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12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 5: One of the primary 15 Dec 2023, 17:20
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Answer: (E)

(A): Subject-verb agreement error (biodiversity: singular; are: plural).
(B): Verb tense choise incorrect - "reaching"
(C): Subject-verb agreement error (biodiversity: singular; have reached: plural).
(D): Subject-verb agreement error (biodiversity: singular; are: plural).
(E): Correct. No grammatical errors.
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12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 5: One of the primary 15 Dec 2023, 18:06
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(A) floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at
"number...have grown...are" incorrect

(B) floral biodiversity, with a number of plant species considered endangered growing steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, reaching
using "a number" instead of "the number" changes meaning. Is the number or the plant growing?

(C) floral biodiversity: since plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number since the 1960’s and, at 3654, have reached
"plant species...have reached a record high" error. what has reached is the number, not the plan species

(D) floral biodiversity: plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number, since the 1960’s and, at 3654, are at
"plant species...are at a record high" error

(E) floral biodiversity: the number of plant species considered endangered has grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, has reached
CORRECT parallelism "number...has grown...has reached". Use "since" with present perfect

IMO E
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12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 5: One of the primary 15 Dec 2023, 18:42
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One of the primary reasons for conservationists’ concern is the depletion of Earth’s floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at a record high.

(A) floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at
(B) floral biodiversity, with a number of plant species considered endangered growing steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, reaching
(C) floral biodiversity: since plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number since the 1960’s and, at 3654, have reached
(D) floral biodiversity: plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number, since the 1960’s and, at 3654, are at
(E) floral biodiversity: the number of plant species considered endangered has grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, has reached
--> The answer E shows the right description because only "the number" grow.
This option keeps the right SV Agreement, the right parallelism and the right use of present perfect. The number of... has grown ... and has reached
Right answer: E
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12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 5: One of the primary 15 Dec 2023, 20:55
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Answer: E
2-3 split. Since its a reason provided ":" works. A and B eliminated.

(C) floral biodiversity: since plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number since the 1960’s and, at 3654, have reached
(D) floral biodiversity: plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number, since the 1960’s and, at 3654, are at
For C and D, 3654 is not related to species but number of species. Hence E correct

(E) floral biodiversity: the number of plant species considered endangered has grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, has reached
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12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 5: One of the primary 15 Dec 2023, 21:39
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One of the primary reasons for conservationists’ concern is the depletion of Earth’s floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at a record high.

Quote:
(A) floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at
Show more
the number of plan species is singular, but have and are is plural.
Incorrect

Quote:
(B) floral biodiversity, with a number of plant species considered endangered growing steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, reaching
Show more
Use of a before number of plant species considered endangered is incorrect.

Quote:
(C) floral biodiversity: since plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number since the 1960’s and, at 3654, have reached
Show more
plant species can not reach a record high.
Incorrect

Quote:
(D) floral biodiversity: plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number, since the 1960’s and, at 3654, are at
Show more
Usage of comma before since is incorrect.

Quote:
(E) floral biodiversity: the number of plant species considered endangered has grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, has reached
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the number of plant species has ...... and, at 3654, has reached a record high is correct
Concise and correct in meaning

IMO E
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12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 5: One of the primary 15 Dec 2023, 23:33
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Bunuel
12 Days of Christmas 🎅 GMAT Competition with Lots of Questions & Fun

One of the primary reasons for conservationists’ concern is the depletion of Earth’s floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at a record high.

(A) floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at
(B) floral biodiversity, with a number of plant species considered endangered growing steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, reaching
(C) floral biodiversity: since plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number since the 1960’s and, at 3654, have reached
(D) floral biodiversity: plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number, since the 1960’s and, at 3654, are at
(E) floral biodiversity: the number of plant species considered endangered has grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, has reached


 


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A: “the number” always pairs with singular verb. So A is out.
B: with a number of plant - does not correctly modify the previous part. B out
C: since is redundant because we already have a colon here.
D: incorrect comma at “, since the 1960’s…”
So and so, we’re left with E.
- the number - correctly pairs with singular verb
- correct comma
- there’s no redundant “since”
So IMO E
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12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 5: One of the primary 15 Dec 2023, 23:44
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Answer: E

(A) floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at - Looking the clarity of the sentence. What is nearly at 3654 - some number and that number is at record high

(B) floral biodiversity, with a number of plant species considered endangered growing steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, reaching - “A number” is always plural. “The number” is always singular.

(C) floral biodiversity: since plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number since the 1960’s and, at 3654, have reached - species have reached at high record or the number of species? What is at 3654?

(D) floral biodiversity: plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number, since the 1960’s and, at 3654, are at

(E) floral biodiversity: the number of plant species considered endangered has grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, has reached - Looks good
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12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 5: One of the primary 16 Dec 2023, 02:34
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Bunuel
12 Days of Christmas 🎅 GMAT Competition with Lots of Questions & Fun

One of the primary reasons for conservationists’ concern is the depletion of Earth’s floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at a record high.

