Reactivating deals that were put on hold may be unwise in some industr

1st error : where vs in which
2nd error : S-V agreement, S - changes V - has/have

Correcting S-V agreement, we choose 'have'. So rule out options with 'has'. B is out.

'in which' is right. Because where can not modify industries. So rule of A, C and E. [A and C are identical, typo??]

D is the answer.

Here only 2 thing we have to take care. "Where Vs which" and "and Vs or"

As per the context if something is weakened then we can not hurt that again. So the usage will be weakened...or hurt. Is is similar to an OG question where some cattles were injured or killed. (Same applies here injured & kills does not make sense).
B has SV agreement error too
In which correctly modifies industries.
So Answer is D.

We are not weakening and hurting the same thing. We are weakening the competitive position of deal targets and hurting the the structural attractiveness of their markets

Any thoughts?



The thing is "and" is not wrong here, rather the options which has "and" are wrong.
We cannot be sure of the intent of the author and therefore "and" and "or" are both correct in this context.

Let us look at the two options which has "and"

B. in which fundamental changes during the crisis has weakened the competitive position of deal targets and (has is wrong verb for changes, it should be have, eliminate)
E. where fundamental changes during the time of the crisis have weakened the competitive position of targets of the deal and ("where" incorrectly refers to industries, eliminate)

Don't you think so? Any thoughts?

Just by the way, Option A and C are same! You might wanna check that again.

good observation !!


i marked C in this SC and i find no reason as why "where" cannot refer to "some industries" . if "where" can refer to metaphorical places such as "societies" in real GMAC question then "where" can refer to "some industries"

A - In the original sentence 'where' is used to refer to some industries. This is incorrect because 'where' is used to denote a real place.
B - Subject 'fundamental changes' does not agree with singular verb 'has'. Also use of 'and' in place of 'or' changes the list.
C - Same 'where' error as in 'A'
D - Correct. 'in which' is correctly used to refer to 'industries'
E - Same error as in 'A' ('where') and B' ('and')

I think there is an error in answer choices. Answer choice A and C are exactly the same

First word split - where/in which - cannot use where to refer to industries. in which - is correct
Last word split - and/or - Usage of Or is correct here. Meaning issue. (reactivating deals is unwise in industries in which X or Y has happened)

A. where fundamental changes during the crisis have weakened the competitive position of deal targets or - Wrong- Usage of where

B. in which fundamental changes during the crisis has weakened the competitive position of deal targets and - Wrong- Usage of AND

C. where fundamental changes during the crisis have weakened the competitive position of deal targets or - Wrong- Usage of where

D. in which fundamental changes during the crisis have weakened the competitive position of deal targets or - Correct

E. where fundamental changes during the time of the crisis have weakened the competitive position of targets of the deal and - Wrong- Usage of where

Step 1. Rule out all the options starting with "where". Where can only apply to a physical place.
Step 2. Between B and D there are 2 splits. The simplest one for me was has (in B) vs have (in D). Have is correct; has does not agree in number with "fundamental changes". The other split is or/and. I think either is correct grammatically, but since the original sentence had "or", using "and" will change the meaning.

How one recognizes what is the subject in such a long sentence? secondly i thought reactivating deals is the subject. Help!

Can someone Pitch in please and tell how to trace the Subject?

The best way to identify the subject will be to break the sentence into parts and understand the meaning.
(something like this in your own words )

Reactivating deals may be unwise in some industries

-- the modifier "that were put on hold" tells us about which deals we are talking about

where fundamental changes during the crisis have weakened the competitive position of deal targets or hurt the structural attractiveness of their markets

-- the above sentence (modifier) helps us identify those industries in which reactivating deals may be unwise . Here fundamental changes is the subject. These changes have weakened the competitive position and hurt the attractiveness

where - should be used for places only
A, C, E are out right away.
fundamental changes - plural noun, therefore we need plural verb.
D is the answer.

Reactivating deals that were put on hold may be unwise in some industries where fundamental changes during the crisis have weakened the competitive position of deal targets or hurt the structural attractiveness of their markets

A. where fundamental changes during the crisis have weakened the competitive position of deal targets or

B. in which fundamental changes during the crisis has weakened the competitive position of deal targets and

C. where fundamental changes during the crisis have weakened the competitive position of deal targets and

D. in which fundamental changes during the crisis have weakened the competitive position of deal targets or

E. where fundamental changes during the time of the crisis have weakened the competitive position of targets of the deal and

On GMAT, where is used for Places only. Since industries are not places, where usage is incorrect.

Fundamental changes are plural, hence it must use "have".

Reactivating deals that were put on hold may be unwise in some industries where fundamental changes during the crisis have weakened the competitive position of deal targets or hurt the structural attractiveness of their markets

-- usage of "where" is incorrect as we are not talking about some place. Some decisions were taken in the industry and so we need to use "in which". - A/C/E are out.
-- we need have for fundamental changes - B is out
-- Correct Answer - D.

A. where fundamental changes during the crisis have weakened the competitive position of deal targets or

B. in which fundamental changes during the crisis has weakened the competitive position of deal targets and

C. where fundamental changes during the crisis have weakened the competitive position of deal targets and

D. in which fundamental changes during the crisis have weakened the competitive position of deal targets or

E. where fundamental changes during the time of the crisis have weakened the competitive position of targets of the deal and

GMATNinja Can you please clarify what is meant by physical places?
Because in this question the first decision point is Where v/s In which and so i choose where thinking that industries is a place but why is it incorrect? Also let me kn ow in what context the use of where is correct?

Was stomped here too, I have the same question as @squard700...an explanation will be really appreciated. Thanks.

Posted from my mobile device

For what it's worth, "which" and "where" can both refer to places. There are official questions in which this split shows up, and either choice is fine - the true decision points are elsewhere among the options.

In this particular question, an "industry" is a branch of economic activity. The car and steel industries aren't places you can visit, right? So "in which" makes more sense. That said, if you encounter this split in the future, there's a very good chance there will be other differences you can use to eliminate answer choices.

I hope that helps!