Due to the fact that there are many sensitive equipments and dangerous

Question

Due to the fact that there are many sensitive equipments and dangerous chemicals  in the lab, undergraduates are not permitted there without supervision.

a) Due to the fact that there are many sensitive equipments and dangerous chemicals
b) Because there are much sensitive equipment and many dangerous chemicals
c) Since there is sensitive equipment and much dangerous chemicals
d) Existing much sensitive equipment and many dangerous chemicals there
e) Be it that there are much sensitive equipment and dangerous chemicals

Source: gmat ultimate grammar

souvik101990 · Accepted Answer

B is not the correct answer. I would go ahead and argue that none of the answer choices seem to be correct.
 Let's talk about each and every one.

a) Due to the fact that there are many sensitive equipments and dangerous chemicals

"Due to" is wrongly used here.
Due to can be used when a noun or a noun phrases CAUSES something, so the phrase "due to" can invariably be replaced by the phrase "caused by"

Let's consider the example.
1. The match was postponed due to rain. THIS IS A WRONG SENTENCE. You must ask the question "What?". In this case: What happened due to rain? and the answer must be a noun or a noun phrase. Do you see an answer? Nope!
2. The postponement of the match was due to rain. What happened due to rain? Oh Yeah, the postponement. Correct.

Apply the same logic in A, and you can clearly see why it's wrong.

b) Because there is much sensitive equipment and many dangerous chemicals

Well the problem is very subtle in this one. It would depend on the usage of "much". Are we talking about the number of sensitive equipment in the lab? Then we cannot use much, as it is a qualitative adverb. However, "much" may also imply that the the equipments were VERY sensitive or much sensitive. Much does work then. However, then we are talking about ONE equipment and therefore we need an article such as "a" or "the" in the sentence. So B also goes away.

c) Since there is sensitive equipment and much dangerous chemicals

IS- singular verb, so cannot be used for sensitive equipment and dangerous chemicals. Also the use of much is horrible.

Option D and E: Well I wouldn't even bother spending more than 5 seconds with them. They are THAT horrible.

Hope this helps. Sorry about the rant. Let me know if you find this useful.

S

iwill · Answer

I think A is correct. It doesn't make sense to put much before equipments.

'because of' answers WHY questions

'due to' answers WHAT questions

"Due to" does modify nouns, but it's typically used after the verb "to be."
For example, "The team's win today was due to better conditioning."
What was the cause of the team's win today?
OR
What was the team's win today due to?
>> better conditioning (noun)

so in this question ask yourself what sounds better

why undergraduates are not permitted in the lab without supervision

or
what is the cause for which the undergraduates are not permitted in the lab ?

i guess " why" is a better question thus because is preferred over due to and option b is a better answer

PKay · Answer

Hi  sayantanc2k

I've got a quick question about whether a singular/plural verb should be used after "there" in the following sentences

1. There is/are a boy & a girl in the playground.

2. There is/are a boy, a girl & an old man in the playground.

3. There is/are a boy & two girls in the playground.

4. There is/are two girls & a boy in the playground.

While many would say "is" sounds better, does the grammar not say that "are" should be used ?

There is 'X' and 'Y'...
 or 
There are 'X' and 'Y' ...
Does it matter if X is plural? Does the singularity and plurality of 'X' affect the the verb? 
Can you help me understand this nuance of this better, please?

arunavamunshi1988 · Answer

Hi,
Can you please specify the source of this? Because, Honestly I did not find any option correct. Most of us have confusion between A and B. Lets come to them one by one -

a) Due to the fact that there are many sensitive equipments and dangerous chemicals

This option is ambiguous because we can not say the whether the intended meaning is -

There are many sensitive equipments and There are dangerous chemicals - if this is the intended meaning then we are fine

or the meaning is 
There are many sensitive equipment and There are many dangerous chemicals - if this is the intended meaning then the sentence is incorrect

b) Because there is much sensitive equipment and many dangerous chemicals

This is clearly incorrect because we need 'are' instead of 'is'.

warriorguy · Answer

Since the noun equipment does not have a plural form, it will be considered singular. Hence the verb will also be singular based on the fact that a singular noun is closest to the verb.

Example:

Many players and the coach is going to the beach.

