Last visit was: 22 Apr 2026, 18:44 It is currently 22 Apr 2026, 18:44
Home
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
   1   2 
User avatar
egmat
User avatar
e-GMAT Representative
Joined: 02 Nov 2011
Last visit: 21 Apr 2026
Posts: 5,632
Own Kudos:
33,433
 [2]
Given Kudos: 707
GMAT Date: 08-19-2020
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 5,632
Kudos: 33,433
 [2]
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 09 Jun 2017, 14:21
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Gabrielantonioreis

Thanks.

Hi There,

In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of each planet in the solar system results from the combined gravitational pull of the Sun and of all the other planets, each contributing according to their mass and distance from the others.

A. of all the other planets, each contributing according to their
B. of all the other planets, with each of them contributing according to their
C. all the other planets, each of which contributing according to its
D. all the other planets, each contributing according to its
E. all the other planets, each of which contribute according to their

Notice that each answer choice has “each” that makes the subject singular. Even if “each” is referring to “Sun and all the other planets”, it turns all the entities into singular. Hence, when we use “each” to talk about “Sun and all the other planets”, the pronoun that we use to refer to those entities that actually stands for “each” should be singular.

So in this problem, we have a case of pronoun antecedent number disagreement and not the ambiguity. We can eliminate Choices A, B, and E because of the use of plural “their” with singular “each”.

Choice C is incorrect because “which” should introduce a clause. There is no verb after “which” that makes the choice incorrect.

Choice D is precise and free of errors.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha

Hello Shraddha.

Just to make understand better your comment:what you are basically saying is that if, in C, we had a "Contributes" instead of "Contributing" would make the choice valid?

Thanks,

Gabriel.
Show more




Hello @Gabrielantonioreis/ Gabriel,


Thank you for the query. :-)

Yes, you got it correct. if we turn contributing to contributes in Choice C, then each will become subject with the verb contributes. After the comma we will have a dependent clause. This structure will be valid.


Hope this helps. :-)
Thanks.
Shraddha
User avatar
egmat
User avatar
e-GMAT Representative
Joined: 02 Nov 2011
Last visit: 21 Apr 2026
Posts: 5,632
Own Kudos:
33,433
Given Kudos: 707
GMAT Date: 08-19-2020
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 5,632
Kudos: 33,433
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 09 Jun 2017, 14:30
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
tireks

What about this sentence?

By this way of abstraction they are made capable of representing more individuals than one; each of which having in it a conformity to that abstract idea, is (as we call it) of that sort.

https://enlightenment.supersaturated.com ... erIII.html
Show more



Hello tireks,


I would be glad to help you resolve your doubt. :-)

See, the GMAT SC rules are used only in creating SC problems. The outside world does not use GMAT SC to write articles, features, stories, reports, etc. Hence, the usage we consider incorrect on GMAT SC may be commonly used outside the GMAT world. Hence, we experts always back our explanation with official questions and go by the correct official answers.


Hope this helps. :-)
Thanks.
Shraddha
avatar
TaizKaran
avatar
Joined: 07 Jul 2019
Last visit: 11 Mar 2024
Posts: 18
Own Kudos:
10
 [1]
Given Kudos: 441
Posts: 18
Kudos: 10
 [1]
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 29 Jun 2020, 02:40
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
egmat Sir/Ma'am I've already finished your verbal course. There was a topic which said when each/every comes after the subject the clause becomes plural. I even remember the example which you guys stated in your concept file. The example was " The 4 largest truck fleets each account for....." Here the word "Account" is plural. So in the question if the word each comes after planets shouldn't we use their ?

Other experts also please help Magoosh ManhattanPrep VeritasKarishma GMATNinja generis
User avatar
AjiteshArun
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 15 Jul 2015
Last visit: 22 Apr 2026
Posts: 6,076
Own Kudos:
5,139
 [3]
Given Kudos: 743
Location: India
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Posts: 6,076
Kudos: 5,139
 [3]
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 29 Jun 2020, 19:58
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
When each is used as an adjective after a plural subject, the verb for that plural subject remains plural.

They each account for... ← They is the subject of the verb account for.

In the question you're looking at, however, the each occurs alone.

... the motion of each planet in the solar system results from the combined gravitational pull of the Sun and all the other planets, each contributing according to its... ← Here each is not part of the noun phrase all the other planets.

