In order to improve the aesthetics of the neighborhood a group of

Question

Project SC Butler: Day 133 Sentence Correction (SC1) 
 For SC butler Questions  Click Here

In order to improve the aesthetics of the neighborhood,  a group of citizens have suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified .

(A) a group of citizens have suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified

(B) a group of citizens have suggested that the park not only be cleaned but also beautified

(C) the park should not only be cleaned but also beautified, a group of citizens has suggested

(D) a group of citizens has suggested that the park be not only cleaned but that it also be beautified

(E) a group of citizens has suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified

generis · Accepted Answer

PROCESS OF ELIMINATION Just after the POE I explain "once outside, twice inside" and collective nouns • the singular subject group does not agree with the plural verb have • the idiom, though, is parallel; be is used correctly only "once outside" • singular group does not agree with plural have • BE is once outside and once inside.

Because BE comes after not only , BE must also come after but also (BE should be twice inside) • modifier problem (dangling modifier, misplaced modifier) The introductory phrase, In order to improve the aesthetics of the neighborhood, describes something that is animate (alive) and conscious (thinking or having intent to improve.) A park cannot intend to improve anything. What follows the prepositional phrase should be a group of citizens • parallelism - the error is identical to that in (B). The second BE (twice inside) is missing. NOT ONLY BE X BUT ALSO Y • BE comes before not only . It should occur only once, outside the idiomatic structure, but BE also comes after but ... also . Once outside, once inside? Wrong. Correct. The answer is E. CHALLENGE (kudos for answering): in option (D), suppose that I change the placement of BE. PRETEND option D : ... a group of citizens has suggested that the park not only be cleaned but that it also be beautified -- Now, is that structure parallel? Why or why not? ("That construction does not follow the idiom" is an assertion, not an explanation.) HIGHLIGHTS • how to USE the idiom NOT ONLY X BUT ALSO Y GMAC tests this idiom frequently. X and Y must be parallel. I am seeing a lot of misunderstanding about this rule on other threads. No surprise. Parallelism is hard enough, let alone when coupled with the subjunctive (BE) in an idiomatic construction. You do not need to know that this structure is called a correlative conjunction , but you do need to know that 1) whatever comes after not only does not "carry over" to the "but also " part. We have to repeat words. 2) the words "not only" indicate where the parallelism begins. Somewhere before that phrase (usually immediately before), the "root phrase" leads into the parallel structure. The root phrase in this sentence is suggested that the park BE or suggested that the park 3) prepositions, verbs, and split verbs create the most problems. The rule is once outside, twice inside. I will mark the end of the root and the beginning of the parallel structure with || to show visually what is meant by inside and outside Once outside IF the root is suggested that the park BE as in Option E, then BE is written "outside" the idiom's structure, ONE time. Correct, BE is ONCE OUTSIDE : . . . suggested that the park be || not only X but also Y Correct, BE is ONCE OUTSIDE : . . . suggested that the park be || not only cleaned but also beautified Correct : cleaned and beautified are parallel. Each works with BE. Each is a subject complement of the same kind, a past participle (a verbED). Try each one separately. -- suggested that the park be cleaned (correct) -- suggested that the park be beautified (correct) Twice inside If the root is suggested that the park, as in (B), and we see that BE comes after "not only" or "but also," then BE is already inside the structure once. But BE must be inside TWO times. Correct, twice inside : . . . suggested that the park || not only be X but also be Y Correct, twice inside : . . . suggested that the park || not only be cleaned but also be beautified How to choose between once outside and twice inside? If the non-underlined portion contains the word BE and the options offer not only X but also Y, then BE is already outside (before) the idiom. We are stuck with once outside because it comes before "not only." Any option that repeats BE inside is incorrect. If the question is like this one, we have to decide which underlined portion correctly puts BE either once outside or twice inside. -- If we see a BE after either not only or but also, then BE is already inside. Now we know that we need to see a second BE after the other part of the idiom. (If BE is inside at all, it must be TWICE inside) -- If we see a BE before the parallelism marker not only, then that option has already placed the BE outside, and we must see only that one BE. (once outside) We could use the one-word verb ARE. -- Once outside, correct: Dancers are not only artists but also athletes. -- Twice inside, correct: Dancers not only are artists but also are athletes. -- Once inside, once outside, WRONG : Dancers are not only artists but also are athletes. Although they are not at issue in this sentence, prepositions are tested heavily with idiomatic structures. Same rule: Once outside, twice inside. -- Once outside, correct : She did pro bono work for not only the Poverty Law Center but also Human Rights Watch. --Twice inside, correct : She did pro bono work not only for the Poverty Law Center but also for Human Rights Watch. -- Once outside, once inside, WRONG : She did pro bono work for not only the Poverty Law Center but also for Human Rights Watch.