(A) floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at
(B) floral biodiversity, with a number of plant species considered endangered growing steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, reaching
(C) floral biodiversity: since plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number since the 1960’s and, at 3654, have reached
(D) floral biodiversity: plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number, since the 1960’s and, at 3654, are at
(E) floral biodiversity: the number of plant species considered endangered has grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, has reached


 


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OA is E

Now the basic error in this sentence is the use of the number of, it always use singular verb. By this logic A, C, D is out.

Now lets go with B and E.
The use of with is not proper here.

E is using colon and it introduce various list. So I will go with E
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12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 5: One of the primary 16 Dec 2023, 03:50
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IMO answer is (E)

"the number" is always singular and "a number" is always plural.

(A) floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at

the number should be followed by singular so S-V error.

(B) floral biodiversity, with a number of plant species considered endangered growing steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, reaching

with is wrongly modifying previous clause and doesn't make sense

(C) floral biodiversity: since plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number since the 1960’s and, at 3654, have reached

wrong meaning. it means that endangered species have grown in number, whereas we need to show that no of endangered species has increased

(D) floral biodiversity: plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number, since the 1960’s and, at 3654, are at

same meaning error as c and "since the 1960's" has been put in comma but this information essential hence wrong

(E) floral biodiversity: the number of plant species considered endangered has grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, has reached

Remove error of meaning as in C and D and correct use S-V with "the number
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12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 5: One of the primary 16 Dec 2023, 05:57
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Bunuel
12 Days of Christmas 🎅 GMAT Competition with Lots of Questions & Fun

One of the primary reasons for conservationists’ concern is the depletion of Earth’s floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at a record high.

(A) floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at
(B) floral biodiversity, with a number of plant species considered endangered growing steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, reaching
(C) floral biodiversity: since plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number since the 1960’s and, at 3654, have reached
(D) floral biodiversity: plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number, since the 1960’s and, at 3654, are at
(E) floral biodiversity: the number of plant species considered endangered has grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, has reached


 


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(A) floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at S-V agreement error, the number- have.

(B) floral biodiversity, with a number of plant species considered endangered growing steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, reaching ~ It incorrectly infers that 3654 is reaching the record high.

(C) floral biodiversity: since plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number since the 1960’s and, at 3654, have reached ~ Unnecessary usage of in number when the numbers are already mention later. Also the plant species not reached it is the number of endangered ones which has reached.

(D) floral biodiversity: plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number, since the 1960’s and, at 3654, are at ~Unnecessary usage of in number when the numbers are already mention later.

(E) floral biodiversity: the number of plant species considered endangered has grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, has reached ~ Correct with S-V Agreement . the number has reached.

IMO E.
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12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 5: One of the primary 16 Dec 2023, 06:25
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(A) floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at the number is singular.. has is reqd
(B) floral biodiversity, with a number of plant species considered endangered growing steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, reaching with is wrong..awkward
(C) floral biodiversity: since plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number since the 1960’s and, at 3654, have reached have reached a record high is not correct
(D) floral biodiversity: plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number, since the 1960’s and, at 3654, are at correct
(E) floral biodiversity: the number of plant species considered endangered has grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, has reached has reached a record high is wrong

Ans D
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12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 5: One of the primary 16 Dec 2023, 06:30
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One of the primary reasons for conservationists’ concern is the depletion of Earth’s floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at a record high.

(A) floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at
(B) floral biodiversity, with a number of plant species considered endangered growing steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, reaching
(C) floral biodiversity: since plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number since the 1960’s and, at 3654, have reached
(D) floral biodiversity: plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number, since the 1960’s and, at 3654, are at
(E) floral biodiversity: the number of plant species considered endangered has grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, has reached

Solution: The original underlined phrase is wrong because SV number agreement is violated. The number of plant species has grown and not have grown.

(A) floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at
As explained above, it is wrong. INCORRECT

(B) floral biodiversity, with a number of plant species considered endangered growing steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, reaching
Incorrect use of continuous tense here. INCORRECT

(C) floral biodiversity: since plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number since the 1960’s and, at 3654, have reached
using plant species as the main subject here changes the intended meaning of the sentence. The plant species haven't reached a new high rather their number has. INCORRECT

(D) floral biodiversity: plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number, since the 1960’s and, at 3654, are at
Similar reason as in option C. INCORRECT

(E) floral biodiversity: the number of plant species considered endangered has grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, has reached
This option correctly uses the sentence structure, tense and SV agreement is maintained. CORRECT

Option E is the right answer
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12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 5: One of the primary 16 Dec 2023, 06:50
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One of the primary reasons for conservationists’ concern is the depletion of Earth’s floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at a record high.

(A) floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at
Use of have with number is incorrect as it should be singular


(B) floral biodiversity, with a number of plant species considered endangered growing steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, reaching— with is not a clear usage and plant species aren’t growing but number is


(C) floral biodiversity: since plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number since the 1960’s and, at 3654, have reached- the punctuation followed by since clause is wrong and there is no reason to add number later



(D) floral biodiversity: plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number, since the 1960’s and, at 3654, are at
No reason for commas to mention essential information like time period


(E) floral biodiversity: the number of plant species considered endangered has grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, has reached

Corrects all the errors mentioned above

Ans E

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12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 5: One of the primary 16 Dec 2023, 06:54
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Bunuel
12 Days of Christmas 🎅 GMAT Competition with Lots of Questions & Fun

One of the primary reasons for conservationists’ concern is the depletion of Earth’s floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at a record high.

