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555-605 Level|   Idioms/Diction/Redundancy|   Modifiers|   Pronouns|   Subject Verb Agreement|                        
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In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds 10 Mar 2018, 18:30
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AbdurRakib
The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review 2017

Practice Question
Question No.: SC 739
Page: 696
In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds from which new growth proceeds; consequently they are able to withstand forest fires relatively well.

(A) a thick layer of needles protects the buds from which new growth proceeds; consequently they are able to withstand forest fires relatively well

(B) a thick needle layer protects buds from where new growth proceeds, so that they can withstand forest fires relatively well

(C) a thick layer of needles protect the buds from which new growth proceeds; thus, they are able to withstand relatively well any forest fires

(D) since the buds from which new growth proceeds are protected by a thick layer needle layer, consequently they can therefore withstand forest fires relatively well

(E) because the buds where new growth happens are protected by a thick layer of needles, they are able to withstand forest fires relatively easily as a result
Show more

All the errors perfectly covered in the previous posts but how about the Pronoun 'THEY' in the choice A. There are two logical antecedents to this 1. Needles 2. Buds. Which one does the pronoun refer??
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In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds 20 May 2018, 03:51
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GMATNinja VeritasPrepKarishma

consequently they are able to withstand forest fires relatively well.

Can experts please comment as to why the above sentence is an independent clause?
I believe in spite of having a subject and verb, it communicates partial meaning since
we do not have any antecedence for pronoun - they.
A semi-colon is used to join two independent clauses.
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In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds 31 May 2018, 11:01
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adkikani
GMATNinja VeritasPrepKarishma

consequently they are able to withstand forest fires relatively well.

Can experts please comment as to why the above sentence is an independent clause?
I believe in spite of having a subject and verb, it communicates partial meaning since
we do not have any antecedence for pronoun - they.
A semi-colon is used to join two independent clauses.
Show more
You're undoubtedly familiar with "dependent markers" (although, since, unless, whenever, etc.), which turn an independent clause into a dependent clause. When these markers are present, the "thought" becomes incomplete:

  • "Charlie eats 40 burritos a day." -- Independent clause: complete thought, can stand alone.
  • "Although Charlie eats 40 burritos a day." -- Dependent. To make any sense of a phrase starting with "although", we need some sort of counterpoint to the phrase (something like "he is still perpetually hungry" or "he weighs less than an aircraft carrier"), but it never happens in this case, so it's dependent.

English also features some independent markers, such as "however" or "consequently" -- and these do NOT turn a clause from independent to dependent.

  • "Consequently, they are able to withstand forest fires relatively well."

There's no problem here -- this sentence can absolutely stand alone. Sure, the context is missing, and we need some other information to establish causality -- if we're using "consequently", this sentence presumably needs to be preceded by some evidence for why they are able to withstand forest fires. But that doesn't make the clause grammatically dependent. It just means that we need other sentences to make sense of what's happening.

In a sense, this is similar to using a pronoun in a full, independent sentence: "He likes bhindi masala" is a full sentence, right? No argument there. But we'd need other sentences to give us context on the identity of this fellow who likes bhindi masala. ;)

You might want to check out this article on dependent vs. independent modifiers from the good folks at Purdue OWL: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/598/1/

I hope this helps!
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In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds 31 May 2018, 14:32
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shra1raju
In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds from which new growth proceeds; consequently they are able to withstand forest fires relatively well.


All the errors perfectly covered in the previous posts but how about the Pronoun 'THEY' in the choice A. There are two logical antecedents to this 1. Needles 2. Buds. Which one does the pronoun refer??
Show more


Hello shra1raju,

I am not sure if you still have this doubt. Here is the explanation nonetheless. :-)

There is only one logical noun that pronoun plural they can refer to - some types of pine tree. See, the sentence says that because of something, they can withstand forest fires relatively better. In forest fires, the trees burn. But because of some factor, some types of pine trees can withstand the forest fires better.

Please note that just because there are multiple plural nouns in the sentence, they all become eligible to be the antecedent of the plural pronoun they. The pronoun must have one logical antecedent. Buds or needles are not the logical antecedent for this pronoun per the context of the sentence.


Hope this helps. :-)
Thanks.
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In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds 01 Jun 2018, 23:45
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Hi GMATNinja

Thanks for your two cents.

