Last visit was: 19 Nov 2025, 07:51 It is currently 19 Nov 2025, 07:51
Home
GMAT
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Rewards
Chat
My Profile
Close
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

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
   1   2   3   
505-555 Level|   Subject Verb Agreement|                  
avatar
Valt
avatar
Joined: 29 Jul 2019
Last visit: 14 Dec 2021
Posts: 5
Own Kudos:
1
Given Kudos: 11
Location: India
Concentration: Leadership, General Management
Schools: Oxford "21
Schools: Oxford "21
Posts: 5
Kudos: 1
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha 18 Sep 2019, 02:43
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
The pronoun his in the non underlined part doest not have any noun to which it is pointing.
His points to hemingway. But Hemingway is present as possessive noun.
Help me if my understanding is wrong
User avatar
generis
User avatar
Senior SC Moderator
Joined: 22 May 2016
Last visit: 18 Jun 2022
Posts: 5,272
Own Kudos:
37,387
 [2]
Given Kudos: 9,464
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 5,272
Kudos: 37,387
 [2]
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha 18 Sep 2019, 20:16
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Valt
The pronoun his in the non underlined part doest not have any noun to which it is pointing.
His points to hemingway. But Hemingway is present as possessive noun.
Help me if my understanding is wrong
Show more
Hi Valt , belated welcome to GMAT Club. :)

His is a possessive pronoun. Hemingway's is a possessive noun.
Possessive pronouns are allowed to have possessive nouns as antecedents.
Correct: Jerry's frequent absences hurt his grade for the class.

I am not sure whether you are also relying on "possessive poison," which does not apply here.
Under the possessive poison rule, a possessive noun cannot not be the antecedent for a non-possessive pronoun.

What many people believe about possessive poison on the GMAT is not accurate.
In another post, I wrote,
On the GMAT, as long as meaning is clear, both object and subject pronouns may have a possessive noun as an antecedent.

In that post I explained that possessive poison is not a hard-and-fast rule on the GMAT.
I included a few examples of official questions in which the correct answer contained a subject or object pronoun whose antecedent was possessive.

You can find that post here.

I hope that helps.
User avatar
aniket16c
User avatar
Current Student
Joined: 20 Oct 2018
Last visit: 05 Feb 2024
Posts: 180
Own Kudos:
154
Given Kudos: 57
Location: India
Schools: Ross '24 (D) Darden '24 (A)
GMAT 1: 690 Q49 V34
GMAT 2: 740 Q50 V40
GPA: 4
Schools: Ross '24 (D) Darden '24 (A)
GMAT 2: 740 Q50 V40
Posts: 180
Kudos: 154
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha 31 Dec 2019, 03:31
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
empty_spaces
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—were strong and interesting women, very different from the often pallid women who populate his novels.


(A) Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—were strong and interesting women,

(B) Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—each of them Hemingway’s wives—were strong and interesting women,

(C) Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—were all strong and interesting women,

(D) Strong and interesting women—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—each a wife of Hemingway, was

(E) Strong and interesting women—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—every one of Hemingway’s wives were

Show more

Dear experts,
mikemcgarry IanStewart VeritasKarishma daagh EMPOWERgmatRichC DmitryFarber generis

1. In case of option C, I am unable to understand the placement of "all". Doesn't placement of "all" before strong associate "all" with strong?

2. Option B can be simplified to: Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh were strong and interesting women...
In this option, I do agree that the fact that these women are Hemingway's wives is an essential information. Hence, putting that information between commas is not correct. However, compared to use of "all strong" phrase, we could neglect the "essential information" argument.
User avatar
daagh
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Last visit: 16 Oct 2020
Posts: 5,264
Own Kudos:
42,418
Given Kudos: 422
Status: enjoying
Location: India
WE:Education (Education)
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 5,264
Kudos: 42,418
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha 31 Dec 2019, 04:39
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
@anikhet

C) Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—were all strong and interesting women,

This is the main clause of the sentence that is followed by the adjectival modifier (different is an adjective) following it, which modifies the four wives of Hemingway. If you parse it slightly differently, forgetting the appositive names listed between the dashes, you will get the following version.

All Hemingway’s wives were strong and interesting women, very different from the often-pallid women who populate his novels.

In the context, the word 'all' modifies the plural wives. This slightly twisted structure is quite acceptable, kind of a literary academic license given to writers to encourage variety.,I suppose.

