A 4 min read

In this article, we’ll look at the solution to the 700-level GMAT Official Guide 2022 Sentence Correction question.

SC21011.01- The prime lending rate is a key rate in the economy: not only are the interest rates on most loans to small and medium-sized businesses tied to the prime, but also on a growing number of consumer loans, including home equity loans.

[Refer to GMAT Official Guide for Options]

Here is some general information about this OG question –

OG Solution- SC21011.01- The prime lending rate is a key rate in the economy…

This sentence may look a little complex at the first glance, but it is actually just the opposite. All we need to do is focus on the right place. And we begin to focus by first understanding the intended meaning.

Video Solution- SC21011.01- The prime lending rate is a key rate in the economy…

Do not let the structure of this SC question confuse you. It appears complex but is seriously super easy to solve. Watch this OG video solution for this question below – The prime lending rate is a key rate in the economy: not only are the interest rates on most loans to small and medium-sized businesses tied to the prime, but also on a growing number of consumer loans, including home equity loans.

Extract the Essence

This sentence talks about the prime lending rate (PLR). It is an important rate in the economy. The second part of the sentence, which appears after the colon, substantiates the information presented in the first part of the sentence. It says that two kinds of interest rates are connected to the PLR:

1. The interest rates on most loans to small and medium businesses.
2. The interest rates on an increasing number of consumer loans that include home equity loans.

Yep, that’s all about the meaning part of this sentence. It is simple, logical, and straight-forward.

Cause of Confusion

If the logic is so straight-forward, then why does this question look daunting? The structure after the colon does intimidate people. See it for yourself  — not only are the interest rates on most loans to small and medium-sized businesses tied to the prime, but also on a growing number of consumer loans, including home equity loans.

The green verb “are tied” for the blue subject “the interest rates” seems to be scattered in the sentence. Who writes a sentence like this? Well, this is a legit way of writing the sentence. This structure is called the inverted SV structure in which the verb appears before the subject.

This structure may appear very uncanny, but it is actually very easy to deal with. Let’s see how:

1. We first need to find the verb in the sentence, which in this case is “are tied.”
2. Then we find the subject of this verb, which is “the interest rates.”
3. Now, we restructure the SV pair in the usual way and then read the sentence: not only the interest rates on most loans to small and medium-sized businesses are tied to the prime, but also on a growing number of consumer loans, including home equity loans.

Isn’t dealing with this uncanny structure easy-peasy, lemon squeezy? But because not many know how to go about it, people fail to understand the meaning and end up choosing an incorrect answer choice.

Choice E – The Next Best Bet

Choice E is the most popular incorrect answer choice for this question, and the reason is not difficult to decipher. One look at the choice and we know that those who choose it do so for its simple and familiar structure. But alas! This is not the correct answer. Why? Let me explain.

Quick Trick

Remember, I mentioned in the beginning of this article that if we focus on the right part of this sentence, we can solve it with no difficulty at all? ‘Tis the time to talk about the focal point. So, lo and behold.

This sentence uses the phrase “not only X but also Y”. In this structure, the entities X and Y MUST BE IDENTICAL. Let’s see how this phrase plays out in answer choices:

Choice A: not only are the interest rates on most loans to small and medium-sized businesses tied to the prime, but also on a growing number of consumer loans

Choice B: tied to the prime are the interest rates not only on most loans to small and medium-sized businesses, but also on a growing number of consumer loans

Choice C: the interest rates not only on most loans to small and medium-sized businesses are tied to the prime, but also a growing number of consumer loans

Choice D: not only the interest rates on most loans to small and medium-sized businesses are tied to the prime, but also on a growing number of consumer loans

Choice E: the interest rates are tied to the prime, not only on most loans to small and medium-sized businesses, but also a growing number of consumer loans

Need I say anything more? Choice B is the ONLY choice that uses this phrase in the right manner. In the case of this sentence, we can focus only on this part and get done with this question within 60 seconds. So, yes, easy peasy, lemon squeezy. 

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha

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