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ballest127
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As a result of the ground-breaking work of Barbara McClintock, many 30 Sep 2020, 05:01
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Hi experts,

I have a question about the usage of mere/merely + some percentage of number.

I understand that mere is an adjective , so it is correct to use a mere 3% of the cell’s DNA, as seen in this official question.

However, I have also seen the usage of approximate/approximately with some percentage.
But all that I can remember, it's used as approximately with some percentage, such as approximately 3%.

I tried to find the official question that have approximate(ly) as in underlined portion, but I could not find; just only a official question whose "approximately" not in underlined portion: as followed

Paper production accounts for approximately 40 percent of the world's industrial use of wood, and the market for paper is growing faster than it is for all major wood products.
https://gmatclub.com/forum/paper-produc ... 02565.html

My question is why, in the above question, it's not a approximate (adjective), rather than approximately(adverbs) , be used here?

Please explain.
Thank you very much.
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As a result of the ground-breaking work of Barbara McClintock, many 06 Jun 2022, 12:02
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As a result of the ground-breaking work of Barbara McClintock, many scientists now believe that all of the information encoded in 50,000 to 100,000 of the different genes found in a human cell are contained in merely three percent of the cell’s DNA.

Start off with S-V agreement. "All of information" is the subject for the underlined portion and needs to take a singular verb. (A) - (C) is out.

2 ways to arrive to a correct answer from here.

1) If you consider the meaning of the sentence, you need "the" to account for the total of # of genes.

2) You want an adjective to modify "three percent," which is a noun. Therefore, you want the adjective "mere" vs. adverb "merely."

With those 2 splits, we can pick (E) and move on!

(A) 50,000 to 100,000 of the different genes found in a human cell are contained in merely

(B) 50,000 to 100,000 of the human cell’s different genes are contained in a mere

(C) the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in human cells are contained in merely

(D) 50,000 to 100,000 of human cell’s different genes is contained in merely

(E) the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in a human cell is contained in a mere


GMAT Paper Test (Test Code 25), 1995

Practice Question
Question No.: SC 7
Page: 7

Show Spoiler
https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/09/science/biologists-seek-the-words-in-dna-s-unbroken-text.html

Most astonishing to researchers has been the awareness that only a tiny fraction of DNA seems to be devoted to telling the cell how to survive and reproduce. Scientists believe that all the information inscribing the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in a human cell is contained in a mere 3 percent of the cell's DNA.
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As a result of the ground-breaking work of Barbara McClintock, many 08 Jun 2022, 01:25
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I have a similar question - we do use "nearly three percent" in specific sentences. For instance in this SC question:

Although nearly 30 percent of the more than 9 million residents of New York City are African-American, the nation's most populous city did not elect its first African-American mayor until 1989.

An adverb can modify an adjective - in this 30 percent is an adjective, isn't it?


ballest127
Hi experts,

I have a question about the usage of mere/merely + some percentage of number.

I understand that mere is an adjective , so it is correct to use a mere 3% of the cell’s DNA, as seen in this official question.

However, I have also seen the usage of approximate/approximately with some percentage.
But all that I can remember, it's used as approximately with some percentage, such as approximately 3%.

I tried to find the official question that have approximate(ly) as in underlined portion, but I could not find; just only a official question whose "approximately" not in underlined portion: as followed

Paper production accounts for approximately 40 percent of the world's industrial use of wood, and the market for paper is growing faster than it is for all major wood products.
https://gmatclub.com/forum/paper-produc ... 02565.html

My question is why, in the above question, it's not a approximate (adjective), rather than approximately(adverbs) , be used here?

Please explain.
Thank you very much.
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As a result of the ground-breaking work of Barbara McClintock, many 21 Jul 2022, 05:51
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Between options D and E.
For someone who could not identify the adverb and adjective differences.
The elimination of D on the basis of 50,000 to 1,00,000 of human cell's different genes is correct or not?
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As a result of the ground-breaking work of Barbara McClintock, many 22 Jul 2022, 05:07
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devil.rocx
Between options D and E.
For someone who could not identify the adverb and adjective differences.
The elimination of D on the basis of 50,000 to 1,00,000 of human cell's different genes is correct or not?
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Hello devil.rocx,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, this elimination is indeed correct.

The construction of the phrase "50,000 to 100,000 of human cell’s different genes" incorrectly implies that the human cell contains more than 50,000 to 100,000 genes, and the information that is contained in this specific subset of genes is contained in three percent of the cell’s DNA; the intended meaning is that the human cell contains 50,000 to 100,000 genes, and the information that is contained collectively in all the cell's genes is contained in three percent of the cell’s DNA.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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As a result of the ground-breaking work of Barbara McClintock, many 24 Jan 2023, 01:40
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Between D and E, I understand why "merely" is incorrect but then E also changes the meaning of the original sentence! Would we pick a meaning change over an adjective mistake?
I think changing the meaning of the original sentence is a bigger blunder than using an adverb to modify a noun?
"50,000 to 100,000 of the different genes found in a human cell" VS "the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in a human cell"

The blue one means a particular number of genes out of the different genes{here, we don't know how many different genes are there} that are found in a cell whereas the red one means a particular number of different genes.{here, we are fixing the number of different genes}

