Surge & drop

Question

A surge in new home sales and a drop in weekly unemployment claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as some analysts previously thought.

A) claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as some analysts previously thought
B) claims suggests that the economy might not be so weak as some analysts have previously thought
C) claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as have been previously thought by some analysts
D) claims, suggesting about the economy that it might not be so weak as previously thought by some analysts
E) claims, suggesting the economy might not be as weak as previously thought to be by some analysts

fibbonnaci · Answer

A) claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as some analysts previously thought - correct answer

B) claims suggests that the economy might not be so weak as some analysts have previously thought - subject is a plural subject. so u need a plural verb.

C) claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as have been previously thought by some analysts [ present perfect continous not necessary. the analysts are still not thinking. the event does not occur this present frame of time]

D) claims, suggesting about the economy that it might not be so weak as previously thought by some analysts [ the surge and drop are not suggesting about the economy. 'suggest that' is require. you need a subjunctive' that' after suggest. Also 'so many as' is wrong expression. it should be 'as many as']
E) claims, suggesting the economy might not be as weak as previously thought to be by some analysts[ surge and drop does not suggest the economy anything]

Hope this helps!

rahul.s · Answer

Shouldn't it be suggests, since 'a surge suggests', and 'a drop suggests'?

fibbonnaci · Answer

a surge separately as a subject would be considered single and will require a singular verb.
But here this is a compound sentence. The presence of 'AND' makes the subject plural and requires a plural verb!

rahul.s · Answer

the sole presence of 'and' makes it a compound sentence? but doesn't it depend on the sentence?

A surge in new home sales and unemployment claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as some analysts previously thought.

how about now? would the answer be any different?

fibbonnaci · Answer

There is one important concept rahul,

Two/more singular nouns/ pronouns joined by ' and' requires a plural verb.
Eg. gold and silver are precious metals.
But if the nouns suggest one idea to the mind/ refer to the same person, the verb is ' singular'.

Eg. Time and tide waits for none.

In your second statement, what is the subject of the sentence? A surge. since there is only subject and it is singular you use a singular verb.

A surge and a drop are 2 different concepts. 2 subjects when joined by a conjunction make it a compound sentence and require a plural verb.
Hope this clarifies your doubt!

mmslf75 · Answer

fibbonnaci wrote:There is one important concept rahul,

Two/more singular nouns/ pronouns joined by ' and' requires a plural verb.
Eg. gold and silver are precious metals.
But if the nouns suggest one idea to the mind/ refer to the same person, the verb is ' singular'.

Eg. Time and tide waits for none.

In your second statement, what is the subject of the sentence? A surge. since there is only subject and it is singular you use a singular verb.

A surge and a drop are 2 different concepts. 2 subjects when joined by a conjunction make it a compound sentence and require a plural verb.
Hope this clarifies your doubt!

fibo, u rock man !

rahul.s · Answer

fibbonnaci wrote:There is one important concept rahul,

Two/more singular nouns/ pronouns joined by ' and' requires a plural verb.
Eg. gold and silver are precious metals.
But if the nouns suggest one idea to the mind/ refer to the same person, the verb is ' singular'.

Eg. Time and tide waits for none.

In your second statement, what is the subject of the sentence? A surge. since there is only subject and it is singular you use a singular verb.

A surge and a drop are 2 different concepts. 2 subjects when joined by a conjunction make it a compound sentence and require a plural verb.
Hope this clarifies your doubt!

thanks

mehravikas · Answer

Great. Thanks for sharing

fibbonnaci wrote:There is one important concept rahul,

Two/more singular nouns/ pronouns joined by ' and' requires a plural verb.
Eg. gold and silver are precious metals.
But if the nouns suggest one idea to the mind/ refer to the same person, the verb is ' singular'.

Eg. Time and tide waits for none.

In your second statement, what is the subject of the sentence? A surge. since there is only subject and it is singular you use a singular verb.

A surge and a drop are 2 different concepts. 2 subjects when joined by a conjunction make it a compound sentence and require a plural verb.
Hope this clarifies your doubt!

mmon · Answer

fibbonnaci wrote:There is one important concept rahul,

Two/more singular nouns/ pronouns joined by ' and' requires a plural verb.
Eg. gold and silver are precious metals.
But if the nouns suggest one idea to the mind/ refer to the same person, the verb is ' singular'.

Eg. Time and tide waits for none.

In your second statement, what is the subject of the sentence? A surge. since there is only subject and it is singular you use a singular verb.

A surge and a drop are 2 different concepts. 2 subjects when joined by a conjunction make it a compound sentence and require a plural verb.
Hope this clarifies your doubt!

rocking explanation. I thought I knew this rule well, now I know it better.

komal · Answer

rahul.s wrote:A surge in new home sales and a drop in weekly unemployment claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as some analysts previously thought.

The plural subject of this sentence (surge and drop) requires a plural verb, suggest.

A) claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as some analysts previously thought - Correct (plural subject is matched with plural verb)

B) claims suggests that the economy might not be so weak as some analysts have previously thought - singular verb 'suggests' does not match with plural subject)

C) claims suggest that the economy might not be as weak as have been previously thought by some analysts - Awkward

D) claims, suggesting about the economy that it might not be so weak as previously thought by some analysts - Wordy

E) claims, suggesting the economy might not be as weak as previously thought to be by some analysts - Wordy

VikingWarrior · Answer

No offence intended, but it is: "Time and tide wait for no man."

peterpong · Answer

Is there any idiom like 'as weak as' ? Or is 'so weak as' also correct ?

e-GMAT · Answer

Sure there is - In fact in the idiom "as...as", you can have almost any adjective - as strong as, as beautiful as, as simple as, etc. On similar lines, as weak as is surely a correct idiom.

Maria is as weak as a frail little doll.

Corning Inc., the world's largest maker of fiber optic cable, posted a quarterly loss yesterday that was not as weak as expected because of its growing non-telecommunications business. (courtesy nytimes.com)

As far as "so weak as", I would admit that I have seen its usage but more in the context of "so weak as to do something". For example:

Poland’s June industrial output data, showing expansion at the rate of 1.2% on the year, is very weak, but not so weak as to trigger immediate action from the central bank to stimulate the economy. (courtesy - wsj.com)

I am not sure why you asked about these two idioms specifically. But I hope the above helps.

Happy learning!

Payal

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peterpong · Answer

I am asking, because I am trying to learn all the idioms in the GMAT question. I know there are other mistakes, but perhaps there could be a question in the GMAT that test exactly this idiom. If I knew "so weak as" is wrong, like I assumed, I could cross that answer out.

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