BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem
TTP OnDemand GMAT Video Course
Featured Course

Target Test Prep GMAT OnDemand

Scott Woodbury-Stewart’s private virtual classroom — 400 hours of master-class video lessons for the GMAT Focus Edition.

  • 715+ score guarantee — highest in the industry (99th percentile)
  • 52 chapters · 1,500+ lessons · 4,000+ practice questions
  • 400 hours of video · 1,500+ instructor-led HD smartboard lessons
  • 300,000+ students accepted to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Booth & Sloan & more
  • 24/7 live support + weekly Zoom office hours with GMAT instructors
  • TTP AI Assist — 24/7 AI-powered virtual tutor for instant help
  • 1,200+ flashcards + AI-powered study assistant & daily calendar
  • OnDemand, LiveTeach & GMAT Bootcamp formats available
  • Also: GRE, SAT Math & Executive Assessment courses
  • MBA Admissions Consulting now available
  • 🏆 2025 EdTech Breakthrough Award: Test Prep Solution Provider of the Year
  • 200,000+ students served
  • 5-day free trial — $0 to start, no auto-billing, cancel anytime
★★★★★ 5.0 (559 reviews)
130-pt guarantee
$0 to start then $127/mo
Start Free 5-Day Trial Read 559 Reviews →

collateral!

Expert replies
Post new topic Locked
Previous Topic Next Topic
User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 1083
Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:38 pmFollowed by: 14 members
Thanked: 127 times
by gmat_perfect » Tue Aug 24, 2010 3:01 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

[spoiler]OA: E[/spoiler]

Why NOT D?

What is the exact deal with D?
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Source: — Sentence Correction |
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 385
Joined: Sun Jul 12, 2009 10:16 pmFollowed by: 2 members
Thanked: 29 times
GMAT Score:710

by debmalya_dutta » Tue Aug 24, 2010 3:36 pm
gmat_perfect wrote: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

[spoiler]OA: E[/spoiler]

Why NOT D?

What is the exact deal with D?
look at "Declining values for farm equipment and land" ..immediately after this should be the thing that "Declining values for farm equipment and land" is modifying...what is it modifying .i.e what are farm equipments and land? - the collateral

So ..the only contenders are really E and A .... but then you can select E because you know you have a plural subject and hence "are"
@Deb
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
User avatar
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 85
Joined: Thu Jul 15, 2010 7:50 pm
Thanked: 1 times
GMAT Score:690

by sirisha.g » Tue Aug 24, 2010 6:40 pm
gmat_perfect wrote: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

[spoiler]OA: E[/spoiler]

Why NOT D?

What is the exact deal with D?
IMO E
we have a 2/3 split here. is vs are. are should be used because subject is declining values. hence, A, B, C are gone.

we have another 2/3 split. which vs the. if u use the logic that which grabs the noun before the comma, then u are wrong in this case because here "which" will grab the declining values and these cannot be used as a collateral. therefore, we arrive at E
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
User avatar
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 40
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2010 9:45 pm
Location: USA
Thanked: 4 times
GMAT Score:750

by kal750gmat » Tue Aug 24, 2010 10:18 pm
Agreed. When you see the word which, remember that it modifies the entire segment before the comma, not just the noun it touches. Farmers aren't using the 'declining values' as collateral. Farmers will be using the equipment for collateral.
Check out my GMAT videos at www.youtube.com/gmatwalkthrough!
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Legendary Member
Posts: 995
Joined: Tue Apr 13, 2010 11:56 pmFollowed by: 1 member
Thanked: 31 times

by paes » Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:42 am
gmat_perfect@

D : Most of the posts are saying that usage of which is incorrect.
there is nothing wrong using 'which' here.
which can refer to "farm equipment and land"

The problem is something else here.

A preposition should be as close to the noun (it is modifying ) as possible.

D : which farmers use as collateral to borrow against to get

E : the collateral against which farmers ....

So E is better than D.
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Post new topic Locked
• Page 1 of 1