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In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 09 Jun 2017, 14:21
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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.
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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
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In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 09 Jun 2017, 14:30
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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
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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
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In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 29 Jun 2020, 02:40
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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
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In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 29 Jun 2020, 19:58
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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.
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In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 01 Jul 2020, 00:33
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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
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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.
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In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 05 Oct 2020, 03:27
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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
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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?
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In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 05 Oct 2020, 04:11
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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?
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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
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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.
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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
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In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 20 Nov 2020, 08:45
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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.
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In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 03 Jul 2021, 04:21
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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
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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.
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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. :)
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In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 03 Jan 2022, 04:39
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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
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In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 18 Jan 2022, 02:25
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can someone further explain why D is not the correct option
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In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 20 Jan 2022, 09:50
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can someone further explain why D is not the correct option
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Well, there's a good reason you're having trouble understanding the problem with (D): it's the correct answer! :)
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In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 25 May 2022, 07:44
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GMATNinja, could you please clarify whether of all the other planet is incorrect in A?
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GMATNinja, could you please clarify whether of all the other planet is incorrect in A?
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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!
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In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 28 May 2022, 03:58
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GMATNinja, could you please clarify whether of all the other planet is incorrect in A?
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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!
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In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of 01 Jun 2023, 15:34
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Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

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