That last sentence is not likely to strike most people as lacking parallelism. It does lack parallelism. FOR is in the wrong place. A very good post on this issue, written by Mike McGarry of Magoosh, is HERE . • collective nouns When dealing with verb tenses, sometimes people confuse collective nouns with plural nouns. GROUP is a collective noun that is a singular entity made up of many members. This singular entity takes a singular noun even when followed by a description of members of that group. A group of citizens? GROUP is singular A herd of cows? HERD is singular A flock of birds? FLOCK is singular A collective noun is a larger category that encompasses multiple items or members. -- If we have numerous crows, most people would call that group a FLOCK of crows. -- The correct collective noun for numerous crows is a MURDER of crows.

On the GMAT, collective nouns are singular and take singular verbs . -- A murder of crows likes to eat all my raspberries. -- A group of unusual scholars is coming to present at the conference. Collective nouns in British English often are treated differently. If you speak British English, just be a little careful. A plural noun does indicate multiple items (or people) but takes a plural verb. -- Usually we just add -s or -es to the noun and thus plural nouns are not hard to spot. The cat has green eyes. The cats have green eyes. -- Irregular plural nouns include children, people, women, mice, teeth, oxen, cacti The child has green eyes. The children have green eyes. Sometimes the trouble arrives in constructions such as EITHER/OR. Either the cat or the dogs are in my yard. (Verb matches the nearer subject.) Either the cat or the murder of crows is in my back yard. COMMENTS Wow! Big group. I am thrilled about the Game of Timers competition and now thrilled that it didn't steal my participants. Kudos to everyone because I got caught between two professional deadlines that were moved up (i.e. in my "real" occupations)— I had to post both this OE and the third set of questions for this week tardily. techloverforever and longway25 , welcome to SC Butler.

Raxit85 , Xylan , J2S2019 , prashanths , GKomoku , bartk , Arvind42 (thanks for the note!), Archit3110 , Annet1524 , and firas92 - glad to see you all again.

I wanted to give kudos only to answers that explain. Answers that explain errors—even with two or three words!—are better than answers that simply name errors. People who do not understand a concept will not be helped by seeing that the concept has a name. Explaining takes a little more effort and a little (or a lot) more time. This group is impressive. Almost all of you have written explanations that will help other members who follow. It's really hard to know what kind of approach will help a person understand. Sometimes a single phrase will trigger an "aha" moment for someone. Many someones, actually. My favorite part? You already demonstrate part of what B school requires: active, committed learning and teaching. Nicely done.

firas92 · Answer

A  group  of citizens is singular so it is incorrect to use   have   to refer to the group

Eliminate (A) & (B)

The initial non underlined part is a modifier that explains why the group did what it did. Since the modifier modifies the closest noun, we must have the subject/noun "a group" right after the modifier.

This structure is lost in (C). Eliminate

Another split tested here is the  not only....but also  construction.

As we have in (E) - Not only X but also Y is the right construction which is not followed in (D).

Eliminate (D)

Answer is  (E)

Annet1524 · Answer

In order to improve the aesthetics of the neighborhood, a group of citizens have suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified.

