Verbal Review 18: Industry analysts said that

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NandishSS: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 366; Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:35 amFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 3 times

by NandishSS » Thu Oct 26, 2017 6:17 am

Industry analysts said that the recent rise in fuel prices may be an early signal of the possibility of gasoline and heating oil prices staying higher than usually through the end of the year.

A. of the possibility of gasoline and heating oil prices staying higher than usually through
B. of the possibility that gasoline and heating oil prices could stay higher than usual throughout
C. of prices of gasoline and heating oil possibly staying higher than usually through
D. that prices of gasoline and heating oil could stay higher than they usually are throughout
E. that prices of gasoline and heating oil will stay higher than usual through

OA: E

In A & B

of the possibility of gasoline and heating oil prices & of the possibility that gasoline and heating oil prices this doesn't make sense.

In E Why will is correct? Why not would/could?

Pls let me know the POE

Thanks
Nandish

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Thu Oct 26, 2017 6:17 am

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ErikaPrepScholar: Legendary Member; Posts: 503; Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2017 9:03 amFollowed by: 15 members; Thanked: 86 times; GMAT Score:770

by ErikaPrepScholar » Fri Oct 27, 2017 5:51 am

Hey NandishSS,

The big issue with A and B is redundancy: on the GMAT, we want to say things in as few words as possible, so we never want to repeat something we already know.

The non-underlined portion of the sentence says that the rise in fuel prices "may" be a signal. So before we get to the underlined portion, we've already established that what we're talking about isn't totally certain. A and B add "of the possibility", which is redundant - we already know that it's only a possibility from the word "may". This is also why we don't need "could" - it conveys the same uncertainty as "may".

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GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Fri Oct 27, 2017 11:13 am

NandishSS wrote:In E Why will is correct? Why not would/could?

E: The recent rise in fuel prices may be an early signal that prices of gasoline and heating oil will stay higher than usual through the end of the year.
Here, the usage of may conveys that the prediction in blue is not a sure thing but only something that COULD happen.
Since the usage of may on its own indicates that the prediction is something that COULD happen, it would be redundant to replace will with could.
Redundant: X may be a signal that Y could happen.
Correct: X may be a signal that Y will happen.

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gui_guimaraes: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 38; Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2015 9:22 am

Re:

by gui_guimaraes » Sat Jun 27, 2020 7:48 am

GMATGuruNY wrote: ↑
Fri Oct 27, 2017 11:13 am

bandits wrote:In E Why will is correct? Why not would/could?
E: The recent rise in fuel prices may be an early signal that prices of gasoline and heating oil will stay higher than usual through the end of the year.
Here, the usage of may conveys that the prediction in blue is not a sure thing but only something that COULD happen.
Since the usage of may on its own indicates that the prediction is something that COULD happen, it would be redundant to replace will with could.
Redundant: X may be a signal that Y could happen.
Correct: X may be a signal that Y will happen.

@GMATGuruNY

Mitch, isn't the meaning of A, B, and C wrong? I mean the "Industry analysts said that the recent rise in fuel prices may be an early signal of the possibility/ of prices" seems wrong. There is no "signal of the possibility/ of prices"? Am I right? Also, what is the difference of meaning between THROUGH vs THROUGHOUT? Many tks!

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