Also, all the other planets is not a subject and it has no verb. Contributing is not a complete verb. In fact, the only subject-verb combination in that part of the sentence is the motion... results from.
User avatar
KarishmaB
User avatar
Joined: 16 Oct 2010
Last visit: 21 Apr 2026
Posts: 16,439
Own Kudos:
79,387
Given Kudos: 484
Location: Pune, India
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 16,439
Kudos: 79,387
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 01 Jul 2020, 00:33
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
TaizKaran
egmat Sir/Ma'am I've already finished your verbal course. There was a topic which said when each/every comes after the subject the clause becomes plural. I even remember the example which you guys stated in your concept file. The example was " The 4 largest truck fleets each account for....." Here the word "Account" is plural. So in the question if the word each comes after planets shouldn't we use their ?

Other experts also please help Magoosh ManhattanPrep VeritasKarishma GMATNinja generis
Show more


We are talking about each planet here.
"contributing..." is a verb-ing modifier modifying "each"(planet)
So the pronoun will be singular.

... other planets, each (planet) contributing according to its mass and distance from the others.

I would be wary of following many black and white "rules". In language, you can express something in ten different ways and what is correct depends on the context. In SC, you are looking for the best available option so sometimes there would be better out of two grammatically correct options and at others, you will pick out of two grammatically debatable options. It all depends on the entire question.
User avatar
NandishSS
User avatar
Joined: 06 Jan 2015
Last visit: 28 Jan 2021
Posts: 701
Own Kudos:
1,786
Given Kudos: 579
Location: India
Concentration: Operations, Finance
GPA: 3.35
WE:Information Technology (Computer Software)
Posts: 701
Kudos: 1,786
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 05 Oct 2020, 03:27
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Allen760
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of each planet in the solar system results from the combined gravitational pull of the Sun and of all the other planets, each contributing according to their mass and distance from the others.

(A) of all the other planets, each contributing according to their
(B) of all the other planets, with each of them contributing according to their
(C) all the other planets, each of which contributing according to its
(D) all the other planets, each contributing according to its
(E) all the other planets, each of which contribute according to their
Show more

HI GMATNinja, @jennpt , VeritasPrepErika, GMATRockstar, AndrewN , GMATCoachBen

I read the whole thread but bit confused about the each is referring to? Can you please help?
avatar
AndrewN
avatar
Volunteer Expert
Joined: 16 May 2019
Last visit: 29 Mar 2025
Posts: 3,490
Own Kudos:
7,661
Given Kudos: 500
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 3,490
Kudos: 7,661
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 05 Oct 2020, 04:11
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
NandishSS
Allen760
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of each planet in the solar system results from the combined gravitational pull of the Sun and of all the other planets, each contributing according to their mass and distance from the others.

(A) of all the other planets, each contributing according to their
(B) of all the other planets, with each of them contributing according to their
(C) all the other planets, each of which contributing according to its
(D) all the other planets, each contributing according to its
(E) all the other planets, each of which contribute according to their

HI GMATNinja, @jennpt , VeritasPrepErika, GMATRockstar, AndrewN , GMATCoachBen

I read the whole thread but bit confused about the each is referring to? Can you please help?
Show more
Hello, NandishSS. I think VeritasKarishma touched on this very issue just two posts above yours, following the second each with an understood planet. There is a convenient reference earlier in the sentence to each planet, so a repetition after the comma seems fitting enough. I suppose you could make a case that since the Sun is mentioned as part of a combined gravitational pull of two grammatical entities, A and B, each could also extend to the Sun as one of a number of massive items forming the whole (i.e. the combined gravitational pull of the Sun and all the other planets, each [body] contributing according to its mass...). In either interpretation, though, the grammatical issues remain the same, and (D) is a clear winner.

Thank you for drawing my attention to the question. I would not have spent enough time with it on my own to consider an alternative interpretation of each, and I enjoy challenging my own presumptions about language.

- Andrew
User avatar
mcelroytutoring
User avatar
Joined: 10 Jul 2015
Last visit: 19 Mar 2026
Posts: 1,206
Own Kudos:
2,675
 [1]
Given Kudos: 282
Status:Expert GMAT, GRE, and LSAT Tutor / Coach
Affiliations: Harvard University, A.B. with honors in Government, 2002
Location: United States (CO)
Age: 45 (10 years and counting on GMAT Club!)
GMAT 1: 770 Q47 V48
GMAT 2: 730 Q44 V47
GMAT 3: 750 Q50 V42
GMAT 4: 730 Q48 V42 (Online)
GRE 1: Q168 V169
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 4: 730 Q48 V42 (Online)
GRE 1: Q168 V169
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Posts: 1,206
Kudos: 2,675
 [1]
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of Updated on: 29 Oct 2020, 11:40
Originally posted by mcelroytutoring on 18 Oct 2020, 20:42.
Last edited by mcelroytutoring on 29 Oct 2020, 11:40, edited 3 times in total.
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
My perfect version of this sentence:

In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of each planet in the solar system results from the combined gravitational pull of the Sun and of all the other planets, each planet contributing according to its mass and distance from the others.

