Source: Paper Test Code 55, Section 6 Question 8

8. Contrary to the scholarly wisdom of the 1950’s and early 1960’s that predicted the processes of modernization and rationalization would gradually undermine it, ethnicity is a worldwide phenomenon of increasing importance.


(A) would gradually undermine it
(B) to be a gradual undermining of it
(C) would be a gradual undermining of ethnicity
(D) to gradually undermine ethnicity
(E) gradually undermining it


My question here is why D/E is wrong here. Is their a rule or something that Predict always has to be accompanied by Would/Will?

What I have generally read in news paers are sentences such as : Dollar is Predicted to become stronger against rupee. Holding predicted Australia to win the world cup.

Are these sentences wrong? They are not direct from the newpaper but what I am able to recall.

Please clarify

Thanks
Saurabh Malpani

Saurabh,

What is the correct answer? Is it A?

I chose A because I don't see anything wrong with the sentence as is, but I am not at all confident in my selection.

Sorry I can't help you with your question, but I will say that Holding probably made that statement because Australia is clearly the dominant force in cricket at the moment. :)

Hi, Saurabh, can you please post the author of "Paper Test Code..."? Is this an old official test from GMAC?

(If so, just FYI, I don't recommend those as good sources for study. They are vastly different from - and easier than - the CAT.)

Yes Stacey these are from GMAC's six published test papers.. Test Code is 55

Well I am not exactly studying from they but I want to practice CR and SC because I believe the SC and CR will have no ambiguity as I may may find in some other sources.

So just to get a better hang of the Verbal Section. I know Maths is a cake walk. One doesn't even require pen and paper for 90% of the problems.

Thanks for your reccomendations please suggest if my reasoning is wrong?

Thanks
Saurabh Malpani

Got it. When you look at idiomatic usage, you have to look at the complete structure. In this case, we have "that predicted X [noun] would / will Y [noun or verb-noun]." So that matches with what we've got here.

The structure that you use for the sentence about the dollar is different - there, I say "X [noun] is predicted to Y [noun or verb-noun]."

FYI - one reason I say these aren't the best source of study: in recent years, they have stayed away from introducing subject and (often) object pronouns before the antecedent itself is introduced. But, in this case, the correct answer does place the object pronoun "it" before the introduction of the antecedent, ethnicity.

I agree, it's a fine balance between studying from real materials and using private company materials that mimic the real thing. The old paper ones are SO old though that they can be vastly different from what you'll see today (the last time the test was given in paper format was 1997).

But isnt' predicted "the processes of modernization and rationalization would gradually undermine it" incomplete? Shouldn't there be a "that" before "the processes...." and if so, doesn't that make this choice competely incorrect?

Would really appreciate any help on this!

Guest 1234,

I'm very sorry, but this question is from a source that is now banned on our forum, so we can no longer comment. We left the previous discussion up because it occurred before the ban was enacted. I will now lock the thread to prevent further inconvenience.