In this critically acclaimed film, there are a well-developed plot and

Question

In this critically acclaimed film, there are a well-developed plot and an excellent cast of characters.

(A) In this critically acclaimed film, there are a well-developed plot and an excellent cast of characters.

(B) In this critically acclaimed film, there is a well-developed plot and an excellent cast of characters.

(C) In this film, which is critically acclaimed, there is a well-developed plot and an excellent cast of characters.

(D) In this film, which has been critically acclaimed, there are a well-developed plot and an excellent cast of characters.

(E) There is a well-developed plot and an excellent plot of characters in this critically acclaimed film.

Found this question in Brandon Royal's Game Plan for the GMAT

Didn't agree with the correct answer... can someone help me out please.

daagh · Accepted Answer

This is a basic principle of Subject-verb agreement.

In such inverted sentences, starting with a placeholder like there, the real subject can be found after the verb. Here, the real subject is the ‘a well-developed plot and an excellent cast of characters”, a compound and plural one. Hence, the verb should be ‘are’.

Between A and D, which use 'are' as the verb, A is more precise. In addition, in D, the use of present perfect tense to describe the critical acclaim is wrong.

chetan2u · Answer

Hi,
the OA is correct and yes it does sound odd to the ear..
But what is being referred to- "a well-developed plot and an excellent cast of characters", which consists of two items..
 whenever in doubt, REVERSE the role, that is , read the sentence upside down.. 
now if you were to say..  a well-developed plot and an excellent cast of characters are/is ......

kanigmat011 · Answer

Hi Chetan,

What About Option E WhY is it incorrect

chetan2u · Answer

Hi kani,
E is "There is a well-developed plot and an excellent plot of characters in this critically acclaimed film."
if you reverse the sentence "  a well-developed plot and an excellent plot of characters is  are in this critically acclaimed film. 
so what you require is verb are

Abhishek009 · Answer

Indeed a good one , which seems really baffling.

Lets break down the sentence it will be crystal clear :-

In this critically acclaimed film there    is/are   a well-developed plot   and   an excellent cast of characters.

So there are two items -

1.   a well-developed plot  
2.   an excellent cast of characters.

Go back to MGMAT it states

The word and can unite two or more singular subjects, forming a compound plural subject.

Now explore the options -

A) In this critically acclaimed film,  there are   a well-developed plot    and   an excellent cast of characters. 
B) In this critically acclaimed film,  there is   a well-developed plot  and  an excellent cast of characters. 
C) In this film,  which is  critically acclaimed,  there is  a well-developed plot and an excellent cast of characters.
D) In this film,  which has been critically acclaimed , there are a well-developed plot and an excellent cast of characters.
E)  There is  a well-developed plot and an excellent plot of characters in this critically acclaimed film.

Thus only (A) survives !!

daagh · Answer

To put in simple terms: 
1. There is a brother and sister in the class
2. There are a brother and sister in the class 
 Example 1 is wrong and 2 is correct

kanigmat011 · Answer

Hi Chetan,

What About Option E WhY is it incorrect

Hi kani,
E is "There is a well-developed plot and an excellent plot of characters in this critically acclaimed film."
if you reverse the sentence "  a well-developed plot and an excellent plot of characters is  are in this critically acclaimed film. 
so what you require is verb are

Hi Chetan,

I completely agree with on this, but just from grammatical sense isn't E correct ,although it may loose on intended meaning part.

avikroy · Answer

sir why is the use of present perfect wrong??
the film when came out was critically acclaimed and still is.......isnt that right??

daagh · Answer

avikroy

I have edited two typos in this reply. First, it is not B, but choice D, which is under discussion about the use of present perfect. The second typo I have edited is from saying 'past perfect' to 'present perfect'. As we see, there is no past perfect at all in any of the choices.

The point here is that when you use a present perfect such as 'has been critically acclaimed', it implies that the acclaim is all over now or is about to be over. Whereas, the use of present tense makes it explicit that even today the acclaim is relevant. One can see this from the fact that the choice uses a present tense verb 'are' to describe the status of the compound subject.

Normally we take the present tense to be more eternal than a present perfect.

In addition, if you mean that the film was acclaimed only at the time when it was released and not beyond, then the correct tense would be to use the simple past tense for a bygone issue

avikroy · Answer

Thank you sir ......got the idea ..... daagh

VerbalBot · Answer

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In this critically acclaimed film, there are a well-developed plot and

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In this critically acclaimed film, there are a well-developed plot and

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