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505-555 Level|   Verb Tense/Form|                        
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CrackverbalGMAT
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A March 2000 Census Bureau survey showed that Mexico accounted for mor 12 Mar 2020, 01:16
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Explanation:

A. Eliminate.
"largest share for any country to contribute" - seems to imply that there is a maximum limit. It implies that it is a duty/obligation.

B. Correct Answer.
Correctly uses present perfect 'has contributed' along with "since".

C. Eliminate.
"it" refers to noun + all its modifiers. "it" = "more than a quarter of all foreign-born residents of the United States". Also, "largest share for any country to contribute" - seems to imply that there is a maximum limit.

D. Eliminate.
Comma + "having" is problematic, because Mexico doesn't "have" that share of people anymore. (the people have gone from Mexico to live in the US now).

E. Eliminate.
Same as E. Comma + “having” modifies the entire preceding sentence.

Hope this helps!
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A March 2000 Census Bureau survey showed that Mexico accounted for mor 26 Sep 2020, 07:08
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GMATNinja egmat
Can we also rule out D and E on the following error?:

ing modifier picks up the tense of the verb it should logically modify i.e accounted which is in past tense, but "since" is being used to indicate the current time frame and therefore the usage of ing modifiers creates a wrong tense?

Many thanks

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A March 2000 Census Bureau survey showed that Mexico accounted for mor 21 Dec 2020, 15:16
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Dear sayantanc2k,

You might be wrong. I believe the underlined part is not an Absolute Phrase, but is an Abstract Appositive.

Thx
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A March 2000 Census Bureau survey showed that Mexico accounted for mor 31 Dec 2020, 11:11
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Correct answer is c
However
In A
Largest share for any country to contribute implies Largest share that any country can contribute. Fixes a limit on the share.

There is nothing wrong in the structure except the meaning.

This structure is similar to
A plan (for anyone) to conquer the world
A book (for anyone) to read

Whenever the infinitive functions as an adjective the noun is the implied object of the infinitive. So the A book to read implies a book that anyone can read.

Largest share that any country has contributed is correct because we talk about the maximum share contributed to date since a specific year.

Largest share refers to more than half the spending in which spending is the noun and more than half modified spending.

Largest share is indeed an appositive but the structural difference between an appositive and absolute phrase is 0. They only modify different entities either the preceding clause, verb or any noun in the preceding clause. They may or may not make sense with the subject.

Having ... is a clause modifier used to indicate an action occurs before another. Certainly the contribution cannot happen before the accounting.

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A March 2000 Census Bureau survey showed that Mexico accounted for mor 02 Jan 2021, 21:14
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1. we need "noun + noun modifier" in such sentences as we need to modify entire clause.
2. Usage of "has" is needed because of "since 1890".
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A March 2000 Census Bureau survey showed that Mexico accounted for mor 11 Mar 2021, 20:16
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Can we also rule out D and E on the following error?:

ing modifier picks up the tense of the verb it should logically modify i.e accounted which is in past tense, but "since" is being used to indicate the current time frame and therefore the usage of ing modifiers creates a wrong tense?

Many thanks

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Good question! I'm not so sure that we can eliminate D and E just for that reason. If instead we had, "... having a larger share than any country has contributed since 1890," the "having" (and its implied "tense") might be okay.

In any case, "has contributed" in (B) makes more sense with the "since" than "to be contributed" (in D) or "to have been contributed" (in E), so you were definitely onto something.

For anybody who hasn't already, you might want to check out this post and the two posts referenced in it for more on (D) and (E).

I hope that helps!
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A March 2000 Census Bureau survey showed that Mexico accounted for mor 06 Jun 2021, 10:38
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OE:
Logical predication; Rhetorical construction
This sentence claims that the 2000 Census showed that at the time
Mexico’s contribution to the foreign-born population of United States
residents exceeded that of any other country since 1890. It makes the
comparison in an appositive that modifies more than a quarter of all
foreign-born residents of the United States.
A. The phrase for any country to contribute makes the sentence wordy
and indirect.
B. Correct. This form of the appositive is the most efficient way to
express the comparison. Depending on when the sentence was
written and what the writer intended to express, the verb form could
be either had contributed or has contributed. The use of has
contributed implies that, from the perspective of the sentence, the
comparison between German-born U.S. residents and those from
other countries still holds true.
C. The antecedents of the relative pronoun which and the pronoun it
are ambiguous. Along with the prepositional phrase, the pronouns
contribute wordiness and indirection.
D. This construction is awkward, wordy, and indirect, and the use of
the present tense of the infinitive is inappropriate.
E. This construction is awkward, wordy, and indirect.
The correct answer is B.
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A March 2000 Census Bureau survey showed that Mexico accounted for mor 15 Oct 2021, 09:59
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why is option a incorrect ? (if meaning is the issue plz explain)
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A March 2000 Census Bureau survey showed that Mexico accounted for mor 18 Oct 2021, 10:21
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why is option a incorrect ? (if meaning is the issue plz explain)
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You got it: (A) has a meaning issue. To see why, consider the following:

    The biggest issue Tim needs to work on is his anger management, particularly when it comes to losing to his toddler at Connect Four.