Here's a 2-minute video I made to help explain this question.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v_M8O-HA2U&feature=emb_title
User avatar
CrackverbalGMAT
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 03 Oct 2013
Last visit: 22 Apr 2026
Posts: 4,846
Own Kudos:
9,180
Given Kudos: 226
Affiliations: CrackVerbal
Location: India
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 4,846
Kudos: 9,180
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 20 Nov 2020, 08:45
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of each planet in the solar system results from the combined gravitational pull of the Sun and of all the other planets, each contributing according to their mass and distance from the others.

(A) of all the other planets, each contributing according to their Plural pronoun "their" is incompatible with "each. Eliminate.

(B) of all the other planets, with each of them contributing according to their Same error as (A). Eliminate.

(C) all the other planets, each of which contributing according to its "which" needs to be followed by verb in base form and not verb+ing. Eliminate.

(D) all the other planets, each contributing according to its Correct answer.

(E) all the other planets, each of which contribute according to their Same error as (A). Eliminate.

Hope this helps.
User avatar
SALAKSHYA
User avatar
Schools: Anderson '24 Booth '24 Broad Carlson Columbia CBS '24 Darden '24 Goizueta '24 Foster '24 Fuqua '24 Harvard '24 ISB '23 Johnson '24 Kelley '24 Kellogg '24 Kenan-Flagler '24 LBS '24 Marshall '24 McCombs '24 McDonough '24 NTU Said '23 Ross '24 Rotman '24 Scheller Sloan '24 Smeal Stanford '24 Tepper '24 Tuck '24 Wharton '24 Yale '24
GMAT 2: 740 Q50 V40
Posts: 68
Kudos: 22
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 03 Jul 2021, 04:21
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
egmat
uledssul
I wasn't sure of 'of all'/ 'all the other' split because they both seemed okay to me.
For the antecedents, its and their, Can somebody explain better about this?

As far as I know, you can't get rid of the choices strictly according to the ambiguity of antecedent usage.
I was thinking about the followings,
its = each of planets and the sun
their = the sun and all the other planets

Please help!

Thanks.

Hi There,

In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of each planet in the solar system results from the combined gravitational pull of the Sun and of all the other planets, each contributing according to their mass and distance from the others.

A. of all the other planets, each contributing according to their
B. of all the other planets, with each of them contributing according to their
C. all the other planets, each of which contributing according to its
D. all the other planets, each contributing according to its
E. all the other planets, each of which contribute according to their

Notice that each answer choice has “each” that makes the subject singular. Even if “each” is referring to “Sun and all the other planets”, it turns all the entities into singular. Hence, when we use “each” to talk about “Sun and all the other planets”, the pronoun that we use to refer to those entities that actually stands for “each” should be singular.

So in this problem, we have a case of pronoun antecedent number disagreement and not the ambiguity. We can eliminate Choices A, B, and E because of the use of plural “their” with singular “each”.

Choice C is incorrect because “which” should introduce a clause. There is no verb after “which” that makes the choice incorrect.

Choice D is precise and free of errors.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha
Show more

Thanks, Shraddha, for the nice explanation. I selected D between C and D , because it was nice and clean but not for the explanation stated here. Can you please explain why do we need a verb after which in option C.
avatar
TarunKumar1234
avatar
Joined: 14 Jul 2020
Last visit: 28 Feb 2024
Posts: 1,102
Own Kudos:
1,357
Given Kudos: 351
Location: India
Posts: 1,102
Kudos: 1,357
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 05 Nov 2021, 01:10
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of each planet in the solar system results from the combined gravitational pull of the Sun and of all the other planets, each contributing according to their mass and distance from the others.

(A) of all the other planets, each contributing according to their -> each requires singular pronoun. So, "their" is incorrect.
(B) of all the other planets, with each of them contributing according to their -> Same as A. Incorrect.
(C) all the other planets, each of which contributing according to its -> which indicates for a clause to follow. And, a clause must have a verb. But, we don't have a verb post "which". Incorrect.
(D) all the other planets, each contributing according to its -> This is better. Let's keep it.
(E) all the other planets, each of which contribute according to their -> Same as A. Incorrect.

So, I think D. :)
User avatar
harish555
User avatar
Joined: 10 Apr 2019
Last visit: 15 Apr 2025
Posts: 156
Own Kudos:
37
Given Kudos: 386
Location: India
Concentration: Marketing, Strategy
Schools: Kelley '24 (A$$)
GMAT 1: 640 Q48 V30
GPA: 3.03
WE:Marketing (Retail Banking)
Schools: Kelley '24 (A$$)
GMAT 1: 640 Q48 V30
Posts: 156
Kudos: 37
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 03 Jan 2022, 04:39
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
This is definitely an easy question compared with other 600-700 level Qs.

