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AjiteshArun
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In the field of eugenics, geneticists have thoroughly scrutinized the 06 Dec 2021, 22:39
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abhishekmayank
Could anybody explain why the option D is wrong :

an increasingly impressive number of physiological characteristics in the unborn, all of them

"all of them" looks fine with "An increasingly impressive number of physiological characteristics"

AjiteshArun : Could you please help in it ?
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Hi abhishekmayank,

I think all of them is awkward, but not impossible, in option D. That said, I removed E because it seems to use “ready to order” to parents’ specifications to specify a particular unborn, and that isn't what I expected the intended meaning to be. You could try tagging one of the Veritas instructors. They may be the only ones who can confirm whether the modifier is supposed to refer to unborn or not (if it is, then it's a straightforward singular unborn, plural all of them call).

More generally, this question appears to be based on this official question, so you may want to attempt that question as well. Interestingly, in the official question, there is a very clear, very good reason to remove the "all of them" option.
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In the field of eugenics, geneticists have thoroughly scrutinized the 07 Dec 2021, 06:29
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abhishekmayank
Could anybody explain why the option D is wrong :

an increasingly impressive number of physiological characteristics in the unborn, all of them

"all of them" looks fine with "An increasingly impressive number of physiological characteristics"

AjiteshArun : Could you please help in it ?
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Hello abhishekmayank,

We hope this finds you well.

Having gone through the question and your query, we believe we can resolve your doubt.

Option D suffers from pronoun ambiguity, as "them" could refer to "characteristics" or "the unborn". Further, the use of "all of them" is redundant, making Option D needlessly wordy.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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In the field of eugenics, geneticists have thoroughly scrutinized the 07 Dec 2021, 07:40
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Thanks AjiteshArun and ExpertsGlobal5 for the insightful explanations !!
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In the field of eugenics, geneticists have thoroughly scrutinized the 11 Dec 2022, 08:09
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Fees like E wants to convey that unborn is ready to order as per parents' spec. Is this the intended meaning?
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In the field of eugenics, geneticists have thoroughly scrutinized the 11 Dec 2022, 13:47
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jim441
Fees like E wants to convey that unborn is ready to order as per parents' spec. Is this the intended meaning?
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Noun modifiers can be tricky. The most basic rule is "Noun modifiers describe the noun before." But language gets tricky. It's true that nouns modify *a* noun before, but sometimes that 'noun before' is actually a *noun phrase.*

In this sentence, the noun before "ready to order" could be 'the unborn,' but... that doesn't make much sense. What I think this modifier is describing is: "physiological characteristics in the unborn," a noun-phrase.

The example I often use is something like:

The box of nails, which is on the table, will be sent to Rome.
The box of nails, which are sharp, will be sent to Rome.

Both of these sentences are okay. In the first, the which modifier describes the noun phrase BOX OF NAILS. In the second, the which modifier describes just the noun NAILS.

Sometimes this happens in language. What you want to avoid is *too much* 'leap-frogging.'

The nails in the box on the table in the kitchen of the house around the corner, which are sharp, will be sent to Rome.

And ESPECIALLY avoid modifier 'criss-crossing'

The box of nails on the table, which are sharp, will be sent to Rome.

"on the table" modifies box, 'which are sharp' modifies 'nails,' so you have modifiers 'crossing' each other in a confusing way.

With 'on the border' noun modifiers, try not to eliminate an answer immediately. Rather, see if a different answer structures the sentence such that the modification is clearer. But if not? Stick with the best option.
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In the field of eugenics, geneticists have thoroughly scrutinized the 12 Dec 2022, 07:23
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In the field of eugenics, geneticists have thoroughly scrutinized the human genome and its ability to shape certain traits to select and pre-determine an increasing impressive number of physiological characteristics in the unborn, each “ready to order” to parents’ specifications.

A) increasing impressive number of physiological characteristics in the unborn, each
B) increasingly impressive number of physiological characteristics in those not yet born, and each one
C) increasing impressive number of physiological characteristics in those unborn who are
D) increasingly impressive number of physiological characteristics in the unborn, all of them
E) increasingly impressive number of physiological characteristics in the unborn

Here the word "Impressive" modifies the word "number".

the word that modifies impressive should be Increasingly. So we can clearly eliminate A and C.

Increasing is an adjective- which gives us the wrong meaning when we read.
And Increasingly is an adverb, gives us the correct meaning while reading the sentence.

B is awkward- "those not yet born" we would rather prefer simple "unborn" instead of that. So eliminate B.

Same with the D. "all of them" is awkward and redundant. since we have "the unborn"- Noun

The answer should be E.
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how do I know that increasing/ly refers to impressive and not to number?
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In the field of eugenics, geneticists have thoroughly scrutinized the 02 Jan 2024, 10:09
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I am sorry but its not clear why D is correct. Also in final sentence will the comma be there after unborn or not
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