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The increase in unemployment rates, coupled with significantly increased retail prices as wellas energy costs, are forcing many homeowners to look into alternative sources of fuel in orderto save money on winter heating.
  • a)
    unemployment rates, coupled with significantly increased retail prices as well as energy costs,are
  • b)
    rates of unemployment, coupled with significant increases in retail prices and energy costs,have been
  • c)
    unemployment rates, coupled with significant increases in both retail prices and energy costs,is
  • d)
    unemployment rates, coupled with significantly increased retail prices as well as energy costs,is
  • e)
    rates of unemployment, coupled with significant increases in both retail as well as energycosts, had been
Correct answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?
Verified Answer
The increase in unemployment rates, coupled with significantly increas...
First, the subject of the main clause is "the increase in unemployment rates," which is singular. Yet, the verb in the main clause is "are forcing," which is plural. Second, "significantly increased retail prices as well as energy costs" is both awkward and unclear. The logical inference is that the energy costs have increased as well, but this
is not clear from the grammar that "significantly increased" modifies "energy costs" in addition to "retail prices."
This phrase could also be more elegantly expressed.
(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.
(B) The subject of the main clause here is "the increase in rates of unemployment," which is singular, but the verb is "have been forcing," which is plural. However, the replacement of "as well as" with "and" is an improvement over the original sentence because it more clearly links "significant increases" and "energy costs."
(C) CORRECT. The subject of the main clause is "the increase in unemployment rates" and the corresponding verb is "is forcing," which are both singular. The phrase "coupled with significant increases in both retail prices and energy costs" is elegant and clearly links "significant increases" to "energy costs" through the use of "both."
(D) The subject of the main clause is "the increase in unemployment rates" and the corresponding verb is "is forcing," which are both singular. However, the phrase "coupled with significantly increased retail prices as well as energy costs" is still awkward and unclear.
(E) The subject of the main clause is "the increase in unemployment rates" and the corresponding verb is "had been forcing," which are both singular. However, "had been forcing" is in the past perfect tense, which requires two past actions, one of which must occur earlier than than the other. This is not the case here. Moreover, the
correct idiom is "both X and Y" and not "both X as well as Y."
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Most Upvoted Answer
The increase in unemployment rates, coupled with significantly increas...
Explanation:
To determine the correct answer, we need to analyze the subject-verb agreement and the parallel structure in the sentence.

Subject-Verb Agreement:
The subject of the sentence is "unemployment rates, coupled with significant increases in both retail prices and energy costs." Since the subject is plural, the verb should also be plural.

Option A: "are" is the correct plural form of the verb "to be" that agrees with the subject.

Option B: "have been" is the plural form of the verb "to have," which does not agree with the subject.

Option C: "is" is the singular form of the verb "to be," which does not agree with the plural subject.

Option D: "is" is the singular form of the verb "to be," which does not agree with the plural subject.

Option E: "had been" is the past perfect tense of the verb "to have," which does not agree with the present tense of the subject.

Parallel Structure:
The sentence lists three factors: unemployment rates, retail prices, and energy costs. These factors should be presented in parallel structure to maintain clarity and coherence.

Option A: "coupled with significantly increased retail prices as well as energy costs" maintains parallel structure by using the same structure for both retail prices and energy costs.

Option B: "coupled with significant increases in retail prices and energy costs" maintains parallel structure by using the same preposition "in" for both retail prices and energy costs.

Option C: "coupled with significant increases in both retail prices and energy costs" maintains parallel structure by using the same structure for both retail prices and energy costs.

Option D: "coupled with significantly increased retail prices as well as energy costs" does not maintain parallel structure as it uses different structures for retail prices and energy costs.

Option E: "coupled with significant increases in both retail as well as energy costs" does not maintain parallel structure as it uses different prepositions for retail prices and energy costs.

Conclusion:
Option A is the correct answer as it maintains subject-verb agreement and parallel structure.
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The increase in unemployment rates, coupled with significantly increased retail prices as wellas energy costs, are forcing many homeowners to look into alternative sources of fuel in orderto save money on winter heating.a)unemployment rates, coupled with significantly increased retail prices as well as energy costs,areb)rates of unemployment, coupled with significant increases in retail prices and energy costs,have beenc)unemployment rates, coupled with significant increases in both retail prices and energy costs,isd)unemployment rates, coupled with significantly increased retail prices as well as energy costs,ise)rates of unemployment, coupled with significant increases in both retail as well as energycosts, had beenCorrect answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?
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