In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of

Question

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.

C. all the other planets, each of which contributing according to its
D. all the other planets, each contributing according to its

(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

egmat · Accepted Answer

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.

C. all the other planets, each of which contributing according to its
D. all the other planets, each contributing according to its

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

DmitryFarber · Answer

Yes, "their" is wrong because it doesn't agree with "each."

You can't say "each of which contributing." Adding "of which" makes "each" into a subject which would then need the verb "contributes."

In D, "each contributing" serves as a modifier--"each" doesn't serve as a subject.

Compare these:

The lobby was full of aspiring actors, each dreaming of landing a big role.
The lobby was full of aspiring actors, each of whom dreamed of landing a big role.

Those both work. What we wouldn't want to say is this:

The lobby was full of aspiring actors, each of whom dreaming of landing a big role.

Hopefully, that sounds awful to you! The sentence we're dealing with here works in the same way.

uledssul · Answer

51. 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

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.

zazoz · Answer

In correct answer choice 'each contributing....' is a modifier that modifies the main clause, right? Why there is no verb in this modifier? can someone please explains it to me. Thanks

Marcab · Answer

It is actually an absolute phrase that answers the HOW aspect of the preceding clause.
Best regards,

pytha1gurus · Answer

Hi Raj 'its' is referring to 'each' and not 'planets' Let's look at the 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 contributing according to their mass and distance from the others. their (plural ) can't be paired with each (singular) and thus, A, B, and E can be eliminated. A. of all the other planets, each contributing according to their - wrong pronoun B. of all the other planets, with each of them contributing according to their - wrong pronoun E. all the other planets, each of which contribute according to their - wrong pronoun We are down to two now C. all the other planets, each of which contributing according to its Use of 'each of which' is imprecise here. 'each of which' like 'which' requires a verb after that. As there is no verb after 'each of which', the construction is imprecise. Correct use of 'each of which' - select any two answer choices, each of which can be used to complete the sentence. I have bought several books, each of which is based on a different theme. D. all the other planets, each contributing according to its Answer D Hope it helps! Dolly

solitaryreaper · Answer

Hi Dmitry, Can you shed some more light on " each of which " and " each of whom " constructions from a grammatical standpoint. I mean I couldn't grasp how each of whom / each of which can act as a subject , while a singular each can't.

Thanks, SR

DmitryFarber · Answer

It's not that a solitary "each"  can't  serve as a subject--it's that it doesn't  have  to. The word "each" can serve as either a pronoun or a modifier (adjective/adverb).

Pronoun:  Each one of these paintings is worth a million dollars. 
Modifier:  There are three bedrooms, each with its own bathroom.

However, we can also use "each" as a pronoun in a modifying clause. In this case, we use "of which/of whom" to signal that we are building such a clause.

He ordered several different dishes, each of which could have served as a meal in its own right.

Here, "each" is the subject and "could" is the main verb. We typically do this to express something more complicated than we could in a normal modifier. Notice that because we have a complex set of verbs ("could have served"), it would be hard to express this without a full clause. If we said "each serving as a meal in its own right," that would change the intended meaning (each dish actually  is  a meal).

I hope that helps!

rohitmanglik · Answer

Hi  DmitryFarber , as I studied earlier, each can have both plural and singular noun depending whether we have plural noun before or after "each".

e.g.
The three networks each: Plural
Each of the three networks: Singular

Is this concept wrong? Over here  each  came after plural noun so why we don't have plural pronoun? Is it because of comma between plural noun and each?

DmitryFarber · Answer

No, "each"' is always singular. It is correct to say "The three networks each provide similar programming," but only because in this case "each" is not the subject, but a modifier. The subject is "the three networks," which is of course plural.

So if you see "Each of . . .," "each" is serving as a singular noun. However, if you see "The   each," then "each" is serving as a modifier on the verb, which should in turn agree with the plural subject.

chetan2u · Answer

Hi,
lets see the two choices--

what is the role of 'contributing and the phrase connected with it..
It basically speaks on the previous clause, thus modifying the clause..

But use of each of which makes 'each of which' as a SUBJECT and therefore requires a VERB..
It would be correct if we say--
each of which is contributing..
each of which contributes...

PrakharGMAT · Answer

Hi  chetan2u ,

I am not able to understand  "each"  vs  "each of which" 
as you said " each of which " behaves like a subject and hence we need a verb for it.
According to the only difference I see between "each" and "each o which" is the later is wordy.

Just for future reference can I say --> If I come across "each of which" then I should  always  look for a verb..??

Please assist.

chetan2u · Answer

Hi,

Each can be a pronoun or an adjective..
when used as an adjective / modifier, it is not necessary that it should have a verb, as in this Q in correct choice

Each of which is always a pronoun and will be a part of a clause with a VERB..

thuyduong91vnu · Answer

Hi chetan2u, Could you help with this one, I have some questions about this SC: (1) If we want to substitute "Each of them " for "Each of which " in this case, then what the modified sentence will be? From grammatical standpoint, does " Each of them " act in the same way as " Each of which " or " Each "? (2) As you mentioned, "Each" can be a pronoun or an adjective, so it is also grammatically correct to say "...results from the combined gravitational pull of the Sun and of all the other planets, each contributes according to its mass...", right? And if it is the case, then does this version incur any differences from the OA? Thanks for your help

chetan2u · Answer

Hi,

refer your PM.. you should tag a name with @ for a person to know.. like  thuyduong91vnu  ... it is @ + thuyduong91vnu
1) first query, each of them behaves more like each of which..
2) No, it will not be correct..
WHY? 
because contributes is a VERB and makes the modifier starting with 'each' as a dependent clause but there is no conjunction joining 'it' to main clause..
In the original, contributing is a participle and can act as a modifier, so its OK

dixitraghav · Answer

Request an expert to reply !
In option D , the clause starting with " Each contributing according to its " does not have a verb. As per my understanding the in a clause there must be a subject and a verb. So the subject is each but where is the verb ?

GMATNinja · Answer

Dixitraghav, the phrase beginning with "each contributing" is just a modifier here, so you don't need a subject and a verb. Both DmitryFarber and chetan2u touch on this issue in their explanations on page 2 of this thread, but there's no need for a main verb in the last half of the sentence.

Gabrielantonioreis · Answer

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.

Scorpi0n · Answer

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

In his experiments with gravity, Isaac Newton showed how the motion of

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