in this instance, "that" is an adjective attached to "figure".
My grandmother has never been to Paris, even though she has read more than twenty books about that city.
^^ same kind of "that" used here
RonPurewal Wrote:jp.jprasanna Wrote:Hi Ron - Isn't A wrong because of "they".. "they here seems to imply that the Children in 1981 who spent 2 1/2 weeks doing
household chores are the same children who have spent 6hr/wk by 1997?
no, that's fine. it stands for "children in the united states" -- a generality. (note that the sentence doesn't say the children who lived in the u.s. in 1981.)
you could also write the following:
in 1930, american companies employed an average of X number of people; in 1990, by contrast, they employed an average of Y number of people.
(in this situation you could also write "the figure had grown/shrunk to Y number by 1990".)
RonPurewal Wrote:77044388 Wrote:1. In 1981 children in the United States spent an average of slightly less than two and a half hours a week doing household chores; by 1997 they spent nearly six hours a week.
removed "had", the sentence is correct?
No. Still wrong. The past tense is incompatible with "by (date)".
I don't know whether GMAC has ever tested this issue, so I'll hold off on explaining it unless someone can mention an example from an official problem.
More generally, allow me to give the usual admonition"”"”
Don't edit GMAC's sentences.
Don't.
Do not edit them.
When random forum posters try to edit GMAC's sentences, they almost always create something that is...
... incorrect, but
... not actually tested on this exam.
If you have a question about a particular construction, try to make your own SIMPLE sentence(s) involving that construction.