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Sub 505 Level|   Pronouns|   Use of Being|                     
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General Discussion
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Iguanas have been an important food source in Latin America since prehistoric times, and it is still prized as a game animal by the campesinos, who typically cook the meat in a heavily spiced stew.

(A) it is still prized as a game animal
(B) it is still prized as game animals
(C) they are still prized as game animals
(D) they are still prized as being a game animal
(E) being still prized as a game animal



I had a doubt regarding "they"......can they be used to refer to animals.
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Hey ajit:

Definitely - "they" is a plural pronoun, so it is actually required to modify the plural "iguanas". "They" can modify anything plural - people, animals, or even just things (e.g. "older buildings are beautiful but they require twice as much money to maintain as do modern homes").

This one comes down to a singular/plural pronoun agreement situation, and because "Iguanas" is the subject (plural) we MUST have "they" as the pronoun.
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There is the singular-plural mismatch in E. But apart from that, "being..." is actually a modifier/adjective phrase modifying Iguanas. The "and" before "being" requires at least a verb (and optionally also a noun/pronoun).

For example:
He played well, and, captaining the team, (he) led his team to victory.

Modifiers typically provide "extra" information. So whenever you encounter a modifier, you should try to remove it from the sentence and see whether the remaining sentence contains the essential elements (noun or pronoun, verb, optional object).
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I am still not able to determine why the use of being is incorrect in option D. I am also looking for a simple explanation on the correct use of being. Any help would be great.
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Pritishd
I am still not able to determine why the use of being is incorrect in option D. I am also looking for a simple explanation on the correct use of being. Any help would be great.
Using "being" is not always incorrect or considered incorrect in Sentence Correction questions.

At the same time, "being" is often used in incorrect answers in Sentence Correction questions because "being" can be inserted into a sentence in an illogical way without that sentence's sounding particularly incorrect.

So, to determine whether the use of "being" in (D) makes sense, we have to analyze the sentence created via the use of (D) to determine whether that sentence makes sense.

Here's the version created via the use of (D).

Iguanas have been an important food source in Latin America since prehistoric times, and they are still prized as being a game animal by the campesinos, who typically cook the meat in a heavily spiced stew.

Because of the presence of "being," what this sentences conveys does not makes sense.

The point to be made is that iguanas are prized as game animals.

What this sentence says is that they are prized as "being game animals."

The problem with using "being" is basically that "being" is in this case an unnecessary verb, and so adding it not only makes the sentence unnecessarily wordy but also results in the sentence's conveying a meaning that does not make sense.

We already have "are prized" as the main verb of this clause. So: "iguanas are prized as X."

Adding "being" may seem innocuous, because "being" is just a form of the basic verb "to be," but having that extra verb there does not make sense.

With "being," we have: iguanas are prized as being X.

The only reason this sentence may not sound entirely incorrect is that "are prized" is not a commonly used expression.

Let's drop "being" into another sentence, one in which the presence of "being" causes the same issues, but more obviously:

    I like my house because it is being energy efficient.

Once again, "being" is an extra verb.

What the speaker really means is:

    I like my house because it is energy efficient.

When "being" is included, the sentence almost seems to convey that the house itself is actively choosing to be energy efficient.

Q: "What is your house doing today?"

A: "My house is being energy efficient."

So, we have two reasons why the use of "being" may not make sense.

1. It adds an unnecessary or redundant verb, with the result that a sentence becomes wordy and conveys an illogical meaning.

2. A sentence that includes "being" may convey that something is actively choosing to be something when, in fact, that thing merely is something.

Hi MartyTargetTestPrep. Thanks for the detailed explanation. I do have a follow-up question. Apologies if my doubt is repetitive.

So does the option D (they are still prized as being a game animal) mean that the Iguanas are prized because the Iguanas are themselves trying to be game animals?
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Pritishd
Hi MartyTargetTestPrep. Thanks for the detailed explanation. I do have a follow-up question. Apologies if my doubt is repetitive.

So does the option D (they are still prized as being a game animal) mean that the Iguanas are prized because the Iguanas are themselves trying to be game animals?
Option (D) does not really say anything, because "prized as" needs a noun object, such as "game animals." So, "prized as being X" is meaningless.

At the same time, part of what you are saying is about right. In this case, it could be argued that "being game animals" could be interpreted as conveying that iguanas are actively choosing to be game animals.
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This is a straightforward question that tests you on Subject Verb Agreement.

Here, Iguanas are plural and so it requires a plural pronoun.

Let’s scan the options:

(A) it is still prized as a game animal
(B) it is still prized as game animals
(C) they are still prized as game animals
(D) they are still prized as being a game animal
(E) being still prized as a game animal

We can eliminate Option A and B right away.

Option D introduces ‘being’ which does not really add to the meaning. Eliminate.

Option E lacks a subject. Eliminate.

Option C is the best choice.


