Regardless of their form or function, all aerodynamically enhanced, cu

A is my pick.
"From" doesn't makes sense when you are dealing with time, unless you have "to" as a companion. For example:
I worked from 1995 to 1997. (correct)
I worked from 1995. (incorrect).
"have" is correct because of plural.

Here is the sentence breakdown:
Regardless of their form or function,
(SUBJECT) all aerodynamically enhanced, curved objects made for throwing
(VERB) have been called
boomerangs by non-Austrailians ever since 1788, when Europeans saw Dharug-speaking men tossing "bumariny" in the area later known as Sydney.

Answer is undoubtedly A.

The deciding factor is not the usage of all or any. Rather its the pronoun 'their'. 'Their' must refer to a plural antecedent. In B the antecedent is clearly 'object' which is singular. Hence, use of their is incorrect. While in A, the antecedent is 'objects', which is plural. Therefore A is the correct option.

In others clearly the use of 'from' in conjunction with 'when' helps in eliminating them.

I chose C during GMATPREP test for not very obvious reasons except it was active voice though I had doubt on "from" . Though correct answer .. is A as it ends with since 1788, which is needed for "when"
B - Any is wrong - (their .. has) incorrect
C - From awkward and when should have time etc.
D ..From
E awkward + some of above reasons

I chose the right answer but still have few questions:-
1) 'All' or 'Any' changes the meaning in given sentence?
2) 'Since' and 'from' are redundant in this sentence? (I opted out option 'D' and 'E' thinking that 'Since' and 'From' are redundant)

Regardless of their form or function, all aerodynamically enhanced, curved objects made for throwing have been called boomerangs by non-Australians ever since 1788, when Europeans saw Dharug-peaking men tossing “bumariny” in the area later known as Sydney.


Please note the typo in the transcription in the original text. It should be 'ever since' and not 'even since'.


A. Regardless of their form or function, all aerodynamically enhanced, curved objects made for throwing have been called boomerangs by non-Australians ever since 1788,--- Correct; ever since 1788 is close to what it intends to modify. 2. Plural 'their' tallies with the plural 'all' and objects.

B. Regardless of their form or function, any aerodynamically enhanced, curved object made for throwing has been called a boomerang by non-Australians ever since 1788. -- 'their' does not tally with 'any object'

C. Ever since 1788, non-Australians have called all aerodynamically enhanced, curved objects made for throwing boomerangs, regardless of their form or function, from ----- 1. 'Ever since' is placed far away from what its modified clause. 2. 'Their' might refer to the non-Australians

D. Ever since 1788, any aerodynamically enhanced, curved object made for throwing has been called a boomerang by non-Australians, regardless of its form or function, from--- ever since' is placed far away from what its modified clause

E. Non-Australians have called all aerodynamically enhanced, curved objects made for throwing boomerang ever since 1788, regardless of their form or function, from-----1. 'Ever since' is placed far away from what its modified clause 2. 'Their' might refer to Non-Australians.

Hi mikemcgarry

A few days ago you helped me with a modifier ( https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-normativ ... l#p1940940 ), I was hoping you could help me again... I understand A is correct here for many reasons, but I still have questions regarding the following modifier:



What is regardless of their form or function modifying on each alternative? Could you please correct my thoughts?

A. Noun modifier, modifying objects (or all aerodynamically enhanced, curved objects). I think its an adjectival phrase? It answers: what kind? Any kind (regardless of their form or function)
B. Same as A, but singular object.
C. Noun modifier, modifying boomerangs.
D. Noun modifier Mistake? Modifying non-australians, or is it a verb modifier here, modifying called? It is the same phrase, the only change is the pronoun, can it be a adverbial phrase anyway?
E. I have the same confusion as in D, but if its a noun modifier i don't know which noun its modifying.

Kind regards,
Cristián

Dear CristianJuarez,

I'm happy to respond.

My friend, with all due respect, I would say that, in all five cases, "regardless of their form or function" is not a noun modifier but a verb modifier. If a modifier spoke of having a particular form or function, or even if it were "having any form or function," that would be answering the adjectival "what kind?" question. Different groups of boomerangs may have this or that form or function or any form or function at all.