The coach and many players are going to the beach.

The verb will change its form based on the closest noun (singular or plural).

Hence B is correct.

nks2611 · Answer

hi,
 expert , please help me understand the complication b/w A and B .
what i observed after going through the above threads about option B, why it is right or preferable here ,just because we have x is y sentence here and before verb is we don't have any subject so we have a reverse construction then need to check just after the verb means subject which is singular so followed is here , please correct me !

thanks

abhimahna · Answer

Hi  nks2611 ,

Here is my explanation for why B is incorrect in its current form. Please let me know whether I understood your question correctly.

As per the meaning of the sentence, we need to provide a reason for "undergraduates are not permitted there without supervision.". In order to do so, option B correctly uses Because usage.

But there is a problem with B.

B conveys that there are two reasons for "undergraduates are not permitted there without supervision."
1. much sensitive equipment
2. many dangerous chemicals

So, ideally it should be something like 'Because There are'. This will agree with the SV agreement But the same is not true in B. Hence, B is incorrect here. In fact, I couldn't find any option that is correct in this question.

sayantanc2k · Answer

This is a pretty straightforward case of distinction between "due to" and "because".

"Due" being an adjective requires a noun to qualify. On the other hand "because" refers to a verb.

First consider the following:
The game stopped because of rain. (Why stopped? - "stopped" is a verb - hence "because").
The stoppage was due to rain. ( why stoppage? - "stoppage" is a noun - hence "due to").

Now come the subject sentence:
Undergraduates are not permitted....Why not permitted? "are not permitted" is a verb. Hence "because" is required and "due to" is wrong.

(The cause actually does not determine "because" / "due to" - here the cause is "the fact that there are many sensitive equipment and dangerous chemicals" or "there is much sensitive equipment and many dangerous chemicals". These parts have no role in determining whether the usage should be "due to" or "because".)

nks2611 · Answer

Thank you saynatanc2k for putting a valuable thoght here, but can you tell me why we don't have the verb are in option B,

Sent from my vivo 1601 using  GMAT Club Forum mobile app

Keerthanaasri · Answer

Hi,
Can you please explain how the answer "B" is correct

abhimahna · Answer

Hi,

I don't think B is correct here. Please check the post made by Souvik above.

sayantanc2k · Answer

This seems to be an oversight by the author. The verb should be "are".

sayantanc2k · Answer

"Equipment" is an uncountable noun. So article "a"/"an" cannot be used with "equipment".

broall · Answer

Changed "is" in B to "are" as Experts have commented.

Nightmare007 · Answer

Just as for the word "Baggage", we cannot use "Many" to equipment. It is uncountable

. Hope this helps to say why B is right answer.

ligamenttears · Answer

Trick question

I chose A as well. Did a quick google search on use of "Equipment" in a sentence. Here are my notes: 1. It is a singular uncountable noun. We cannot use plural form of verbs with this word. 2. For uncountable nouns we use 'much' not many. A is incorrect because of incorrect usage of "due to" as pointed out by many folks here. In option B, "There is much equipment..." is correct. Use of "are" here is grammatically incorrect. Someone should correct it in the question above. A difficult question indeed! Additional note: if you need to use plural of 'equipment' you can add the word "pieces" For eg: Incorrect: You have many equipments here! Correct: You have many pieces of equipment here! Hope this is helpful (:

paridhibajaj · Answer

Due to the fact that there are many sensitive equipments and dangerous chemicals in the lab, undergraduates are not permitted there without supervision.

a) Due to the fact that there are many sensitive equipments and dangerous chemicals
b) Because there are much sensitive equipment and many dangerous chemicals
c) Since there is sensitive equipment and much dangerous chemicals
d) Existing much sensitive equipment and many dangerous chemicals there
e) Be it that there are much sensitive equipment and dangerous chemicals

Hi - I narrowed down the choices to B and C; The OA shows option B as correct option. However, isn't singular form used for equipment? 
Additionally, I am unable to figure out the correct usage of much in options B and C. Any help on this would be much appreciated!!

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Hello  paridhibajaj ,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, your assertion that B is incorrect seems to be accurate.

In fact, none of the answer choices seem to be appropriate; as this is a question from an unknown source and of arguable quality, we recommend that you skip this one.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

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