Nobody knows exactly how many languages there are in the world, partly

Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question, one issue at a time, and narrow it down to the right option quickly! To begin, here is the original sentence with any major differences between the options highlighted in orange:

Nobody knows exactly how many languages there are in the world, partly because of the difficulty of distinguishing between a language and the sub-languages or dialects within it, but those who have tried to count typically have found about five thousand.

(A) and the sub-languages or dialects within it, but those who have tried to count typically have found
(B) and the sub-languages or dialects within them, with those who have tried counting typically finding
(C) and the sub-languages or dialects within it, but those who have tried counting it typically find
(D) or the sub-languages or dialects within them, but those who tried to count them typically found
(E) or the sub-languages or dialects within them, with those who have tried to count typically finding

After a quick glance over the options, there are a few major differences we can focus on:

1. it vs. them (pronoun agreement)
2. to count / counting (verbs or meaning)
3. have found / finding / find / found (verb tense)

Let's start with #1 on our list: it vs. them. No matter which one we choose, it will eliminate 2-3 options right away. To figure out which one we need to use, let's ask ourselves what the pronoun it/them is referring to. So...what are sub-languages and dialects considered "within?"

Nobody knows exactly how many languages there are in the world, partly because of the difficulty of distinguishing between a language and the sub-languages or dialects within it, but those who have tried to count typically have found about five thousand.

There you go! The pronoun is referring back to the singular word "language!" Now, let's rule out any options that use a plural pronoun instead:

(A) and the sub-languages or dialects within it, but those who have tried to count typically have found
(B) and the sub-languages or dialects within them, with those who have tried counting typically finding
(C) and the sub-languages or dialects within it, but those who have tried counting it typically find
(D) or the sub-languages or dialects within them, but those who tried to count them typically found
(E) or the sub-languages or dialects within them, with those who have tried to count typically finding

We can rule out options B, D, & E because they use the plural pronoun "them" to refer to a singular noun "language." Pretty easy, right? We just eliminated 3 options really quickly!

Now that we've got this narrowed down to only 2 options, let's tackle #2 & #3 on our list. They both have to do with finding the right verb tenses and creating a clear, concise meaning, so let's read them over and see which one does this better:

(A) and the sub-languages or dialects within it, but those who have tried to count typically have found

This is CORRECT! It doesn't have any problems with pronoun agreement, the verbs make logical sense, and the meaning is clear!

(C) and the sub-languages or dialects within it, but those who have tried counting it typically find

This is INCORRECT because there is an agreement problem with the pronoun "it" that people are trying to count. The pronoun "it" is singular, but it's referring to the plural phrase "sub-languages or dialects."


There you have it - option A was the correct choice all along!


Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.

In C, why you were ok with first 'It' but not the second.

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We definitely need to count languages (plural). zoezhuyan is right that we can't "count the number" of something. In any case, "the number" is never said in the sentence. We definitely can't refer to a noun that isn't there! That leaves us with no logical antecedent for the pronoun "it" in C. Also, the GMAT doesn't tend to "reassign" pronouns. Once "it" means "a language" in this sentence, it's not going to mean something else later in that same sentence.

As for the first use of "it," there's no ambiguity. At that point, the only singular noun we've seen aside from "language" is world (much earlier), and I hope no one thinks "it" refers to "world"!

Take another look at (C): "and the sub-languages or dialects within it, but those who have tried counting it typically find." "It" seems to refer to "a language." So let's substitute "language" for the pronoun in each case:

1) the sub-languages or dialects within a language

This makes sense. A language can have sub-languages or dialects within it.

2) those who have tried counting a language

It doesn't really make any sense to count a language, does it? It's far more logical to "count" something when we're referring to multiple entities.

I hope that helps!

I'm not a native English speaker. Could somebody tell me the difference between 'Try to do sth' and 'Try doing sth', please?

Given that we count "something", why isn't there "something" following "count" in the correct answer choice?
Is it because the subject to be counted is known implicitly? or
Is it because "count" itself can be a transitive or an intransitive verb?

A. and the sublanguages or dialects within it, but those who have tried to count typically have found

Thanks for helping!

Yes, exactly! Clearly we are talking about a count of the number of languages in the world. To restate the thing being counted would be repetitive and unnecessary. The same is true here:

• I have no idea how many people visited my tortilla factory last fall because I didn't bother to count.
• I have no idea how many people visited my tortilla factory last fall because I didn't bother to count how many people visited my tortilla factory last fall.

The meaning is perfectly clear in the first example. Restating the thing being counted, as in the second example, is repetitive and unnecessary.

I hope that helps!

Hello Mathisxy,

I am not sure if you still have this doubt. Here is the answer nonetheless.


In the GMAT SC, there are certain expressions that are accepted and certain that are not. We just need to learn them.

The expression try to do something is considered correct in the GMAT SC while the expression try doing something is considered incorrect.



Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha

Actually, "try to X" and "try X-ing" are both valid constructions with different meanings. If I try to surf, I am attempting to surf. I may or may not succeed. If I try surfing, I am trying out the experience of surfing to see if I like it. It's common to see advice along the lines of "Try studying in the morning and see if you get better results." You're not ATTEMPTING and possibly failing to study in the morning; rather, you're studying in the morning to see if it works well for you.

In the context of this SC question, however, "tried counting" doesn't make sense. We want to say that people attempted to count but were not able to get a precise answer, not that they tried out the experience of counting to see if they liked it!

Was I right to eliminate D & E because 'Between X or Y' is non-idiomatic and that it should be 'Between X and Y'?

Yes that is correct.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses most frequently tested "idioms", their application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.

Hi Ashish,

I am not able to figure out what "It" refers to in the correct answer choice A. “It” must refer to language (singular) but in the sentence. Languages (plural) is present.

Hi Amar, it refers to a language (which is present in the sentence)

Dear Experts,

Please help me to figure out why in first part "it" is more suitable then "them---
------Quote------
Nobody knows exactly how many languages there are in the world, partly because of the difficulty of distinguishing between a language and the sub-languages or dialects within it, but those who have tried to count typically have found about five thousand.

(A) and the sub-languages or dialects within it, but those who have tried to count typically have found
(B) and the sub-languages or dialects within them, with those who have tried counting typically finding
(C) and the sub-languages or dialects within it, but those who have tried counting it typically find

------Unquote------

Thanks!

Hi Shailendra, I addressed this issue in this post.

Let me know if something is still not clear.

Hey GMATNinja, I agree with your explanation totally, however, in option A - is 'count typically' the correct usage? I feel that it means that the counting was typical. I'm sorry if I make no sense, but while reading the sentence, that specific part sounded really weird.

I understand your point! Does "typically" modify "have found" or "to count"?

Well, the first thing to realize is that, even if this is a problem, there is no way around it: we have something similar in all five answer choices, so it's not worth worrying about.

That said, does it make more sense for "typically" to modify "have found" or "to count"? If "typically" modifies "have found", that means that, in most cases, the people who have tried to count have found about five thousand languages. This makes perfect sense: it tells us what MOST of those people have found when they have tried to count.

Now if "typically" modifies "to count", that means that there must be a "typical" way of counting and an "atypical" way of counting. What exactly are those ways? We have no idea -- this is certainly not common knowledge, and the sentence doesn't give us any other relevant information.

So can "typically" modify "to count"? Technically, yes. But it makes much more sense for it to modify "have found".

Again -- and much more importantly -- we run into this apparent dilemma in all five choices, so we don't have to worry too much about it.

I hope that helps!