Do you agree that we need a semi-colon before independent marker words as consequently or however
as mentioned in the link you provided?
At least a semi-colon on OA before consequently would have made my life easier to then treat the clause as an independent one.
I hope you see my rationale ;)
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In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds 02 Jun 2018, 00:59
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A Conjuctive Adverb (consequently) should be preceded by a semi colon and followed by a comma.

Why is comma missing in Choice A?

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In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds 02 Jun 2018, 06:50
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adkikani
Hi GMATNinja

Thanks for your two cents.

Do you agree that we need a semi-colon before independent marker words as consequently or however
as mentioned in the link you provided?
At least a semi-colon on OA before consequently would have made my life easier to then treat the clause as an independent one.
I hope you see my rationale ;)
Show more
Sure, if "consequently" or "however" is the beginning of the 2nd independent clause in a sentence, then there should be a semicolon preceding it. That's part of why (A) is the correct answer here: "consequently" is preceded by a semicolon.

Shobhit7
A Conjuctive Adverb (consequently) should be preceded by a semi colon and followed by a comma.

Why is comma missing in Choice A?

Posted from my mobile device
Show more
It's a funny thing: commas have been disappearing from English over the past few decades, so this is somewhat of a grey area now. When I was a kid, our teachers taught us to put commas after words such as "consequently" and "however." But now, those commas are optional. I still use them, but plenty of editors would disagree with me.

Partly because there's disagreement about the correct uses of commas, it's very rare that commas are a deciding factor on the GMAT, unless the comma somehow affects the meaning of the sentence. So in general, you don't want to worry about commas too much on the GMAT. More on that issue -- and on GMAT punctuation in general -- in this video.

I hope this helps!
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In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds 16 Jan 2019, 13:16
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Hi,

I see of people have eliminated C option as plural verb protect is used with a number of thick needles. But as far as I remember " The number of students" uses singular verb but "A number of students uses plural". Is my understanding correct? If not please tell me the right way to approach such sentences and if it correct then why did we eliminate this option.
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In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds 20 Jan 2019, 03:49
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anc
Hi,

I see of people have eliminated C option as plural verb protect is used with a number of thick needles. But as far as I remember " The number of students" uses singular verb but "A number of students uses plural". Is my understanding correct? If not please tell me the right way to approach such sentences and if it correct then why did we eliminate this option.
Show more
Sure, but the use of "a number" or "the number" isn't the same situation as answer choice (C) in this question.

You're right that if you see a construction such as, "A number of people believe that 1990s ska music was excruciating," we used the plural verb "believe." The reason is that the sentence is analogous to saying something like "27 people believe X." In other words, multiple entities are performing the action.

However, this is not the same as when we have a collective noun. For example, "The pack of dogs was so frightening that my daughter flung herself into traffic to avoid them." (True story. She's fine, but her parents may require therapy.) In this case, we use the singular verb "was," because the subject is "pack." The difference is that a collective, or "a pack" can act as a singular, unified entity.

Takeaway: If we have "A NUMBER + PLURAL NOUN" we use a plural verb, and if we have "A COLLECTIVE NOUN + PLURAL NOUN" we use a singular verb.

And here's (C) again:

Quote:
(C) a thick layer of needles protect the buds from which new growth proceeds; thus, they are able to withstand relatively well any forest fires
Show more
"A thick layer" is a collective noun, so it's singular. We would need the singular form of the verb, "protects."

I hope that helps!
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In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds 09 May 2019, 03:34
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Hi,

In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds from which new growth proceeds; consequently they are able to withstand forest fires relatively well.

Modifier,IC;IC is this the correct form of the sentence ?

Also in the part ";consequently they are...."
"they" refers to the Subject of the IC "a thick layer of needles" or "needles", if its only the latter case the plural pronoun matches the plural antecedent otherwise.
Is there I'm missing here ?

Thanks !
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In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds 20 May 2019, 02:05
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DivyaKnows
Hi,

In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds from which new growth proceeds; consequently they are able to withstand forest fires relatively well.

Modifier,IC;IC is this the correct form of the sentence ?

Also in the part ";consequently they are...."
"they" refers to the Subject of the IC "a thick layer of needles" or "needles", if its only the latter case the plural pronoun matches the plural antecedent otherwise.
Is there I'm missing here ?

Thanks !
Show more
Yes, that is correct! The semicolon connects two independent clauses.

