According to a recent study by Rutgers University, the number of women

Question

According to a recent study by Rutgers University,  the number of women in state legislatures has grown  in every election since 1968.

(A) the number of women in state legislatures has grown

(B) the number of women who are in state legislatures have grown

(C) there has been growth in the number of women in state legislatures

(D) a growing number of women have been in state legislatures

(E) women have been growing in number in state legislatures

GMATNinja · Accepted Answer

I think I see where you're coming from...

In choice (B), we definitely need a plural verb after the "who" because "women" is plural ("women who ARE," not "women who is").

You're right to say that it doesn't make sense to pair the verb "have/has grown" with women, since the thing that has grown is the NUMBER of women, not the women themselves (unless we're talking about a bunch of women in Wonderland eating special cookies/cakes/mushrooms!).

We could certainly have something like this:

"The number of women who  have  grown after eating special cookies in Wonderland..." - because "women" is plural, the verb after "who" must also be plural.

But we still need a verb for the main subject ("number"), and that main verb has to be singular, i.e.:

"The number of women who  have  grown after eating special cookies in Wonderland HAS increased significantly ever since directions to Wonderland became available on Google Maps." - the main subject ("number") needs a singular verb ("HAS increased").

The "who" clause in choice (B) is just a modifier that gives us more information about the women. If we strip out that modifier, we have, "... the number of women have grown." That doesn't work because the main subject ("number") needs a singular verb ("HAS grown").

I hope that helps!

HimanshuW11 · Answer

According to a recent study by Rutgers University, the number of women in state legislatures has grown in every election since 1968.
(A) the number of women in state legislatures has grown
(B) the number of women who are in state legislatures have grown
(C) there has been growth in the number of women in state legislatures
(D) a growing number of women have been in state legislatures
(E) women have been growing in number in state legislatures

"the number of" takes a singular verb. "The number of" act as the subject of the sentence.
hence "the number of" (Subject) would perfectly go with "has".
Option B: 'the number of women who are in state legislatures have grown' goes out because of the above mentioned reason.
Option C: 'there has been growth in the number of women in state legislatures' there has no antecedent. Hence the ambiguity of antecedent makes option C go out.
Option D: 'a growing number of women have been in state legislatures' goes out as we don't need present perfect progressive here. We simply need present perfect here.
Option E: 'women have been growing in number in state legislatures' goes out as it distorts the meaning of the sentence. "women have been growing" is different from "the number of ... has grown"

Darth_McDaddy · Answer

Nothing wrong with A.

In fact all the other choices, change the original meaning of the sentence. Also, the number of women... has grown, is correct.

Decibel · Answer

A for me too.

is it true that "THE number of X" is singular whereas "A number of Y" is plural?

asailesh7 · Answer

Hi, I have a question regarding the tense of "has grown". Is "has been growing" a wrong way to say the same thing?

Abhishek009 · Answer

The number -------> Has grown ( Correct S-V issue ) Has been growing is Present Perfect Continuous tense which is not preferred here... Please go through this link to revise the concept on Present Perfect Continuous https://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/pre ... nuous.html Hope this helps.....

sai897 · Answer

According to the question the sentences "every election since 1968" and "recent study by university" implies that the activity has started in 1968 but still continuing (AFAIK). So we should use have been/has been right.

Why are we using "has" here? Started in past and continuing in present then we should use present perfect tense right.

Why are we using "has" here? Started in past and continuing in present then we should use present perfect tense right.

Abhishek009 · Answer

Subject - Verb Agreement -

According to a recent study by Rutgers University,   the number o f women  in state legislatures   has  grown  in every election since  1968.

Errors in the other options highlighted in   RED

(B)  the number of  women who  are  in state legislatures have grown
(C)  there has been growth in the number of women  in state legislatures
(D) a growing  number of women have been  in state legislatures
(E)  women have been growing  in number in state legislatures

Hope this helps !!

alwaysnewbie · Answer

(A) the number of women in state legislatures has grown 
 – correct. “the number” is singular, has is singular. As "since" is used, the verb tense should be present perfect tense (has/have) 
(B) the number of women who are in state legislatures  have  grown 
 – “the number” is singular, have is plural.  "Who are -> women are" has NO Subject- Verb error
(C)  there   has been  growth in the number of women in state legislatures.
 – passive voice, modifier should modify the noun, not there (no antecedent for there). Present perfect continuous tense is not required 
(D) a growing number of women  have been  in state legislatures 
 – “a number” is singular, have is plural. Present perfect continuous tense is not required 
(E) women  have been  growing in number in state legislatures 
 – changes meaning, number of women growing and women growing are not same. Present perfect continuous tense is not required

Thanks

dabaobao · Answer

In D, plural "have" is correct since the subject is "women" and not "number". Also we just need present perfect since there is "since" there. Avoid choices with unnecessary "ing" verbs on GMAT.

LevanKhukhunashvili · Answer

Hi experts  GMATNinja   daagh   generis

I have one question regarding option B
(B) the number of women who are in state legislatures have grown"

Guys above stated that plural "are" and "have grown" are incorrect as "The number" is singular.
Per my understanding plural verbs are ok there, because we have "who" and that pronoun makes "women" as a subject, requiring plural verbs
I think the reason why B is incorrect is the meaning, after introducing "who" we have that "women have grown in every election"

Please tell me a couple of words about my reasoning

Cheers
L

sidharthbanda1 · Answer

What is the problem with option C?
What is problem in using passive voice and present perfect continuous tense?

