it Vs their - confusion

[gmatrant]

The Federal Reserve Board’s reduction of interest rates on loans to financial institutions is both an acknowledgement of past economic trends and an effort to influence their future direction.

(A) reduction of interest rates on loans to financial institutions is both an acknowledgement of past economic trends and an effort

(B) reduction of interest rates on loans to financial institutions is an acknowledgement both of past economic trends as well as an effort

(C) reduction of interest rates on loans to financial institutions both acknowledge past economic trends and attempt

(D) reducing interest rates on loans to financial institutions is an acknowledgement both of past economic trends and an effort

(E) reducing interest rates on loans to financial institutions both acknowledge past economic trends as well as attempt

The answer to the above is A, thats the most appealing choice except for the use of 'their' in the sentence (effort to influence their future directions).
Shouldn't their be replace with 'it'.
Can anyone explain?

[arocks]

The Federal Reserve Board’s reduction of interest rates on loans to financial institutions is both an acknowledgment of past economic trends and an effort to influence their future direction.

Their refers to the past economic trends - so it has to be plural.

[gmatrant]

The Federal Reserve Board’s reduction of interest rates on loans to financial institutions is both an acknowledgment of past economic trends and an effort to influence their future direction.

Their refers to the past economic trends - so it has to be plural.

Just curious, might be a stupid question from my side, but can the second part of 'and' modify the first part of 'and'.

[jangojess]

gmatrant, dude....why do u have to worry on the non-underlined part??? let it be whatever it is...this cudve been a typo in the src u took from, which i think is 1000 SC.....dont we have tons of other Qs to discuss??

[Danielle]

Gmatrant, in answer to your question, no. The second part does not modify the first part, it is a second direct object and prepositional phrase.

[gmatrant]

Gmatrant, in answer to your question, no. The second part does not modify the first part, it is a second direct object and prepositional phrase.

I know jangojess is not going to like me for this

The Federal Reserve Board’s reduction of interest rates on loans to financial institutions is both an acknowledgment of past economic trends and an effort to influence their future direction.

I used the wrong term 'modify', may be 'refer' would be better. In the above sentence 'this' refers to the past economic trends which is a part of the phrase before the 'and'. Is it right for the second part of and to refer to the first part.

Sorry if this was confusing...

[Danielle]

Honestly, it was confusing? I don't get what you're asking about this one.

'Their' in the example sentence does not refer to past economic trends. It refers to reduction of interest rates. Perhaps therein lies the confusion?

[gmatrant]

Honestly, it was confusing? I don't get what you're asking about this one.

'Their' in the example sentence does not refer to past economic trends. It refers to reduction of interest rates. Perhaps therein lies the confusion?

This is my understanding with respect to above sentence,

The Federal Reserve Board’s reduction of interest rates on loans to financial institutions is both an acknowledgment of past economic trends and an effort to influence their future direction.

isn't the subject in this sentence "reduction of interest rates" , then in that case isn't it singular, (the verb 'is' is used to denote the same - singularity). So while in the later part of the sentence shouldn't "influence its future direction be right" instead of "influence their future direction"

This is what is confusing me.. Please correct me as to where I am wrong.
Thanks

[Danielle]

The simple subject of the sentence is just the word 'reduction', which, you are correct is singular. The word 'their' refers to the interest rates, which are plural. That is why 'their' is correct and not 'its'.

[BTGmoderatorRO]

Option A is the correct answer.This option clearly analyse the components and the major activities carried out by the 'Federal Reserve Board's'.
It is also interesting to know that this option puts in place why the 'Federal Reserve Board's' reduced the interest rates on loans.The proper picture of the two main acknowledgements. 'acknowledgement of past economic trends an and efforts to influence their future direction'.
OPTION A IS THE CORRECT OPTION.

Option B.
acknowledgement of______ it should go with what it acknowledges it does not require an intruder to separate the verb from the act which was done.

Option C.
attempt??? This means to try something out. But according to the question, it is already an effort not an 'attempt' so therefore it is improper to say an 'attempt' was made.Rather it is an effort.
Option D.
reducing? it means it is still on. Reducing is a present participle so it signifies an action which is ongoing. Meanwhile, in the question, they talk about acknowledgement and what it brings, so therefore this option is not correct.

Option E.
This option suffers the same fate as option D. And does not makes it a suitable answer to the question.

[EconomistGMATTutor]

Hello!

I will be the first to admit that this question is worded a bit vaguely, so I definitely see your point. I think the intention was for the word "their" to refer back to "economic trends," rather than the board itself, like arocks pointed out. This is why it's incredibly important to use clear language when using modifiers - otherwise, it could be confusing which object/person the phrase is referring to!

Thank you to arocks for the clear explanation!

I hope this helps. I'm available if you'd like for any follow up.