The World Wildlife Fund has declared that global warming, a

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The World Wildlife Fund has declared that global warming, a [#permalink]

11 Jan 2011, 12:40

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Question Stats:

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49% (00:44) wrong

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118. The World Wildlife Fund has declared that global
warming, a phenomenon most scientists agree to be
caused by human beings in burning fossil fuels, will
create havoc among migratory birds by altering the
environment in ways harmful to their habitats.

(A) a phenomenon most scientists agree to be
caused by human beings in burning fossil fuels,

(B) a phenomenon most scientists agree that is
caused by fossil fuels burned by human beings,

(C) a phenomenon that most scientists agree is
caused by human beings’ burning of fossil fuels,

(D) which most scientists agree on as a phenomenon
caused by human beings who burn fossil fuels,

(E) which most scientists agree to be a
phenomenon caused by fossil fuels burned by
human beings,

I was able to narrow the answer choices down to (C) and (E), but went with (E) because "human being's burning of fossil fuels" sounded awkward + I wasnt' sure if human being's was a correct possessive. Clearly I was incorrect. Any advice one this problem would be much appreciated.

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Re: Global Warming [#permalink]

11 Jan 2011, 19:26

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tonebeeze,

I'd take two lessons from this problem.

1. The plural possessive. C refers to the entire collection of human beings and their burning of fossil fuels, so you need to use the plural possessive. Consider some other examples:

"My three brothers' favorite game growing up was making fun of me." --> Here, the game belongs to all three of my brothers.
"Will you please go to the Smiths' house and ask for a cup of sugar?" --> Here, the house belongs to all of the Smiths, so you need that plural possessive.

2. "Sounds awkward" is less reliable then "is grammatically incorrect."

I agree that C) is written in a way that is not ordinary in everyday speech, but when I'm reading and I notice that, I make only a mental note that it might be wrong. I then go to E) and see the incorrect idiom "agree to be" and then unnecessarily passive tense. The problems with E are therefore worse than the "problems" with C even though C isn't the best sentence in the world.

Does that help?

Brett
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Re: Global Warming [#permalink]

12 Jan 2011, 05:12

your explenation helped me a lot........thanks

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Re: Global Warming [#permalink]

17 Jul 2011, 06:54

I have a very basic question on this problem. Is 'a phenomenon ....' is describing Global Warming?
in D and E, it sure describes global warming.

Re: Global Warming [#permalink] 17 Jul 2011, 06:54

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The World Wildlife Fund has declared that global warming, a

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