If current trends continue, by the year 2010 carbon emission

[RonPurewal]

Hi there Ron,
i am unable to make out the singular subject out here. Pls can some1 help me with this?

'current trends' continue, 'carbon emissions' will soar. So what is the main subject. I was conveniently able to shortlist to A and B and hurts to not being able to understand why its not 'those' but in fact that. pls can you help me see?

Thx a ton.
P

i posted the following earlier in the thread:
as far as deciding a vs. b, just look at the pronoun that/those: it refers to the singular noun "level". therefore, you must choose that, which is singular, so b > a.

you have to use your understanding of the meaning of the sentence to figure out what 'that' stands for.
the comparison is "X is higher than Y"; this comparison makes sense when X and Y are levels ("this level is higher than that level"), but is nonsense if X and Y are emissions (you can't say "these emissions are higher than those emissions", unless you are literally saying that they are higher up in the atmosphere).

[poonamchiK]

Thank you.
Now I can make sense to look at level instead of corbon emissions.

Thx Ron. Tht helped to clear the air a bit.

P

[jnelson0612]

Good. :-)

[jp.jprasanna]

Boy too much in one post...just one question isn't "more than one-third higher than" redundant?

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.

What is the use of "more than" here.

i'm not sure i understand the question -- but, at risk of stating the obvious, i'll give the meaning: the use of "more than" is to signify that one quantity is greater than another quantity.
e.g.,
i am six feet tall --> signifies that i am exactly six feet tall
i am more than six feet tall --> signifies that my height is *greater* than six feet.

certainly not "redundant"; it changes the meaning of the statement from "x = y" to "x > y".

Hi- Thanks for all the explanation - One more question, could you please let me know the usage " more than one-third higher than"

Could you please let me know how this works! I was stumped seeing this at the 1st place! :-(

[RonPurewal]

Hi- Thanks for all the explanation - One more question, could you please let me know the usage " more than one-third higher than"

Could you please let me know how this works! I was stumped seeing this at the 1st place! :-(

let's say bob is six feet tall.
if the ceiling is eight feet high, the ceiling is 1/3 higher than bob's head.
if the ceiling is more than eight feet high, the ceiling is more than 1/3 higher than bob's head.

[thanghnvn]

I agree B is oa.

one thing I want to discuss in C

If current trends continue, by the year 2010 carbon emissions in the United States //will soar to a level more than one-third higher than were those// in 1990, according to official projections.

C. would soar to a level more than one-third higher than it was


"it" in C above is wrong because "it" refer to "the level in 2010". "if" refers to total noun phrase in the fisrt haft of comparision. "it" is used when we talk about the same thing. "that" is used when we talk of the different thing which is compared with the first thing.

Ron told me this point. I juat apply to this problem

is my thinking correct?, pls, confirm, Ron, Manhantan experts.

[tim]

ONE reason C is wrong is indeed because the "it" doesn't have a proper antecedent to attach to..

[ntr1989512]

your final sentence -- "i can eat an apple faster than you" -- is actually ok, since it is like my latter example: there is no ambiguity, and there is also no change of tense.

hi ron!
"i can eat an apple faster than you" is right?
it could mean"i can eat an apple faster than YOU EAT AN APPLE"
or "i can eat an apple faster than I EAT YOU"!!
and the latter is ridiculous!!

[tim]

because the latter is ridiculous, this is why the sentence is okay - there is only one logically correct interpretation..

[divineacclivity]

you need 'will', not 'would'. 'would' is used if the hypothetical is in the past tense, while 'will' (future tense) is used if the hypothetical is in the present tense (as is the case here).
compare: if you tell that joke again, i will punch you.
that takes care of the last three answer choices.

as far as deciding a vs. b, just look at the pronoun that/those: it refers to the singular noun level. therefore, you must choose that, which is singular, so b > a.

also, the presence of a verb in choice a creates bad parallelism, because 'a level' does not have a verb. the two parts of the comparison must have the same grammatical structure; if the initial part (a level) doesn't have a verb, the second part can't have one either.

Perfect. thanks.

[tim]

:)

[duyng9989]

This is GMATPREP question

If current trends continue, by the year 2010 carbon emissions in the United States will soar to a level more than one-third higher than were those in 1990, according to official projections.
A. will soar to a level more than one-third higher than were those
B. will soar to a level more than one-third higher than that
C. would soar to a level more than one-third higher than is was
D. would soar to a level more than one-third higher than those
E. would soar to a level more than one-third higher than they were

I chose E. So what is wrong with answer "E"? What is the correct answer. How to decide between will and would.Thanks

Hi Ron:

I have a question about the concept of "EXACTLY parallelism" you mentioned in this post: http://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/post8291.html?sid=03595a47bcada24a362a145551894a87&sid=03595a47bcada24a362a145551894a87#p8291

In the sentence:
Since 1990, the global economy has grown more than THAT during 10,000 years (incorrect).
You said that "that" must exactly // structure. If the second half says "that during 10, years, then the preceding must say " the growth of ... during something else").

