* Since February, the Federal Reserve has raised its

[Guest]

GWD7-Q40:
Since February, the Federal Reserve has raised its short-term interest rate target five times, and because of the economy’s continued strength, analysts have been predicting for weeks that the target will be raised again in November.

A. because of the economy’s continued strength, analysts have been predicting for weeks that the target will
B. with the economy’s strength continuing, analysts predicted for weeks that the target
C. because the economy continues strong, analysts predicted for weeks that the target would
D. due to the economy’s continued strength, analysts have been predicting for weeks that the target
E. due to the fact of the economy’s continued strength, analysts predicted for weeks that the target will


Answer is D Why A is wrong? For me D is wrong coz it says the target BE raised again in November

[Pathik]

Analysts are predicting the future; they are not certain about it so subjunctive mood is invoked which needs just the base form of the verb "be raised."

Pathik

[RonPurewal]

GWD7-Q40:
Since February, the Federal Reserve has raised its short-term interest rate target five times, and because of the economy’s continued strength, analysts have been predicting for weeks that the target will be raised again in November.

A. because of the economy’s continued strength, analysts have been predicting for weeks that the target will
B. with the economy’s strength continuing, analysts predicted for weeks that the target
C. because the economy continues strong, analysts predicted for weeks that the target would
D. due to the economy’s continued strength, analysts have been predicting for weeks that the target
E. due to the fact of the economy’s continued strength, analysts predicted for weeks that the target will


Answer is D Why A is wrong? For me D is wrong coz it says the target BE raised again in November

shouldn't be d; 'predict' doesn't go with this style of subjunctive. that's the command subjunctive, which goes with orders, requests, wishes, and the like, but not with predictions.

predictions should take the future tense, because they're predictions about ... the future!
check this one out again; the answer should be a.

[JJ]

Thanks, Ron. That's just what I thought... The OAs I have are not that official...
May you have a great weekand.

[johanna]

what is wrong with answer "c"? in A, will does not go with "have been". that's why i eliminate A. could you help me with that>? thanx in advance

[JonathanSchneider]

Johanna, the connection between "predicted" and "would" is just fine. However, we start the sentence with "Since February." This phrase indicates an ongoing action -- as a result, we want to use the present perfect tense: "have been predicting for weeks." Furthermore, to use the past tense "predicted" would indicate that they are no longer making such a prediction -- again, not what we want here, logically.

[avinashsbajaj]

The OA is indeed A; this is a GMATPrep question.

[RonPurewal]

The OA is indeed A; this is a GMATPrep question.

thanks.

[geetanjalirawat]

Hi,
In one of the post Ron said that the general format is 'because of + noun' and the correct OA says" because of the economy's strength .... " . My question is will economy's strength be considered as noun or there is any other rule that i don't know.

Please help.
Thanks

[ntaksatorn]

Can someone please comment on the grammatical rules regarding

because of/because/due to/due to the fact that

I believe due to the fact of is wrong ?

[roofghost]

Can someone verify the actual Official Answer of this problem?
Someone said it is D, and another said A.
Which one is the correct answer?
I am studying the Verb Mood part, and the verb predict appears to be a subjunctive to me. I chose D.

[ranjeet1975]

Can someone please comment on the grammatical rules regarding

because of/because/due to/due to the fact that

I believe due to the fact of is wrong ?

I too need the explanation of the usage of 'because of / due to / due to the fact that

please anyone guide us.

[RonPurewal]

Can someone please comment on the grammatical rules regarding

because of/because/due to/due to the fact that

I believe due to the fact of is wrong ?

here's the easiest way to figure out "due to":

"due to" means "caused by".
if you can't replace "due to" with "caused by", then it's wrong.

for instance:

i was late due to the construction --> incorrect (because you can't say "i was late caused by the construction")

i was late because of the construction --> correct.

--

in general, "due to" only applies to nouns, since it means "caused by".

for instance,
the traffic jam was due to an obstruction in the left lane
or
the traffic jam due to the obstruction in the left lane caused 30-minute delays

these are correct because "caused by" works just fine - the noun modified is "the traffic".

--

should be (a). what's the source of the problem?

if this problem is not from GMAT PREP, we're going to have to delete it. what is the strange number given at the start of the problem?

[joehurundas]

On the basis of the sentence, is it a consistency to use "will" alongside "predict?"
By the same token, we should we always use "would" with "probably" in a sentence? For example:

PROBABLY: probably X would happen in the nearest future

PREDICT: predict that X will take place in the nearest future

However, Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 - 1962) says: "If life were predictable, it would cease to be life, and be without flavor." Though a subjunctive construction, the sentence uses "will" with "predictable"...

Kindly assist.

[sudaif]

It is a GMAT prep question.
E would be considered wordy b/c of the "due to the fact of the", correct?
C is wrong b/c "because the eco continues strong" is in present tense and "would" is future from past's perspective. Because of the mismatch of the two tenses, C is wrong, correct?
I read somewhere on one of your posts that "because" is only used to show causation...is that why it is appropriate to use it in answer choice A, specifically, continued strength--->analyst predictions?
thanks