OFFICIAL EXPLANATIONProject SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC2)
THE PROMPTQuote:
A majority of society argues that neither technology nor genetics is to blame for rampant childhood obesity in society.
THE OPTIONSQuote:
A) argues that neither technology nor genetics is to
• in the
neither/nor construction, if one item is singular and the other is plural, the verb agrees with the noun closest to the verb
•
genetics in this
context is plural. We need . . .
genetics are•
genetics, like
statistics, can be singular or plural
→
SPOILER ALERT - a few official questions test "statistics."
My answer to one such question is
here..
•
genetics, singular: the field or study of genetics is singular
•
genetics, plural: the genetic properties or features of an organism or organisms are plural
→
Do genetics determine height? (Yes, though nourishment and nutrition obviously play roles, too.)
→
Scientists have long suspected [that] genetics play a role in the onset of the disease.Oxford Dictionary online,
here, quoting the U.S. National Institute of Health,
here.
[Science writers appear to disagree, though most would use a plural verb with genetics in this kind of sentence. A few, however, always use a singular verb with genetics.]
ELIMINATE A
Quote:
B) argue that neither technology nor genetics are to
• the singular subject
a majority of society does not agree with the plural verb
argueELIMINATE B
Quote:
C) argues that neither technology nor genetics are to
•
argues, singular, agrees with
majority of society, singular
• the word
genetics in this context refers to the
inherited characteristics kind of
genetics, plural, and is correctly paired with the verb
areKEEP C
Quote:
D) argue that neither technology or genetics is to
• the singular subject
a majority of society does not agree with the plural verb
argue•
genetics, plural, does not agree with
is, singular
ELIMINATE D
Quote:
E) argues that neither technology or genetics are to
•
neither is always paired with
nor (neither/or is incorrect)
ELIMINATE E
The answer is C.NOTESThis question is beastly.
In retrospect, I also think it might be flawed, though I have no way to predict whether GMAC will accept a modern usage trend.
That is, until recently, in very formal writing, we did not couple the word
majority with a non-count (collective) noun such as
society.
On the other hand, many high-end publications have increasingly treated majority as a quantity or part word, similar to SANAM pronouns (
some, any, none, all, more/most) and to words that convey fractions and percentages.
When you see that kind of "part" word, look at the noun in the OF phrase (i.e., at the object of the preposition) to figure out whether to use a singular or plural verb.
If the object of the preposition is singular, use a singular verb. If the object of the preposition is plural, use a plural verb.
→
Half of the pie has been eaten. (There is one pie. Half of that pie is gone.)
→
Half of the pies have been eaten. (There were six pies. Half of those pies are gone. Now there are three pies.)
Let's suppose, as
MGMAT has done, that
majority can be paired with a non-count noun.'
MGMAT uses these examples:
Majority, singular, noncount noun:
In the Senate, the majority HAS coalesced into a unified voting block.Majority, plural, count noun:
The majority of the students ARE hard workers.This SC sentence is similar to the first sentence.
→ We could write, "The majority of the Senate HAS coalesced into a unified voting block."
→ Similarly, "A majority of society argues XYZ."
Society is singular.
According to the writer of this question,
a majority of society is also singular.
I agree.
Still, this question is controversial.
(The original OE writer, BTW, was clueless about neither/nor.
As I interpret that explanation, s/he thinks that neither/nor always requires a singular subject.
Nope. The correct rule states that when neither stands alone (without nor), neither always takes a singular subject.)
I am going to lock the topic for now. (Who knew I would ring in 2021 writing an OE?)
COMMENTS
Baps and
ShashankRawat007 , welcome to SC Butler.
The answers are almost evenly split between (A) and (C).
Everyone who posted here gave a hard question a shot: good for you!
If I had to publish this sentence . . . well, I would rewrite it, but if I had to publish option A or option C, I would publish the latter.
Critical thinking and analysis in a few posts—both those with correct answers and those without—are especially good.
And everyone was brave.
Kudos to all.
Edit: I accidentally deleted this answer. I had a copy of the text, which I reformatted, albeit rather hastily. This OE is almost identical to the one I deleted.
Happy New Year, everyone
close
30 Dec 2020, 00:56
55%
(00:52)
wrong 