As for the pronoun, there are only two possible plural references in (A): "needles" and "buds". "Needles" is NOT the subject of the first independent clause, so there is no reason to assume the pronoun refers to needles. Also, as discussed in this post, the subject in the second clause does not ALWAYS refer back to the subject in the first clause.

In this case, it makes much more sense for "they" to refer to "buds". The buds are protected. As a result, the buds are able to withstand forest fires relatively well. Sounds good to me! Sure, there is a little pronoun ambiguity, but pronoun ambiguity is not an absolute rule, and we have bigger fish to fry in the other choices.

I hope this helps!
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In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds 02 Sep 2019, 20:15
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Is a comma missing after "consequently" in the correct answer choice? I thought once should add one after a conjunctive adverb.

In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds from which new growth proceeds; consequently they are able to withstand forest fires relatively well.
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In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds 19 Sep 2019, 09:40
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Is a comma missing after "consequently" in the correct answer choice? I thought once should add one after a conjunctive adverb.

In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds from which new growth proceeds; consequently they are able to withstand forest fires relatively well.
Show more
As stated in this post, "style experts disagree about comma rules, and... the GMAT has better things to worry about."

This sentence would be fine with or without a comma after "consequently". The GMAT doesn't really test the nuances of comma usage. So if you're worried that a choice is wrong solely because of the presence/absence of a comma, then you should probably look harder for a more concrete decision point. :)

I hope this helps!
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In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds 10 Oct 2019, 21:25
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EMPOWERgmatVerbal
Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question, one thing at a time, and find the correct choice as quickly as possible! First, here is the original question, with the major differences between the options highlighted in orange:

In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds from which new growth proceeds; consequently they are able to withstand forest fires relatively well.

(A) a thick layer of needles protects the buds from which new growth proceeds; consequently they are able to withstand forest fires relatively well
(B) a thick needle layer protects buds from where new growth proceeds, so that they can withstand forest fires relatively well
(C) a thick layer of needles protect the buds from which new growth proceeds; thus, they are able to withstand relatively well any forest fires
(D) since the buds from which new growth proceeds are protected by a thick needle layer, consequently they can therefore withstand forest fires relatively well
(E) because the buds where new growth happens are protected by a thick layer of needles, they are able to withstand forest fires relatively easily as a result

After a quick glance over the options, there are a few things we can focus on to narrow down our choices:

1. protects / protect / are protected by (verb tense & active/passive voice)


2. from which / from where / where (agreement)
3. consequently / so that / thus / they (conjunctions & punctuation)

Let's start with #1 on our list: verb tenses. This should be an easier grammar concept to focus on first, and it should narrow down a few options quickly. To do this, we need to make sure that the subjects and verbs agree in number, and we must also make sure to use active voice whenever possible (the GMAT does not like passive voice answers). Here is how each option breaks down:

(A) a thick layer of needles protects the buds from which new growth proceeds; consequently they are able to withstand forest fires relatively well -> GOOD (The singular subject "a thick layer" agrees with singular verb "protects," so let's keep this option for later!)

(B) a thick needle layer protects buds from where new growth proceeds, so that they can withstand forest fires relatively well --> GOOD (The subject and verb in this option are both singular, just like option A, so let's also keep this option for later!)

(C) a thick layer of needles protect the buds from which new growth proceeds; thus, they are able to withstand relatively well any forest fires --> INCORRECT (This is wrong because the singular subject (a thick layer) should have a singular verb. Instead, this sentence uses a plural verb (protect), which doesn't agree.)

(D) since the buds from which new growth proceeds are protected by a thick needle layer, consequently they can therefore withstand forest fires relatively well --> INCORRECT (This is wrong because it uses passive voice! It switches the subject and object of the sentence. The GMAT prefers active voice over passive voice whenever possible, so let's rule this out.)

(E) because the buds where new growth happens are protected by a thick layer of needles, they are able to withstand forest fires relatively easily as a result --> INCORRECT (This is wrong because it uses passive voice! It switches the subject and object of the sentence. The GMAT prefers active voice over passive voice whenever possible, so let's rule this out.)

We can eliminate options C, D, and E because they use the wrong verb tenses or passive voice.

