The number of acres destroyed by wildfires, which
have become an ongoing threat due to drought and booming population density, have increased dramatically over the past several years, prompting major concern among local politicians.
(A) have become an ongoing threat
due to drought and booming population density,
have increased
(B) have become an ongoing threat
due to drought and booming population density,
have been increasing
(C)
has become an ongoing threat because of drought and booming population density, has increased
(D) have become an ongoing threat
due to drought and booming population density, has increased
(E)
have become an ongoing threat because of drought and booming population density, has increasedThe core of the sentence is- the number of acres destroyed by wildfires has increased dramatically over the past several years.
As the subject of the sentence is “the number of acres”, we need to use the singular verb “has” and not “have”.
Eliminate options A and B.The relative pronoun “which” refers to the noun “wildfires”. Hence, we need to use the plural verb “have” instead of “has”.
Eliminate option C.Options D and E contain a difference in the idiomatic usage- “due to” and “because of”
“due to” connects two nouns whereas “because of” connects a clause with a noun.
Eg- The
flight’s cancellation was due to
bad weather. ( noun on either side)
The
flight was canceled because of
bad weather ( connects a clause with a noun)
In the given sentence, let’s look at what we have to connect-
Wildfires have become an ongoing threat (clause) due to/ because of
drought and booming population density (noun)
As we have a clause on one side and a noun on the other side, we have to use the idiom “because of”
Option E is correct. VP
GMAT SME
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Crackverbal Prep Team
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