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29 Aug 2020, 14:39
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imSKR
Yes, compound subjects of the form "X and Y" are always plural unless they clearly refer to the same thing or process. I might say "Research and development is expensive," because I'm referring to the whole process of R&D. I might also say "The novelist and politician is giving a speech," if I'm referring to ONE person who is both a novelist and politician. But this won't happen much on the GMAT, because the sentence would have to make it abundantly clear that what appears to be two things is really one!
The rest of the time, when the two things joined by AND are definitely different entities (boy and girl, devastation and enslavement), then AND will always produce a compound (plural) subject. The presence of absence of the word "the" makes zero difference to singular/plural.
Interestingly, if we have OR, it's a different story, and we use the nearest subject to determine our verb. (This doesn't come up much on the GMAT, though.)
The parents or the student is responsible.
The student or the parents are responsible.
Yes, compound subjects of the form "X and Y" are always plural unless they clearly refer to the same thing or process. I might say "Research and development is expensive," because I'm referring to the whole process of R&D. I might also say "The novelist and politician is giving a speech," if I'm referring to ONE person who is both a novelist and politician. But this won't happen much on the GMAT, because the sentence would have to make it abundantly clear that what appears to be two things is really one!
The rest of the time, when the two things joined by AND are definitely different entities (boy and girl, devastation and enslavement), then AND will always produce a compound (plural) subject. The presence of absence of the word "the" makes zero difference to singular/plural.
Interestingly, if we have OR, it's a different story, and we use the nearest subject to determine our verb. (This doesn't come up much on the GMAT, though.)
The parents or the student is responsible.
The student or the parents are responsible.
07 Sep 2020, 07:56
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[quote="Dmitriy"]For many revisionist historians, Christopher Columbus has come to personify devastation and enslavement in the name of progress that has decimated native peoples of the Western Hemisphere.
(A) devastation and enslavement in the name of progress that has decimated native peoples of the Western Hemisphere
(B) devastation and enslavement in the name of progress by which native peoples of the Western Hemisphere have been decimated
(C) devastating and enslaving in the name of progress those native peoples of the Western Hemisphere that have been decimated
(D) devastating and enslaving those native peoples of the Western Hemisphere which in the name of progress are decimated
(E) the devastation and enslavement in the name of progress that have decimated the native peoples of the Western Hemisphere
This question deals with the relative pronouns ‘that’ and ‘which’ and what they refer to. The rule of relative pronouns is that they refer back to the noun placed immediately before them. However, this sentence has the exception to this rule. The exception to the rule states that in certain cases in which the relative pronoun is preceded by this kind of phrase – noun + preposition + noun, the relative pronoun could refer to the first noun instead of the noun immediately before it.
Let us look at the options:
A) devastation and enslavement in the name of progress that has decimated
In this option, the noun immediately before the relative pronoun ‘that’ is “progress”. This placement would convey the meaning that progress has decimated native peoples. The meaning is illogical. If we assume that the relative pronoun is referring to “devastation and enslavement”, the meaning would be more logical but then the option contains a subject-verb agreement – has decimated. This verb would refer to the same nouns that the relative pronoun also refers to – “devastation and enslavement”. Since this is a plural subject (two nouns joined by ‘and’), the verb should be ‘have’ and not ‘has’. So, Option A can be eliminated.
B) The expression “progress by which native peoples of the Western Hemisphere have been decimated” is not stylistically graceful as it conveys the idea that peoples have been decimated by progress. So, Option B can be eliminated.
C) This option contains the gerund forms “devastating and enslaving” instead of the noun forms. It also makes a messy sentence. So, Option C can also be eliminated.
D) This option repeats the error in C by using the gerund forms. It also contains the relative pronoun ‘which’ to refer to “peoples” , making it a pronoun reference error. So, Option D can also be eliminated.
E) This is the only option in which the definite article ‘the’ has been placed at the beginning of the option, thereby making it clearer that Columbus personified devastation and enslavement and it is these two things that decimated progress. Therefore, E is the most appropriate option.
Jayanthi Kumar.
(A) devastation and enslavement in the name of progress that has decimated native peoples of the Western Hemisphere
(B) devastation and enslavement in the name of progress by which native peoples of the Western Hemisphere have been decimated
(C) devastating and enslaving in the name of progress those native peoples of the Western Hemisphere that have been decimated
(D) devastating and enslaving those native peoples of the Western Hemisphere which in the name of progress are decimated
(E) the devastation and enslavement in the name of progress that have decimated the native peoples of the Western Hemisphere
This question deals with the relative pronouns ‘that’ and ‘which’ and what they refer to. The rule of relative pronouns is that they refer back to the noun placed immediately before them. However, this sentence has the exception to this rule. The exception to the rule states that in certain cases in which the relative pronoun is preceded by this kind of phrase – noun + preposition + noun, the relative pronoun could refer to the first noun instead of the noun immediately before it.
Let us look at the options:
A) devastation and enslavement in the name of progress that has decimated
In this option, the noun immediately before the relative pronoun ‘that’ is “progress”. This placement would convey the meaning that progress has decimated native peoples. The meaning is illogical. If we assume that the relative pronoun is referring to “devastation and enslavement”, the meaning would be more logical but then the option contains a subject-verb agreement – has decimated. This verb would refer to the same nouns that the relative pronoun also refers to – “devastation and enslavement”. Since this is a plural subject (two nouns joined by ‘and’), the verb should be ‘have’ and not ‘has’. So, Option A can be eliminated.
B) The expression “progress by which native peoples of the Western Hemisphere have been decimated” is not stylistically graceful as it conveys the idea that peoples have been decimated by progress. So, Option B can be eliminated.
C) This option contains the gerund forms “devastating and enslaving” instead of the noun forms. It also makes a messy sentence. So, Option C can also be eliminated.
D) This option repeats the error in C by using the gerund forms. It also contains the relative pronoun ‘which’ to refer to “peoples” , making it a pronoun reference error. So, Option D can also be eliminated.
E) This is the only option in which the definite article ‘the’ has been placed at the beginning of the option, thereby making it clearer that Columbus personified devastation and enslavement and it is these two things that decimated progress. Therefore, E is the most appropriate option.
Jayanthi Kumar.
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30 May 2021, 11:42
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(B) devastation and enslavement in the name of progress by which native peoples of the Western Hemisphere have been decimated
Experts,
What is the best way to definitively rule this out? I probably spent ~20-30 seconds during the PT between B and E and ultimately chose E becauase option B could almost be ambiguous---"by which native peoples..." could refer to "the name of progress" OR "devastation and enslavement."
Is this the best way to reason out B? Or is there a better way to do so? MartyTargetTestPrep GMATNinja DmitryFarber
Experts,
What is the best way to definitively rule this out? I probably spent ~20-30 seconds during the PT between B and E and ultimately chose E becauase option B could almost be ambiguous---"by which native peoples..." could refer to "the name of progress" OR "devastation and enslavement."
Is this the best way to reason out B? Or is there a better way to do so? MartyTargetTestPrep GMATNinja DmitryFarber