Now that we have this narrowed down to just 2 options, let's take a closer look at #2 and #3 on our list to determine which is the better option:

(A) a thick layer of needles protects the buds from which new growth proceeds; consequently they are able to withstand forest fires relatively well

This is the CORRECT choice! It uses the correct phrasing "from which" to indicate that the growth comes from the buds, not from some location around the buds. It also uses the conjunction "consequently" to show a cause/effect relationship, and the semicolon is used correctly to split the two independent clauses up nicely.

(B) a thick needle layer protects buds from where new growth proceeds, so that they can withstand forest fires relatively well

This is INCORRECT for a couple reasons. First, the phrase "from where" is confusing to readers because it changes the meaning slightly. Instead of saying the growth comes from the buds themselves, this sentence says the buds happen to be in the same area where new growth appears on its own, which doesn't make sense. Second, the subordinating conjunction "so that" does NOT need a comma before it.

There you go - option A is the correct choice!


Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
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Hi EMPOWERgmatVerbal,

The official answer explained the difference between "a thick layer of needles" and "a thick needle layer", I am still confused, can you please elborate? And how does the GMAC usually tests this kind of things in general?

Thanks!
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In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds 11 Oct 2019, 16:22
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EMPOWERgmatVerbal
Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question, one thing at a time, and find the correct choice as quickly as possible! First, here is the original question, with the major differences between the options highlighted in orange:

In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds from which new growth proceeds; consequently they are able to withstand forest fires relatively well.

(A) a thick layer of needles protects the buds from which new growth proceeds; consequently they are able to withstand forest fires relatively well
(B) a thick needle layer protects buds from where new growth proceeds, so that they can withstand forest fires relatively well
(C) a thick layer of needles protect the buds from which new growth proceeds; thus, they are able to withstand relatively well any forest fires
(D) since the buds from which new growth proceeds are protected by a thick needle layer, consequently they can therefore withstand forest fires relatively well
(E) because the buds where new growth happens are protected by a thick layer of needles, they are able to withstand forest fires relatively easily as a result

After a quick glance over the options, there are a few things we can focus on to narrow down our choices:

1. protects / protect / are protected by (verb tense & active/passive voice)


2. from which / from where / where (agreement)
3. consequently / so that / thus / they (conjunctions & punctuation)

Let's start with #1 on our list: verb tenses. This should be an easier grammar concept to focus on first, and it should narrow down a few options quickly. To do this, we need to make sure that the subjects and verbs agree in number, and we must also make sure to use active voice whenever possible (the GMAT does not like passive voice answers). Here is how each option breaks down:

(A) a thick layer of needles protects the buds from which new growth proceeds; consequently they are able to withstand forest fires relatively well -> GOOD (The singular subject "a thick layer" agrees with singular verb "protects," so let's keep this option for later!)

(B) a thick needle layer protects buds from where new growth proceeds, so that they can withstand forest fires relatively well --> GOOD (The subject and verb in this option are both singular, just like option A, so let's also keep this option for later!)

(C) a thick layer of needles protect the buds from which new growth proceeds; thus, they are able to withstand relatively well any forest fires --> INCORRECT (This is wrong because the singular subject (a thick layer) should have a singular verb. Instead, this sentence uses a plural verb (protect), which doesn't agree.)

(D) since the buds from which new growth proceeds are protected by a thick needle layer, consequently they can therefore withstand forest fires relatively well --> INCORRECT (This is wrong because it uses passive voice! It switches the subject and object of the sentence. The GMAT prefers active voice over passive voice whenever possible, so let's rule this out.)

(E) because the buds where new growth happens are protected by a thick layer of needles, they are able to withstand forest fires relatively easily as a result --> INCORRECT (This is wrong because it uses passive voice! It switches the subject and object of the sentence. The GMAT prefers active voice over passive voice whenever possible, so let's rule this out.)

We can eliminate options C, D, and E because they use the wrong verb tenses or passive voice.

Now that we have this narrowed down to just 2 options, let's take a closer look at #2 and #3 on our list to determine which is the better option:

(A) a thick layer of needles protects the buds from which new growth proceeds; consequently they are able to withstand forest fires relatively well

This is the CORRECT choice! It uses the correct phrasing "from which" to indicate that the growth comes from the buds, not from some location around the buds. It also uses the conjunction "consequently" to show a cause/effect relationship, and the semicolon is used correctly to split the two independent clauses up nicely.

