Hey guys,
I always think it's weird when experts say this, but "I received a PM asking me to reply" (I do like noting that when it looks like I may be trying to take credit away from another expert...kind of like "appearing in this thread by popular demand!").
In addition to Jen's comments, I see another problem with B and E - the addition of "the" to "sales figures". In A, we just have the term "sales figures", which is a generic way to describe overall sales. Consumer confidence is low, and sales are down. With the addition of the definite article "the", now we're talking about a specific set of sales figures. But which figures? The sentence overall has a general connotation - overall, sales are down, and the government is taking action. When we add that term "the", there's an increased level of specificity that is illogical. Much like a pronoun reference problem or a misplaced modifier, this sentence doesn't have a reference point for "the", so choices B and E have a somewhat illogical meaning.
Regarding the changed meaning of the placement of "as a result", this one gets into Osirus' point about the use of the semicolon. In addition to the necessity of an independent clause after a semicolon (more on that in a second), the semicolon requires that there be a relationship between both clauses - they need to be related enough that you'd want to link them together with a semicolon and not simply end the sentence with a period and begin a new one.
With "as a result" corresponding to weak economy-->conservative spending --> SEMICOLON --> AS A RESULT sales are down---> government action, the "as a result" links the first clause (prior to the semicolon) to the second, so there's a natural reason that you'd use a semicolon and not a period.
With "as a result coming later: weak economy --> conservative spending --> SEMICOLON --> sales are down --> AS A RESULT government action, the use of the semicolon is less justified, as "as a result" only applies to the second half, which could just stand alone as its own sentence.
Meaning on the GMAT is tricky - make sure that the meaning of your answer choice is logical. It doesn't necessarily have to match the meaning of the initial sentence, as that one could be incorrect (choice A is just one of five; there's no "tie goes to the first one" rule). Here, the meaning of choice A better justifies the use of the semicolon than does the meaning of choice E.
Finally, my favorite part of this sentence is exactly what Osirus mentioned - choice A is, indeed, an independent clause, but the GMAT flips the subject and verb in order to make it look otherwise. If A read:
...sales figures have been so depressed as a result that...
You'd love it. But that's too easy, so the GMAT inverts the subject and verb - which is grammatically okay to do - so that the sentence instead reads:
...so depressed have sales figures been as a result that...
It sounds a little awkward, but it doesn't have the fatal grammatical flaws of the others, so A is correct. Make sure that you're looking for definitive grammatical errors first, and then letting your ear (or style) decide from there. Most difficult SC questions involve some "justifiable awkwardness" in an attempt to throw you off the scent of the right answer.
Brian Galvin
GMAT Instructor
Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep
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