Hope this helps!
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OE:
Agreement; Grammatical construction
The pronouns and nouns that refer to the plural noun iguanas must be
plural, as should the verb following the (corrected) pronoun in the
second clause. Thus, the sentence should read: Iguanas . . . they are still
prized as game animals.
A. It is and a game animal do not agree with iguanas.
B. It is does not agree with iguanas or game animals.
C. Correct. In this sentence, they are and game animals properly
agree with iguanas.
D. A game animal does not agree with iguanas; being is unnecessary
and awkward.
E. A game animal does not agree with iguanas. The second
independent clause requires a subject and a verb, not the participle
being.
The correct answer is C.
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Hi AjiteshArun BrentGMATPrepNow CrackVerbalGMAT MartyTargetTestPrep


I have a general query. In what scenarios it is right to repeat the subject noun.
1.) I went to Asia and stayed there 5 days.
2.) I went to Asia , and I stayed there 5 days.--> I don't think GMAT would like such sentence over previous one

In this question:

Iguanas have been an important food source in Latin America since prehistoric times, and they are still prized as game animals, who typically cook the meat in a heavily spiced stew.
Should it not be:
Iguanas have been an important food source in Latin America since prehistoric times, and they are still prized as game animals, who typically cook the meat in a heavily spiced stew.


Similarly another question:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/to-josephine ... ml#p473888
Josephine Baker made Paris her home long before to be an expatriate was fashionable, and she remained in France during the Second World War as a performer and an intelligence agent for the Resistance

What's your suggestion for such constructions?
please give your opinions. AjiteshArun BrentGMATPrepNow CrackVerbalGMAT MartyTargetTestPrep
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mSKR
Hi AjiteshArun BrentGMATPrepNow CrackVerbalGMAT MartyTargetTestPrep


I have a general query. In what scenarios it is right to repeat the subject noun.
1.) I went to Asia and stayed there 5 days.
2.) I went to Asia , and I stayed there 5 days.--> I don't think GMAT would like such sentence over previous one

In this question:

Iguanas have been an important food source in Latin America since prehistoric times, and they are still prized as game animals, who typically cook the meat in a heavily spiced stew.
Should it not be:
Iguanas have been an important food source in Latin America since prehistoric times, and they are still prized as game animals, who typically cook the meat in a heavily spiced stew.


Similarly another question:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/to-josephine ... ml#p473888
Josephine Baker made Paris her home long before to be an expatriate was fashionable, and she remained in France during the Second World War as a performer and an intelligence agent for the Resistance

What's your suggestion for such constructions?
please give your opinions. AjiteshArun BrentGMATPrepNow CrackVerbalGMAT MartyTargetTestPrep
Hi mSKR,

Please go through this post first for a discussion on a somewhat similar issue.

It is usually okay to analyse the sentences you are looking at as the coordination of two clauses (with ellipsis). For example:

1. The building is old and dilapidated. ← We can read this as "the building is old and (the building is) dilapidated". That is, the second the building is is dropped, but the sentence is still a combination of two clauses. OR we can say that we're looking at an and joining two adjectives (the building is old and dilapidated). Both are fine.

There are some situations, however, in which we don't want to be quite so flexible.

2. I went to Asia, and I stayed there. ← The meaning is that the author spent an extended amount of time in Asia, a meaning that a sentence like "I went to Asia and stayed there" isn't quite as good at conveying. It could still work, but we'd have to emphasise stayed ("I went to Asia and stayed there"). This is a very fine call, and I would not expect the GMAT to present this as the only decision point.

3. An employee is new and inexperienced. ← This sentence cannot be analysed as the coordination of two clauses with ellipsis. That is, this sentence is not "An employee is new and an employee is inexperienced".

TL;DR: We can add the subject or the subject and verb after an and in many cases (long sentences!), but in some cases, we can't. Try not to create a rule for this issue, as the GMAT is probably not looking to test us on it.
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Iguanas have been an important food source in Latin America since prehistoric times, and it is still prized as a game animal by the campesinos, who typically cook the meat in a heavily spiced stew.

(A) it is still prized as a game animal : Main subject is Plural ( Iguanas)
(B) it is still prized as game animals : Main subject is Plural ( Iguanas)
(C) they are still prized as game animals : Correct
(D) they are still prized as being a game animal : Being is always used for temporary events
(E) being still prized as a game animal : Being is always used for temporary events
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Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
Mishari
Subject verb agreement

Iguanas have ... --> Iguanas : plural

POE: A,B and E go away

we have C and D
prized as game animals .. must be plural

D violates the subject verb agreement too


My answer is C

Concepts tested here: Pronouns + Verb Forms + Idioms

• The “noun + as + noun” construction” is a correct idiomatic construction used to describe the role played by a noun.

A:
1/ This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun "Iguanas" with the singular pronoun "it".

B:
1/ This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun "Iguanas" with the singular pronoun "it".

C: Correct.
1/ This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun "Iguanas" with the plural pronoun "they".
2/ Option C acts upon the subject pronoun "they" with the active verb "are" to form a complete thought, producing a complete sentence.
3/ Option C correctly maintains the idiomatic construction “noun + as + noun” to describe the role played by iguanas.

D:
1/ This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "noun + as + being + noun" to describe the role played by iguanas; remember, the “noun + as + noun” construction” is a correct idiomatic construction used to describe the role played by a noun.

E:
1/ This answer choice fails to form a complete sentence; as "being" is a present participle acting as a noun modifier, there is no active verb to act upon the subject noun "Iguanas".

Hence, C is the best answer choice.

All the best!
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