(B) a thick needle layer protects buds from where new growth proceeds, so that they can withstand forest fires relatively well

This is INCORRECT for a couple reasons. First, the phrase "from where" is confusing to readers because it changes the meaning slightly. Instead of saying the growth comes from the buds themselves, this sentence says the buds happen to be in the same area where new growth appears on its own, which doesn't make sense. Second, the subordinating conjunction "so that" does NOT need a comma before it.

There you go - option A is the correct choice!


Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.


Hi EMPOWERgmatVerbal,

The official answer explained the difference between "a thick layer of needles" and "a thick needle layer", I am still confused, can you please elborate? And how does the GMAC usually tests this kind of things in general?

Thanks!
Show more

Thanks for your question, el1234!

This is what I copied over from the official explanation on the forum:

(2) Subject-Verb: a layer protect

The first three choices use the same opening structure but (A) and (B) say that a layer of needles protects the bud, while (C) says that a layer of needles protect the bud. Which is correct?

The subject is the singular layer, not the plural needles. Of needles is a prepositional phrase; a prepositional phrase isn’t allowed to be the main subject of a sentence. Therefore, the correct verb pairing is the singular protects. Eliminate choice (C) for using a plural verb with a singular subject.

In terms of which phrase is more "grammatically correct," the answer is that they're both OK to use - as long as they don't cause problems such as subject-verb disagreement. The point they wanted you to get from this is that option C needs to be eliminated because the singular subject (layer) didn't match up with the plural verb (protect). This is one case where the two phrases cannot be used interchangeably.

I hope this helps! Make sure to tag me EMPOWERgmatVerbal or send me a message if you have more questions!
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Mathisxy
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In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds 04 Dec 2019, 05:14
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I think that 'a thick layer of needles' should be followed by 'protect' instead of 'protects' because it's NEEDLEs. Also, I think that the expression 'a large amount of needles' should also be followed by 'protect' rather than 'protects'. Is the logic of these two sentence the same? If it's the same, then we should use protect...
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In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds 04 Dec 2019, 05:42
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I do not think 'a thick layer of needles' is plural to warrant a plural verb 'protect'. The prepositional phrase of needles is only a middleman and hence does not take part in deciding the nature of the verb. Hence protect os the correct one. This is a fundamental tenet of subject - verb number agreement.

"A large amount of needles" is a dead wrong expression. We don't use 'amount' for countables such as needles. What is the need for raising the point when 'the amount of needles' is not part of the issue? It will be interesting to see if such a phrase has ever been used.
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In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds 04 Dec 2019, 11:22
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daagh Dear Sir,

I somehow got to the right ans using POE however, what confuses me is the use of "they" in all the options- "they" are able to withstand forest fires relatively well- it refers to the "Types" of pine tree and hence plural?. I initially thought it refers to the Pine Tree and was trying to find a singular pronoun.

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Sambhav
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In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds 04 Dec 2019, 16:38
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Mathisxy
I think that 'a thick layer of needles' should be followed by 'protect' instead of 'protects' because it's NEEDLEs. Also, I think that the expression 'a large amount of needles' should also be followed by 'protect' rather than 'protects'. Is the logic of these two sentence the same? If it's the same, then we should use protect...
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Hello Mathisxy!

In the official explanation, they explain this:

The subject is the singular layer, not the plural needles. Of needles is a prepositional phrase; a prepositional phrase isn’t allowed to be the main subject of a sentence. Therefore, the correct verb pairing is the singular protects.

Sometimes, you'll find prepositional phrases in between the subject and the verb. This is an easy way to throw off GMAT test takers! Here is what you're dealing with:

a thick layer of needles protect/protects

The phrase "of needles" is a prepositional phrase. It cannot be the subject, so your verb has to agree with what's right before it - in this case, it's the singular word "layer." Therefore, you need singular "protects" to match!

Even if you go with your other option, the rule is still the same:

a large amount of needles protect/protects

Even though this isn't how we phrase it in English (I totally agree with daagh on this one), the rule is still the same. The phrase "of needles" isn't the subject - the singular word "amount" is. Therefore, use the singular "protects."

I hope this helps! Feel free to tag me at EMPOWERgmatVerbal if you have any questions!
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In some types of pine tree, a thick layer of needles protects the buds 04 Apr 2020, 06:36
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In ,option a , why dont we have a pronoun ambiguity with "they" . They could point to needles or buds
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