GMATNinja wrote:
Ah, “each.” One of the GMAT’s favorite little things.
There’s some nuance to this, but the quick version is that when “each” is used as a subject, it’s always singular. (Note that “each” can also function as an adverb, though it’s fairly rare on the GMAT – see
this thread if you want to torment yourself with those details. Or check out
this thread for a more “normal” use of “each.”)
So in this case, we can eliminate (D) right away: “each… consist” is wrong, since “each” is singular.
The other thing that jumps out at me is the word “them” in answer choices (B) and (D). The most recent plural noun is “animals” – but that doesn’t make any sense. “Each of the animals consisting of a single reproductive female and workers…”?? Nope. So (B) is gone, too.
(A) has a nearly identical issue: “each of which” seems to refer back to “animals” as well, and that’s illogical. Our last two choices, (C) and (E), clarify the meaning by using the phrase “each colony.”
The only difference between (C) and (E) is the word “and” -- and that doesn’t quite work in (E). We’d need a full clause after the “and” in this case: “and each colony consisted…” would be OK, but “consisting” is a participle (modifier) here, so we definitely don’t need the “and.”
So our winner is (C). “each colony consisting” is just a modifier – and it makes perfect sense as a source of extra information for that initial clause, “Naked mole rats form colonies of approximately 20 animals…”
Thanks for the explanation. A couple of questions:
1) You wrote "The other thing that jumps out at me is the word “them” in answer choices (B) and (D). The most recent plural noun is “animals” – but that doesn’t make any sense."
If the pronoun is ambiguous (can refer to multiple antecedents), isn't the sentence automatically incorrect, regardless of whether or not the pronoun refers to the most recent antecedent?
2) This question concerns use of "which". Please let me know if my understanding is correct:
a) When "which" follows a comma, it refers to the subject directly preceding the comma. E.g. Johnny was playing with the ball and the car, which had big wheels. This is correct because "which" refers to "car".
However, if the sentence read "Johnny was playing with the ball and the car and it had big wheels." this would be incorrect because the pronoun "it" could refer to the "ball" or "car".
b) "Which" can refer to a subject that does not directly precede the comma if the subject preceding the comma cannot be referred to by "which". E.g.
Emily Dickinson’s letters to Susan Huntington Dickinson, which were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan’s marriage to Emily’s brother and ending shortly before Emily’s death in 1886, outnumber her letters to anyone else.
In this example, "which" cannot refer to Susan and therefore must refer to the "letter".