gmat prep

[jainrahul1985]

Despite recent increases in sales and cash flow that have propelled automobile companies' common stocks to new highs, several industry analysts expect automakers, in order to conserve cash, to set dividends more conservatively than they were.

A) to set dividends more conservatively than they were
B) to set dividends more conservatively than they have been
C) to be more conservative than they have been in setting dividends
D) that they will be more conservative than they were in setting dividends
E) that they will be more conservative than they have been to set dividends

OA C

[aspirant2011]

Despite recent increases in sales and cash flow that have propelled automobile companies' common stocks to new highs, several industry analysts expect automakers, in order to conserve cash, to set cash more conservatively than they were.

A) to set dividends more conservatively than they were
B) to set dividends more conservatively than they have been
C) to be more conservative than they have been in setting dividends
D) that they will be more conservative than they were in setting dividends
E) that they will be more conservative than they have been to set dividends

OA C

Can you please recheck the question because options seem out of sync from the main sentence.........

[jainrahul1985]

corrected

[aspirant2011]

Despite recent increases in sales and cash flow that have propelled automobile companies' common stocks to new highs, several industry analysts expect automakers, in order to conserve cash, to set cash more conservatively than they were.

A) to set dividends more conservatively than they were ------ incomplete comparison
B) to set dividends more conservatively than they have been ------have been what????
C) to be more conservative than they have been in setting dividends
D) that they will be more conservative than they were in setting dividends -----wrong tense & moreover they is ambiguous
E) that they will be more conservative than they have been to set dividends

[jainrahul1985]

experts request you to explain in detail

[bblast]

You must make a list of the common idioms if u are a non native speaker. (Dont mug up the entire MGMAT idiom list-but remember the commom ones)

if u spotted the idiom "expect to" in this sentence then life would have been much simpler. So it boils down to :
A) to set dividends more conservatively than they were ---here they could refer to automakers- therefore this comparison is absurd.

B) to set dividends more conservatively than they have been ------again the same problem. The problem here is the meaning. The reference of they is ambiguous here. It may refer to automakers or the dividends.

C) to be more conservative than they have been in setting dividends- the correct version conveys the meaning that the automakers are expected to be more conservative than they have been in the past.

Other idioms which end in "to" :
believe to
potential to
attributed to
estimated to be

[GMATGuruNY]

Despite recent increases in sales and cash flow that have propelled automobile companies' common stocks to new highs, several industry analysts expect automakers, in order to conserve cash, to set dividends more conservatively than they were.

A) to set dividends more conservatively than they were
B) to set dividends more conservatively than they have been
C) to be more conservative than they have been in setting dividends
D) that they will be more conservative than they were in setting dividends
E) that they will be more conservative than they have been to set dividends

OA C

Generally, two different pronouns cannot have the same referent.
D and E: automakers...that they will be
Here, two different pronouns -- that and they -- both seem to refer to automakers.
Eliminate D and E.

In A and B, it is not crystal clear whether they refers to automakers or to dividends.
Answer choice C avoids this ambiguity by placing dividends AFTER they.
Eliminate A and B.

The correct answer is C.

[EducationAisle]

Just so there is no confusion, both "expect x to y" and "expect that" are valid usages. The problem in this sentence is "expect automakers that.."

So, following would have been correct:

....several industry analysts expect that automakers, in order to conserve cash, will be more conservative than they have been in setting dividends.

[bblast]

thanks for the correction Mitch.