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

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.

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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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 - Subject verb agreement issue
(B) it is still prized as game animals - Subject verb agreement issue
(C) they are still prized as game animals- Correct
(D) they are still prized as being a game animal - usage of being
(E) being still prized as a game animal - usage of being

Answer C
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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.

Issue: Pronoun Reference | Meaning

Analysis:
1. This sentence connects two clauses using "and" and the main subject of the sentence is "Iguanas" which is plural
2. Core of the sentence: "Iguanas have been .... food source, and they are... prized as game animal..."
3. The original sentence has pronoun reference error as it used singular "it" to refer to "Iguanas"


I have highlighted the issues below:

(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
- "prized as being" leads to meaning issue and changes it from what original sentence intends to say

(E) being still prized as a game animal
- Since "and" here is used to connect two clause, they should be independent. This options is missing a subject.

Answer: (C)

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

They is correct since the first part of the sentence uses 'have been which is plural if it was 'it' then it should be 'has been'

By removing the fluff, we can see that Iguanas is plural and the original sentence uses 'it' and 'animal' in singular. For this reason eliminate A,B,D and E

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.

The only answer left is C

I have a pronoun related question, can "it" refer to only things or it can refer to living things too ? I am certain "it" cannot be used to refer Humans.
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Hey hero_with_1000_faces ,

"It" can refer to all living things except humans.

Does that make sense?
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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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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.
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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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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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(A) it is still prized as a game animal
(1) Pronoun error – “Iguanas” (plural) is the subject; you can’t have “it” (singular) refer to “Iguanas”;

(B) it is still prized as game animals
(1) Pronoun error – “Iguanas” (plural) is the subject; you can’t have “it” (singular) refer to “Iguanas”;

(C) they are still prized as game animals
Best option

(D) they are still prized as being a game animal
(1) object error – “game animal” (singular) can’t refer to “Iguanas” (plural); (2) meaning error – “prized as being…” they aren’t actively prized as BEING a game animal; they are prized AS game animals

(E) being still prized as a game animal
(1) object error – “game animal” (singular) can’t refer to “Iguanas” (plural); (2) not a complete independent clause after the comma FANBOYS