(A) a group of citizens  have  suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified - plural,  a groub is singular
 
(B) a group of citizens  have    suggested that the park not only be cleaned but also beautified plural,  a groub is singular

(C)  the park    should not only be cleaned but also beautified, a group of citizens has suggested -  in order to improve... modifies a group of sitizens

(D) a group of citizens has suggested that the park be not only cleaned  but that it also  be beautified -  not only...but also is wrong usage

(E) a group of citizens  has suggested  that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified -  Correct choice

longway25 · Answer

Project SC Butler: Day 133 Sentence Correction (SC1) 
 For SC butler Questions  Click Here

In order to improve the aesthetics of the neighborhood,  a group of citizens have suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified .

(A) a group of citizens  have  suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified

(B) a group of citizens  have  suggested that the park not only be cleaned but also beautified

(C) the park should  not only   be cleaned   but also   beautified , a group of citizens has suggested (X and Y in amber are not parallel)

D and E are clear contenders

(D) a group of citizens has suggested that the park be   not only   cleaned   but   that it also be beautified (not only---but also, is the correct expression)

(E) a group of citizens  has  suggested that the park be  not only  cleaned  but also  beautified (not only X but also Y)

Archit3110 · Answer

In order to improve the aesthetics of the neighborhood,  a group of citizens have suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified .

(A) a group of citizens  have  suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified ; have is wrong; a group is singular

(B) a group of citizens  have  suggested that the park not only be cleaned but also beautified; have is wrong; a group is singular

(C) the park should  not only be  cleaned but also beautified, a group of citizens has suggested ; co relative conjunction error..

(D) a group of citizens has suggested that the park be  not only cleaned but that it also be beautified  ; co relative conjunction error

(E) a group of citizens  has suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified ; correct; has and correlative conjunction is also correct
 IMO E

Lampard42 · Answer

generis  - Thought you had stopped SC butler due to the competition. Happy to be wrong....keep posting !

(A) a group of citizens have suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified -  a group of X is singular

(B) a group of citizens have suggested that the park not only be cleaned but also beautified -  Same error as A

(C) the park should not only be cleaned but also beautified, a group of citizens has suggested -  Modifier error, the opening modifier requires " a group"

(D) a group of citizens has suggested that the park be not only cleaned but that it also be beautified -  Parallelism error i.e not only X but also Y

(E) a group of citizens has suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified  Correct

bartk · Answer

"A group of citizens" in this sentence is singular, so we need "has". But as far as I know, sometimes we need to be careful with collective nouns: plural verb/pronoun is required when the sentence stresses individual actions within the group.

E.g.  The faculty commute very long distances from their homes to the campus.

Same as (A).

We need the subject after dependent clause and "the park" is not it. It's the group of citizens that did something to improve the aesthetics.

Correct idiomatic expression is "not only...but also" and things coming after "not only" and "but also" need to be parallel. "That it" serves to create an illusion of parallelism with "suggested that" but it's not what we want. I'm not sure whether putting something between "but" and "also" is 100% wrong (because it changes the exact wording of the idiom) but we'll see in a second that we have a better option.

"A group of citizens" agrees now with its verb and expression "not only...but also" is nicely parallel.

GKomoku · Answer

In order to improve the aesthetics of the neighborhood, a group of citizens have suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified.

(A) a group of citizens have suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified
"A group of" collective noun should be followed by singular verb

(B) a group of citizens have suggested that the park not only be cleaned but also beautified
"A group of" collective noun should be followed by singular verb

(C) the park should not only be cleaned but also beautified, a group of citizens has suggested
"In order to improve the aesthetics of the neighborhood" should modify "a group of citizens".

(D) a group of citizens has suggested that the park be not only cleaned but that it also be beautified
Parallelism error. Instead of "be not only X but also Y" it uses "be not only X but that is also be Y"

(E) a group of citizens has suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified
Correct.

