GargieMahajan wrote:
Hi,
Can someone please explain why E is incorrect and also if in Option C '........there are' in America is the right usage.
Thanks
NikkiL wrote:
Please share an explanation as to why D isn't the correct answer, since it seems a better option than C.
In option D 'begin by acknowledging' makes more sense than 'begin with the fact' in C.
Hello, everyone. Since I am starting to see queries pile up on this one, I will offer my thoughts in hopes of clarifying a matter or two.
Bunuel wrote:
A day-care discussion must begin with the fact of there being in America four and one-half million working women whose children under six years of age are being cared for by others.
(A) A day-care discussion must begin with the fact of there being
Right out of the gates, we see a problem at the tail-end of the underlined portion. In the context of the sentence, we are looking for
the fact that, not
the fact of, and
there being is only adding fuel to the fire. For what purpose would we need to use
being? Although it can appear as a gerund in a correct answer, it should not follow
there in a
there is/there are construct. This should be an easy answer to cross off.
Bunuel wrote:
(B) Beginning any discussion of day care must be the fact of there being
Not only are the issues from before not fixed, but in this option, we swap out
must begin for
must be, and that does not make sense. Beginning a discussion must be a certain fact? Who is doing the discussing here? I am confused, and rather than look to untangle the knots, I would seek a more clearcut alternative.
Bunuel wrote:
(C) Any discussion of day care must begin with the fact that there are
Since the
discussion is the subject of the sentence again, rather than the act of discussing something, to say that such a discussion
must begin with some sort of information is fine. Also,
there being has been altered to a fitting
there are, as in (to paraphrase),
there are many women whose younger children are cared for by others. Nothing stands out as incorrect here. Sure,
in America may appear in a tight spot, but that information has to go somewhere, and since we cannot negotiate the non-underlined portion of the sentence, such placement is a non-issue anyway.
Bunuel wrote:
(D) Any discussion of day care must begin by acknowledging the fact that there exists
To be clear, I have no problem with
begin by acknowledging, but
there exists presents a subject-verb agreement issue within the embedded clause:
there exists... women. In a
there + [verb] + [noun] inverted construct, that noun at the end dictates subject-verb agreement. Just as we had
there are... women in (C) instead of
there is... women, we need
there exist... women in this option. Remember, SC is not about what sounds better, but about what you can disprove or make a stronger case against. This answer choice presents an easy target, so we can safely take it out of the running.
Bunuel wrote:
(E) To begin a discussion of day care there must be an acknowledgement of the fact that
Allowing an infinitive phrase to be the subject of the sentence is fine, but such a construct leads us to believe that information about the doer of the action, the person or persons beginning a discussion here, will follow. Instead, we get an amorphous
there. It does not help that the rest of the answer choice is less concise, but I would not eliminate this one on such grounds. The doubt about the missing person(s), just as we saw in (B) earlier, is enough for me to favor another (clearer) option.
I hope that helps. If anyone has further questions, I would be happy to address them. Good luck with your studies.
- Andrew
close
30 Dec 2020, 10:56
45%
(medium)
44%
(01:21)
wrong 