In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of each planet in the solar system results from the combined gravitational pull of the Sun and of all the other planets, each contributing according to their mass and distance from the others.

(A) of all the other planets, each contributing according to their
of all the other planets- Of may or not be required . We can remove 'of' . each - each planet(singular)-their (Plural) - Wrong comparison. A is Out
(B) of all the other planets, with each of them contributing according to their
each(singular) - prepositional phrase - their(plural) . B is out
(C) all the other planets, each of which contributing according to its . Keep C
(D) all the other planets, each contributing according to its. Keep D
(E) all the other planets, each of which contribute according to their
each(singular), their (Plural)
We come down to C and D easily .
Between c and D , I prefer D to C for the reason that C has an issue with the formation of the sentence. Each is an antecedent of planet. So, each of 'which' is not required here. Which refers back to what ? each of planets - wrong usage.
C is straight and does not have any issue. So, C is the right answer
avatar
drewgr
avatar
Joined: 09 Dec 2021
Last visit: 09 Feb 2022
Posts: 3
Own Kudos:
5
Given Kudos: 108
Location: United States
Concentration: Marketing, Real Estate
GPA: 4
WE:Information Technology (Internet and New Media)
Posts: 3
Kudos: 5
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 18 Jan 2022, 02:25
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
can someone further explain why D is not the correct option
User avatar
GMATNinja
User avatar
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Last visit: 22 Apr 2026
Posts: 7,391
Own Kudos:
70,798
Given Kudos: 2,129
Status: GMAT/GRE/LSAT tutors
Location: United States (CO)
GMAT 1: 780 Q51 V46
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Products:
GMAT Club Tests
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Posts: 7,391
Kudos: 70,798
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 20 Jan 2022, 09:50
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
drewgr
can someone further explain why D is not the correct option
Show more
Well, there's a good reason you're having trouble understanding the problem with (D): it's the correct answer! :)
User avatar
tkorzhan1995
User avatar
Joined: 16 Oct 2021
Last visit: 30 Aug 2022
Posts: 115
Own Kudos:
16
Given Kudos: 22
Location: Canada
Posts: 115
Kudos: 16
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 25 May 2022, 07:44
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
GMATNinja, could you please clarify whether of all the other planet is incorrect in A?
User avatar
ExpertsGlobal5
User avatar
Experts' Global Representative
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Last visit: 22 Apr 2026
Posts: 6,216
Own Kudos:
6,172
Given Kudos: 44
Location: India
GMAT Date: 11-01-2019
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 6,216
Kudos: 6,172
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 26 May 2022, 06:13
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
tkorzhan1995
GMATNinja, could you please clarify whether of all the other planet is incorrect in A?
Show more

Hello tkorzhan1995,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the use of "of all the other planets" in Option A is not incorrect; the repetition of "of" is redundant, but not incorrect.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
User avatar
GMATNinja
User avatar
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Last visit: 22 Apr 2026
Posts: 7,391
Own Kudos:
70,798
 [1]
Given Kudos: 2,129
Status: GMAT/GRE/LSAT tutors
Location: United States (CO)
GMAT 1: 780 Q51 V46
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Products:
GMAT Club Tests
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Posts: 7,391
Kudos: 70,798
 [1]
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 28 May 2022, 03:58
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
tkorzhan1995
GMATNinja, could you please clarify whether of all the other planet is incorrect in A?
Show more
That construction is illogical. Consider two examples:

    1) Tim ate a combination of tacos and bananas for lunch.

Weird lunch, but it makes sense. The lunch combination consisted of two elements: tacos and bananas.

    2) Tim ate a combination of tacos and of bananas for lunch

This is odd. It makes it sound as though Tim ate two different combinations. One consisted of tacos. And the other consisted of bananas. But a combination, by definition has to consist of at least two different elements. That's a problem here.

(A) has the same issue as example 2. Take another look at the relevant portion:

Quote:
("the combined gravitational pull of the Sun and of all the other planets..."
Show more

It sounds like there are two different combined gravitational pulls: one of the Sun, and one of the other planets. But again, that doesn't make sense. The combined gravitational pull has to contain at least two different elements.

I hope that helps!
User avatar
VerbalBot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 01 Oct 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 19,419
Own Kudos:
1,009
Posts: 19,419
Kudos: 1,009
In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 01 Jun 2023, 15:34
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Automated notice from GMAT Club VerbalBot:

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

This post was generated automatically.
   1   2 
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7391 posts
AbhishekP220108
499 posts
bhanu29
358 posts