Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
priyankur_saha@ml.com wrote:
In good years, the patchwork of green fields that surround the San Joaquin Valley town bustles with farm workers, many of them in the area just for the season.
(A) surround the San Joaquin Valley town bustles with farm workers, many of them
(B) surrounds the San Joaquin Valley town bustles with farm workers, many of whom are
(C) surround the San Joaquin Valley town bustles with farm workers, many of who are
(D) surround the San Joaquin Valley town bustle with farm workers, many of which
(E) surrounds the San Joaquin Valley town bustles with farm workers, many are
Concepts tested here: Subject-Verb Agreement + Pronouns + Grammatical Construction + Awkwardness/Redundancy• “who” is used to refer to a subject and “whom” is used to refer to an object.
• The pronoun “which” cannot be used to refer to a human being.
• Semicolons and the “comma + conjunction” construction are used to link two independent clauses; commas are used to link an independent clause with a dependent one; comma cannot be used to join two independent clauses.
A: Correct. This answer choice correctly refers to the singular noun "patchwork" with the singular verb "bustles" and to the plural noun "fields" with the plural verb "surround". Further, Option A correctly refers to the noun "farm workers" with the pronoun "them" - a pronoun that can be used to refer to human beings. Additionally, Option A correctly uses a comma to link the independent clause "the patchwork...bustles with farm workers" and the dependent clause "many of them in the area just for the season". Besides, Option A is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.
B: Trap. This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun "fields" with the singular verb "surrounds". Further, Option B uses the needlessly wordy phrase "many of whom are", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.
C: This answer choice incorrectly uses "who" to refer to the object of the sentence - "farm workers"; “who” is used to refer to a subject and “whom” is used to refer to an object.
D: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "patchwork" with the plural verb "bustle". Further, Option D incorrectly refers to "farm workers" with "which"; remember, the pronoun “which” cannot be used to refer to a human being.
E: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun "fields" with the singular verb "surrounds". Further, Option E incorrectly uses a comma to link the independent clauses "the patchwork...bustles with farm workers" and "many are...in the area just for the season"; remember, semicolons and the “comma + conjunction” construction are used to link two independent clauses; commas are used to link an independent clause with a dependent one; comma cannot be used to join two independent clauses.
Hence, A is the best answer choice.To understand the use of punctuation on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
_________________