As part of the government’s ongoing green initiative, only 850 trees h

Please explain the meaning of the correct option

Hello, SramanSanyal. I would be happy to offer my thoughts on this question in an effort to help you and the larger community.


With countable items, the comparison should be fewer than. If there is some vague, uncountable amount of something instead, as in, less than the amount of water in the Pacific Ocean (since no one is actually measuring anything), then less than is appropriate. This is an easy choice to eliminate.

The comparison marker has been fixed, and the present perfect have been is perfectly parallel with the same usage earlier in the sentence. It cannot get any more parallel than to repeat have been translocated. There are no issues here, so this is a fine answer.

You have to be careful with which clauses. The which clause typically refers back to the noun closest to it across the comma, which in the sentence at hand is method. It would not make sense to read the sentence as, the method is less than [the number of trees] translocated by private bodies, but the grammar suggests it. Moreover, less than has reared its ugly head once again, so this one is definitely out.

Not only does fewer in (B) convey the same vital meaning in one word instead of three, but the correct answer also makes it clear that numbers are being compared to numbers, while this answer seems on the surface to be comparing a number to trees, rather than to the number of trees. Finally, there is a noticeable lack of parallelism between 850 trees have been translocated from earlier in the sentence and the trees translocated that the tail-end of the underlined portion here creates. Taken as a whole, there is too much working against this one for it to be an optimal choice.

Gosh, I want the ones to be those instead. Even then, though, I would look to maintain the parallel construct that 850 trees have been translocated establishes. If translocated acts as a verb in the first instance but as a modifier in the second, then that skews the comparison somewhat. You have to go by what is on the screen to assess an answer choice, not by what you want to be there. This option loses out, plain and simple.

I hope that helps. If there are any lingering questions or concerns, I would be happy to carry on this dialogue. Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew

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