Quote:
Unlike the virginal, whose single set of strings runs parallel to the front edge of the instrument, the harpsichord’s several sets of strings are placed at right angles to its front edge.
(A) whose single set of strings runs parallel to the front edge of the instrument, the harpsichord’s several sets of strings are
(B) with a single set of strings running parallel to the front edge of the instrument, the several sets of strings of the harpsichord are
(C) which has a single set of strings that runs parallel to the front edge of the instrument, in the case of the harpsichord, several sets of strings are
(D) which has a single set of strings that run parallel to the front edge of the instrument, the harpsichord has several sets of strings
(E) in which a single set of strings run parallel to the front edge of the instrument, the harpsichord’s several sets of strings are
Here the official answer is
Hi my honorable expert,
RonPurewal,
MartyMurray,
GMATNinja,
DmitryFarber,
egmat,
AjiteshArun,
EMPOWERgmatRichCThe official answer choice makes me crazy!I'm starting my reasoning with 2 examples.
Here are the examples:
1)
I took pictures of my dog, which are so adorable that they make everyone smile.----->correct. Because "dog" can describe "pictures".
Most importantly, "pictures of my dog" is just "one unit"2)
I took pictures of my dog, which is so adorable that it protects security in our house.-----> Correct.
3)
I took pictures in 2018, which are so adorable that blah blah blah ------>incorrect. "in 2018"
does not describe the "pictures" at all,
because "pictures in 2018" is not a UNIT; it describes when "I took pictures".
So, from the example 1 and 2, I can safely say that if
something is group of one unit, then the modifier can jump.
Now, here is the main official question:
Unlike the virginal, which has a single set of strings that run parallel to the front edge of the instrument, the harpsichord has several sets of strings placed at right angles to its front edge.In apparently, it seems that we're going to make comparison between 'virginal' and 'harpsichord'; we're going to make comparison between what they possess, actually.
In this official example, 'Harpsichord' possesses
something which is different from 'Virginal'
does.
But, in this example, 'strings' is SAME for both instruments. We're just going to make creativity/comparison in 'single set' and in 'several sets'.
So, how can we actually fill up the blank?
Simple answer: single set of strings.
Why "single set of strings" is in the blank? Because, it (single set of strings) is possessed by 'Virginal'.
And the "single set of strings' is just ONE unit, here at least.
As 'several sets of strings' is compared with 'a single set of strings', then we should introduce 'a single set of strings' (
NOT only 'strings') by 'that', because 'single set of strings' is just ONE unit.
So, if this is the case (if the logic is right), we should use singular verb (run
S) for the subject 'a single set of strings' in choice D like the below one.
Unlike the virginal, which has a single set of strings that runS parallel to the front edge of the instrument, the harpsichord has several sets of strings placed at right angles to its front edge.I'll be very glad if I've some experts' comments.
Thank you___
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