Defying efforts by policymakers on both sides of the Atlanti

[Hei]

Defying efforts by policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic at restraining it, the United States dollar, continuing its rise, reaching its highest level in six years against the German mark.

(A) at restraining it, the United States dollar, continuing its rise, reaching
(B) at restraining it, the rise of the United States dollar continued, to reach
(C) at restraining it, the United States dollar continued rising, and it reached
(D) to restrain it, the United States dollar continued its rise, reaching
(E) to restrain it, the United States dollar is continuing its rise, and to reach

A is wrong because there is no main verb.
B is wrong because "to reach" should be "reaching" to represent the result of the action in the preceding clause.
C is wrong because the "it" in the first phrase refers to "rise" in the following clause.
E is out too because "and to reach" is trying to parallel with "to restrain"; as a result, it distorts the meaning. Also, "continuing" doesn't make sense either because the action is completed.

So D remains.

However, I don't understand what the function of the phrase in the beginning of the sentence. It seems like a noun phrase to me.
If it is a noun phrase, then "Defying efforts" becomes the apposition. It doesn't make sense either because "defying efforts" is similar to the US dollar in no way.
Any idea?
Thanks in advance.

[RonPurewal]

Defying efforts by policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic at restraining it, the United States dollar, continuing its rise, reaching its highest level in six years against the German mark.

(A) at restraining it, the United States dollar, continuing its rise, reaching
(B) at restraining it, the rise of the United States dollar continued, to reach
(C) at restraining it, the United States dollar continued rising, and it reached
(D) to restrain it, the United States dollar continued its rise, reaching
(E) to restrain it, the United States dollar is continuing its rise, and to reach

A is wrong because there is no main verb.
B is wrong because "to reach" should be "reaching" to represent the result of the action in the preceding clause.
C is wrong because the "it" in the first phrase refers to "rise" in the following clause.
E is out too because "and to reach" is trying to parallel with "to restrain"; as a result, it distorts the meaning. Also, "continuing" doesn't make sense either because the action is completed.

So D remains.

However, I don't understand what the function of the phrase in the beginning of the sentence. It seems like a noun phrase to me.
If it is a noun phrase, then "Defying efforts" becomes the apposition. It doesn't make sense either because "defying efforts" is similar to the US dollar in no way.
Any idea?
Thanks in advance.

no, it's a participial modifier. the '-ing' word here is a present participle, not a gerund (which is what it would be if the phrase were a noun phrase).

simpler analogy:
leaping high in the air, the dog caught the frisbee.
in this sentence it should be clear that 'leaping' is a participle describing what the dog is doing (not a gerund).

[Sputnik]

Hey Ron..

Could you please explain whats wrong with C.. I couldn't understand clearly what the above Guest has written..
doesn't "IT" have a constant antecedent throughout... the dollar....

[rfernandez]

A, B, and C can be eliminated because of the wrong idiom "efforts at restraining it." The correct idiom is "efforts to restrain it."

[babbar.gauravstar]

Apologies for opening an old post.


(D) to restrain it, the United States dollar continued its rise, reaching


My question is how can $ continue its rise. Dollar itself is not pushing it to rise!!

[adiagr]

Apologies for opening an old post.


(D) to restrain it, the United States dollar continued its rise, reaching


My question is how can $ continue its rise. Dollar itself is not pushing it to rise!!

Hi Gaurav,

I see your point.

But experience tells me to use this criterion at the very last.

here Idiomatic usage is the key issue. A, B, C out.

E is really bad.

D remains. fair enough.


Just refer this question from GMAT prep. You will appreciate my point better


The direction in which the Earth and the other solid planets - Mercury, Venus, and Mars - spins were determined from collisions with giant celestial bodies in the early history of the Solar System.

a. spins were determined from
b. spins were determined because of
c. spins was determined through
d. spin was determined by
e. spin was determined as a result of

here Spin is correct so A, B, C out.

Now, between D and E, E appears to be reasonable as collisions don't determine spin. It can at best be an aftereffect.

But OA is E.

[ed: this is incorrect; the OA is (d). see below.]

Explanation why E is correct is in this post.

the-direction-in-which-the-earth-and-the-other-solid-planets-t352.html?hilit=spin

Aditya

[RonPurewal]

Apologies for opening an old post.


(D) to restrain it, the United States dollar continued its rise, reaching


My question is how can $ continue its rise. Dollar itself is not pushing it to rise!!

if you see surprising idiomatic constructions in OFFICIALLY CORRECT answers, you should not waste your time questioning them. they are correct.
instead, you should just absorb their usage, and remember it for future problems.

[RonPurewal]

Apologies for opening an old post.


(D) to restrain it, the United States dollar continued its rise, reaching


My question is how can $ continue its rise. Dollar itself is not pushing it to rise!!

Hi Gaurav,

I see your point.

But experience tells me to use this criterion at the very last.

here Idiomatic usage is the key issue. A, B, C out.

E is really bad.

D remains. fair enough.


Just refer this question from GMAT prep. You will appreciate my point better


The direction in which the Earth and the other solid planets - Mercury, Venus, and Mars - spins were determined from collisions with giant celestial bodies in the early history of the Solar System.

a. spins were determined from
b. spins were determined because of
c. spins was determined through
d. spin was determined by
e. spin was determined as a result of

here Spin is correct so A, B, C out.

