I just did a very similar question on Grockit.

You are indeed correct in selecting E; however, your reasoning is off.

Just "more" or "fewer/less" makes it unclear what is being compared. To make it clear, "than" usually follows, so "more than" or " fewer/less than." In this case, it's "55 percent more" than what?

"Increase" or "decrease" is much clearer, and there is no dispute what it increased or decreased from.

vineetbatra wrote:The recent surge in the number of airplane flights has clogged the nation's air-traffic control system, to lead to 55 percent more delays at airports, and prompts fears among some officials that safety is being compromised.
(A) to lead to 55 percent more delays at airports, and prompts
(B) leading to 55 percent more delay at airports and prompting
(C) to lead to a 55 percent increase in delay at airports and prompt
(D) to lead to an increase of 55 percent in delays at airports, and prompted
(E) leading to a 55 percent increase in delays at airports and prompting


OA is E

The reason I selected E instead of B is because in B, delay is not parallel to Fears.


Also what is the difference between A 55% increase and 55 % more delay(s). I believe 55% more delays means

1. If past delays were 20% then more delays will be 55% of 20%
2. Increase in delays simply might mean the same.

Any thoughts?

the -ing form of verb leading should have an object however in B there is no object more delay is an adverbial phrase we need a noun
E corrects this error by converting the adverbial phrase into prpositional phrase IN DELAYS
more and inc means same

Hope this helps

vineetbatra wrote:The recent surge in the number of airplane flights has clogged the nation's air-traffic control system, to lead to 55 percent more delays at airports, and prompts fears among some officials that safety is being compromised.

(A) to lead to 55 percent more delays at airports, and prompts - ing phrase is required. ELIMINATE
(B) leading to 55 percent more delay at airports and prompting -- the number of delays has increased.also delays is required coz of the singular nature of the number of .ELIMINATE
(C) to lead to a 55 percent increase in delay at airports and prompt - ing phrase is required. ELIMINATE
(D) to lead to an increase of 55 percent in delays at airports, and prompted - ing phrase is required. ELIMINATE
(E) leading to a 55 percent increase in delays at airports and prompting - correct


OA is E

The reason I selected E instead of B is because in B, delay is not parallel to Fears.

Also what is the difference between A 55% increase and 55 % more delay(s). I believe 55% more delays means

1. If past delays were 20% then more delays will be 55% of 20%
2. Increase in delays simply might mean the same.

Any thoughts?

[b]the -ing form of verb leading should have an object [/b]however in B there is no object more delay is an adverbial phrase we need a noun
E corrects this error by converting the adverbial phrase into prpositional phrase IN DELAYS
more and inc means same

Does -ing form of verb (present participle) should always contain an object?

Any Expert opinion for this Question please ?? Still unclear between B/E ?

More/Less / Greater is used for uncountable nouns
Fewer/More numerous is used for countable nouns.
When u say "delays' it refers to the number of delays
When you say "delay " it refers to the the time lapse of delay

I believe 55% more delay and 55 percent increase in delays both possess different meanings.

55% more delay means the increase in time a person has to spend on airport

55 percent increase in delays means the increase in no of flights that get delayed

While sufficient discussion is done on the grammatical correctness of the 5 sentences, one minor but interesting thing to observe is while all the incorrect four choices contain the term 55 percent, the correct choice (E) contains 55-percent. Does the dash sign in 55-percent has any significance?

hemanttriv wrote:While sufficient discussion is done on the grammatical correctness of the 5 sentences, one minor but interesting thing to observe is while all the incorrect four choices contain the term 55 percent, the correct choice (E) contains 55-percent. Does the dash sign in 55-percent has any significance?

The test not test on punctuation

mundasingh123 wrote:

hemanttriv wrote:While sufficient discussion is done on the grammatical correctness of the 5 sentences, one minor but interesting thing to observe is while all the incorrect four choices contain the term 55 percent, the correct choice (E) contains 55-percent. Does the dash sign in 55-percent has any significance?

The test not test on punctuation

Yeah, but we have seen examples where a semi-colon sign may indicate whether a sentence is used correctly. There is no harm in seeking explanation for something conspicuous in the answer choices.

gmat25 wrote:I believe 55% more delay and 55 percent increase in delays both possess different meanings.

55% more delay means the increase in time a person has to spend on airport

55 percent increase in delays means the increase in no of flights that get delayed

I heartily endorse this explanation.

Note that in (A), it used "55% more delays." No one has a problem with this. (B) changes it. That in and of itself is a red flag. Thinking about which is clearer, it should be apparent that "55% more delay" means a longer delay instead of a larger number of delays. Distorting the intended meaning of the original sentence = wrong.

[quote ="hemanttriv"]
While sufficient discussion is done on the grammatical correctness of the 5 sentences, one minor but interesting thing to observe is while all the incorrect four choices contain the term 55 percent, the correct choice (E) contains 55-percent. Does the dash sign in 55-percent has any significance?[/quote]

No. This has no significance and you shouldn't see anything like that on the GMAT between two answers. Punctuation usage is not tested on the GMAT. The semicolon and colon are tested only in that they must conjoin two independent clauses; whether they are appropriately used stylistically, beyond that grammatically point, is not tested.

Thanks @SticklorForDetails.

My reasoning says PERCENTAGES ALWAYS INCREASE OR DECREASE .....THEY ARE NEVER MORE OR LESS.

i DEVELOPED THIS THOUGHT by reading one of Ron's explanation that says HEIGHT IS NEVER TALL OR SHORT A PERSON IS , SIMILARLY A BANK ACCOUNT IS NEVER RICH OR POOR ,ITS A PERSON


If u think i am wrong pls correct.