Second, the SV error in B namely, "each of Hemingway's wives were strong" is too glaring to ignore. So C. the answer
User avatar
aniket16c
User avatar
Current Student
Joined: 20 Oct 2018
Last visit: 05 Feb 2024
Posts: 180
Own Kudos:
154
Given Kudos: 57
Location: India
Schools: Ross '24 (D) Darden '24 (A)
GMAT 1: 690 Q49 V34
GMAT 2: 740 Q50 V40
GPA: 4
Schools: Ross '24 (D) Darden '24 (A)
GMAT 2: 740 Q50 V40
Posts: 180
Kudos: 154
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha 31 Dec 2019, 04:46
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
daagh
@anikhet

C) Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—were all strong and interesting women,

This is the main clause of the sentence that is followed by the adjectival modifier (different is an adjective) following it, which modifies the four wives of Hemingway. If you parse it slightly differently, forgetting the appositive names listed between the dashes, you will get the following version.

All Hemingway’s wives were strong and interesting women, very different from the often-pallid women who populate his novels.

In the context, the word 'all' modifies the plural wives. This slightly twisted structure is quite acceptable, kind of a literary academic license given to writers to encourage variety.,I suppose.

Second, the SV error in B namely, "each of Hemingway's wives were strong" is too glaring to ignore. So C. the answer
Show more

Dear daagh,
Thank you for the explanation.

In case of option B, the phrase "each of ..." is between em-dash. So I considered that "were" is as per the 4 wives.
As per my understanding the sentence structure is: "A, B, C and D were ..." --> and "each of them ..." is just a modifier not governing "were".
User avatar
DmitryFarber
User avatar
Manhattan Prep Instructor
Joined: 22 Mar 2011
Last visit: 08 Nov 2025
Posts: 3,020
Own Kudos:
8,563
 [9]
Given Kudos: 57
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 745 Q86 V90 DI85
Posts: 3,020
Kudos: 8,563
 [9]
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha 31 Dec 2019, 11:00
6
Kudos
Add Kudos
3
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
aniket16c That's right--the part between em dashes is not part of the sentence core. The list of names is the subject and "were" is the verb. There's no error there. The problem with B is that it matches "each" with "wives." I can say that each of Hemingway's wives was interesting. In that case, "of Hemingway's wives" is just a modifier, and each one is interesting. But "each of them Hemingway's wives" is saying that each ONE of the women was Hemingway's WIVES. This modifier is trying to match a singular noun with a plural. That won't work.
avatar
aarushisingla
avatar
Joined: 23 May 2019
Last visit: 12 Sep 2022
Posts: 39
Own Kudos:
16
Given Kudos: 58
Posts: 39
Kudos: 16
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha 24 Jan 2020, 06:28
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Can somebody explain why E is wrong ?

Posted from my mobile device
User avatar
AjiteshArun
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 15 Jul 2015
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,949
Own Kudos:
5,080
Given Kudos: 732
Location: India
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Posts: 5,949
Kudos: 5,080
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha 26 Jan 2020, 18:43
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
aarushisingla
Can somebody explain why E is wrong ?

Posted from my mobile device
Show more
Hi aarushisingla,

Focus on the last few words in that option:

every one of Hemingway’s wives were

The subject is every one, which is singular, but the verb were is plural. Because the subject and verb don't agree, we can take E out.
avatar
aarushisingla
avatar
Joined: 23 May 2019
Last visit: 12 Sep 2022
Posts: 39
Own Kudos:
16
Given Kudos: 58
Posts: 39
Kudos: 16
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha 27 Jan 2020, 14:26
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
AjiteshArun
aarushisingla
Can somebody explain why E is wrong ?

Posted from my mobile device
Hi aarushisingla,

Focus on the last few words in that option:

every one of Hemingway’s wives were

The subject is every one, which is singular, but the verb were is plural. Because the subject and verb don't agree, we can take E out.
Show more

Thankyou for your response.
But isn’t the subject strong and interesting women just like in D.
User avatar
AjiteshArun
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 15 Jul 2015
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,949
Own Kudos:
5,080
 [2]
Given Kudos: 732
Location: India
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Posts: 5,949
Kudos: 5,080
 [2]
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha 27 Jan 2020, 18:17
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
aarushisingla
Thankyou for your response.
But isn’t the subject strong and interesting women just like in D.
Show more
Hi aarushisingla,

Here are the three options C-E:

(C) Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—were all strong and interesting women,

(D) Strong and interesting women—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—each a wife of Hemingway, was

(E) Strong and interesting women—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—every one of Hemingway’s wives were

In this question, the dashes are just like commas. We can remove them to check the structure of the rest of the sentence.

(D1) Strong and interesting women, each a wife of Hemingway, was

(E1) Strong and interesting women, every one of Hemingway’s wives were

Here are two ways to check what each a wife of Hemingway is:
1. Each a wife of Hemingway can be only a modifier. It cannot be a subject. That is, we cannot combine it with a verb.

Each a wife of Hemingway was... ← Can we say each a wife was? No, and therefore this is incorrect.

But every one of Hemingway's wives can be a subject. That is, we can combine it with a verb.

