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why the various Generals of the Army of the Potomac before Grant were

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Mkrishnabdrr
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why the various Generals of the Army of the Potomac before Grant were [#permalink] New post   Updated on: 21 Jul 2017, 21:25
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Why the various Generals of the Army of the Potomac before Grant were so singularly unsuccessful against Lee, it is debated in no fewer than five hundred history journals.

A. Lee, it is debated
B. Lee, they are debated
C. Lee is debated
D. Lee, debated
E. Lee, debating

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C

Originally posted by Mkrishnabdrr on 21 Jul 2017, 21:11.
Last edited by Mkrishnabdrr on 21 Jul 2017, 21:25, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: why the various Generals of the Army of the Potomac before Grant were [#permalink] New post   21 Jul 2017, 21:21
mkrishnabdrr wrote:
Why the various Generals of the Army of the Potomac before Grant were so singularly unsuccessful against Lee, it is debated in no fewer than five hundred history journals.

A. Lee, it is debated
B. Lee, they are debated
C. Lee is debated
D. Lee, debated
E. Lee, debating


D,E are Out. We do not need a verb-ing or verb-ed modifier.
A - This creates a fragment of a sentence post the comma, and what is 'it' referring to?
B - 'they' are debated? who are debated? the generals?
C - Correct Answer. connects the sentence with the main verb 'is' for the subject which is the phrase 'why the various....'.

Important to note that the subject here is a phrase, which is always singular.
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Re: why the various Generals of the Army of the Potomac before Grant were [#permalink] New post   21 Jul 2017, 21:29
Why the various Generals of the Army of the Potomac before Grant were so singularly unsuccessful against Lee, it is debated in no fewer than five hundred history journals.
A. Lee, it is debated
Use of Comma leads to a Run-on sentence. Sentence is a Fragment as well. Hence Incorrect
B. Lee, they are debated
Use of Comma leads to a Run-on sentence. Sentence is a Fragment as well. There isn't any antecedent of THEY. Hence Incorrect
C. Lee is debated
Correct
D. Lee, debated
Use of Comma leads to a Fragment. Moreover, verb is missing. Hence Incorrect
E. Lee, debating
Fragmented sentence. Hence Incorrect.
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Re: why the various Generals of the Army of the Potomac before Grant were [#permalink] New post   21 Jul 2017, 21:32
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Why the various Generals of the Army of the Potomac before Grant were so singularly unsuccessful against Lee, it is debated in no fewer than five hundred history journals.

A. Lee, it is debated
B. Lee, they are debated
C. Lee is debated
D. Lee, debated
E. Lee, debating
Here the clause " Why the various Generals of the Army of the Potomac before Grant were so singularly unsuccessful against Lee," is called a substantive clause: a substantive clause or phrase may also contain a gerund or an infinitive and is considered singular , even though it may contain plural words. Normally a verb follows this substantive part.

As per this tenet, C is the correct choice.
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Re: why the various Generals of the Army of the Potomac before Grant were [#permalink] New post   21 Jul 2017, 21:40
C phrases and clauses are always singular hence C is the only choice satisfying this rule.

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Re: why the various Generals of the Army of the Potomac before Grant were [#permalink] New post   21 Jul 2017, 21:43
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mkrishnabdrr wrote:
Why the various Generals of the Army of the Potomac before Grant were so singularly unsuccessful against Lee, it is debated in no fewer than five hundred history journals.

A. Lee, it is debated
B. Lee, they are debated
C. Lee is debated
D. Lee, debated
E. Lee, debating


One can eliminate A and B as it is run-on...two independent clauses cant be joined by a comma
D and E can be eliminated as in both cases debated and debating is used as modifier but its not clear who is debating
C is perfect as comma is removed and it is clear that why various generals is unsuccessful is debated...actually in this case the subject is so long that it is difficult for someone to actually find the main subject.
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Re: why the various Generals of the Army of the Potomac before Grant were [#permalink] New post   15 Dec 2022, 05:41
daagh wrote:
Why the various Generals of the Army of the Potomac before Grant were so singularly unsuccessful against Lee, it is debated in no fewer than five hundred history journals.

A. Lee, it is debated
B. Lee, they are debated
C. Lee is debated
D. Lee, debated
E. Lee, debating
Here the clause " Why the various Generals of the Army of the Potomac before Grant were so singularly unsuccessful against Lee," is called a substantive clause: a substantive clause or phrase may also contain a gerund or an infinitive and is considered singular , even though it may contain plural words. Normally a verb follows this substantive part.

As per this tenet, C is the correct choice.



generis mike Can you please explain how to spot substantive clause as @dagh has mentioned in his explaination.
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Re: why the various Generals of the Army of the Potomac before Grant were [#permalink]
15 Dec 2022, 05:41
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