John's hernia surgery, scheduled for tomorrow, will take place only ne

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

John's hernia surgery, scheduled for tomorrow, will take place only next week because the surgeon, as well as three operation room nurses, are sick.


A. for tomorrow, will take place only next week because the surgeon, as well as three operation room nurses, are

This answer choice is grammatically incorrect. The singular subject surgeon does not agree with the plural verb are.

Remember that only the word and makes a subject that is made up of several nouns automatically plural. If the nouns are connected by as well as, the subject is only what comes BEFORE as well as. In this case, what comes before as well as is a singular noun - the surgeon. Therefore, the subject is singular, and the verb should also be singular.

In addition, this answer choice is stylistically flawed. Using as well as instead of and is redundant.

What helps us identify this mistake is the following Stop Sign: as well as


B. for tomorrow, will take place only next week because the surgeon, as well as three operation room nurses, is

While this corrects the original Subject Verb Agreement mistake and is grammatically correct, it is stylistically flawed. Using as well as instead of and is redundant.

What helps us identify this mistake is the following Stop Sign: as well as


C. for tomorrow, will take place only next week because the surgeon and three operation room nurses is

This answer choice is grammatically incorrect because the plural subject the surgeon and three operation room nurses does not agree with the singular verb is.

Remember that when both the subject and the verb are underlined, you need to check them both for agreement. Assuming that the subject remains the same as it was in the original sentence and that you only need to find a different verb will lead you to the wrong answer choice.


D. for tomorrow, will take place only next week since the surgeon and three operation room nurses are

Well done! This answer in not only grammatically correct, but also stylistically great as it replaces the three letter phrase as well as with the single word and. This makes the sentence more concise.


E. to tomorrow, will only take place next week because the surgeon, as well as three operation room nurses, are

This answer choice repeats the original Subject Verb Agreement mistake: the singular subject surgeon does not agree with the plural verb are.

Remember that only the word and makes a subject that is made up of several nouns automatically plural. If the nouns are connected by as well as, the subject is only what comes BEFORE as well as. In this case, what comes before as well as is a singular noun - the surgeon. Therefore, the subject is singular, and the verb should also be singular.

In addition, this answer choice is stylistically flawed. Using as well as instead of and is redundant.

What helps us identify this mistake is the following Stop Sign: as well as
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A. for tomorrow, will take place only next week because the surgeon, as well as three operation room nurses, are..........as well as does not create compound subject. So singular verb 'is' should be used.

B. for tomorrow, will take place only next week because the surgeon, as well as three operation room nurses, is.................looks fine

C. for tomorrow, will take place only next week because the surgeon and three operation room nurses is................'are' should be used here. A and B are............

D. for tomorrow, will take place only next week since the surgeon and three operation room nurses are...............this also looks fine

E. to tomorrow, will only take place next week because the surgeon, as well as three operation room nurses, are..................'scheduled for' is correct idiom. modifier and tense issue.


Hey Bunuel, could you pls look into this question. Options B and D seem okay to me. Is there really a difference between 'since' and 'because' from the GMAT's point of view?

I think the reason why D is wrong is that it changes the meaning of the sentence. In the beginning it talks about "the surgeon, along with the nurses, is sick" so I would go with the one that keeps that part in it.

Hi Bunuel, Do we always prefer "as well as" over "and" or is there any particular situations when we use the former over later? Kindly help.