fossil fuels

[vietst]

There are hopeful signs that we are shifting away from our heavy reliance on fossil fuels: more than ten times as much energy is generated through wind power now than it was in 1990.
A) generated through wind power now than it was
B) generated through wind power now as it was
C) generated through wind power now as was the case
D) now generated through wind power as it was
E) now generated through wind power than was the case
OA is C

[StaceyKoprince]

Please remember to title your posts properly - first 5-8 words of the problem.

Is there something in particular that you struggled with? Please let us know - that helps us to target our answers accordingly.

This is a tricky one - you've got both "more than" and "as much as" in the same sentence! Both need to be complete - don't get fooled into mixing them up!

You've already got the "more than" construction complete and not part of the underline, so that's set. The "as much as" is not correct though - the original sentence says "as much... than" Elim A and E.

The pronoun "it" has to refer to a noun elsewhere in the sentence. What noun is the antecedent? Energy? So the sentence would read "more than ten times as much energy... as energy was in 1990"? (The antecedent should be able to replace the pronoun and the sentence should still work. And that doesn't work.) Elim B and D.

"as was the case" isn't a pronoun, so it doesn't refer just to a single noun. It can refer to an entire clause. So, C could read "more than ten times as much energy is generated now... as (energy) was generated in 1990."

[vietst]

Stacey Koprince
Thanks

[H]

Hi Stacey,

If C could read "more than ten times as much energy is generated now... as (energy) was generated in 1990", why couldn't B?
more than ten times as much energy is generated now... as it(energy) was (generated) in 1990.
I believe that I have seen some OG questions omitted the passive verb in comparison sentences. For instance, OG10#234, Inuits of X were isolated from...longer than were inuits of Y.
Am I missing something?
Thanks in advance.

[jwinawer]

Hi Stacey,

If C could read "more than ten times as much energy is generated now... as (energy) was generated in 1990", why couldn't B?
more than ten times as much energy is generated now... as it(energy) was (generated) in 1990.
I believe that I have seen some OG questions omitted the passive verb in comparison sentences. For instance, OG10#234, Inuits of X were isolated from...longer than were inuits of Y.
Am I missing something?
Thanks in advance.

When stuck, try making up a few simpler sentences:

(a) I have 10 times as many MP3s as my father. OK
(b) I have 10 times as many MP3s as was the case before I bought a computer. Awkward but OK.
(c) I have 10 times as many MP3s as I had MP3s before I bought a computer. BAD. Wrong.

Why is (c) so bad? You are comparing the number of MP3s (I now have 10 times as many). By repeating the noun (MP3s) and verb (had), it sounds like you are saying that what is 10 x is greater is not the number of MP3s but having the MP3s. It doesn't make sense. In Stacy's explanation, the energy is implied, but restating it (or replacing it with 'it') really confuses the sentence, just as my example in (c) is really confusing.

But boy, this one is nasty!!!!

[fenruyun]

Hi Stacey,

If C could read "more than ten times as much energy is generated now... as (energy) was generated in 1990", why couldn't B?
more than ten times as much energy is generated now... as it(energy) was (generated) in 1990.
I believe that I have seen some OG questions omitted the passive verb in comparison sentences. For instance, OG10#234, Inuits of X were isolated from...longer than were inuits of Y.
Am I missing something?
Thanks in advance.

When stuck, try making up a few simpler sentences:

(a) I have 10 times as many MP3s as my father. OK
(b) I have 10 times as many MP3s as was the case before I bought a computer. Awkward but OK.
(c) I have 10 times as many MP3s as I had MP3s before I bought a computer. BAD. Wrong.

Why is (c) so bad? You are comparing the number of MP3s (I now have 10 times as many). By repeating the noun (MP3s) and verb (had), it sounds like you are saying that what is 10 x is greater is not the number of MP3s but having the MP3s. It doesn't make sense. In Stacy's explanation, the energy is implied, but restating it (or replacing it with 'it') really confuses the sentence, just as my example in (c) is really confusing.

But boy, this one is nasty!!!!

Is it OK for me to take it this way: "I have 10 times as many MP3s now as I had before I bought a computer."

Does it mean that we should elimiate the same object in the "as...as" construction to avoid redundancy. So " as many X is...as was..." is OK while " as many X is... as X was..." is bad?

thank u !!

[akhil.garg]

Hi Stacey,

I am confused about the placement of "now". Which one of the following is better?

a) now generated through wind power
b) generated through wind power now

Shouldn't now be placed next to generated?

Thanks in advance...

[tankobe]

bump!!

Hi Stacey,

I am confused about the placement of "now". Which one of the following is better?

a) now generated through wind power
b) generated through wind power now

Shouldn't now be placed next to generated?

"as was the case" isn't a pronoun, so it doesn't refer just to a single noun. It can refer to an entire clause. So, C could read "more than ten times as much energy is generated now... as (energy) was generated in 1990."

hi, Ron or stracey！

when i read the question, i was just want to find a key like:
"more than ten times as much energy is generated now... as (energy) was generated in 1990 "
but there is not a one.
as to C,the phrase now is missing,which is supposed to be parallel to in 1990. can you explain the miss in option C?

[RonPurewal]

bump!!

Hi Stacey,

I am confused about the placement of "now". Which one of the following is better?

a) now generated through wind power
b) generated through wind power now

Shouldn't now be placed next to generated?

