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Bunuel
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As even most smokers will admit, smoking is both unhealthy and cost a 22 Aug 2023, 01:30
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E
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

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15% (low)

Question Stats:

70% (00:39) correct 30% (00:37) wrong based on 122 sessions

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As even most smokers will admit, smoking is both unhealthy and cost a lot of money.

A. is both unhealthy and cost a lot of money
B. are both unhealthy and costs a lot of money
C. are both unhealthy and cost a lot of money
D. is both unhealthy and costs a lot of money
E. is both unhealthy and costly


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E
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As even most smokers will admit, smoking is both unhealthy and cost a 22 Aug 2023, 11:45
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1. IS/ ARE - smoking is singular so IS should be used. Eliminate B and C

2. Both X and Y should have parallel forms of word used. So unhealthy and costly are parallel. Therefore answer is E
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As even most smokers will admit, smoking is both unhealthy and cost a 22 Aug 2023, 12:53
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Bunuel
As even most smokers will admit, smoking is both unhealthy and cost a lot of money.

A. is both unhealthy and cost a lot of money
B. are both unhealthy and costs a lot of money
C. are both unhealthy and cost a lot of money
D. is both unhealthy and costs a lot of money
E. is both unhealthy and costly


Show more


A. is both unhealthy and cost a lot of money unhealthy and cost a lot of money is not parallel
B. are both unhealthy and costs a lot of money Smoking is Singular
C. are both unhealthy and cost a lot of money Smoking is Singular
D. is both unhealthy and costs a lot of money unhealthy and costs a lot of money is not parallel
E. is both unhealthy and costly Correct Answer
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As even most smokers will admit, smoking is both unhealthy and cost a 03 Sep 2023, 06:45
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Bunuel
As even most smokers will admit, smoking is both unhealthy and cost a lot of money.

A. is both unhealthy and cost a lot of money
B. are both unhealthy and costs a lot of money
C. are both unhealthy and cost a lot of money
D. is both unhealthy and costs a lot of money
E. is both unhealthy and costly


Show more

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION



As even most smokers will admit, smoking is both unhealthy and cost a lot of money.

A. is both unhealthy and cost a lot of money

This answer choice is grammatically incorrect. The singular subject Smoking does not agree with the plural verb cost.

Remember that a subject in the form of Verb+ing is considered a singular subject.

What helps us identify this question as a Subject Verb Agreement question as well as identify this mistake is the following Stop Sign:

A V-ing Subject

A long complex subject / a long distance between the subject and the verb


B. are both unhealthy and costs a lot of money

While this answer choice corrects the original Subject Verb Agreement mistake by changing the plural verb cost to the singular form costs, it is still grammatically incorrect . The singular subject Smoking does not agree with the plural verb are.

Did you notice this change from is to are?

The lesson to be learned here is that you should not automatically choose the first answer choice that corrects the original mistake. After eliminating all answer choices that repeat the original mistake, you have to go over the remaining answer choices and compare them carefully.

Do not assume that the only thing that changes in the answer choices is the part which was originally flawed. By doing so you risk choosing the wrong answer.


C. are both unhealthy and cost a lot of money

This answer choice repeats the original mistake. The singular subject Smoking does not agree with the plural verb cost.

Remember that a subject in the form of Verb+ing is considered a singular subject.

Furthermore, this answer choice creates another Subject Verb Agreement mistake by replacing the singular verb is with the plural form are.


D. is both unhealthy and costs a lot of money

While this answer choice corrects the original Subject Verb Agreement mistake and is grammatically correct, it is not the best of the answer choices. There is another answer choice that is also grammatically correct and is stylistically superior to this one.

Did you read all the answer choices (the first one doesn't count as it always repeats the original)?

If not, that is most probably why you got this question wrong. In Sentence Correction, you do not choose a correct answer choice. You eliminate four answer choices and choose the one that's left. In order to do so, you need to go over all five answer choices.

After eliminating the answer choices that repeat the original mistake, you need to go over all the remaining answer choices and compare them, eliminating all but one.


E. is both unhealthy and costly

Very good! This answer choice both corrects the original Subject Verb Agreement mistake and is more concise than the other answer choices, as a result of replacing the five-word phrase costs a lot of money with the single word costly, which means the same.
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