Answer would be E.

prashanths · Answer

In order to improve the aesthetics of the neighborhood, a group of citizens have suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified.

(A) a group of citizens have suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified 
"A group of" collective noun should be followed by singular verb

(B) a group of citizens have suggested that the park not only be cleaned but also beautified 
"A group of" collective noun should be followed by singular verb

(C) the park should not only be cleaned but also beautified, a group of citizens has suggested 
"In order to improve the aesthetics of the neighborhood" should modify "a group of citizens".

(D) a group of citizens has suggested that the park be not only cleaned but that it also be beautified 
Parallelism error. Instead of "be not only X but also Y" it uses "be not only X but that is also be Y"

(E) a group of citizens has suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified
Correct.

Answer would be E.

J2S2019 · Answer

In order to improve the aesthetics of the neighborhood, a group of citizens have suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified.

(A) a group of citizens have suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified - SVA error, A group of citizens - as a singular should take HAS as a Verb

(B) a group of citizens have suggested that the park not only be cleaned but also beautified - Same error as A

(C) the park should not only be cleaned but also beautified, a group of citizens has suggested - Parallelism error - Not only be cleaned But also Be beautified - missing Be - Also Modifier error present.

(D) a group of citizens has suggested that the park be not only cleaned but that it also be beautified - Same Parallelism error - Not only cleaned but also beautified - correct usage

(E) a group of citizens has suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified - removes all error. CORRECT

Correct answer is E

techloverforever · Answer

(A) a group of citizens  have  suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified :  SV error

(B) a group of citizens  have  suggested that the park not only be cleaned but also beautified :  SV error

(C) the park should not only be cleaned but also beautified,  a group of citizens has suggested

(D) a group of citizens has suggested that the park be  not only cleaned but that it also be beautified  :  not only X but also Y

(E) a group of citizens  has  suggested that the park be  not only cleaned but also beautified  :  correct

XyLan · Answer

Sentence Structure  
 Subject  -  Verb :
  In order to improve the aesthetics of the neighborhood,  
 a group of citizens   has suggested  that  the park   be  not only  cleaned  but also  beautified .

Issues:  
  a group  of citizens is a singular entity. Thus, the verb MUST be singular. 
 A and B    Subject-Verb disagreement

Answer choice analysis:  
 (A) a group of citizens  have suggested  that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified 
   Subject-Verb disagreement

(B) a group of citizens  have suggested  that the park not only be cleaned but also beautified 
   Subject-Verb disagreement

(C) the park should not only  be cleaned  but also  beautified , a group of citizens has suggested 
   Idiom error. Not only X but also Y - X and Y must be parallel
The sentence  seems  correct. However, the order of modifiers is NOT apt ------>  C  is inferior to  E    
(D) a group of citizens has suggested that the park be not only  cleaned  but  that  it also be beautified 
   Idiom error. Not only X but also Y - X and Y must be parallel   
(E) a group of citizens  has  suggested that the park be not only  cleaned  but also  beautified 
   Nice and swift.  E  is the Champ!

Raxit85 · Answer

IMO E.

In order to improve the aesthetics of the neighborhood,  a group of citizens have suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified .

(A)  a group of citizens have  suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified - Subject verb mismatch

(B)  a group of citizens have  suggested that the park not only  be  cleaned but also beautified - Subject verb mismatch and parallelism error

(C) the park should not only  be  cleaned but also beautified,  a group of citizens has suggested   - Parallelism error and modifier error

(D) a group of citizens has suggested that the park be not only cleaned but  that it also be  beautified - Parallelism error and wordiness error

(E)  a group of citizens has suggested that the park be not only cleaned but also beautified - Correct answer

generis · Answer

The official explanation has been posted  HERE .

techloverforever · Answer

Thanks man! generis Simply love your explanations

Posted from my mobile device

VerbalBot · Answer

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.

In order to improve the aesthetics of the neighborhood a group of

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

In order to improve the aesthetics of the neighborhood a group of

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards