SC question

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SC question

by kinshuk97gupta » Wed Jul 01, 2020 1:28 am
New spray cans, which do not pollute in the way aerosol cans do, hopefully will reduce levels of pollution.


(A) in the way aerosol cans do, hopefully will reduce

(B) in the way aerosol cans do, will, it is hoped, reduce

(C) like aerosol cans, hopefully will reduce

(D) like aerosol cans, would reduce, hopefully

(E) such as aerosol cans do, will, it is hoped, reduce

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Re: SC question

by rvgmat12 » Sat Oct 02, 2021 12:36 am
Here's a good general rule to follow (on both the GMAT and in real life): if you're using the word "hopefully", you're probably using it incorrectly.

Hopefully is an adverb, so it generally modifies verbs (although adverbs can also modify adjectives and other adverbs). So, when you say "it hopefully will reduce", "hopefully" is modifying the verb "will reduce", not expressing your desire that the reduction will take place.

Pretty much the only time you could use "hopefully" properly is if you're modifying an emotion. For example, you could say "I sighed hopefully", meaning "my sigh expressed hope".

So, on the GMAT, it's extremely unlikely that "hopefully" will be part of the correct answer. Since the word is so commonly misused, the GMAT likes to frequently test it.

Accordingly, we can quickly eliminate A, C and D.

(E) has the awkward "such as aerosol cans do" (such as usually refers to things, not actions), so let's knock that one out as well. With only 1 choice remaining, we choose (B) hopefully!