Here, the verb phrase, "to work on" implies that Tim hasn't yet done the work. At some point in the future, he'll address the problem.

We get a similar usage here. "The largest share for any country to contribute," makes it sound as though the residents will be contributed at some point in the future. But that doesn't make sense in this context, as the census was from 2000.

Also, the phrase, "largest share for any country" creates the impression that the share is being given to the country in question, when, in actuality, the country is contributing residents.

Because (A) has multiple meaning/logic problems, you can get rid of it.

I hope that helps!
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A March 2000 Census Bureau survey showed that Mexico accounted for mor 02 Jul 2022, 11:53
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Hello experts,
I cannot understand choice D.
I am confused between B and D

1. In B, seems like united states is - the largest share but its actually "a quater",which is far away. hence I rejected this choice.

I don't know why D is wrong.
having the largest share to be contributed by any country is modifying mexico.
how?
having the largest share...., mexico accounted more than a quarter of all foreign-born residents of the United States.

2. I don't understand how it relates with people have left .
mexico has the largest share, how?, because mexico accounted more than a quarter of all foreign-born residents of the United States.
?
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A March 2000 Census Bureau survey showed that Mexico accounted for mor 03 Jul 2022, 06:24
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dcoolguy
Hello experts,
I cannot understand choice D.
I am confused between B and D

1. In B, seems like united states is - the largest share but its actually "a quater",which is far away. hence I rejected this choice.

I don't know why D is wrong.
having the largest share to be contributed by any country is modifying mexico.
how?
having the largest share...., mexico accounted more than a quarter of all foreign-born residents of the United States.

2. I don't understand how it relates with people have left .
mexico has the largest share, how?, because mexico accounted more than a quarter of all foreign-born residents of the United States.
?
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Noun modifiers do need to be close to the noun they modify, but it's not always possible to get them *right* nearby, so we have to be a little generous sometimes. 'quarter' is unusually far away, you are right, but the noun phrases group and nest very nicely--they just have a lot of words. 'foreign born residents of the United States' is a noun phrase with clear 'hierarchy,' so to speak. 'The box in the kitchen full of knick knacks that will be sent to Rome' is a noun phrase that *lacks* a clear 'hierarchy.'

A 'share' can only modify a 'quarter' in the noun-phrase before it.

D is wrong because 'to be contributed' implies a future tense, and because the 'having' modifier causes a loss of meaning. We are trying to say that the 'quarter' IS the largest share. If we use a 'having the largest share' modifier, we are describing 'Mexico accounted for more than a quarter...' Essentially, it means Mexico HAS the largest share, but we don't actually know (or rather, the grammar doesn't actually know) if that share is the 'quarter' they account for.
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A March 2000 Census Bureau survey showed that Mexico accounted for mor 23 Jul 2022, 13:34
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In this post, we are talking a lot about absolute phrase.

what I understand is that these have the construction of noun+noun phrases

let's say -

A sentence, ing verbal +relative pronoun clause

can i call the portion '' ing verbal + (that) relative pronoun clause'' an absolute phrase
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A March 2000 Census Bureau survey showed that Mexico accounted for mor 23 Jul 2022, 23:57
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Anshul1223333
In this post, we are talking a lot about absolute phrase.

what I understand is that these have the construction of noun+noun phrases

let's say -

A sentence, ing verbal +relative pronoun clause

can i call the portion '' ing verbal + (that) relative pronoun clause'' an absolute phrase
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Hello Anshul1223333,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, your understanding is, indeed, correct here.

Kudos.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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A March 2000 Census Bureau survey showed that Mexico accounted for mor 02 Nov 2022, 20:44
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nivi2084
I had chosen option D as the right answer . Have understood from the explanations above as to why is it wrong.

But I am still not understanding as to why is B the correct option ?

Isnt stating "the largest share that any country has contributed " modifying United states ? Why are we still selecting option B ?
Hi nivi2084, the largest share that any country has contributed is actually used as (what's called) an absolute phrase. Absolute phrases are quite flexible in what they modify.

For example:

Jack gets $500 per month, an allowance that is considerably more than what his friends get.

Again, an allowance that is considerably more... is an absolute modifier, modifying $500 (and not month).

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses Absolute phrase, its application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.
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EducationAisle
Thank you for your helpful reply.

