A majority of Americans surveyed believe religious liberty is under at

Question

A majority of Americans surveyed believe religious liberty is under attack at present but  that they will, or could, be finally protected in the future .

A. they will be, or could,

B. they would, or could,

C. they will be or could

D. think that it will be or could

E. think religious liberty would or could

sagarsir · Accepted Answer

Religious liberty Is singular and will take a singular pronoun.--- A,B ad C eliminated. In this sentence think will require a that.--- E eliminated. Hence Option D Kudos if you like

dominicraj · Answer

Hi, Agreed that religious liberty is singular which is again reinforced by the "is" which follows "religious liberty" . But still the sentence should actually be read like this " A majority of Americans surveyed believe "that" ,religious liberty is under attack at present, but they.." The misplaced "that" after "but" does not go with any of the options. For Eg. see option D ... " A majority of Americans surveyed believe...xxxx...but that think that it will be or could protected in the future?" Its not understood what is referred to by the "that" .. Also the construction "xx..but that think that...xx" is so awkward... Experts pls help. :roll:

sagarsir · Answer

First of all the "that" after believe is not misplaced but omitted. The other "that" refers to the the religious liberty and tells that it will be protected in the future (and not the Americans surveyed). Understanding the meaning of the sentence is essential!!

Kudos .. If it helps.

OptimusPrepJanielle · Answer

A majority of Americans surveyed believe religious liberty is under attack at present but  that they will, or could,  be finally protected in the future.
 1 "they" is not the correct pronoun for "religious liberty" Eliminate A, B, C 
 2. "will" and not "would" matches with "in the future"

A they will be, or could, 
B that they would, or could, 
C they will be or could 
 D think that it will be or could 
 E think religious liberty would or could

UJs · Answer

there is problem with the questions,  its not underlined properly  (that's causing confusion), should be

Q :   A majority of Americans surveyed believe religious liberty is under attack at present but   that they will, or could,   be finally protected in the future.

A they will be, or could, 
B that they would, or could, 
C they will be or could 
D think that it will be or could 
E think religious liberty would or could

@ dominicraj  --> I guess that's the reason for your confusion (Q not underlined properly)

dominicraj · Answer

Thanks UJs.. yes I understood that thanks to Jesse

Regards, Dom

abhimahna · Answer

A majority of Americans surveyed believe religious liberty is under attack at present but that they will, or could, be finally protected in the future.

they  will be, or could,  --> They must refer to religious liberty, which is singular. Hence Pronoun Agreement error. 
that  they  would, or could,  Same as A 
 Same as A  be or could  Same as A 
think that it will be or could  CORRECT 
think religious liberty would or could  --> Think that should be there. Hence, incorrect

Mahmud6 · Answer

If D is correct, then the sentence becomes A majority of Americans surveyed believe religious liberty is under attack at present but think that it will be be finally protected in the future. So awkward

Or A majority of Americans surveyed believe religious liberty is under attack at present but think that it could be finally protected in the future. Correct Moreover, in original question 'that' after but is NOT underlined.

soumya170293 · Answer

For the option D , Does 'could' really make a sense in future ? Please clarify . 
Thanks in advance.

Mahmud6 · Answer

Somehow, I have come across the following:

"When the future is indicated from the point of view of the past, the simple future is not used. Instead, the conditional is required."

So, shouldn't it be 'would' instead of 'will be'?

Moreover, shouldn't 'that' after 'but' be underlined?

Mahmud6 · Answer

Would you please see the following link: https://gmatclub.com/forum/sc-210363.html?fl=similar In the OA, though there is no 'that' after 'think', it is correct! Can you please explain?

KarishmaB · Answer

What you are referring to is "future in the past"
e.g. She knew he would go.

We don't have that situation here. The verb is believe which is in present tense. "surveyed" is a modifier modifying "Americans".

Mahmud6 · Answer

+1 Kudos

Thank you very much. Got it. I didn't notice that surveyed is a modifier.

arichinna · Answer

Meaning:  
* A majority of Americans surveyed believe religious liberty is under attack at present
* A majority of Americans surveyed think that religious liberty will or could be finally protected in the future.

Answer choices:  
 1. For a future prediction in present context - "will" is appropriate. "would" is appropriate for prediction in the past. Hence option choices B and D can be eliminated.  
 2. "that" followed by "but" refers to the majority of Americans, which is plural as confirmed by the non-underlined part of the segment and should contain a plural verb "think". Religious liberty should be singular.  
 3. Option A and C - additional meaning error - majority of Americans will be or could be protected in the Future.

Option D - "that (A majority of Americans) think that it (religious liberty) will be or could be finally protected in the future" is correct.

VerbalBot · Answer

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A majority of Americans surveyed believe religious liberty is under at

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