Events & Promotions
|
|
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
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Nov 2007:30 AM PST
-08:30 AM PST
Learn what truly sets the UC Riverside MBA apart and how it helps in your professional growth
Nov 2211:00 AM IST
-01:00 PM IST
Do RC/MSR passages scare you? e-GMAT is conducting a masterclass to help you learn – Learn effective reading strategies Tackle difficult RC & MSR with confidence Excel in timed test environment- Nov 23
11:00 AM IST
-01:00 PM IST
Attend this free GMAT Algebra Webinar and learn how to master the most challenging Inequalities and Absolute Value problems with ease. 
Nov 2510:00 AM EST
-11:00 AM EST
Prefer video-based learning? The Target Test Prep OnDemand course is a one-of-a-kind video masterclass featuring 400 hours of lecture-style teaching by Scott Woodbury-Stewart, founder of Target Test Prep and one of the most accomplished GMAT instructors.
28 Apr 2020, 09:12
Kudos
Bookmarks
ayushkumar22941
Hey there
Thank you for posting the query. Let me try and help you!
'One of the substances' can act as singular or plural based on the meaning the sentence wants to convey. Lets take few examples to understand this.
Eg 1 Samuel is one of the soldiers who fight for their country.
Now here the subject for the verb fight is 'that' and that refers to soldiers. What this sentence actually means is that soldiers fight for their country and Samuel is one of the soldiers. Hence the usage of plural verb 'fight' is correct.
Eg 2 The alarm is triggered when one of the criminals tries to escape.
Now there the subject for the verb tries is the one criminal. What this sentence actually means is that when that one criminal who tries to escape the alarm triggered. Hence the usage of singular verb 'tries' is correct here.
So, the noun following the phrase "one of the" is always a plural noun, whereas the use of verbs as singular or plural will entirely depend upon the subject and the context of the sentence.
Biologists believe that they have found one of the substances that tell individual genes both when to become active and when to remain quiescent in the earliest phases of an embryo’s development.
Now look at the meaning here. The biologists found one of those substances that can tell individual genes to become active and to remain dorment depending upon the stage of embryo's development. Hence the subject for tell here is that and that refers to the substances.
25 Sep 2020, 04:01
Kudos
Bookmarks
Biologists believe that they have found one of the substances that tell individual genes both when to become active and when to remain quiescent in the earliest phases of an embryo’s development.
Meaning Analysis: Biologists believe that they have found of of the many substances. What type of substances? substances that tell individual genes (1) when to become active and (2) when to remain quiescent (inactive) in the early stages of development of an embryo.
Sentence Structure:
Biologists (Subject)
believe (Verb)
that (Connector)
they (Subject) (plural pronoun referring to plural noun "Biologists")
have found (Verb - plural - of the subject "they") (present perfect tense indicating that the results of the finding still exists)
on of the substances (Object of the sentence)
that (Relative pronoun referring to "substances") (plural subject since "substances is plural)
tell (verb - plural - of plural subject "that")
individual genes (Object of the sentence)
both (Parallel marker)
when to become active (Element 1 of parallelism)
and (end of parallel marker "both...and")
when to remain quiescent (Element 2 of parallelism)
in the earliest phases of an embryo’s development. (Prepositional phrase modifying elements in the parallel list)
Note - One of the and The number of are ALWAYS singular subjects. But in this sentence we see the plural verb "tell". WHY? Because the subject out here is not "one of the". The subject out here is "That" and this relative pronoun refers to the plural subject "substances" hence we need the plural verb "tell" and not tells"
I believe there is a parallelism error out here as well. After both we have "at which time they should..." while after or we have "should remain" I would prefer to repeat "at which time they" in the second half to maintain clear parallelism.
Correct choice: (A)
Meaning Analysis: Biologists believe that they have found of of the many substances. What type of substances? substances that tell individual genes (1) when to become active and (2) when to remain quiescent (inactive) in the early stages of development of an embryo.
Sentence Structure:
Biologists (Subject)
believe (Verb)
that (Connector)
they (Subject) (plural pronoun referring to plural noun "Biologists")
have found (Verb - plural - of the subject "they") (present perfect tense indicating that the results of the finding still exists)
on of the substances (Object of the sentence)
that (Relative pronoun referring to "substances") (plural subject since "substances is plural)
tell (verb - plural - of plural subject "that")
individual genes (Object of the sentence)
both (Parallel marker)
when to become active (Element 1 of parallelism)
and (end of parallel marker "both...and")
when to remain quiescent (Element 2 of parallelism)
in the earliest phases of an embryo’s development. (Prepositional phrase modifying elements in the parallel list)
Quote:
All the SV pairs make sense. The idiom "Both X and Y" is correct in which the X element when to become active and the Y element when to become quiescent are parallel.
Note - One of the and The number of are ALWAYS singular subjects. But in this sentence we see the plural verb "tell". WHY? Because the subject out here is not "one of the". The subject out here is "That" and this relative pronoun refers to the plural subject "substances" hence we need the plural verb "tell" and not tells"
Learning:-
Focus on understanding the meaning of the sentence. The meaning will help us understand what the subject and its respective verb are.Quote:
We have an Idiom error out here. "Both X and Y" is the correct idiom. "Both X or Y" is incorrect.
