Despite recent increases in sales and cash flow that have pr

[shobuj40]

Despite recent increases in sales and cash flow that have propelled automobile companies’ stocks to new highs, several industry analysts expect automakers, in order to conserve cash, to set dividend more conservatively then 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 dividen



OA: C why not b

[JonathanSchneider]

The "have been" is wrong in B. What could the "been" refer back to? The earlier verb is "set." But we do not say: "Have been set." We could say "have been setting," but the "setting" part has not been laid out for us, so there is nothing for "have been" to connect back to.

[kramacha1979]

In B why can't we say than they have been <set>
analysts expect automakers to set dividends more conservatively than they have been set..

[RonPurewal]

In B why can't we say than they have been <set>

no.

you cannot omit a word unless it ALREADY has a complement, used IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, earlier in the sentence.

your <set>, which you're trying to omit, is like "taken", or "eaten", or "done" etc.

there is no existing use of "set" in this way, so you can't omit it.

--

example of a sentence in which you can make this sort of omission:
the temperature can't be set until the pressure has been <set>.

in this case, the existing "set" is used in the same way as the omitted "set", so we're all good.

[Jazmet]

Ron,

Great Explanation!

[RonPurewal]

Ron,

Great Explanation!

thanks.

(i like how you're responding to something i wrote over 4 years ago)
(: