Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
Bunuel wrote:
Linking arrangements among secondary schools and the workplace never evolved in the United States as they have in most other developed countries.
(A) among secondary schools and the workplace never evolved in the United States as they have
(B) in the United States among secondary schools and the workplace never evolved as they did
(C) between secondary schools and the workplace never evolved in the United States as
(D) in the United States between secondary schools and the workplace never evolved as they have
(E) between secondary schools and the workplace never evolved in the United States as they did
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning of the sentence is key to solving this question; the intended meaning is that linking arrangements between secondary schools and the workplace did not evolve in the United States, but did evolve in most other developed countries.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Pronouns + Tenses + Idioms• “between” is used for comparing two elements, and “among” is used for comparing more than two elements.
• The simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past
• The present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.
A: This answer choice incorrectly uses the present perfect tense verb "have (evolved)" to refer to an action that concluded in the past; remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past, and the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present. Further, Option A incorrectly uses "among" to compare two elements - "secondary schools" and "the workplace"; remember, “between” is used for comparing two elements, and “among” is used for comparing more than two elements.
B: The sentence formed by this answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "Linking arrangements in the United States"; the use of "in the United States" to modify "Linking arrangments" illogically implies that the linking arrangements
did evolve in the United States, but these same linking arrangments
in the United States, did not evolve in most other developed countries; the intended meaning is that such linking arrangements
did not evolve in the United States, but
such arrangements
did evolve in most other developed countries. Further, Option B incorrectly uses "among" to compare two elements - "secondary schools" and "the workplace"; remember, “between” is used for comparing two elements, and “among” is used for comparing more than two elements.
C: The sentence formed by this answer choice uses the phrase "as in most other developed countries"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that linking arrangements between secondary schools and the workplace did not evolve in the United States, and
in the same way such arrangments
did not evolve in most other developed nations; the intended meaning is that linking arrangements between secondary schools and the workplace did not evolve in the United States, but such arrangments
did evolve in most other developed countries.
D: The sentence formed by this answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "Linking arrangements in the United States"; the use of "in the United States" to modify "Linking arrangments" illogically implies that the linking arrangements
did evolve in the United States, but these same linking arrangments,
in the United States, did not evolve in most other developed countries; the intended meaning is that such linking arrangements
did not evolve in the United States, but
such arrangements
did evolve in most other developed countries. Further, Option D incorrectly uses the present perfect tense verb "have (evolved)" to refer to an action that concluded in the past; remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past, and the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.
E: The sentence formed by this answer choice uses the phrase "never evolved in the United States as they did in most other developed countries"; the construction of this phrase and the use of "in the United States" to modify "never evolved" convey the intended meaning - that linking arrangements between secondary schools and the workplace
did not evolve in the United States, but
such arrangments
did evolve in most other developed countries. Further, Option E correctly uses the simple past tense verb "did" to refer to an action that concluded in the past. Additionally, Option E correctly uses "between" to compare two elements - "secondary schools" and "the workplace"
Hence, E is the best answer choice.Additional Note: Some of you may be confused as to why "between" is used in the correct answer choice when the comparison seems to involve multiple secondary schools; to answer this query, the term "secondary schools" is used to refer to the collective category of secondary schools; in other words, the linking arrangement referred to in this sentence links all secondary schools, as a unit, to the workplace, not all secondary schools to one another and the workplace.
To understand the concept of "Between" vs "Among" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):
To understand the concept of "Present Perfect Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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