1000 SC #428

by **gter** Wed Oct 03, 2007 1:01 am

428. Inflation has made many Americans reevaluate their assumptions about the future; they still expect to live better than their parents have, but not so well as they once thought they could.
(A) they still expect to live better than their parents have
(B) they still expect to live better than their parents did
(C) they still expect to live better than their parents had
(D) still expecting to live better than their parents had
(E) still expecting to live better than did their parents

Can you please explain why the answer is B instead of A? I do not like B because it sounds as if the parents no longer are living. I like A because it looks like only the word "lived" is omitted in the comparison which is an acceptable practice when using auxiliary verbs.

Thanks.

by **RonPurewal** Sat Oct 06, 2007 4:32 am

Well, it's debatable whether the difference is clear-cut enough to pass GMAT quality control, but in my opinion B makes much more sense:
Wording in A: meaning = ...to live better than their parents have lived (up to this point, right now in the current timeframe)
Wording in B: meaning = ...to live better than their parents lived when the parents were in the same stage of life that the next generation is in NOW.

B makes much more sense to me.