SmarpanGamt wrote:Recent indications of weakness in the economy have led consumers to be more conservative with their purchases; so depressed have sales figures been as a result that the government has launched several initiatives to actively encourage consumer spending.

(A) so depressed have sales figures been as a result that
(B) the sales figures have been so depressed as a result that
(C) as a result, so depressed has the sales been that
(D) the resulting sales figures having been so depressed that
(E) the sales figures have been so depressed that, as a result,

Please explain each of the choice. OA A. What is wrong with B.

Thank you

Seeing this question, I am visualizing an sc question from GMATPREP.
So dogged were Frances Perkins' investigations of the garment industry, and her lobbying for wage and hour reform was persistent, Alfred E. Smith and Franklin D. Roosevelt recruited Perkins to work within the government, rather than as a social worker.

A. and her lobbying for wage and hour reform was persistent,
B. and lobbying for wage and hour reform was persistent, so that
C. her lobbying for wage and hour reform persistent, that
D. lobbying for wage and hour reform was so persistent,
E. so persistent her lobbying for wage and hour reform, that
--> The correct answer is E.

The skeleton of the sentence:

So dogged were Frances Perkins' investigations of the garment industry that Alfred...

Now, come to the sentence in question.

--> This question is like an imitation of the GMATPREP problem. I was thinking how to explain this one. The answer A was peeping through my mind because I have seen this type of sentence in GMATPREP.


Now, why B and E are incorrect:

I did not find any difference between "SO Adj Verb X that" and "X Verb So adj that"

Let's have an example:

So heavy was the load that he could not bear it.

The load was so heavy that he could not bear it.

---> What is the difference between these two?

From this analogy I cannot find any difference regrading meaning. So, What is/are the problems in the B and E?

I can find only one problem in those two options:

The definite article "THE", which makes the difference.

The sales figures----------------"THE + SALES FIGURES"-----specific sales figures.

Sales figures----------WITHOUT THE + SALES FIGURES----Sales figures in general.

"The" has made the entire difference.


[Note: if there is actually any meaning problem, I would request the experts to shed some light on this. ]

@SmarpanGamt,

What is the source of this and other questions you have been posting recently in the SC forum?

I agree with Niksworth.

One thing guys from my experience .. If questions we practise are not from good sources , they might lead to unlearn the good things .

@niksworth

The source is KAPLAN Advance GMAT PREP.

Hi SmarpanGamt,

The some of the hardest questions on the GMAT are the Sentence Correction problems that sound awful. (A) is a stylistic mess, and if there were a better-written answer, we'd snap it up in a heartbeat. However, on the GMAT, grammar takes precedence over style--and the other four answers have grammatical errors.

As gmat_perfect pointed out, 'the' sales figures doesn't make sense here. We're not talking about any specific sales figures--so (B) and (E) are out. (D) is talking about specific sales figures--the 'resulting' ones--so it's 'the' is correct. However, any time you see 'having been' on the GMAT, it should set of alarm bells. The tense is incorrect. Finally, (C) has a verb-subject error, with 'sales' that 'has been' depressed.

(A) sounds unnatural and clunky. I dismissed it at first glance, too. But besides sounding really weird, there is nothing actually wrong with it--so it is the correct answer.

Hope this helps!