sun Apr 17, 2011 11:46 pm

catseye wrote:The rising of costs of data-processing operations at many financial institutions has created a growing opportunity for independent companies to provide these services more efficiently and at lower cost.

(A) The rising of costs
(B) Rising costs
(C) The rising cost
(D) Because the rising cost
(E) Because of rising costs

I can eliminate D and E:
Both D and E use "because clause", which makes the sentence fragment.

I can eliminate B because "costs" does not match with "has".

I am stuck between A and C. Why is A/C wrong?

Thanks.

In A, the subject of the sentence is "the rising". Now, a Gerund CAN act as a subject:
Running is good.

But generally speaking, an article such as "the", "a", "an" before a subject should only accompany a proper noun, not a V-ing noun replacement.
Incorrect: The presenting went very well.
Correct: The presentation went very well.

So the presence of an article is our indication that a proper noun is needed.
The same thing happens here: in A, the article refers to the gerund "rising", which is wrong. It could be corrected in two manners:
1) Change the gerund to a noun: "the rise in costs"
2) Turn the gerund into an adjective modifying a true noun, which is what C does. In C, the subject is "the cost", not "the rise in cost", with "rising" merely acting as a modifier describing cost.

Geva
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AIM GMAT: Legendary Member; Posts: 857; Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 1:36 amFollowed by: 15 members; Thanked: 56 times

by AIM GMAT » Sun Apr 17, 2011 11:50 pm

IMO C .

PLease refer the below link for a succint explanation :-

https://www.beatthegmat.com/the-rising-o ... 41741.html

Thanks & Regards,
AIM GMAT

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catseye: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 22; Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2011 6:50 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 5 times

by catseye » Mon Apr 18, 2011 6:11 am

Thanks for the replies.

I have learned the following from a grammar book.

The reading of history is interesting.
The walking in the beach was an enjoyment for us.

In the above examples, the + VERB-ING has been used. Are those sentences incorrect?

Thanks.

Every dog has its day.

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force5: Legendary Member; Posts: 582; Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2011 12:48 amFollowed by: 6 members; Thanked: 61 times; GMAT Score:740

by force5 » Mon Apr 18, 2011 11:53 am

yes C is correct. B has a agreement problem and A is talking something else.

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Geva@EconomistGMAT: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 905; Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2010 1:38 amFollowed by: 123 members; Thanked: 378 times; GMAT Score:760

by Geva@EconomistGMAT » Mon Apr 18, 2011 2:03 pm

catseye wrote:Thanks for the replies.

I have learned the following from a grammar book.

The reading of history is interesting.
The walking in the beach was an enjoyment for us.

In the above examples, the + VERB-ING has been used. Are those sentences incorrect?

Thanks.

The first one is correct, but only by default - there is no noun that can replace 'reading'.
The second is indeed incorrect - it would be better to replace "the walking" with "the walk", or simply take out the article: "walking in the beach was an enjoyment".

btw, better check that grammar book again - I believe it should be "walking on the beach", not "in the beach".

Geva
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catseye: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 22; Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2011 6:50 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 5 times

by catseye » Wed Apr 20, 2011 7:30 am

The writing of the poet is very interesting.

here, the writing is the subject.

Every dog has its day.

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Geva@EconomistGMAT: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 905; Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2010 1:38 amFollowed by: 123 members; Thanked: 378 times; GMAT Score:760

by Geva@EconomistGMAT » Wed Apr 20, 2011 7:47 am

catseye wrote:The writing of the poet is very interesting.

here, the writing is the subject.

Same as the first one with the reading: the writing is a poor choice for subject, but there is no proper noun to replace the "writing". What are going to do, use "poems?" Not exactly the same thing. I will say this, though: the following sentence will be preferable, as it bypasses the problem of article+V-ing:

The writing style of the poet is very interesting.

And to forestall further counter examples, I revise my earlier rule:

An article (a, the, an) indicates that preferably, the subject needs to be a proper noun, rather than a gerund. If such a proper noun conveying the same idea does not exist, then we reluctantly use the gerund.

Check out OG 12th ed. Q24 for a similar case, although that one is further strengthened by the possessive as a further indicator that the gerund is not the right way.

Geva
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