(A) floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at
(B) floral biodiversity, with a number of plant species considered endangered growing steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, reaching
(C) floral biodiversity: since plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number since the 1960’s and, at 3654, have reached
(D) floral biodiversity: plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number, since the 1960’s and, at 3654, are at
(E) floral biodiversity: the number of plant species considered endangered has grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, has reached


 


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(A) floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at
-- incorrect. changes the meaning.

(B) floral biodiversity, with a number of plant species considered endangered growing steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, reaching
-- with means an accompanying actions while this is cause and effect

(C) floral biodiversity: since plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number since the 1960’s and, at 3654, have reached
since changes the meaning

(D) floral biodiversity: plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number, since the 1960’s and, at 3654, are at
-- looks okay but has a small issues with the comma before 'since'

(E) floral biodiversity: the number of plant species considered endangered has grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, has reached
-- correctly structured sentence and meaning

Option E
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12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 5: One of the primary 16 Dec 2023, 06:55
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(A) floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at => "the number...have grown" wrong agreement subject/verb => OUT
(B) floral biodiversity, with a number of plant species considered endangered growing steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, reaching => "with a number of plant...growing steadily..., reaching" growing and reaching can't modify the same noun, makes no sense. Bad construction => OUT
(C) floral biodiversity: since plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number since the 1960’s and, at 3654, have reached => use of present perfect "have reached" for an action in the future or in the present is not ok => OUT
(D) floral biodiversity: plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number, since the 1960’s and, at 3654, are at => wrong comparison between "1960's" and "3654" => OUT
(E) floral biodiversity: the number of plant species considered endangered has grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, has reached => seems OK.

So answer E
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12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 5: One of the primary 17 Dec 2023, 05:08
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I still don't understand if the number of plant species considered endangered has grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, has reached a record high then why is it a reason for conservationists’ concern? To me, this seems to be a positive factor, not a reason for concern. Can somebody please explain this to me?
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12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 5: One of the primary 17 Dec 2023, 16:33
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bv8562
I still don't understand if the number of plant species considered endangered has grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, has reached a record high then why is it a reason for conservationists’ concern? To me, this seems to be a positive factor, not a reason for concern. Can somebody please explain this to me?
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Because you think that the reason for this increase is that conservationists are more meticulous in their work when the reality may be that many species have simply worsened their situation.
But reasoning like that belongs to CR more than to SC. :-)
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12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 5: One of the primary 19 Dec 2023, 00:54
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Bunuel
Bunuel
12 Days of Christmas 🎅 GMAT Competition with Lots of Questions & Fun

One of the primary reasons for conservationists’ concern is the depletion of Earth’s floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at a record high.

(A) floral biodiversity, since the number of plant species considered endangered have grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at nearly 3654, are at
(B) floral biodiversity, with a number of plant species considered endangered growing steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, reaching
(C) floral biodiversity: since plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number since the 1960’s and, at 3654, have reached
(D) floral biodiversity: plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number, since the 1960’s and, at 3654, are at
(E) floral biodiversity: the number of plant species considered endangered has grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, has reached


 


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Experts' Global Official Explanation:



Subject-verb Agreement + Tenses + Meaning + Redundancy/Awkwardness

Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that conservationists are concerned over the depletion of Earth’s biodiversity, as the number of plant species considered endangered has grown steadily since the 1960’s and, at 3654, has reached a record high.

    • Colons are used to join two independent clauses, when the second explains or illustrates the first.

A. This answer choice incorrectly uses the plural verbs “have” and “are” to refer to the singular noun phrase “number of plant species”.

B. Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “with a number of plant species considered endangered growing steadily”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that several plant species that are considered endangered are growing; the intended meaning is that the total number of plant species that are considered endangered is growing.

C. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that plants that are considered endangered have increased in number; the intended meaning is that the number of plant species that are considered endangered is growing. Further, Option C redundantly uses “since” alongside a colon; this usage is redundant, as both “since” and colons are used to provide explanations; please remember, colons are used to join two independent clauses, when the second explains or illustrates the first.

D. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “plant species considered endangered have grown steadily in number”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that plant species that are considered endangered have increased in number; the intended meaning is that the number of plant species that are considered endangered is growing.

E. Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase “the number of plant species considered endangered has grown”, conveying the intended meaning- that the number of plant species that are considered endangered has increased. Further, Option E correctly uses the singular verbs “has grown” and “has reached” to refer to the singular noun “number”. Further, Option E is free of any redundancy or awkwardness.

E is the best answer choice.



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ExpertsGlobal what is the meaning difference between the two though- the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that plants that are considered endangered have increased in number; the intended meaning is that the number of plant species that are considered endangered is growing.?
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