I believe there is a parallelism error out here as well. After both we have "at which time they should..." while after or we have "should remain" I would prefer to repeat "at which time they" in the second half to maintain clear parallelism.
Quote:
Apart from the idiom error we have a SV error out here. As mentioned above, we need a plural verb "tell" and not singular "tells"
Quote:
The SV error and the Idiom error are both repeated
Quote:
Apart from the Idiom error we see that this choice has a very inferior structure. I am not even happy with the future tense "will tell". We wish to convey a finding, a belief. Why not simply state this fact using simple present tense?
Correct choice: (A)
ChiranjeevSingh
Expert
Tutor
Joined: 22 Oct 2012
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 411
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 155
Status:Private GMAT Tutor
Location: India
Concentration: Economics, Finance
Schools: IIMA (A)
GMAT Focus 1: 735 Q90 V85 DI85 
GMAT Focus 2: 735 Q90 V85 DI85
GMAT Focus 3: 735 Q88 V87 DI84
GMAT 1: 780 Q51 V47
GRE 1: Q170 V168
Expert reply
29 Oct 2020, 21:44
Kudos
Bookmarks
Here's the official explanation provided by the GMAC for this question:
In this sentence, a complex noun phrase describes substances that tell individual genes when to become active and when to remain quiescent. The most crucial question is whether the clause beginning with that is intended to modify the singular noun phrase one of the substances or the plural noun substances. If it were interpreted in the former way, the substances would have no clear referent. So the clause most reasonably modifies the plural substances, and its main verb tell cannot be in a singular form. In the clause, both introduces the first of two conjoined phrases. These phrases must be presented in parallel form, in this case each starting with when. Idiomatically, if both introduces the first of two conjoined phrases, and must introduce the second.
Option A: Correct. The plural verb form tell agrees with the plural noun substances that its clause modifies. In the clause, both introduces when to become active, the first of two conjoined phrases. And introduces the second phrase, when to remain quiescent. These two phrases are presented in parallel form, both starting with when.
Option B: Since both introduces the first of two conjoined phrases, it is unidiomatic for or to introduce the second. The first conjoined phrase, at which time they should become active, is not in parallel form with the second, should remain quiescent. And in the first conjoined phrase, at which time is an unnecessarily wordy substitute for when.
Option C: The singular verb form tells does not agree with the plural noun substances that its clause modifies. Since both is introducing the first of two conjoined phrases, it is unidiomatic for or to introduce the second. The first conjoined phrase, when to become active, is not in parallel form with the second, remain quiescent.
Option D: The singular verb form tells does not agree with the plural noun substances that its clause modifies. Since both is introducing the first of two conjoined phrases, it is unidiomatic for or to introduce the second.
Option E: The future tense will tell is inappropriate, assuming the clause is meant to describe substances that already tell genes what to do. The singular an individual gene confusingly suggests that all the different substances affect the same unspecified gene. The unnecessary use of about suggests that the substances are literally informing the gene about something. The first conjoined phrase, about when it should become active, is not in parallel form with the second, remain quiescent.
The correct answer is A.
Please note that I'm not the author of this explanation. I'm just posting it here since I believe it can help the community.
In this sentence, a complex noun phrase describes substances that tell individual genes when to become active and when to remain quiescent. The most crucial question is whether the clause beginning with that is intended to modify the singular noun phrase one of the substances or the plural noun substances. If it were interpreted in the former way, the substances would have no clear referent. So the clause most reasonably modifies the plural substances, and its main verb tell cannot be in a singular form. In the clause, both introduces the first of two conjoined phrases. These phrases must be presented in parallel form, in this case each starting with when. Idiomatically, if both introduces the first of two conjoined phrases, and must introduce the second.
Option A: Correct. The plural verb form tell agrees with the plural noun substances that its clause modifies. In the clause, both introduces when to become active, the first of two conjoined phrases. And introduces the second phrase, when to remain quiescent. These two phrases are presented in parallel form, both starting with when.
Option B: Since both introduces the first of two conjoined phrases, it is unidiomatic for or to introduce the second. The first conjoined phrase, at which time they should become active, is not in parallel form with the second, should remain quiescent. And in the first conjoined phrase, at which time is an unnecessarily wordy substitute for when.
Option C: The singular verb form tells does not agree with the plural noun substances that its clause modifies. Since both is introducing the first of two conjoined phrases, it is unidiomatic for or to introduce the second. The first conjoined phrase, when to become active, is not in parallel form with the second, remain quiescent.
Option D: The singular verb form tells does not agree with the plural noun substances that its clause modifies. Since both is introducing the first of two conjoined phrases, it is unidiomatic for or to introduce the second.
Option E: The future tense will tell is inappropriate, assuming the clause is meant to describe substances that already tell genes what to do. The singular an individual gene confusingly suggests that all the different substances affect the same unspecified gene. The unnecessary use of about suggests that the substances are literally informing the gene about something. The first conjoined phrase, about when it should become active, is not in parallel form with the second, remain quiescent.
The correct answer is A.
Please note that I'm not the author of this explanation. I'm just posting it here since I believe it can help the community.