Can someone please explain if possible?
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As a result of the ground-breaking work of Barbara McClintock, many 24 Jan 2023, 07:06
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Between D and E, I understand why "merely" is incorrect but then E also changes the meaning of the original sentence! Would we pick a meaning change over an adjective mistake?
I think changing the meaning of the original sentence is a bigger blunder than using an adverb to modify a noun?
"50,000 to 100,000 of the different genes found in a human cell" VS "the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in a human cell"

The blue one means a particular number of genes out of the different genes{here, we don't know how many different genes are there} that are found in a cell whereas the red one means a particular number of different genes.{here, we are fixing the number of different genes}

Can someone please explain if possible?
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Changing the meaning is not an error at all. The correct version doesn't have to express the meaning expressed by the original version.

So, (E) is perfect.
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As a result of the ground-breaking work of Barbara McClintock, many 25 Jan 2023, 05:17
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Between D and E, I understand why "merely" is incorrect but then E also changes the meaning of the original sentence! Would we pick a meaning change over an adjective mistake?
I think changing the meaning of the original sentence is a bigger blunder than using an adverb to modify a noun?
"50,000 to 100,000 of the different genes found in a human cell" VS "the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in a human cell"

The blue one means a particular number of genes out of the different genes{here, we don't know how many different genes are there} that are found in a cell whereas the red one means a particular number of different genes.{here, we are fixing the number of different genes}

Can someone please explain if possible?

Q. As a result of the ground-breaking work of Barbara McClintock, many scientists now believe that all of the information encoded in 50,000 to 100,000 of the different genes found in a human cell are contained in merely three percent of the cell’s DNA.


(A) 50,000 to 100,000 of the different genes found in a human cell are contained in merely

(B) 50,000 to 100,000 of the human cell’s different genes are contained in a mere

(C) the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in human cells are contained in merely

(D) 50,000 to 100,000 of human cell’s different genes is contained in merely

(E) the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in a human cell is contained in a mere
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Hey 0Lucky0,

Happy to help you with this.

First of all, good job at explaining the difference in meaning between the two versions you shared. Your interpretations are correct. However, your question is incorrect. If you read carefully, answer choice D does NOT have the definite article "the" before the noticeably awkward phrase "human cell's different genes". So, your comparison is wrong to begin with.

However, you've asked a pertinent question about the intended meaning of the sentence. Allow me to explain:

OS: As a result of the ground-breaking work of Barbara McClintock, many scientists now believe that all of the information encoded in 50,000 to 100,000 of the different genes found in a human cell are contained in merely three percent of the cell’s DNA.

Some General Knowledge:
    This question is over a decade old and presents us with the knowledge we had back then about the Human Genome. Back then it was believed that the total number of (protein-coding) genes in human DNA ranges between 50,000 to 100,000, and that these (protein-coding) genes constitute under 3% of the total DNA sequence. The remaining 97% of our DNA sequence consists of non-coding DNA sequences that do not produce proteins. In simpler words, 97% of our DNA sequence is useless.
    As of 2022, the total number of (protein-coding) genes in human DNA is estimated at just under 20,000, an estimated 1% of the total length of the human genome.


What is the Intended Meaning of this sentence? Does it even have an Intended Meaning?
    Yes, this question has an Intended Meaning, and that meaning is expressed correctly by answer choice E. This intended meaning is corroborated by the information I've shared above.


Aspects of Meaning:
  1. There are around 50,000 to 100,000 different genes in the human genome.
  2. All of these genes constitute a mere 3 percent of a (human) cell's DNA.
  3. Point 2 above is today believed to be true by most scientists, as a result of the ground-breaking work of Barbara McClintock. (Today = A decade ago)


Error Analysis:
  • This idea only makes sense if the total number of genes in human DNA range from 50,000 to 100,000, not otherwise.
  • Hence, the definite article "the" must be placed before "50,000 to 100,000 different genes" in order to convey the true meaning.
  • We need to use "a mere" not "merely" before "3 percent of the cell's DNA".


I hope this answer your question satisfactorily and demonstrates the importance of reading carefully and deriving the intended meaning properly.

Please revert for further assistance, if required.


Happy Learning!


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As a result of the ground-breaking work of Barbara McClintock, many 17 Oct 2023, 04:11
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As a result of the ground-breaking work of Barbara McClintock, many scientists now believe that all of the information encoded in 50,000 to 100,000 of the different genes found in a human cell are contained in merely three percent of the cell’s DNA.

Option Elimination -

(A) 50,000 to 100,000 of the different genes found in a human cell are contained in merely - S-V issues. All refer to the singular information. So, we need "is."

(B) 50,000 to 100,000 of the human cell’s different genes are contained in a mere - S-V issues. All refer to the singular information. So, we need "is."

(C) the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in human cells are contained in merely - S-V issues. All refer to the singular information. So, we need "is."

(D) 50,000 to 100,000 of human cell’s different genes is contained in merely - "the" is required to put a cap on the max number of genes. Moreover, merely (adverb) is modifying the noun "three perfect." Adverbs cant modify nouns. We need an adjective.

(E) the 50,000 to 100,000 different genes found in a human cell is contained in a mere - ok
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