The illegal addition of two floors are not the only trouble the hotel

Question

The illegal addition of two floors  are not the only trouble the hotel could face, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels .

(A) are not the only trouble the hotel could face, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels

(B) is not the only trouble the hotel could face, and it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels

(C) is not the only trouble the hotel could face; it also owes, along with two other hotels, millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer

(D) are not the only troubles the hotel could face, it as well as two other hotels also owe millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer

(E) is not the only trouble the hotel could face; it, as well as two other hotels, also owe millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer

unraveled · Answer

Other than S-V agreement the question tests meaning suggested in the later part of underlined sentence. E is the answer as others suggest that hotel owes millions to exchequer as well as two other hotels.

IMO Answer E.

sharmisthamona2 · Answer

I am confused between c and e.
In c the verb is closer to it also but not in e.its a c maybe from me

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EducationAisle · Answer

It's not about close or far...E has subject-verb agreement error:

it , as well as two other hotels,  also  owe ...

With  it , the sentence should have used singular verb  owes .

sharmisthamona2 · Answer

Hmmm so in this case as well as other hotels + it- isn't really the subject. Thanks for pointing out

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EducationAisle · Answer

Not just in  this  case Sharmistha.

If the subject is separated from the verb by expressions such as  along with, together with, as well as, in addition to,  besides, or  not ,  ignore  these expressions to determine whether the subject is singular or plural.

p.s. Our book    EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana    discusses  this aspect of Subject-Verba agreement . Have attached the corresponding section of the book, for your reference.

juancruzcba · Answer

The illegal addition of two floors are not the only trouble the hotel could face, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels.

(A)  are   not the only trouble the hotel could face, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels. S/V agreement.

(B) is not the only trouble the hotel could face, and it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels. The hotel also owes millions and owes two other hotels? Makes no sense. eliminate.

(C) is not the only trouble the hotel could face; it also owes, along with two other hotels, millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer. Correct.

(D)  are  not the only troubles the hotel could face, it as well as two other hotels also owe millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer. S/V agreement.

(E) is not the only trouble the hotel could face; it, as well as two other hotels, also  owe  millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer. S/V agreement. It(the hotel) should be followed by owes.

DinoPen · Answer

The illegal addition of two floors  are not the only trouble the hotel could face, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels.

(A) are not the only trouble the hotel could face, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels
 'illegal addition' is singular. Incorrect use of 'are'. Out.

(B) is not the only trouble the hotel could face, and it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels
 Change in meaning -- this states that the addition owes millions to the exchequer AND two other hotels. How can a hotel owe $ to other hotels when its renovating its own building? Not sure. Out.

(C) is not the only trouble the hotel could face; it also owes, along with two other hotels, millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer
 Correct SV agreement and meaning is logical.

(D) are not the only troubles the hotel could face, it as well as two other hotels also owe millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer
 Same reasoning as A.

(E) is not the only trouble the hotel could face; it, as well as two other hotels, also owe millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer
 it + 'as well as' is an additive phrase, meaning that 'owe' should be singular since 'it' is singular. 'owe' is plural. Out.

TarunKumar1234 · Answer

The illegal addition of two floors are not the only trouble the hotel could face, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels.

(A) are not the only trouble the hotel could face, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels
the subject "the illegal addition" is one trouble. a singular verb is needed to replace "are". eliminate

(B) is not the only trouble the hotel could face, and it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels
the highlighted "it" is ambiguous. it could represent "the illegal addition" and the "hotel".
also, because the sentence is connected using a comma and "and", it is natural to think "it" represents the addition.
eliminate

(C) is not the only trouble the hotel could face; it also owes, along with two other hotels, millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer
"along with two other hotels" modifies "it" and should be placed immediately after "it". eliminate

(D) are not the only troubles the hotel could face, it as well as two other hotels also owe millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer
sane problem as (A). eliminate.

(E) is not the only trouble the hotel could face; it, as well as two other hotels, also owe millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer
Correct

jessiemjx · Answer

IMO E

SofiaDahiya · Answer

Understanding the meaning of the sentence:

it owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels  VS   it, along with two other hotels, owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer . First version of this sentence doesn't make sense as hotel shouldn't owe two hotels to the exchequer. But it definitely makes sense to say that the hotel, along with two other hotels, owes to the exchequer.

We need to see following errors in this sentence:

1. make sure that all the S-V pairs are correct.
2. There's a contrast in the sentence - The illegal addition of two floors is not the only trouble, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes 
3. No discrepancy in the meaning

(A) are  not the only trouble the hotel could face, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels - Illegal addition should be followed by singular verb, hence this choice is incorrect.

(B) is not the only trouble the hotel could face,  and  it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels - S-V error has been corrected in the first part of the sentence, but second part has meaning error as described above.  Also usage of 'and' doesn't retain the contrast in the sentence. Hence Incorrect.

(C) is not the only trouble the hotel could face; it also owes, along with two other hotels, millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer -  Both the S-V pairs are correct. "It, along with two other hotels," is correct way.

(D) are  not the only troubles the hotel could face, it as well as two other hotels also owe millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer - Illegal addition should be followed by singular verb, hence this choice is incorrect.

(E) is not the only trouble the hotel could face; it, as well as two other hotels, also owe  millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer -  'as well as two other hotels' is used as additive, hence verb should be singular for 'It'. Check below mentioned examples to understand it better.

it, as well as two other hotels, owes  millions in taxes - correct  because verb should be singular for "it"
it as well as two other hotels owes  millions in taxes -  correct  because verb should be singular for "it"

winterschool · Answer

The illegal addition of two floors are not the only trouble the hotel could face, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels.

(A)  are  not the only trouble the hotel could face, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels  Incorrect

SV error - The illegal addition singular, are plural

(B) is not the only trouble the hotel could face, and it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to  the exchequer along with two other hotels   Incorrect

changes meaning - second part means that the hotel owes unpaid taxes to both the exchequer and other hotels; it doesnt intended meaning
 
(C)  is not the only trouble the hotel could face; it also owes, along with two other hotels, millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer   Correct

(D)  are  not the only troubles the hotel could face, it as well as two other hotels also owe millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer  Incorrect

SV error - The illegal addition singular, are plural

(E) is not the only trouble the hotel could face;  it , as well as two other hotels, also  owe  millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer  Incorrect

SV error - it singular, owe plural

Bunuel · Answer

Official Explanation:

(A) The singular subject phrase  illegal addition  does not agree with the plural  are . The part after the comma creates a run-on sentence. Also, it is not clear whether the hotel owes money to the other two hotels or whether the other two hotels also owe money to the exchequer.

(B) The use of  and  does not make any sense. Also it is not clear whether the hotel owes money to the other two hotels or whether the other two hotels also owe money to the exchequer.

(C) The correct answer.

(D) The singular subject phrase  illegal addition  does not agree with the plural  are . The part after the comma creates a run-on sentence.

(E) The singular subject  it  (because of the use of the additive  as well as ) does not agree with the plural verb  owe .

ravigupta2912 · Answer

Why does usage of “and” in B not make any sense? Is it because, then, in B, the pronoun “it” refers to the initial subject (illegal addition) which renders the construction as completely illogical?

I missed the little SV error in E and went for E, since C sort of conveyed that the hotel also owed two other hotels. I should have used slash and burn to remove the unnecessary phrases.

Cc  AndrewN  help!

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AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  ravigupta2912 . I agree that spotting subject-verb agreement issues is vital to success on SC, so you want to pick off easier answers first. As for (B),  and  is the wrong conjunction when an explanatory  for  would do (even if this conjunction is rarely used and sounds overly formal). The first part of the sentence presents an intriguing lead-in:

The illegal addition of two floors is not the only trouble the hotel could face, ...

Once we jump across the comma at the end of the first independent clause, we expect to see a  reason  to justify the presence of  not the only trouble . Although the original sentence can be eliminated on subject-verb agreement grounds, it can also be eliminated for its comma splice: you cannot join two independent clauses in the manner presented by using nothing more than a comma. So, if we want (B) to work, the conjunction had better act as an appropriate semantic bridge between the two independent clauses.  And  shifts the focus to some unrelated information, rather than completing the first thought. As I said earlier,  for  would act in the capacity of a  because , and we can see that the second half of the sentence does, in fact, present the second problem. Of all the FANBOYS,  for  is the only one that could work. (Remember that that "S" stands for "so," not "since.")

I hope that helps. (Did you notice the comma splice in (D) as well? Again, look for any compelling reason to eliminate an answer choice.) Thank you for thinking to ask me.

- Andrew

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The illegal addition of two floors are not the only trouble the hotel

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

The illegal addition of two floors are not the only trouble the hotel

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