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Collateral

by j_shreyans » Wed Sep 24, 2014 11:24 pm
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

Guys ,

I am confused between D and E.

OAE Why?
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by David@GMATPrepNow » Thu Sep 25, 2014 7:10 am
Hi j_shreyans,

Good work in eliminating answer choices A, B and C (all incorrectly use the singular "is" rather than the plural "are" as you no doubt spotted). Choosing between answers D and E has to do with the preposition rule that says a preposition should be as close as possible to the noun that it's modifying. For example:

Here is the glass I put the ice in. <--- INCORRECT

Here is the glass in which I put the ice. <--- CORRECT (the noun "glass" and the preposition "in" are close together; the pronoun "which" takes the place of the noun "glass," so "in which" means "in the glass")

Use the above preposition rule to eliminate answer D in favour of answer E.

(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 <--- CORRECT

The pronoun "which" takes the place of the noun, "collateral," so "against which" means "against the collateral." Answer E is correct because it places the preposition "against" closer to the noun "collateral."
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