To clarify, what type of modifier is "when about 30 percent of the country's foreign-born population was from Germany"?

Is it an adverbial modifier?

Many thanks :)
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A March 2000 Census Bureau survey showed that Mexico accounted for mor 02 Nov 2022, 22:15
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woohoo921
To clarify, what type of modifier is "when about 30 percent of the country's foreign-born population was from Germany"?

Is it an adverbial modifier?
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Yes, This is an Adverbial clause.
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A March 2000 Census Bureau survey showed that Mexico accounted for mor 15 Nov 2022, 23:25
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I have doubt about the usage of the comma+verb-ing modifier. According to option D, the use of having correctly modifies the subject of the previous clause Mexico and here the verb-ing is being used to provide an explanation of "as a result" which is an attribute of comma+verbing modifier.
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A March 2000 Census Bureau survey showed that Mexico accounted for mor 16 Nov 2022, 01:23
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tony17
I have doubt about the usage of the comma+verb-ing modifier. According to option D, the use of having correctly modifies the subject of the previous clause Mexico and here the verb-ing is being used to provide an explanation of "as a result" which is an attribute of comma+verbing modifier.
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Hey tony17

Happy to help.

Original Sentence:
A March 2000 Census Bureau survey showed that Mexico accounted for more than a quarter of all foreign-born residents of the United States, the largest share for any country to contribute since 1890, when about 30 percent of the country’s foreign-born population was from Germany.

Key Aspects:
    a. As per a March 2000 survey, Mexico accounted for more than a quarter of all foreign-born residents of the United States.
    b. This share (>1/4th of all foreing-born residents) is the largest share that any country has contributed since 1890.
    c. In 1890, about 30% of USA's foreign-born population was from Germany.


Let's look at choice D:

D: A March 2000 Census Bureau survey showed that Mexico accounted for more than a quarter of all foreign-born residents of the United States, having the largest share to be contributed by any country since 1890, when about 30 percent of the country’s foreign-born population was from Germany.

When analyzing such a choice, you must consider the following probing questions:

    1. What does " , having the largest share..." modify and how?
    Ans: You're right that it would modify the verb and the subject of the immediately preceding clause - "Mexico accounted for... United States"; but, in what way?
      a. Is it the "manner" in which Mexico 'accounted'?
      Ans: No. Mexico accounted for more than a quarter of all foreign-born residents by having the largest share to be contributed by any country since 1890? As you can see, this makes no sense.

      b. Is it the result or consequence of Mexico's accounting for something?
      Ans: No. Mexico accounted for more than a quarter of all foreign-born residents and, as a result, had the largest share to be contributed by any country since 1890? Isn't it redundant to say that Mexico 'accounted for' a certain share and therefore 'had' the largest share? "had" and "accounted for" essentially mean the same thing. Besides, the original sentence only wishes to convey that "more than a quarter of all foreign-born residents" is "the largest share any country has contributed since 1890". So, there is no need for inserting "had" or "having" in between. It's redundant and incorrect.

    2. Is this a grammatically correct application of the word "having"?
    Ans: An important thing to note here is that we avoid the use of the word "having" to denote possession/ownership as far as possible.
      (i) I am having a car. (Incorrect. I have a car.)
      (ii) The man having a mole on his left cheek is uncle Sam. (Incorrect. The man who has a mole on his left cheek is uncle Sam.)

      The only exceptions are when we use 'having' as a noun/gerund:
      (i) Having a car is essential to survival in the city. (Correct)
      (ii) I loving having people to rely on for help. (Correct)

    3. Is the use of "to be contributed" imparting the right meaning?
    Ans: No, it isn't. It is important to note that 'to be + verb-ed' is generally used to talk about an action that has not yet been performed and is probably going to be done in the future. For example:
      a. Mr. Johnson is most likely to be elected the next Mayor of our city.
      b. An important project to be completed before the end of the year is the cost-cutting project.

      If we wish to talk about an action that has been completed in the past, we should use 'to have been + verb-ed'. For example:
      a. The most successful Mayor to have been elected in the last two decades is Mr. Johnson.
      b. The biggest project to have been completed before the end of last year was the cost-cutting project.

      Note that the above examples, although grammatically correct, are unnecessarily wordy. We could easily have said:
      c. The most successful Mayor elected in the last two decades is Mr. Johnson.
      d. The biggest project completed before the end of last year was the cost-cutting project.

      Nevertheless, we can at least see why the use of 'to be contributed' is incorrect in this context.


For all of the above reasons, choice D is incorrect.

I hope this helps improve your understanding and gives you a mechanism to evaluate such choices in future.


Happy Learning!

Abhishek :)
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A March 2000 Census Bureau survey showed that Mexico accounted for mor 27 Nov 2023, 01:21
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Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

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