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The time when the apartment building in downtown Milwaukee

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zest4mba
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The time when the apartment building in downtown Milwaukee [#permalink] New post   13 Sep 2010, 14:27
00:00
A
B
C
D
E

Difficulty:

45% (medium)

Question Stats:

50% (01:10) correct 50% (01:20) wrong based on 20 sessions
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The time when the apartment building in downtown Milwaukee started on fire has been determined by the fire department, but what is more problematic to establish are the source of the flame, the mechanism by which it ignited the building, and the extent of the damage.

Choices
A has been determined by the fire department, but what is more problematic to establish are
B has been determined by the fire department, but what is more problematic to establish is
C have been determined by the fire department, but what is more problematic to establish is
D have been determined by the fire department, but what is more problematic to establish are
E are determined by the fire department, but that which is more problematic to establish is



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Official Answer
B
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zest4mba
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Re: The time when the apartment building in downtown Milwaukee [#permalink] New post   13 Sep 2010, 14:29
I thought the answer would be B.The second clause is with an inverted subject connected with conjunction and requires "are" instead of an "is".

Suggestions please
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Re: The time when the apartment building in downtown Milwaukee [#permalink] New post   13 Sep 2010, 15:42
so can one officially explain what the ans is? A? and why.
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Re: The time when the apartment building in downtown Milwaukee [#permalink] New post   13 Sep 2010, 16:07
mainhoon wrote:
so can one officially explain what the ans is? A? and why.


mainhoon:
As you can see, in A the author make a list of things that are considered problematic:

"...but what is more problematic to establish ARE (1) the source of the flame, (2) the mechanism by which it ignited the building, and (3) the extent of the damage."

Therefore, you need a plural verb because there is not only one problematic thing.

zest4mba, please confirm OA.

I think I deserve kudos 8-)
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Re: The time when the apartment building in downtown Milwaukee [#permalink] New post   13 Sep 2010, 19:40
Hi,
Please confirm the OA. I too chose B instead of 'A'.
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Re: The time when the apartment building in downtown Milwaukee [#permalink] New post   14 Sep 2010, 07:18
the answer is B. Although i am also not convinced as i think the answer should be A.
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Re: The time when the apartment building in downtown Milwaukee [#permalink] New post   14 Sep 2010, 21:06
B. You can easily cross out C-E. So it's between A and B.

If you break the sentence down you'll see two independent clauses. Within the second independent clause, the subject is the clause "what is more problematic to establish", which is singular, and thus the tense of the verb "to be" must agree with this. Must be "is" and therefore B is the correct answer.

Hope that makes sense.
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Re: The time when the apartment building in downtown Milwaukee [#permalink] New post   15 Sep 2010, 22:00
not convinced, ans should be A.

"...but what is more problematic to establish ARE (1) the source of the flame, (2) the mechanism by which it ignited the building, and (3) the extent of the damage."

as explained by 'metallicafan'
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Re: The time when the apartment building in downtown Milwaukee [#permalink] New post   18 Sep 2010, 21:21
please check the OA again. It cannot be B.

A it is because what is more problematic to establish are X, Y and Z.
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Re: The time when the apartment building in downtown Milwaukee [#permalink] New post   18 Sep 2010, 21:32
seekmba wrote:
please check the OA again. It cannot be B.

A it is because what is more problematic to establish are X, Y and Z.


B is possible. The subject clause "What is more problematic to establish" is singular. To preserve Subject-Verb agreement, you have to use "is." You don't say The dog are small, brown, and furry. Subject and verb have to agree regardless of the rest of the sentence.



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Re: The time when the apartment building in downtown Milwaukee [#permalink]
18 Sep 2010, 21:32
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