Last visit was: 19 Nov 2025, 02:59 It is currently 19 Nov 2025, 02:59
Home
GMAT
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Rewards
Chat
My Profile
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
   1   2 
User avatar
AjiteshArun
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 15 Jul 2015
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,949
Own Kudos:
5,080
Given Kudos: 732
Location: India
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Posts: 5,949
Kudos: 5,080
A recent study on Lyme Disease suggests that people who are bitten by 18 Jun 2022, 21:15
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Sambon
AjiteshArun MartyTargetTestPrep GMATGuruNY

Would appreciate your thoughts on this question. (C) is clearly the best answer choice but my concern is around a detail in (A). Few users in this thread pointed out that answer choice (A) should be eliminated because it lacks a verb after the relative pronoun "that." That explanation makes sense so long as we accept that "allergy to meat" is functioning only as a subject.

But can't "allergy to meat" also function as an object of the verb "believe"? Using "allergy to meat" as an object, the sentence would essentially say "Scientists believe allergy to meat to be turning into an epidemic" (Scientists believe X to be Y). Interpreted this way, the sentence has not a grammatical issue but a meaning issue i.e., how can scientists believe an allergy to be something?

In summary, is it fair to say that we should not eliminate answer choice (A) for the reason that it lacks a verb?
Show more
Hi Sambon,

I agree that believe X to be Y is valid. In believe X to be Y, I'd normally expect Y to be a noun or some kind of descriptive element like an adjective or prepositional phrase, so yes, it's possible to read A as "allergy to meat = turning into an epidemic".

As this is a question of idiom, it'd be great to see more opinions on this.
User avatar
MartyTargetTestPrep
User avatar
Target Test Prep Representative
Joined: 24 Nov 2014
Last visit: 11 Aug 2023
Posts: 3,476
Own Kudos:
5,579
Given Kudos: 1,430
Status:Chief Curriculum and Content Architect
Affiliations: Target Test Prep
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V51
Posts: 3,476
Kudos: 5,579
A recent study on Lyme Disease suggests that people who are bitten by 18 Jun 2022, 23:16
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Sambon
chesstitans
A recent study on Lyme Disease suggests that people who are bitten by ticks, especially by the lone star tick, develop a severe allergy to meat that scientists believe to be turning into an epidemic.
AjiteshArun MartyTargetTestPrep GMATGuruNY

Would appreciate your thoughts on this question. (C) is clearly the best answer choice but my concern is around a detail in (A). Few users in this thread pointed out that answer choice (A) should be eliminated because it lacks a verb after the relative pronoun "that." That explanation makes sense so long as we accept that "allergy to meat" is functioning only as a subject.

But can't "allergy to meat" also function as an object of the verb "believe"? Using "allergy to meat" as an object, the sentence would essentially say "Scientists believe allergy to meat to be turning into an epidemic" (Scientists believe X to be Y). Interpreted this way, the sentence has not a grammatical issue but a meaning issue i.e., how can scientists believe an allergy to be something?

In summary, is it fair to say that we should not eliminate answer choice (A) for the reason that it lacks a verb?
Show more
Yes, it's fair to say that "believe" can be the verb of that relative clause. So, in the (A) version, the relative clause does not lack a verb.

In fact, there is no 100 percent clear issue with the (A) version. So, I guess we choose the (C) version just because it's a slightly better way of communicating the meaning, but this question isn't ideal. It appears to be one of those older SC questions in which one of the incorrect choices is a little too close to correct.
User avatar
AjiteshArun
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 15 Jul 2015
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,949
Own Kudos:
5,080
 [1]
Given Kudos: 732
Location: India
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Posts: 5,949
Kudos: 5,080
 [1]
A recent study on Lyme Disease suggests that people who are bitten by 19 Jun 2022, 22:25
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel

It turns out that this question is not in OG10. Kindly consider removing the OG10 tag.
User avatar
Bunuel
User avatar
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 105,379
Own Kudos:
778,184
Given Kudos: 99,977
Products:
GMAT Club Tests Forum Quiz
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 105,379
Kudos: 778,184
A recent study on Lyme Disease suggests that people who are bitten by 20 Jun 2022, 01:29
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
AjiteshArun
Bunuel

It turns out that this question is not in OG10. Kindly consider removing the OG10 tag.
Show more

_________________
Done. Thank you!
User avatar
GMATGuruNY
User avatar
Joined: 04 Aug 2010
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 1,344
Own Kudos:
3,796
 [2]
Given Kudos: 9
Schools:Dartmouth College
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 1,344
Kudos: 3,796
 [2]
A recent study on Lyme Disease suggests that people who are bitten by 20 Jun 2022, 15:51
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Sambon
can't "allergy to meat" also function as an object of the verb "believe"? Using "allergy to meat" as an object, the sentence would essentially say "Scientists believe allergy to meat to be turning into an epidemic" (Scientists believe X to be Y). Interpreted this way, the sentence has not a grammatical issue but a meaning issue i.e., how can scientists believe an allergy to be something?

In summary, is it fair to say that we should not eliminate answer choice (A) for the reason that it lacks a verb?
Show more

A: an allergy that scientists believe to be

This construction is grammatically valid.
Analogous examples from the web:
items that experts believe to be most important
a wasting syndrome epidemic that scientists believe to be the largest marine wildlife disease event in history
behaviors that psychologists believe to be expressions of a given trait
The issue in A is not grammatical but semantic.

The idiom here is X believes Y to be Z.
In each of the web examples above, the blue portion -- Z -- expresses what is thought to be a GENERAL TRUTH.
A general truth is a statement that is true not at a particular moment but that is ALWAYS true.
Generally:
When this idiom is properly used, the Z-portion should be something thought to be a general truth.

Back to option A:
an allergy that scientists believe to be turning into an epidemic
The full verb in the red portion is not to be but to be TURNING.
to be turning is not a general truth.
Quite the opposite: this construction expresses a TEMPORARY action that is happening RIGHT NOW.
Since the Z-portion in A is not something thought to be a general truth, the idiom X believes Y to be Z seems misused.
User avatar
VerbalBot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 01 Oct 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 18,832
Own Kudos:
986
Posts: 18,832
Kudos: 986
A recent study on Lyme Disease suggests that people who are bitten by 21 Jun 2023, 00:58
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
   1   2 
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7445 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
234 posts
miag
188 posts