"as was the case" isn't a pronoun, so it doesn't refer just to a single noun. It can refer to an entire clause. So, C could read "more than ten times as much energy is generated now... as (energy) was generated in 1990."

hi, Ron or stracey！

when i read the question, i was just want to find a key like:
"more than ten times as much energy is generated now... as (energy) was generated in 1990 "
but there is not a one.
as to C,the phrase now is missing,which is supposed to be parallel to in 1990. can you explain the miss in option C?

hmm?

choice (c) contains the word "now".

[tankobe]

bump!!

hmm?

choice (c) contains the word "now".

Sorry! i don't know whether i am sleeping when i post the threat last time.

what i mean is now and in 1990 are both supposed to act the same fuction, whether adv or adj; the case is very common in GMAT SC qestions.
for example: more than ten times as much energy is generated now(adv)... as (energy) was generated in 1990(adv).

in the question, now is adv, but in 1990 is adj. howerver, i also think C is the best choice since it can't refer to more than ten times as much energy.

[RonPurewal]

sorry - let this query slip through:

Hi Stacey,

I am confused about the placement of "now". Which one of the following is better?

a) now generated through wind power
b) generated through wind power now

Shouldn't now be placed next to generated?

Thanks in advance...

either phrasing is acceptable.

in this case, the latter is appropriate, because it places the thing that's actually part of the comparison ("now") next to the comparison.

if the sentence were comparing the amount of energy generated through wind power to the amount generated by, say, nuclear power, then your (a) would be better. but, since the following comparison is a comparison of timeframes (now vs. in 1990), your (b) is better.

[RonPurewal]

in the question, now is adv, but in 1990 is adj.

no, this isn't the issue. the "in 1990" is legitimately adverbial in all five choices; the problems lie elsewhere, as articulated upthread.

in particular, you're claiming that the "in 1990" in ...it was in 1990 is adverbial, and that's not true - especially in the context of a comparison:
the average house price is higher than it was in 1990.
here, "in 1990" is clearly adverbial; it modifies the clause "it was".

the primary issues with choice (a) are:
* "than" (which can't be used idiomatically with "X times as much"),
* "it" (which doesn't have an antecedent).

note that "it" in my example above, by contrast, does have a legitimate antecedent.

[vishscor]

Stacey,

How do you find out what is the antecedent of the pronoun in a sentence? Also, should a 2 different pronouns have the same antecedent?

Thanks,
Vishal

Please remember to title your posts properly - first 5-8 words of the problem.

Is there something in particular that you struggled with? Please let us know - that helps us to target our answers accordingly.

This is a tricky one - you've got both "more than" and "as much as" in the same sentence! Both need to be complete - don't get fooled into mixing them up!

You've already got the "more than" construction complete and not part of the underline, so that's set. The "as much as" is not correct though - the original sentence says "as much... than" Elim A and E.

The pronoun "it" has to refer to a noun elsewhere in the sentence. What noun is the antecedent? Energy? So the sentence would read "more than ten times as much energy... as energy was in 1990"? (The antecedent should be able to replace the pronoun and the sentence should still work. And that doesn't work.) Elim B and D.

"as was the case" isn't a pronoun, so it doesn't refer just to a single noun. It can refer to an entire clause. So, C could read "more than ten times as much energy is generated now... as (energy) was generated in 1990."

[vishscor]

Stacey,

How do you find out what is the antecedent of the pronoun in a sentence? Also, should a 2 different pronouns have the same antecedent?

Thanks,
Vishal

Please remember to title your posts properly - first 5-8 words of the problem.

Is there something in particular that you struggled with? Please let us know - that helps us to target our answers accordingly.

This is a tricky one - you've got both "more than" and "as much as" in the same sentence! Both need to be complete - don't get fooled into mixing them up!

You've already got the "more than" construction complete and not part of the underline, so that's set. The "as much as" is not correct though - the original sentence says "as much... than" Elim A and E.

The pronoun "it" has to refer to a noun elsewhere in the sentence. What noun is the antecedent? Energy? So the sentence would read "more than ten times as much energy... as energy was in 1990"? (The antecedent should be able to replace the pronoun and the sentence should still work. And that doesn't work.) Elim B and D.

"as was the case" isn't a pronoun, so it doesn't refer just to a single noun. It can refer to an entire clause. So, C could read "more than ten times as much energy is generated now... as (energy) was generated in 1990."

[RonPurewal]

Stacey,

How do you find out what is the antecedent of the pronoun in a sentence?
Thanks,
Vishal

when you find the antecedent of a pronoun, you are of course limited to choosing nouns that are grammatically compatible with the pronoun (i.e., correct match in terms of singular/plural, and also in terms of inanimate object/person).

to zero in quickly on the correct antecedent among these grammatically acceptable words, you should use CONTEXT: in most sentences, provided you actually understand what the sentence is saying, there will be one antecedent that is fairly obvious from the context at hand.

Also, should a 2 different pronouns have the same antecedent?

if you see the same pronoun twice in a clause, without any intervening grammatical constructions, then both instances of that pronoun MUST stand for the same noun.
for example, if you see two instances of "they" in the same clause (and they are not distinguished by grammar, e.g., part of obvious parallel structures), then these must refer to the same plural noun.