pierrealexandre77 wrote:
Organized in 1966 by the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Breeding Bird Survey uses annual roadside counts along established routes for monitoring of population changes of as many as, or of more than 250 bird species, including 180 songbirds.
(D) that monitors population changes of
RashedVai wrote:
Since monitors is followed by 'that' in choice D, I'm sure that 'that' is not referring to routes. From the meaning point of view it is clear that it is the Breeding Bird Survey that's monitoring the changes in the populations of 250 bird species.
How can 'that' jump over a verb 'uses'. Is this the reason that this choice is incorrect ?
Please help me with the reason for eliminating choice D.
generisPosted from my mobile device RashedVai , you wrote
Quote:
I'm sure that 'that' is not referring to routes.
True. But
that IS referring to
counts.
Counts are
tallies.
In the noun phrase
annual roadside counts along established routes, the main noun is
counts.--
Annual and
roadside are adjectives.
Every year on the side of the road, machines or people conduct (take) counts of birds.
--
along established routes is a prepositional modifier of counts that tells us where these counts (tallies) are located.
Quote:
From the meaning point of view it is clear that it is the Breeding Bird Survey that's monitoring the changes in the populations of 250 bird species.
Careful. The Breeding Bird Survey is not itself a monitoring device.
How does the Breeding Bird Survey actually DO the monitoring?
You missed the word
uses.
. . . the Breeding Bird Survey
uses [annual roadside counts along . . ]
X uses Y to Z.-- The BB Survey uses counts to monitor birds.
Quote:
How can 'that' jump over a verb 'uses'. Is this the reason that this choice is incorrect ?
The word "that" does not jump over any verb.
That refers to
counts.Verbs such as
use require an
object. ("transitive verb")
Wrong: To monitor species, the Bird Survey uses.
Correct: To monitor species, the Bird Survey uses counts (tally systems).
Here is (D) in the sentence:
Organized in 1966 by the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Breeding Bird Survey uses annual roadside
COUNTS [PLURAL] along established routes
that monitors [SINGULAR] population changes of more than 250 bird species, including 180 songbirds.
Count is rarely a noun except in phrases such as
head count.
Counts, plural, may sound even more strange in its noun form.
Counts are
tallies—action nouns.
We might not know that counts is a noun.
But it cannot be a verb; it has no subject, and we need a direct object for
uses.
Hence we know that
somewhere between
uses and
that, there must be a noun.
Uses requires an object, a something.
That is a pronoun that refers to a noun.
The Bird Survey uses
annual roadside counts along established routesto monitor bird species.
The word
counts is plural.
That refers to
counts.
That is a relative pronoun, similar to
who.
The verb in a relative [pronoun] clause must always agree with the antecedent of the relative pronoun.
--
That monitors is incorrect. The verb monitors is singular and does not agree with plural counts.
--
Wrong: Counts that
monitors. Subject verb disagreement.
--
Correct: Counts that monitor.
Eliminate D on the basis of subject/verb disagreement.
Even if we correct the error of SVA, the sentence with that ( D & E ) will still be wrong. There should be human beings to monitor something. Monitoring can not be done with counts/things.