Every one of Hemingway's wives was... ← Can we say every one was? Yes, we can, and therefore this is fine.

2. Do you see the comma there after Hemingway in option D (in between each a wife of Hemingway and was)? That is another way to recognize that each a wife of Hemingway is a modifier. That is why option D can be read as:

(D2) Strong and interesting women, each a wife of Hemingway, was

In option E, however, there is no comma in between every one of Hemingway's wives and were. This leaves us with something that (a) is capable of acting as a subject and (b) is not surrounded by commas the way a modifier in that position should be.

(E2) Strong and interesting women, every one of Hemingway’s wives were

Here it is strong and interesting women that is the modifier.
User avatar
lakshya14
User avatar
Joined: 31 Jan 2019
Last visit: 27 Jul 2022
Posts: 360
Own Kudos:
45
Given Kudos: 529
Posts: 360
Kudos: 45
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha 24 Dec 2020, 05:54
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
empty_spaces
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—were strong and interesting women, very different from the often pallid women who populate his novels.


(A) Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—were strong and interesting women,

(B) Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—each of them Hemingway’s wives—were strong and interesting women,

(C) Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—were all strong and interesting women,

(D) Strong and interesting women—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—each a wife of Hemingway, was

(E) Strong and interesting women—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—every one of Hemingway’s wives were

Show Spoiler
Each choice except the third contains errors of agreement. In both the first and last choice, the singular subject (each in the first choice, every one in the last choice) does not agree with the plural verb were, while in the fourth choice, the plural subject women is mismatched with the singular verb was. In the second choice the subject and verb agree, but the descriptive phrase placed between them creates an illogical statement because each cannot be wives; each can be only one of the wives, or a wife.

The pronoun constructions in the first, second, fourth, and last choices are wordy. Also, the second, fourth, and last choices are very awkwardly structured and do not convey the point about Hemingway's wives clearly.

The third choice correctly links wives with were, eliminates the unnecessary pronouns, and provides a clearer structure.
Show more
Can the "his" possessive "hemingway's" in (C)?
User avatar
AjiteshArun
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 15 Jul 2015
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,949
Own Kudos:
5,080
 [1]
Given Kudos: 732
Location: India
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Posts: 5,949
Kudos: 5,080
 [1]
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha 24 Dec 2020, 21:57
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
lakshya14
Can the "his" possessive "hemingway's" in (C)?
Show more
Hi lakshya14,

Both his and Hemingway's are possessives. However, we should not worry too much about this issue.
User avatar
CEdward
User avatar
Joined: 11 Aug 2020
Last visit: 14 Apr 2022
Posts: 1,203
Own Kudos:
272
Given Kudos: 332
Posts: 1,203
Kudos: 272
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha 22 Feb 2021, 19:01
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—were strong and interesting women, very different from the often pallid women who populate his novels.


(A) Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—were strong and interesting women, X

(B) Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—each of them Hemingway’s wives—were strong and interesting women, X

(C) Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—were all strong and interesting women, CORRECT

(D) Strong and interesting women—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—each a wife of Hemingway, was X
-terribly wordy

(E) Strong and interesting women—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—every one of Hemingway’s wives were X
-just terribly wordy
User avatar
errorlogger
User avatar
Joined: 01 Nov 2020
Last visit: 31 Jan 2022
Posts: 82
Own Kudos:
86
Given Kudos: 52
Posts: 82
Kudos: 86
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha 01 Mar 2021, 13:12
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
CEdward
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—were strong and interesting women, very different from the often pallid women who populate his novels.


(A) Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—were strong and interesting women, X

(B) Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—each of them Hemingway’s wives—were strong and interesting women, X

(C) Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—were all strong and interesting women, CORRECT

(D) Strong and interesting women—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—each a wife of Hemingway, was X
-terribly wordy

(E) Strong and interesting women—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—every one of Hemingway’s wives were X
-just terribly wordy
Show more

Why is D wrong here? Each/Every always take a singular noun. Is it because the subject is strong and interesting? If yes, then what is wrong with A? Is it because the subject is each of Hem's wives?
Please confirm!
User avatar
AjiteshArun
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 15 Jul 2015
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,949
Own Kudos:
5,080
 [1]
Given Kudos: 732
Location: India
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Posts: 5,949
Kudos: 5,080
 [1]
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha 02 Mar 2021, 03:09
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
errorlogger
Why is D wrong here? Each/Every always take a singular noun. Is it because the subject is strong and interesting? If yes, then what is wrong with A? Is it because the subject is each of Hem's wives?
Please confirm!
Show more
Hi errorlogger,

D: The subject is strong and interesting women (plural), but the verb is was (singular)

