918. What brought the automobile company back from the verge of bankruptcy shortly after the Second World War was a special, governmentally sanctioned price increase allowed during a period of wage and price controls.
(A) What brought
(B) The thing that brought
(C) That which brought
(D) Bringing
(E) What has brought
Solution:
OG Solution:
Choice A is best. The verb tense is correct and the pronoun what refers most concisely and idiomatically to the noun increase. It may help to imagine a simplified version of the sentence and substitute the other answer choices for "The price increase was what brought..." Both B and C are unnecessarily wordy, and C is awkward and unidiomatic. Both D and E are faulty in tense; Bringing suggests an ongoing condition and is incompatible with an action that was completed shortly after the Second World War. Similarly, has brought indicates action that continues up to the present; the past tense brought is needed to parallel was.
Sentence Correction - 1000 Questions with Solution:
(A) What brought
(B) The thing that brought
(C) That which brought
(D) Bringing
(E) What has brought
Solution:
OG Solution:
Choice A is best. The verb tense is correct and the pronoun what refers most concisely and idiomatically to the noun increase. It may help to imagine a simplified version of the sentence and substitute the other answer choices for "The price increase was what brought..." Both B and C are unnecessarily wordy, and C is awkward and unidiomatic. Both D and E are faulty in tense; Bringing suggests an ongoing condition and is incompatible with an action that was completed shortly after the Second World War. Similarly, has brought indicates action that continues up to the present; the past tense brought is needed to parallel was.
Sentence Correction - 1000 Questions with Solution: