New Jersey s is one of the five highest number of reported cases of Ly

530. New Jersey’s is one of the five highest number of reported cases of Lyme disease in the United States.


(A) New Jersey’s is one of the five highest number of reported is - 's + is awkward
(B) New Jersey’s is one of the five highest numbers in reporting - 's + is awkward
(C) New Jersey has a report of one of the five highest numbers - incorrect grammar
(D) New Jersey has one of the five highest numbers of reported - correct
(E) New Jersey reports one of the five highest number of - meaning changes - New Jersey doesn't report

OA pls.

D

A - wrong use of possesive, numberS should be plural, because 5 numbers are discussed, not 1 highest.
B - wrong use of possesive
C - awkward
D - no possesive, clear meaning, plural in numbers. CORRECT
E - changes the meaning

In the following link it is said that the expression the numbers of.. is almost always incorrect.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/having-more- ... 96658.html

But, here 'the numbers of' is used in OA. Need expert opinion.

The sentence is referring to more than one number, and the plural of number is numbers. It's therefore natural to use the five highest numbers of here. So the sentence is essentially saying that there are 5 numbers at the top, and New Jersey has one of them (one of those 5 numbers).

(A) New Jersey’s is one of the five highest number of reported
New Jersey's: incorrect. Its not providing the whole information. when we read it we think what exactly it is talking about?

(B) New Jersey’s is one of the five highest numbers in reporting
Same as A

(C) New Jersey has a report of one of the five highest numbers of
This one is changing the meaning. NJ has a report means it is having a report of something but we are talking about the whole US in which NJ has reported more cases.

(D) New Jersey has one of the five highest numbers of reported
Meaning wise and grammatically correct.

(E) New Jersey reports one of the five highest number of
Reports: The use of simple present says that this is a general fact. But this can no be the general fact. Use of simple present tense is incorrect.

The awkwardness of the possessive in the question gives it away.
The fact that it is a singular number is also another clue.
For instance, it should ideally be ‘New Jersey’s numbers are one of the five highest…

Keeping this in mind, we can eliminate Options A and B.

Option C has three ‘of’s in it, making it awkward. This option does not make logical sense. We can eliminate this.
(Although this is not to say that we should eliminate options with repetitive propositions)

Option E says ‘five highest number’ which is incorrect. We can eliminate this.

This leaves us with Option D which is the best option.

Hope this helps!

New Jersey’s is one of the five highest number of reported cases of Lyme disease in the United States.

(A) New Jersey’s is one of the five highest number of reported

When it says "New Jersey's", we should expect similar phrases that specify what " 's " substituted for such as "Georgia's number", "Alabama's reported number of cases". But we didn't see any of those.

(B) New Jersey’s is one of the five highest numbers in reporting

same as A

(C) New Jersey has a report of one of the five highest numbers of

"has a report" changes the meaning.

(D) New Jersey has one of the five highest numbers of reported

Correct.

(E) New Jersey reports one of the five highest number of

"reports" changes the meaning.

VeritasKarishma Mam Kindly explain between Options D and Option E

When you talk about a bunch, you use plural such as "top ten contestants".

So you need to say "five highest numbers", not "five highest number".

So you need to say "NJ reports one of the five highest numbers ..."
Hence (E) is incorrect.

No such issues with (D).

"NJ has one of the five highest numbers of reported cases"
or "NJ reports one of the five highest numbers of cases"
both are fine.

Hi Experts

GMATNinja VeritasKarishma EducationAisle ChrisLele mikemcgarry AjiteshArun egmat sayantanc2k RonPurewal DmitryFarber MagooshExpert avigutman EMPOWERgmatVerbal MartyTargetTestPrep ExpertsGlobal5 other experts

In Option A let's suppose there was "numbers" instead of "number" . Will it be correct then?

What I thought is "New Jersey’s is one of the five highest number of reported cases of Lyme disease ...."
Can also be written as "New Jersey reported cases is one of the five highest number of reported cases of Lyme disease..."

Is it correct assumption?

Thanks

Hi Experts

GMATNinja VeritasKarishma EducationAisle ChrisLele mikemcgarry AjiteshArun egmat sayantanc2k RonPurewal DmitryFarber MagooshExpert avigutman EMPOWERgmatVerbal MartyTargetTestPrep ExpertsGlobal5 other experts

In Option A let's suppose there was "numbers" instead of "number" . Will it be correct then?

What I thought is "New Jersey’s is one of the five highest number of reported cases of Lyme disease ...."
Can also be written as "New Jersey reported cases is one of the five highest number of reported cases of Lyme disease..."

Is it correct assumption?

Thanks

Hi Experts

Good Evening

GMATNinja VeritasKarishma EducationAisle ChrisLele mikemcgarry AjiteshArun egmat sayantanc2k RonPurewal DmitryFarber MagooshExpert avigutman EMPOWERgmatVerbal MartyTargetTestPrep ExpertsGlobal5 IanStewart
other experts

In Option A let's suppose there was "numbers" instead of "number" . Will it be correct then?

What I thought is "New Jersey’s is one of the five highest number of reported cases of Lyme disease ...."
Can also be written as "New Jersey reported cases is one of the five highest number of reported cases of Lyme disease..."

Is it correct assumption?

Thanks

Hi Vatsal7794,

The possessive in option A introduces a lot of ambiguity. But in your sentence, the subject is cases, which is plural, but the verb is is, which is singular.

This is option A with the obvious error removed (five highest number changed to five highest numbers):
1. New Jersey’s number (of reported cases of Lyme disease) is one of the five highest numbers of reported cases of Lyme disease in the United States.

Would the GMAT find the use of number acceptable? Also, the phrase New Jersey's number of cases is most likely acceptable, but is it better than New Jersey has...? We may not be able to get to a definite yes/no here, and that's one of the reasons that taking calls on modified versions of official options can be somewhat risky.

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that the number of cases of Lyme disease reported in New Jersey is one of the five highest in the United States.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Awkwardness/Redundancy

A:
1/ This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "one of the five highest number"; the use of the singular noun "number" leads to an incoherent meaning, as comparative/superlative forms (the superlative "highest" in this case) can logically only be applied if multiple elements are referred to; the intended meaning is that the number of cases of Lyme disease reported in New Jersey is one of the five highest in the United States.
2/ Option A uses the needlessly indirect construction "New Jersey’s is", leading to awkwardness.

B:
1/ This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "in reporting"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that the number of cases of Lyme disease reported in New Jersey is one of the five highest in the United States.
2/ Option B uses the needlessly indirect construction "New Jersey’s is", leading to awkwardness.

C:
1/ This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "has a report of"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that the number of cases of Lyme disease reported in New Jersey is one of the five highest in the United States.

D: Correct.
1/ The sentence formed by Option D uses the phrases "one of the five highest numbers" and "reported cases", conveying the intended meaning - that the number of cases of Lyme disease reported in New Jersey is one of the five highest in the United States.
2/ Option D is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

E:
1/ This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "one of the five highest number"; the use of the singular noun "number" leads to an incoherent meaning, as comparative/superlative forms (the superlative "highest" in this case) can logically only be applied if multiple elements are referred to; the intended meaning is that the number of cases of Lyme disease reported in New Jersey is one of the five highest in the United States.

Hence, D is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team