E: The subject is each of Hemingway’s wives (singular), but the verb is were (plural)
avatar
Foi2Evei2
avatar
Joined: 21 Aug 2018
Last visit: 06 May 2022
Posts: 22
Own Kudos:
1
Given Kudos: 57
Posts: 22
Kudos: 1
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha 01 Jul 2021, 08:43
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
ExpertsGlobal5


(B) Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—each of them Hemingway’s wives—were strong and interesting women,

Choice B: This answer choice features a disagreement between the pronoun "each" and the noun "wives"; "each" must refer to a singular noun, among a multitude, while "wives" is plural. The appropriate construction is "each of them one of Hemmingway's wives". This answer choice also presents vital information between two hyphens, which in this case function as commas; if the phrase "each of them Hemingway’s wives" was removed from the sentence, the pronoun "his" would have no antecedent. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Show more
Hi expert,

Could you explain more on this structure "each of them one of Hemmingway's wives" ?

I don't understand how these 2 phrase (each of them // one of H's wives)can be attached together like this?
User avatar
DmitryFarber
User avatar
Manhattan Prep Instructor
Joined: 22 Mar 2011
Last visit: 08 Nov 2025
Posts: 3,020
Own Kudos:
8,563
 [1]
Given Kudos: 57
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 745 Q86 V90 DI85
Posts: 3,020
Kudos: 8,563
 [1]
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha 05 Jul 2021, 14:45
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Foi2Evei2

When we use "each" to form a modifier, it should be followed by an adjective or noun that applies to each individual in the list.

The conference featured an impressive roster of speakers, each of them a world-renowned expert in at least one field.
In my two years at the company, I had five different managers, each one worse than the last.
avatar
Chitra657
avatar
Joined: 18 May 2021
Last visit: 15 Mar 2022
Posts: 41
Own Kudos:
7
Given Kudos: 51
Posts: 41
Kudos: 7
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha 30 Aug 2021, 06:44
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
empty_spaces
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—were strong and interesting women, very different from the often pallid women who populate his novels.


(A) Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—were strong and interesting women,

(B) Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—each of them Hemingway’s wives—were strong and interesting women,

(C) Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—were all strong and interesting women,

(D) Strong and interesting women—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—each a wife of Hemingway, was

(E) Strong and interesting women—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—every one of Hemingway’s wives were

Show Spoiler
Each choice except the third contains errors of agreement. In both the first and last choice, the singular subject (each in the first choice, every one in the last choice) does not agree with the plural verb were, while in the fourth choice, the plural subject women is mismatched with the singular verb was. In the second choice the subject and verb agree, but the descriptive phrase placed between them creates an illogical statement because each cannot be wives; each can be only one of the wives, or a wife.

The pronoun constructions in the first, second, fourth, and last choices are wordy. Also, the second, fourth, and last choices are very awkwardly structured and do not convey the point about Hemingway's wives clearly.

The third choice correctly links wives with were, eliminates the unnecessary pronouns, and provides a clearer structure.
Show more

GMATNinja why is B wrong?
User avatar
DmitryFarber
User avatar
Manhattan Prep Instructor
Joined: 22 Mar 2011
Last visit: 08 Nov 2025
Posts: 3,020
Own Kudos:
8,563
Given Kudos: 57
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 745 Q86 V90 DI85
Posts: 3,020
Kudos: 8,563
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha 30 Aug 2021, 13:15
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Chitra657

"Each" is singular, and refers to one individual at a time. So each of them can have been ONE of his wives, but they can't each have been his wives. This would be basically be saying that each individual woman was ALL of his wives.
User avatar
FazliddinKD
User avatar
Joined: 11 Apr 2019
Last visit: 21 Oct 2024
Posts: 88
Own Kudos:
54
Given Kudos: 27
Location: Uzbekistan
Concentration: Finance, Accounting
Schools: Goizueta '25 (WL) Kenan-Flagler '25 (I) Owen '25 (WL) BU Questrom '25 (A$$)
GMAT 1: 660 Q50 V29
GPA: 3
WE:Investment Banking (Finance: Investment Banking)
Schools: Goizueta '25 (WL) Kenan-Flagler '25 (I) Owen '25 (WL) BU Questrom '25 (A$$)
GMAT 1: 660 Q50 V29
Posts: 88
Kudos: 54
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha 30 Aug 2021, 22:52
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—were strong and interesting women, very different from the often pallid women who populate his novels.


(A) Each of Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—were strong and interesting women, - each were?

(B) Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—each of them Hemingway’s wives—were strong and interesting women, - each were?

(C) Hemingway’s wives—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—were all strong and interesting women, - wives were - Correct

(D) Strong and interesting women—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—each a wife of Hemingway, was - each a wife there are four wives, hence here should be wives

(E) Strong and interesting women—Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn, and Mary Welsh—every one of Hemingway’s wives were - every one were - should be every one was
   1   2   3   
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7443 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
231 posts
miag
189 posts