Now, between D and E, E appears to be reasonable as collisions don't determine spin. It can at best be an aftereffect.

But OA is E.

Explanation why E is correct is in this post.

the-direction-in-which-the-earth-and-the-other-solid-planets-t352.html?hilit=spin

Aditya

the OA to that problem is actually (d), not (e). there was some misinformation, which i've now deleted, in that post; i've left the post by one of our moderators with CORRECT information in it.

that problem is also #138 in OG11.

the short answer is that "determined as a result of" is redundant, since both "determined" and "result of" convey exactly the same meaning.
the following options would be NON-redundant:
"...was determined by..." (as in the correct answer)
"...was/is a result of..."

[GMATDESTROYER]

Hi ,

Well , I am still confused with its explanation since sentence D intends to say that Dollar continued its rise which is indeed amiss.

Thanks in advance!


Regards
Richa

Apologies for opening an old post.


(D) to restrain it, the United States dollar continued its rise, reaching


My question is how can $ continue its rise. Dollar itself is not pushing it to rise!!

Hi Gaurav,

I see your point.

But experience tells me to use this criterion at the very last.

here Idiomatic usage is the key issue. A, B, C out.

E is really bad.

D remains. fair enough.


Just refer this question from GMAT prep. You will appreciate my point better


The direction in which the Earth and the other solid planets - Mercury, Venus, and Mars - spins were determined from collisions with giant celestial bodies in the early history of the Solar System.

a. spins were determined from
b. spins were determined because of
c. spins was determined through
d. spin was determined by
e. spin was determined as a result of

here Spin is correct so A, B, C out.

Now, between D and E, E appears to be reasonable as collisions don't determine spin. It can at best be an aftereffect.

But OA is E.

Explanation why E is correct is in this post.

the-direction-in-which-the-earth-and-the-other-solid-planets-t352.html?hilit=spin

Aditya

the OA to that problem is actually (d), not (e). there was some misinformation, which i've now deleted, in that post; i've left the post by one of our moderators with CORRECT information in it.

that problem is also #138 in OG11.

the short answer is that "determined as a result of" is redundant, since both "determined" and "result of" convey exactly the same meaning.
the following options would be NON-redundant:
"...was determined by..." (as in the correct answer)
"...was/is a result of..."

[GMATDESTROYER]

Can I get an answer here?

[quote="richaengineer20"]Hi ,

Well , I am still confused with its explanation since sentence D intends to say that Dollar continued its rise which is indeed amiss.

Thanks in advance!


Regards
Richa

[RonPurewal]

Can I get an answer here?

don't do this -- i.e., DO NOT post a message asking us to answer another post.
this is called "bumping" the thread; it brings the thread up to the most recent position in the folder.

the problem, of course -- besides the fact that "reminder posts" are obnoxious, rude, and unprofessional -- is that we answer the posts strictly in order from oldest to newest. therefore, if you post a message, with no content, that says "please answer this post", then you are moving the thread to the LAST place in the queue.

please be patient -- we will get to all of the threads. if you make posts like this one, you're just making yourself wait longer.

thanks.

Hi ,

Well , I am still confused with its explanation since sentence D intends to say that Dollar continued its rise which is indeed amiss.

first --
OFFICIALLY CORRECT ANSWERS ARE CORRECT!
do not question officially correct answers!
far too many students on this forum make the mistake of questioning the correct answers; please note that doing so is a complete waste of your time and effort. i.e., exactly 0% of the time that you spend posting "isn't this official answer wrong?" is productive, and exactly 100% of that time is wasted.

"is this correct?" is NEVER a productive question to ask about one of GMAC's correct answers -- the answer is always yes.
"is this wrong?" / "is this X type of error?" is NEVER a productive question to ask about one of GMAC's correct answers -- the answer is always no.

instead, the questions you should be asking about correct official answers, if you don't understand them, are:
"why is this correct?"
"how does this work?"
"what understanding am i lacking that i need to understand this choice?"

this is a small, but hugely significant, change to your way of thinking -- you will suddenly find it much easier to understand the format, style, and conventions of the official problems if you dispose of the idea that they might be wrong.

--

in this problem, the dollar was rising, and it continued to rise. therefore, there is nothing "amiss" about the phrasing of the correct answer.

[eggpain24]

HI，instructors

I am wondering whether the infinitive used in choice B is also problematic, actually by conveying an idea that " the rise continued for a specific purpose"

whereas I think it is only an event happening and triggering some later consequence.

Just correct me if I am wrong. thank you ~

[RonPurewal]

HI，instructors

I am wondering whether the infinitive used in choice B is also problematic, actually by conveying an idea that " the rise continued for a specific purpose"

Yep.

[healthy312]

May I ask in D answer, what the first it means ? the increase or the dollar ?

In C, the first "it" and the second "it", and the third "it" represent the same thing , the dollar ? or the first one means the increase, the second and third it means "dollar" ?

[RonPurewal]

"it" must stand for a noun. so, in every instance, "it" = "the dollar".