SC bank service

[HaomingH436]

A recent survey showed that while many banks have service charges on interest-bearing and
non-interest-bearing accounts with balances that are falling below a set minimum, some banks provide virtually free checking regardless of the account balance.
A. with balances that are falling below

B. whose balances fall below

C. whose balances fall below that of

D. that have balances below that of

E. that have balances that fall below those of


I chose C，and the correct answer is B

Why is C wrong？ I think “that” refers to the balance and “that” is necessary.

I want to know why I was wrong and how can I get this kind of question right when I come across it again.

Thanks!

[RonPurewal]

just ask yourself whether you actually need an additional noun (= the noun that "that/those" stands for).
if you need a noun, use "that/those".
if you don't, don't.

here, a "balance" is a number (of dollars).
a "set minimum" is also a number.
thus, we're talking about a situation in which a balance (= one number) is below the set minimum (= another number).

it's not below "___ of the set minimum"; there's nothing that can logically fill the blank.

[tim60288]

Hi Instructors,

I chose A on this question.

A is incorrect because of the use of "with"?

[RonPurewal]

this sentence expresses general policies adopted by some banks. these generalities are not timeframe-dependent; they are things that the banks do, REGARDLESS of the timeframe.
for this type of usage, the present tense ('fall') is the correct choice.

[RonPurewal]

'are falling' would refer to something happening right now (as the author writes the sentence). that's wrong here for 2 significant reasons.

1/
as discussed above, this sentence doesn't describe something happening right now. (it describes general policies that are independent of the timeframe.)

2/
'are falling below...' makes no sense anyway, because 'falling below X' (in the mathematical sense) is NOT something that actually takes time to happen.
rather, it's instantaneous: the balance is either below X or it isn't. if a balance 'falls below X' then the transition takes exactly zero time.
thus it is actually IMPOSSIBLE to write that a bank balance 'is falling below' a certain number, because it's impossible for that to be in the process of happening at any given point.

[tim60288]

Thank you sir : )

[RonPurewal]

you're welcome.

[sahilk47]

Hi Ron

Can the relative pronoun WHOSE be used to refer to non-living object?

Thank you

[RonPurewal]

DO NOT question the correct answers!

here's a handy FAQ:

Q: Is the correct answer correct?
A: Yes.

Q: Is the correct answer wrong?
A: No.

Q: I disagree with the correct answer. Who's wrong, me or GMAC?
A: You.

Q: I wrote this other version. Is it better than the correct answer?
A: No.

[RonPurewal]

Hi Ron

Can the relative pronoun WHOSE be used to refer to non-living object?

Thank you

this question ^^ is answered by the first two items in my FAQ above.


yes, you can use 'whose' in this sense, because there's no alternative.

the possessive form of 'who(m)' is 'whose'.

the possessive form of 'which' and/or 'that' is also 'whose'.

[sahilk47]

Hi Ron

Can the relative pronoun WHOSE be used to refer to non-living object?

Thank you

this question ^^ is answered by the first two items in my FAQ above.


yes, you can use 'whose' in this sense, because there's no alternative.

the possessive form of 'who(m)' is 'whose'.

the possessive form of 'which' and/or 'that' is also 'whose'.

Thank you Ron!

[RonPurewal]

sure.