So why in this sentence The carbon emissions in the US will soar to a level more than one-third higher than THAT in 1990.

So the preceding structure must be something in 1990???

One more problem: Is it correct to say:

1. the carbon emissions in the US will soar to a level more than one-third higher than SO in 1990
2. the carbon emissions in the US will soar to a level more than one-third higher than was the case in 1990
3. the carbon emissions in the US will soar to a level more than one-third higher than it was in 1990

Thank you very much. I hope to hear from you soon

[duyng9989]

This is GMATPREP question

If current trends continue, by the year 2010 carbon emissions in the United States will soar to a level more than one-third higher than were those in 1990, according to official projections.
A. will soar to a level more than one-third higher than were those
B. will soar to a level more than one-third higher than that
C. would soar to a level more than one-third higher than is was
D. would soar to a level more than one-third higher than those
E. would soar to a level more than one-third higher than they were

I chose E. So what is wrong with answer "E"? What is the correct answer. How to decide between will and would.Thanks

Hi Ron:

I have a question about the concept of "EXACTLY parallelism" you mentioned in this post: http://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/post8291.html?sid=03595a47bcada24a362a145551894a87&sid=371e67be8cc5d6a158ce0f3970589fe2#p8291

In the sentence:
Since 1990, the global economy has grown more than THAT during 10,000 years (incorrect).
You said that "that" must exactly // structure. If the second half says "that during 10, years, then the preceding must say " the growth of ... during something else").

So why in this sentence The carbon emissions in the US will soar to a level more than one-third higher than THAT in 1990.

So the preceding structure must be something in 1990???

One more problem: Is it correct to say:

1. the carbon emissions in the US will soar to a level more than one-third higher than SO in 1990
2. the carbon emissions in the US will soar to a level more than one-third higher than was the case in 1990
3. the carbon emissions in the US will soar to a level more than one-third higher than it was in 1990

Thank you very much. I hope to hear from you soon

Could anyone help me answer the question???

[tim]

First, be careful bumping questions. Every time you do that it puts the question at the absolute end of the queue for us to answer. Bumping a question is the most effective way to cause a delay in getting your question answered.

As for your first question, the main thing you need to do is find an antecedent for "that", which in this case is "level", so we're fine. We're comparing a level to a level, and we mustn't assume that both levels were in 1990 (in fact, if we did, the sentence would have an absurd meaning!).

Your examples 1 and 2 are wrong because they don't include a pronoun, so it's unclear what is being compared. 3 is wrong because if we replace "it" with "level", we are now comparing "level" (which is a noun) with "level was" (which is a clause).

[mcmebk]

This is GMATPREP question

If current trends continue, by the year 2010 carbon emissions in the United States will soar to a level more than one-third higher than were those in 1990, according to official projections.
A. will soar to a level more than one-third higher than were those
B. will soar to a level more than one-third higher than that
C. would soar to a level more than one-third higher than is was
D. would soar to a level more than one-third higher than those
E. would soar to a level more than one-third higher than they were

I chose E. So what is wrong with answer "E"? What is the correct answer. How to decide between will and would.Thanks

Hi Ron:

I have a question about the concept of "EXACTLY parallelism" you mentioned in this post: http://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/post8291.html?sid=371e67be8cc5d6a158ce0f3970589fe2&sid=518755000732347b09a9fb0536b497eb#p8291

In the sentence:
Since 1990, the global economy has grown more than THAT during 10,000 years (incorrect).
You said that "that" must exactly // structure. If the second half says "that during 10, years, then the preceding must say " the growth of ... during something else").

So why in this sentence The carbon emissions in the US will soar to a level more than one-third higher than THAT in 1990.

So the preceding structure must be something in 1990???

One more problem: Is it correct to say:

1. the carbon emissions in the US will soar to a level more than one-third higher than SO in 1990
2. the carbon emissions in the US will soar to a level more than one-third higher than was the case in 1990
3. the carbon emissions in the US will soar to a level more than one-third higher than it was in 1990

Thank you very much. I hope to hear from you soon

Could anyone help me answer the question???

The reason why So why in this sentence The carbon emissions in the US will soar to a level more than one-third higher than THAT in 1990 is okay is because you are comparing a LEVEL to a LEVEL, the comparison is A LEVEL is (more than one-third higher than) A LEVEL in 1990, makes sense.

In Since 1990, the global economy has grown more than THAT during 10,000 years (incorrect). You are comparing two facts, you are not comparing one economy with another one, instead you are comparing one fact with another fact, An economy has grown more than another economy grow. If you omit the second verb, the comparison would be like An economy has grown more than another economy. Won't work.