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  sidharthbanda1 . Keep in mind, the goal of SC is to identify which of the five options expresses the vital meaning of the sentence in the clearest and most concise way. It is not as though the passive voice is always wrong, and, obviously, we can see the present perfect tense pop up in the correct answer here, so I cannot say that (C) is dismissible on those grounds. What stands out to me is the delay of vital information when compared to (A). In general, the GMAT™ prefers answers that start with a clear subject and verb to those that withhold that information and instead place unqualified information in front of the reader. Compare the beginning of the two answers here:

(A) the number of women
(C) there has been a growth in

Six words into (C), and I have no idea what this information may pertain to, but in (A), I can anticipate learning more about these women, and the end of that answer choice does not disappoint:  has grown . In light of the overarching aim of SC outlined above, choice (C), although fine by the sound of it, is suboptimal next to (A).

I hope that helps. Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew

smriti777 · Answer

As per rules of NUMBER -  "The number of ------- signifies singular subject and hence singular verb.

A. Verb - has grown- singular +Active

B. Verb- have grown - plural = we can eliminate this as per number rule.

C. Verb- has been growth- Singular + Passive

D. Verb- have been - plural =we can eliminate this as per number rule.

E. Verb- have been - plural = we can eliminate this as per number rule.

Between A and C , we can prefer active over passive.

So, A is correct.

linuschoudhury · Answer

Why we don't need Present perfect continuous here? As I see the trend started in the past and it is still continuing?

GMATNinja · Answer

I wouldn't split hairs worrying about the difference between the present perfect continuous ("Tim has been teaching") and the present perfect ("Tim has taught"). Both capture an action that began in the past and continues into the present, and we've never seen an official question that's used the distinction between the two as an important decision point. (You also don't need to worry about the terminology. As long as you understand what verb tenses actually do, you don't need any jargon on the GMAT.)

In this case, "has grown" suggests an action that started growing in the past (1968) and continues to grow in the present. Perfectly logical.

Better yet, the only answer choice that uses the present perfect continuous is (E), and the phrase, "women have been growing" is, at best, confusing. The women aren't themselves growing! It's the  number  of women that has grown, which is precisely what we get in (A), the correct answer.

I hope that clears things up!

krndatta · Answer

AndrewN

Can you share your two cents on option D? 
I understood your explanation for option C. 
A is more concise and straightforward than C. 
Option E changes the meaning because the number of women are growing, and not the women themselves. 
Option B has subject verb disagreement. 
Option D I am not able to get. 
The number is considered singular and a number is considered plural. Am I right? 
But what is the error in option D?

Please share your reasoning.

ParamjitDasGMAT · Answer

A number , in and of itself, isn't plural. It is only when " a number " is followed by the prepositional phrase " of + plural noun " that the phrase is considered plural, since it acts equivalent to the quantifier many and the "true subject" is not "a number" but rather the plural noun appearing after the prepositional phrase. For example: A number of people are growing obese -- Here, the true subject is really the plural noun "people", since it is the people who are getting obese (not "a number" itself)

However, when "a number" is followed by other prepositional phrases or appears standalone, it will act as singular -- this is when it is used in the literal sense of "a number" or "a figure" or "a statistic". For example: A number divisible by 2 is even A number does not define me I proposed a number (or a figure), which was reasonable to both him and me. Hope this helps.

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  krndatta . It appears as though the first half of your query has been addressed by a non-Andrew, so I will let that matter be. As for answer choice (D), it uses what I generically refer to as  filler words  to convey a similar meaning as a more concise iteration of the sentence. Filler words often include more conversational elements, and in verb form, these words are the three most commonly used in the English language:

To be   To have   To do/to make

This is not to say that you should strike or disfavor any sentence in which you see these verbs—they are the most common for a reason, after all—just that you should be cautious when you see them. Ask yourself whether they are necessary to express the  vital  meaning of the sentence. To illustrate, compare answer choices (A) and (D) side by side:

Note the common elements and remove them from consideration. Focus on what remains to separate the two:

1)  The/a —Both are articles that can introduce the noun  number . This consideration is a wash.

2)  has grown/growing + have been —This is an interesting one. The former is a verb, while the latter, specifically  growing , is an adjective. On its own, the part of speech does not mean much, but look at what happens when we reach the latter half of the sentence. This  been  appears out of nowhere, and it achieves little in the way of clarity that the earlier verb form in (A) lacked. If we use "N" as a substitute for  number of women  and "I" as a substitute for  in state legislatures , look at the difference:

(A) The N I has grown
(D) a growing N have been I

I doubt anyone would make a case that (D) is as direct and clear as (A), and that is ultimately what allows us to disfavor (D). So, is there an  error ? Not really. If you insert answer choice (D) into the shell of the sentence, that sentence is functional. It is just that the original sentence does a better job of conveying the same  vital  meaning that a certain number has grown since 1968. Watch those "filler" words. They may just be taking up space.

Thank you for thinking to ask.

- Andrew

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