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the 50,000 to 100,000 / mere/merely [#permalink]
 19 Nov 2008, 22:48
As a result of the ground-breaking work of Barbara McClintock, many scientists now believe that all of the information encoded in 50,000 to 100,000 of the different genes found in a human cell are contained in merely three percent of the cell’s DNA.
(A) 50,000 to 100,000 of the different genes found in a human cell are contained in merely
(B) 50,000 to 100,000 of the human cell’s different genes are contained in a mere
(C) the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in human cells are contained in merely
(D) 50,000 to 100,000 of human cell’s different genes is contained in merely
(E) the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in a human cell is contained in a mere
I have two doubts..
a) In the question, there is no mention of the, so can we use the the answer choice.
b) secondly, i think merely is better choice than mere. So,if anyone could specify the difference as when to use mere and when to use merely, then it would be highly appreciated.
TIA,lgon
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Re: the 50,000 to 100,000 / mere/merely [#permalink]
19 Nov 2008, 23:07
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lgon wrote: As a result of the ground-breaking work of Barbara McClintock, many scientists now believe that all of the information encoded in 50,000 to 100,000 of the different genes found in a human cell are contained in merely three percent of the cell’s DNA.
(A) 50,000 to 100,000 of the different genes found in a human cell are contained in merely
(B) 50,000 to 100,000 of the human cell’s different genes are contained in a mere
(C) the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in human cells are contained in merely
(D) 50,000 to 100,000 of human cell’s different genes is contained in merely
(E) the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in a human cell is contained in a mere
I have two doubts..
a) In the question, there is no mention of the, so can we use the the answer choice.
b) secondly, i think merely is better choice than mere. So,if anyone could specify the difference as when to use mere and when to use merely, then it would be highly appreciated.
TIA,lgon information requires is, so A,B,C are out. IMHO, mere is adjective, merely is adverb. Here we need "mere" as it is modifying "three percent of the cell’s DNA" E.
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Re: the 50,000 to 100,000 / mere/merely [#permalink]
19 Jan 2009, 20:28
alpha_plus_gamma wrote: lgon wrote: As a result of the ground-breaking work of Barbara McClintock, many scientists now believe that all of the information encoded in 50,000 to 100,000 of the different genes found in a human cell are contained in merely three percent of the cell’s DNA.
(A) 50,000 to 100,000 of the different genes found in a human cell are contained in merely
(B) 50,000 to 100,000 of the human cell’s different genes are contained in a mere
(C) the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in human cells are contained in merely
(D) 50,000 to 100,000 of human cell’s different genes is contained in merely
(E) the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in a human cell is contained in a mere
I have two doubts..
a) In the question, there is no mention of the, so can we use the the answer choice.
b) secondly, i think merely is better choice than mere. So,if anyone could specify the difference as when to use mere and when to use merely, then it would be highly appreciated.
TIA,lgon information requires is, so A,B,C are out. IMHO, mere is adjective, merely is adverb. Here we need "mere" as it is modifying "three percent of the cell’s DNA" E. Thanks alpha_plus_gamma for the point. Information is collective noun so all of information is singular.
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Re: the 50,000 to 100,000 / mere/merely [#permalink]
19 Jan 2009, 21:19
IMO D...since information should be is and merely is better than mere
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Re: the 50,000 to 100,000 / mere/merely [#permalink]
20 Jan 2009, 01:48
Can sum1 explain if we should use "the" in the sentence or not? How does the usage of "the" change the meaning? I had read sumewhere but I hv 4gotten
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Re: the 50,000 to 100,000 / mere/merely [#permalink]
20 Jan 2009, 03:40
Here the answer choice can be derived only by two rules.
1. Use of adjective "mere"
2. Use of singular verb "is" in place of "are".
Here, the use of "the" makes specific reference to those genes where information remains encoded.
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Re: the 50,000 to 100,000 / mere/merely [#permalink]
20 Jan 2009, 12:31
scthakur wrote: Here the answer choice can be derived only by two rules.
1. Use of adjective "mere"
2. Use of singular verb "is" in place of "are".
Here, the use of "the" makes specific reference to those genes where information remains encoded. I am also leaning towards in a mere 3 percent of the .... If merely were to be the correct choice, the sentence could not be written in passive voice. I
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Re: the 50,000 to 100,000 / mere/merely [#permalink]
20 Jan 2009, 19:25
what is the OA of this Q?
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Re: the 50,000 to 100,000 / mere/merely [#permalink]
20 Jan 2009, 20:18
E
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Re: the 50,000 to 100,000 / mere/merely [#permalink]
29 Dec 2012, 05:35
I too have confusion in the use of 'mere' instead of 'merely' in the statement..what difference does it make?...can somebody please explain it? mere 3% of the DNA ('mere' modifies whole phrase i.e. '3% of the DNA ' ) merely 3% of the DNA ('merely' modifies 3%) so what I think is both are right...what is that i am missing here? 
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Re: the 50,000 to 100,000 / mere/merely
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29 Dec 2012, 05:35
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