The word "regardless" is tricky here. The root word is "regard," which implies human attention and prioritization. A boomerang can't have "regard" and therefore can't be "regardless." Only human subjects can have "regard" or act in a "regardless" manner. I would say that the word "regardless" always introduces an adverbial phrase, a verb modifier.

Of course, verb modifiers are not subject to the Modifier Touch Rule and can be placed with great freedom, as long as there's no ambiguity. Here, in all five instances, the phrase unambiguously modifies the verb "called." How was the calling done? It was done "regardless of their form or function." Recall that "How?" is an adverbial question.

My friend, does all this make sense?
Mike

Just looking at the choices, we can see that the use of since and from is rather redundant; since means 'from a time point". Therefore, we can remove C, D, and E in a lot.
Between A and B, the plural 'their' and the singular 'any' are incongruous. Therefore, walk away with A.

Can you explain the use of 'their' in option A ?

Their is for curved objects

For example

Regardless of their looks, many flight attendants do a pretty good job.

See here what their is referring to.

Hope it is helpful.

Sent from my Redmi Note 4 using GMAT Club Forum mobile app

"When" in non-underlined part is modified for 1788 so CDE out. Between A &B, B is Incorrect because of SV agreement (objects are plural & "has" is singular verb). A wins.

Can someone please explain why 'Regardless of form and function' is not referring to 'Non-Australians' in (A)

This question is based on Subject-Verb Agreement and Structure.

In Option B, the verb ‘has’ does not agree with the plural subject “all aerodynamically enhanced, curved objects”. So, Option B can be eliminated.

Options C and D contain the redundant preposition ‘from’. Both the options begin with the modifier “Ever since 1788”. Either ‘since’ or ‘from’ is enough to convey a sense of time. The non-underlined portion of the sentence is a modifier beginning with the adverb ‘when’, which cannot follow the preposition ‘from’. So, Options C and D can be eliminated.

The placement of the modifier “ever since 1788” may be different in Option E, but it causes the same problem as it does in Options C and D. The modifier at the end of the sentence modifies the year. So, the preposition ‘from’ is redundant in this option too. So, Option E can also be eliminated.

Option A contains the plural verb ‘have’ that correctly refers to the plural subject “all aerodynamically enhanced, curved objects”. In this option, the year 1788 is appropriately placed just before the modifier “when….Sydney”. The adverb refers to the year. Therefore, A is the most appropriate option.

Jayanthi Kumar.

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that all aerodynamically enhanced, curved objects made for throwing have been called boomerangs by non-Australians, regardless of what the object's function is, ever since Europeans saw Dharug-speaking men tossing "bumariny" in the area later known as Sydney in 1788.

Concepts tested here: Subject-Verb Agreement + Meaning

A: Correct.
1/ This answer choice correctly refers to the plural noun "objects" with the plural verb "have been called".
2/ The sentence formed by Option A modifies "1788" with the phrase "when Europeans saw...Sydney", conveying the intended meaning - that all aerodynamically enhanced, curved objects made for throwing have been called boomerangs by non-Australians, regardless of what the object's function is, ever since Europeans saw Dharug-speaking men tossing "bumariny" in the area later known as Sydney in 1788.

B:
1/ This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun "objects" with the singular verb "has been called".

C:
1/ The sentence formed by this answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "from when"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that all aerodynamically enhanced, curved objects made for throwing have been called boomerangs by non-Australians, regardless of what the object's function is, ever since Europeans saw Dharug-speaking men tossing "bumariny" in the area later known as Sydney in 1788.

D:
1/ The sentence formed by this answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "from when"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that all aerodynamically enhanced, curved objects made for throwing have been called boomerangs by non-Australians, regardless of what the object's function is, ever since Europeans saw Dharug-speaking men tossing "bumariny" in the area later known as Sydney in 1788.

E:
1/ The sentence formed by this answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "from when"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that all aerodynamically enhanced, curved objects made for throwing have been called boomerangs by non-Australians, regardless of what the object's function is, ever since Europeans saw Dharug-speaking men tossing "bumariny" in the area later known as Sydney in 1788.

Hence, A is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team