Solutions

Question

Soaring television costs accounted for more than half the spending in the presidential campaign of 1992, a greater proportion than it was in any previous election.

 

Difficulty Level

Easy

Solution

Option B is the right answer.

Option Analysis

A) The pronoun ‘it’ does not have a clear antecedent.

B) Correct Answer. The absolute modifier ‘a greater proportion than … election’ refers to “half the spending in the presidential election”. Also, note the parallelism with “than” – “in the presidential campaign of 1992” is parallel to “in any previous election”. Note the usage of “greater” (vs “more”) – we are referring to a number – proportion.

C) The only logical antecedent of ‘they’ is costs. A ‘proportion’ is incorrectly compared to ‘costs’. The present perfect tense ‘have been’ is incorrect. Simple past should be used as we are referring to a specific time – in any previous election.

D) The antecedent of ‘which’ is not clear. Grammatically it modifies ‘presidential campaign of 1992’. This is incorrect. ‘Than was so’ is incorrect. “so” refers to the entire clause – “soaring television costs accounted …” – this makes for a faulty comparison. We are trying to compare proportions to proportions.

E) The antecedent of ‘which’ is not clear. Grammatically it modifies ‘presidential campaign of 1992’. This is incorrect. The pronoun ‘it’ does not have a clear antecedent. The present perfect tense ‘has been’ is incorrect. Simple past should be used as we are referring to a specific time – in any previous election.